Written questions by Farron.

How many radiotherapy machines are (a) over the 10-year recommended age and (b) at risk of being out of date by the end of 2025; and how many of such machines he plans to replaced with funding announced in paragraph 2.71 of the Autumn Budget 2024.

The Government will continue to support the provision of radiotherapy machines, however, since April 2022 the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has been with local systems. NHS England will allocate funding to trusts to purchase new radiotherapy machines, and trusts may purchase different types of machines. Therefore, it is not yet known how many machines will be purchased.The number of radiotherapy machines in use which are over the 10-year recommended age is not published by NHS England.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to provide top-up payments to farmers to compensate for the loss of direct payments.

The Government announced the reductions it intends to apply to delinked payments for 2025. The Government is accelerating the end of the era of payouts to large and wealthy landowners simply for owning land. The fastest reductions in subsidies will be to those who historically received the largest payments. Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast, with £5 billion committed to the farming budget over two years – the most ever for sustainable food production and nature’s recovery. This keeps momentum to a more sustainable farming sector, with the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Landscape Recovery all continuing.

What steps he is taking to help recruit social care workers in Cumbria.

We are launching a national recruitment campaign in February to encourage suitable candidates to apply for immediate vacancies by highlighting the varied and rewarding work available. We have also introduced legislation to deliver the first Fair Pay Agreement in adult social care to empower worker representatives, employers, and others to negotiate pay and terms and conditions.

Innovation and Technology, if he will make it his policy to ensure the adequacy of mobile connectivity in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency before the switch-off of the public switched telephone network.

Opinions vary as to what constitutes ‘good’ mobile connectivity and I have raised my concerns about the reporting of connectivity with Ofcom, but according to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report (published on 5 December 2024), 4G indoor premises coverage is available from all four mobile operators in 68% of premises in your constituency, with 97% from at least one. This leaves 3% of premises (around 1,500 premises) with no 4G indoor coverage from any operator. Premises includes all buildings not just homes.Through the Shared Rural Network, we are continuing to deliver 4G mobile connectivity to places where there is either limited or no coverage at all.Whilst the transition from the analogue landline network to voice over internet protocol is an industry-led process, Ofcom and Government are working together with communications providers to ensure consumers and sectors are protected and prepared for the upgrade process.

Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the public switched telephone network switch-off on rural communities in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency.

The Government is determined to ensure that any and all risks incurred during the industry-led migration from the analogue landline network to voice over internet protocol are mitigated. On 18 November 2024, the Department published guidance for communication providers on how to identify and support customers when their landline migrates. This includes customers who are landline dependent, many of which live in rural communities.The Department also published a checklist of activities that communication providers should take before migrating customers to voice over internet protocol without their active consent. We expect providers to meet the safeguards set out in this checklist to keep customers – including those in rural communities - safe throughout the migration.Ofcom reports that 2024 saw 45% more service incidents on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) compared to 2023, resulting in a 55% increase in the number of service hours lost. Retaining the PSTN would increase the risks of outages which would have a negative impact on consumers.

If he will make it his policy to retrieve the subsidy payments made to the Drax power station.

Ofgem’s recent investigation did not find any evidence to suggest that Drax had been issued with subsidies incorrectly. Whilst Drax complied with sustainability standards, it had failed to report data accurately. This is a serious matter and Government expects full compliance with all regulatory obligations. Drax’s subsequent £25 million redress payment underscores the robustness of the regulatory system.

Innovation and Technology, if he will take steps to ensure that there is no enforced switch off of the public switched telephone network before he has made an assessment of the impact of this change on rural communities in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency.

The Government is determined to ensure that any and all risks incurred during the industry-led migration from the analogue landline network to voice over internet protocol are mitigated. On 18 November 2024, the Department published guidance for communication providers on how to identify and support customers when their landline migrates. This includes customers who are landline dependent, many of which live in rural communities.The Department also published a checklist of activities that communication providers should take before migrating customers to voice over internet protocol without their active consent. We expect providers to meet the safeguards set out in this checklist to keep customers – including those in rural communities - safe throughout the migration.Ofcom reports that 2024 saw 45% more service incidents on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) compared to 2023, resulting in a 55% increase in the number of service hours lost. Retaining the PSTN would increase the risks of outages which would have a negative impact on consumers.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the value of government subsidies to farmers in 2024.

The Government has committed to support farmers through a budget of £5 billion over the next two years, including £2.6 billion in 2024/25.

Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the number of properties in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency without good mobile connectivity.

Opinions vary as to what constitutes ‘good’ mobile connectivity and I have raised my concerns about the reporting of connectivity with Ofcom, but according to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report (published on 5 December 2024), 4G indoor premises coverage is available from all four mobile operators in 68% of premises in your constituency, with 97% from at least one. This leaves 3% of premises (around 1,500 premises) with no 4G indoor coverage from any operator. Premises includes all buildings not just homes.Through the Shared Rural Network, we are continuing to deliver 4G mobile connectivity to places where there is either limited or no coverage at all.Whilst the transition from the analogue landline network to voice over internet protocol is an industry-led process, Ofcom and Government are working together with communications providers to ensure consumers and sectors are protected and prepared for the upgrade process.

Whether her Department conducted a lessons learned review of the EU settlement scheme digital status service.

