Written questions by Jermy.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure adequate (a) training and (b) support for GPs in helping to diagnose cancer.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 28805 on 14 February 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of potential impact of intensive animal farming on (a) water ways and (b) agricultural land.

Agriculture and rural land management is one of the greatest pressures on the water environment, impacting 45% of water bodies in England. We recognise intensive farming is not without risk. Intensive pig and poultry farms above specified size thresholds must hold an Environmental Permit requiring operators to adopt best available techniques to reduce pollution. Regulations, including the Farming Rules for Water, set the standards farmers must meet in order prevent and mitigate pollution risks. The EA works with farmers through advice-led enforcement to improve compliance. They have conducted over 4,800 inspections in the last fiscal year (2023/24) and over 2,300 in the first half of the current fiscal year (2024/25). These inspections are targeted to areas of the greatest risk, including the catchments of protected sites.

What information her Department holds on the number of education, health and care plan tribunals that were lost by Norfolk County Council in each year since 2019.

Information about appeal outcomes to SEND is published at: Tribunals statistics quarterly: July to September 2024 - GOV.UK.Appeal outcomes are not broken down by Local Authority in the routinely published data as requested in this PQ. These data are provided for academic years September to August as follows:Norfolk City(1) Council2019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24(i) Number and proportion of those appeals determined in favour of the appellants68 76%161 67%165 67%219 70%281 56%(ii) Number and proportion of those appeals determined in favour of the local authority(2)1 1%3 1%4 2%8 3%5 1%(iii) Number and proportion of withdrawn appeals12 13%50 21%52 21%35 11%54 11%(iv) Number and proportion of appeals conceded before the hearing6 7%22 9%22 9%49 16%48 10%(v) Number and proportion of appeals still awaiting a hearing0 0%0 0%0 0%0 0%2 1%Total number of appeals to the tribunal(3)89241246315502 1. Data for Norfolk is held locally as Norfolk County Council.2. (ii) is the total of cases where the appellant wins the majority of the appeal (i.e. the appellant may be successful in 2 out of the 3 sections they appeal against).3. In addition to the categories requested appeals can be struck out. This is included in the total number of appeals.The information provided has been extracted from local management information.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assess lead levels in food produced near to abandoned lead mining sites.

Lead is naturally present in the environment, making it impossible to eliminate completely from food. Maximum levels are set to be as low as reasonably achievable, and enforcement action can be taken if food safety concerns arise whether or not maximum levels are specified. Risk-based checks on lead in food by food businesses and local authorities ensure food safety. Lead is also included under the Veterinary Medicines Directorate surveillance plan. The Animal and Plant Health Agency investigates farms where animals may have been exposed to lead, providing advice to farmers as well as a reminder of their responsibilities to protect the food chain and comply with maximum levels.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many animals were (a) slaughtered for food consumption and (b) then tested for the presence of lead in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021, (iv) 2022, (v) 2023 and (vi) 2024.

A summary of the number of animals slaughtered for food consumption and number of animals tested for lead can be found in the table on the following page. For information, the majority of these data are available through the Defra Food and Farming statistics and the VMD also publishes the results of annual residues monitoring on an annual basis on GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure national scale cavity nesting habitat is (a) preserved and (b) created to stabilise populations of red listed birds reliant on buildings to breed.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22080 on 15 January 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25th February to Question 31290 on Housing: Standards, whether levels of lead standardisation will be be included in the Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.

The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.The existing Decent Homes Standard, which applies to social housing, makes clear that a home is not decent if it contains category 1 (serious) hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).Tenants who believe their rented home is in a seriously dangerous condition can inform their local authority. Local authorities must take enforcement action under the Housing Act 2004 if they find category 1 hazards assessed using the HHSRS. These include those relating to the presence of lead.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2025 to Question 27855, when the consultation for a reformed decent homes standard will be published and; what its scope will be.

The government will bring forward a consultation this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.

What steps her Department is taking to increase access to work capability assessments in South West Norfolk.

We have interpreted your question as referring to the accessibility of Work Capability Assessments (used in supporting the department in the determination of the health element of Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance and other specialist benefits) within the South-West Norfolk area. We take our responsibility to ensure all individuals have access to our services, without disadvantage, very seriously. We have a range of provisions in place to ensure assessments are accessible to all individuals, in line with the standards under the Equality Act 2010. DWP meets legal accessibility requirements by ensuring individuals can access our services. Consideration will be given to individuals who need a specific assessment channel due to their health condition or circumstances. At all stages of the claim, individuals are asked to advise us of any mobility restrictions. If the assessment supplier is made aware of mobility restrictions, they will consider booking a different assessment channel. As part of the Functional Assessment Services process, the feasibility of a paper-based assessment will always be considered in the first instance. Where a paper-based review is not possible individuals will be invited to an assessment.

What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps to help create skilled jobs in South West Norfolk constituency.

