Written questions by Jermy.

What steps she is taking to align apprenticeship standards, T Levels, and other vocational qualifications with future food system needs.

The government is strengthening technical education so that young people can gain practical skills in areas such as regenerative farming, agroecology, and sustainable horticulture. This includes a range of apprenticeships in agriculture, environmental and animal care sector such as crop technician. Land-based colleges and institutes of technology offer applied learning experience with employer designed standards increasingly embedding regenerative and agroecological practices. Land based T Levels and technical qualifications include opportunities for hands on learning in soil health, sustainable crop production, biodiversity, and low-impact land management. Skills England works with employers to embed real world regenerative and agroecological practices in relevant occupational and apprenticeship standards to ensure they meet ongoing skills needs. Local Skills Improvement Plans help guide providers to match training with the priority skills needs, which include those related to agriculture and land-based industries. Together, these measures create a strong pipeline of young people equipped for careers in regenerative, low carbon land-based sectors.

What steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to help tackle inequalities in access to healthy, minimally processed food through education.

The national curriculum aims to teach children how to cook and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. In response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the department has set out that we will enhance the identity of food education by clearly distinguishing cooking and nutrition, which will be renamed food and nutrition, as a distinct strand within design and technology.The updated relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance includes content on healthy eating. Pupils are taught what constitutes a healthy diet, the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals, the characteristics of a poor diet and risks associated with unhealthy eating.The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. We aim to revise the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.From September 2026, we will extend free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit. This will ensure that over 500,000 additional children receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal.

What steps she is taking to ensure that curriculum, vocational training, and teacher development programs are used to promote students' understanding of ecosystems, soil health, and climate adaptation within the context of UK food security.

The current national curriculum includes topics relating to ecosystems, soil health, and climate adaptation within the context of UK food security, and they can also be studied at GCSE and A level.Work is now underway to deliver a new curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious for every child, rich in knowledge and strong on skills. Programmes of study for each curriculum subject will be refreshed in line with the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s recommendations, and we are working towards a revised national curriculum being published in spring 2027, for first teaching in 2028.There will be opportunity to provide views on the new curriculum content when the department conducts a public consultation on the draft programmes of study in summer 2026.The department already has a range of vocational qualifications that provide training in green skills including apprenticeships, T levels, Skills Bootcamps and higher technical qualifications.

What proportion of nurses graduating from nursing degree courses in the UK find employment within the NHS during the first year after qualifying.

The Department does not hold the data requested. Nurses upon graduation may take up registered nursing roles in a range of organisations such as local authorities, social care providers, charities, or private sector providers as well as in the National Health Service.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's blog post entitled Coverage of our over £1 billion investment to support victims of domestic abuse, published on 15 December 2025, how much and what proportion of the additional funding for the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Duty will be allocated to local authorities in Norfolk.

The government is committed to ensuring that victims of domestic abuse have access to the support they need within safe accommodation. On 20 November, the government announced at least £480 million to support delivery of the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Duty, followed by an announcement on 15 December of a £19 million uplift. This is part of the government’s action to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls with better support for victims, as set out in the Strategy (Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy - GOV.UK ) published on 18 December. Provisional allocations for all relevant local authorities, including those in Norfolk, can be found in the government’s published allocation table for the provisional local government finance settlement on gov.uk here. These figures represent minimum allocations for the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Duty, based on the flat cash value of £480 million. Final allocations, including the £19 million uplift, will be confirmed in the final Local Government Finance Settlement in February.

What steps his Department is taking to provide universal, 24/7 thrombectomy access across England by April 2026.

NHS England is working to increase the size of the workforce trained to deliver thrombectomy so that 24/7 access is available across England by April 2026. To achieve this, NHS England is working with the General Medical Council in approving a credential to support neuroradiologists to conduct thrombectomy and increase the number of thrombectomies that can be delivered. In addition, NHS England’s National Medical Director and National Clinical Director for Stroke have supported comprehensive stroke centers in England to improve quality and reduce variation in thrombectomy delivery.

Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the proportion of concert ticketing companies that allow disabled customers who are using accessible seating to have one accompanying person with them.

The Department does not hold information on the proportion of concert ticketing companies that allow disabled customers who are using accessible seating to have one accompanying person with them.However this Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability or location, can access the creative industries and cultural opportunities. We are continuing to support Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund (SGMF), which as well as aiming to bolster the grassroots music ecosystem, aims to promote inclusivity within the sector. For example, through support from the SGMF, a music venue in Bristol has become the first grassroots music venue in the country to secure an Attitude is Everything Gold Award, a widely-coveted Industry award, given only to those that show a significant and ongoing commitment to improving accessibility.The Government also supports the Arts Councils of each UK nation and Ireland working together with partners, such as the British Film Institute, in launching All In, a free, UK wide arts access scheme. This scheme will help remove barriers for disabled, deaf and neurodivergent people in music venues, festivals, theatres, museums, galleries, libraries and more. This initiative introduces the UK and Ireland’s first set of industry standards to improve access to arts and culture as well as launch new digital tools to support accessible ticket booking.The Office for Equality and Opportunity has also appointed David Stanley as Disability and Access Ambassador for arts and culture - to drive improvements in the accessibility and quality of services and facilities in the sector for disabled people, helping to ensure businesses are doing all they can to support disabled customers.