The Home Office conducted an end-programme lessons learnt review on the roll out of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), of which the digital status service is part. We published two private beta reports setting out key findings of the test phases of the EUSS, including the functionality of the end-to-end online application process. These reports are available at:EU Settlement Scheme: private beta testing phase 1 report (accessible version) - GOV.UKEU Settlement Scheme private beta testing phase 2 report - GOV.UK

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that farmers can engage in environmentally sustainable farming projects during winter 2024-25.

Environmental Land Management schemes remain at the centre of our offer for farmers, with the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Landscape Recovery all continuing. There are now over 60,000 live agreements across these schemes, supported by £5 billion in the agricultural budget over the next two years in the recent budget. This budget is funding farmers in these schemes deliver improvements to food security, biodiversity, carbon emissions, water quality, air quality and flood resilience through winter 2024/25 and beyond.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers with managing flooding in winter 2024-25.

The Farming Recovery Fund was set up to support farmers affected by unprecedented extreme wet weather last winter (October 2023 to March 2024). Through these one-off recovery payments, £57.5 million has now been paid to over 12,700 farm businesses to help them recover from the impacts of the exceptional flooding and wet weather over the duration of this period. The Government inherited flood assets in their worst condition on record following years of underinvestment by the previous government – 92% of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 assets are currently at required condition. To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences. The Government also announced £50 million of investment into internal drainage boards, supporting farmers and rural communities from the impacts of flooding. The new Flood Resilience Taskforce provides oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season.

If she will provide additional funding for Westmorland and Furness Council to maintain cycleways.

The Government takes the condition of local highway assets, including roads and cycleways, very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local highway network. As a local highway authority, Westmorland and Furness Council is responsible for the condition of all parts of its local highway network, including cycleways and footways. In the current financial year, the Department has provided over £20.7 million of highway maintenance funding to Westmorland and Furness Council to enable it to maintain all parts of its local highway network. Highways maintenance funding allocations for 2025/26 will be announced shortly. Active travel capital funding allocations for local authorities in 2024/25, will also be announced in due course.

What recent discussions he has had with international partners on the future of the JET fusion project.

JET has been at the forefront of fusion research and innovation, and its final experiments produced a world record in energy output. However, JET is now 40 years old. An evaluation undertaken by EUROfusion in 2016 concluded that upgrades to JET did not provide value for money and it was decided to plan for the end of scientific operations. JET decommissioning will generate valuable knowledge for future fusion endeavours, alongside UK investment in new facilities. We are not aware of any instances where the decommissioning of JET has been raised by the EU Commission in discussion with UK ministers.

What tailored support she plans to provide to refugees to access (a) training and (b) employment after the closure of the Refugee Employment Programme in June 2025.

The Refugee Employability Programme (REP) was designed as a time-bound programme. It will come to a natural end in June 2025 in line with the contract delivery timelines.All refugees will continue to have access to mainstream services to support their transition into work, including employment support from DWP work coaches.Newly granted refugees are also able to access support through Migrant Help, which includes advice on how to access the labour market.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the employment rights of migrant workers.

The Employment Rights Bill will provide a new baseline of security for all workers, including those working on a visa. These protections include day one protection from unfair dismissal, increasing protection from harassment, strengthening Statutory Sick Pay and ending exploitative zero hours contacts.The new Fair Work Agency will help ensure new minimum standards are being upheld across the country, by increasing awareness and accessibility of workers’ rights by providing a single point of contact, as well as supporting businesses to access clearer rules, information and advice to comply with the law.

How many refugees her Department plans to resettle through the UK's resettlement schemes in 2025.

This country will always play our part, alongside others, to help those fleeing war and persecution, but we need a proper system where rules are enforced.The UK welcomes refugees through our global resettlement schemes which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme.The numbers resettled through the UKRS depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and integration support in the UK.

How many people in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency received radiotherapy treatment at the Rosemere Cancer Centre Royal Preston Hospital in each month in each of the last four years.

The Department does not hold information regarding how many patients from a particular constituency are treated in a specific hospital. Data regarding radiotherapy treatment is published monthly by NHS England.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the prevention of exploitation of migrant workers by employers that threaten to cancel visas.

The Employment Rights Bill will provide a new baseline of security for all workers, including those working on a visa. These protections include day one protection from unfair dismissal, increasing protection from harassment, strengthening Statutory Sick Pay and ending exploitative zero hours contacts.The new Fair Work Agency will help ensure new minimum standards are being upheld across the country, by increasing awareness and accessibility of workers’ rights by providing a single point of contact, as well as supporting businesses to access clearer rules, information and advice to comply with the law.

What information his Department has on the average waiting time for young people to receive a first appointment for child and adolescent mental health services in (a) South Cumbria, (b) Lancashire and (c) North Cumbria in the last six months.

The following table shows the mean and median average waiting times between referral and first contact for children and young people aged under 18 years old, in the nearest equivalent local authority areas, for April to September 2024:Local authority areaMean average number of days between referral and first contactMedian average number of days between referral and first contactLancashire76.412Cumberland90.328Westmorland and Furness53.69Source: Mental Health Services Dataset, NHS England. This is based on referrals that have a contact and does not include those that are still waiting.