South-West Norfolk Jobcentres Plus engage directly with local businesses as well as employment and skills forums across the region to both understand local labour market need and to influence the delivery of skills provision in line with these requirements, including training provision needed to deliver our successful Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAPs). As outlined in the Get Britain Working White Paper, the Government is committed to creating in England a new single universal service that will provide a stronger focus on skills and careers by bringing together Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service. The service will be crucial in ensuring more of our domestic workforce, especially those in regions of higher unemployment and economic inactivity can take full advantage of the opportunities and job creation that the Industrial Strategy and Government’s wider sectoral priorities will bring. As the HR department for the Government’s growth mission, the DWP ministerial team and officials work closely with colleagues across to help employers including those in sectors crucial to growth, including Industrial Strategy sectors, to help meet their recruitment needs and break down barriers to opportunity across the country. This includes the steps announced by DWP Secretary of State to overhaul our relationship with employers https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dedicated-team-to-serve-businesses-amongst-dwp-overhaul-of-employer-support-to-get-britain-working and the forthcoming joint ministerial Get Britain Working sectoral workforce summits, starting with construction, health and social care and clean energy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that environment regulations are upheld on intensive livestock farms in (a) East Anglia and (b) South West Norfolk constituency.

To ensure compliance with environmental regulations, permitted farms in East Anglia have routine inspections as an essential part of Environment Agency (EA) regulation. Within East Anglia there is a target of completing more than 80% of one hundred intensive farm site visits for the performance year 2024-2025. This target is on track to be met. Inspections incorporate permitting aspects linked to business plans as well as environmental legislation, such as Farming Rules for Water and Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. Farms with a high standard of compliance and within the Pig and Assurance Scheme are inspected once every three years by the EA and annually in the other two years by certified bodies. Farms not in the assurance scheme are inspected by the Environment Agency a minimum of once in every three years, depending on risk. Inspections are recorded on the National Compliance Assessment Database. Any permit condition breaches are given a Compliance Classification Scheme (CCS) score. CCS scores affect subsistence charges for farms that are not in the Pig and Poultry Assurance Scheme.

Whether his Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to increase the amount of bereavement leave.

The Employment Rights Bill establishes a new day one statutory right to bereavement leave for employees who have experienced the loss of a loved one. The measures in the bill set a framework for the entitlement, including providing for a minimum of one week leave, with details to be set out in secondary legislation.Due to the sensitive and personal nature of bereavement, we will be consulting stakeholders on the specifics of the entitlement to ensure that Bereavement Leave properly reflects the needs of employees and employers.

What steps she is taking to reduce emissions from transport refrigeration units.

The Department has commissioned research on emissions from auxiliary engines mounted on road freight vehicles. The interim reports were published on 9 February and 28 October 2024. The final report is due shortly.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to improve 5G access in (a) England, (b) East Anglia and (c) South West Norfolk constituency.

The Government wants all areas of the UK, including East Anglia and South West Norfolk, to benefit from reliable and good quality mobile coverage.Through the Shared Rural Network, 4G geographic coverage from at least one mobile operator has now reached over 95% of the UK landmass.Our ambition is for all populated areas, including communities in rural areas, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030. We are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition. This includes working with Ofcom to ensure that their coverage reporting is more accurate.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of installing solar panels on the roofs of (a) car parks, (b) warehouses and (c) council-owned buildings in Norfolk.

The Government will assess the potential to drive the construction of solar canopies on outdoor carparks over a certain size through a call for evidence this year. New standards will be introduced this year which will amend the energy efficiency standards in the Building Regulations in England. This will ensure all new homes and buildings, including warehouses and council-owned buildings, in England are zero-carbon ready. Further details about how the Government will increase the deployment of solar panels will be set out in the forthcoming Solar Roadmap.

What plans she has to extend to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support fund.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for South West Norfolk to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26025.

What steps the Health and Security Agency is taking to prevent population exposure to lead.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is raising awareness and has published advice and guidance for the public and professional partners on the risk of harm from lead exposure, and effective public health interventions to reduce lead exposure. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lead-poisoning-advice-for-the-public-and-healthcare-professionals.The UKHSA supports partners in identifying the pathways and sources of lead and in introducing public health interventions to aid in reducing exposure.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department has taken to ensure Project Gigabit improves broadband speeds in South West Norfolk constituency.

According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, over 96% of premises in the South West Norfolk constituency can access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 59% have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection (>1000 Mbps).To improve this coverage further, CityFibre is delivering a Project Gigabit contract in Norfolk, targeted at bringing fast, reliable broadband to premises in hard-to-reach areas that are unlikely to be otherwise reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout. Approximately 5,000 premises in South West Norfolk are currently included within this contract.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to improve mobile phone access in (a) England, (b) East Anglia and (c) South West Norfolk constituency.

The Government wants all areas of the UK, including East Anglia and South West Norfolk, to benefit from reliable and good quality mobile coverage.Through the Shared Rural Network, 4G geographic coverage from at least one mobile operator has now reached over 95% of the UK landmass.Our ambition is for all populated areas, including communities in rural areas, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030. We are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition. This includes working with Ofcom to ensure that their coverage reporting is more accurate.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle toxic lead pipes in housing in (a) England, (b) East Anglia and (c) South West Norfolk.

Lead pipes have not been permitted since 1970, but they may be present in older properties. To reduce the risk of lead leaching into water, this Government expects water companies to treat the water. Any failure of the lead standard is investigated thoroughly. In Defra’s Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat, we supported action by the water industry to trial approaches to reduce exposure to lead which have been agreed in water companies’ business plans for 2025-2030. Two Green Recovery projects, approved by Ofwat, are also trialling replacement of customer supply pipes made of lead.