For what reason an official hold to all PV battery installations have been held under the Warm Homes: Local Grant Scheme; and whether his Department plans for this to be lifted.

PV battery installations under the Warm Homes: Local Grant Scheme have been temporarily paused while the Department carries out necessary assurance. Although PV batteries were announced as an eligible measure in June 2025, there is currently no MCS Product Standard, which is required under scheme guidance. As the Department remains focused on consumer protection, Grant Recipients have therefore been asked to pause any plans to install PV batteries across the schemes. The Department have been updating Grant Recipients this week (commencing 8th December) and will continue to work at pace to resolve this issue.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce farming payments to help support animal welfare outcomes.

Since 2023, farmers in England have been able to access funding through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway to improve livestock health and welfare while supporting farm productivity and sustainability. This support covers annual veterinary reviews, disease testing, and capital grants, including the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (which provides animal welfare grants) and the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare Grant. To date, we have funded more than 10,000 vet visits. Full details of available support are published on GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of ending the routine culling of day-old male chicks in the UK egg industry; and whether she plans to encourage the use of in-ovo sexing technology through the development of an animal welfare strategy.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 July 2025 to the hon. Member for Stockport, PQ UIN 64121.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to introduce the activity regulations for the Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.

The Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad. We continue to engage with stakeholders including the tourism industry and animal welfare groups to explore both legislative and non-legislative options to stop the advertising of low-welfare animal activities abroad and will be setting out next steps in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will take steps to stop the expansion of low-welfare farms.

All farms, regardless of size and type of production system, must comply with comprehensive animal welfare legislation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what financial support his Department plans to provide to help farmers transition to higher-welfare, lower-input systems that are resilient to market shocks.

Defra offers financial support to farmers through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, which pays for health and welfare enhancements that will boost productivity, including funded vet visits.

Which industry groups participated in the Warm Homes Plan Stakeholder Panel; what criteria was used for their selection; when the panel has met; and if he will publish the minutes of the meetings.

As part of the development of the Warm Homes Plan, the department has engaged with a broad range of stakeholders through a variety of different fora to ensure a wide range of views were considered through the development of the plan. The Stakeholder Panel, convened earlier this year, is one part of that engagement, and included industry groups, academics, think-tanks and other representatives. To ensure an open and honest exchange of views, details of government discussions with stakeholders are not routinely shared publicly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 81636 on Carbon emissions: Housing, what organisation is leading this work; and what are the terms of reference of the research.

The research is being led by Energy Saving Trust in consortium with Taylor McKenzie and Elmhurst Energy. The research aims to (1) identify the range of archetypes of the UK housing stock that are complex-to-decarbonise (CTD), (2) help householders and industry understand the economic costs and trade-offs associated with different decarbonisation approaches across the different CTD archetypes, and (3) propose the best practice approaches to making low carbon heating viable and affordable for CTD householders. The research involved ~450 in-person retrofit assessments of homes deemed likely to be complex, and subsequent desk-based evaluation of measure mixes to determine suitability of installation, costs to install and potential savings. Findings are expected to be published in Spring/Summer 2026.

If he will publish analysis on the affordability and availability of renewable liquid fuels.

On 18 November, the Government published a consultation exploring the role of alternative clean heating solutions, including renewable liquid fuels (RLFs). The consultation, which will run for 12 weeks, seeks further evidence on the affordability and availability of RFLs. Findings from the consultation will be published in the government response in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October to Question 81636 on Carbon Emissions: Housing, if he will publish a list of industry groups that have been consulted.

The research under consideration was a social research project which used in-person home retrofit assessments to determine the suitability of a range of decarbonisation options in potentially complex to decarbonise properties. Industry groups have not been directly consulted as part of this specific research project, as the focus was on delivering these bespoke assessments to householders of the potentially complex homes. Energy Saving Trust and consortium (leading the project) recruited independent PAS-certified energy assessors to conduct these assessments, as well as MCS qualified professionals to quality assure a small subset of these assessments.

How many people with disabilities were employed in her Department on 2 September 2025.

There were 206 active employees with declared disabilities (9.4% of the department) employed at HM Treasury on 2 September 2025.

How many people with disabilities were employed in his Department on 2 September 2025.

The Disability Status of Ministry of Defence (MOD) Civil Servants headcount is provided in the table below as at 1 August 2025. It is important to note that the disability status of MOD Civil Servants is based on voluntary self-declarations, as recorded on the MOD human resource system, MyHR. These figures include those employed by MOD Main Top Level Budgetary areas (TLBs) and MOD Executive Agencies (UK Hydrographic Office, Defence Science & Technology Laboratory, Submarine Delivery Agency and Defence Equipment & Support). Disability StatusHeadcountMOD Departmental Total 55,699 Disabled6,128No Disability29,909Not Surveyed17,052Choose Not to Declare2,610

How many people with disabilities were employed in his Department on 2 September 2025.

The number of employees who have declared they are disabled as of 31 August 2025 in the department is 535.