Written questions by Collins.

What funding has been allocated by his Department for research into the (a) causes, (b) treatment, and (c) long-term effects of long covid in children and young people.

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, the NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, have jointly invested over £57 million into long COVID research with the aim of improving diagnosis and our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the disease, evaluating the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, and clinical care. This research will support the treatment of long COVID in children and young people, as well as adults. We have also funded research specifically focused on long COVID in children and young people, including the approximately £1.9 million CLoCk study jointly funded by the NIHR and MRC. The study developed an agreed definition of long COVID in children and young people and associated symptoms, to improve understanding of the condition and help harmonise research. The NIHR and MRC remain committed to funding high-quality research into the causes, treatments and long-term effects of long COVID. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care including long COVID in children and young people. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

What recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of long covid in children and young people in (a) England and (b) Hertfordshire; and if he will publish estimates of the number of affected individuals by age group.

The most recent data from the Winter COVID-19 Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period 6 February 2024 to 7 March 2024, an estimated two million people, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England and Scotland, self-reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection. The following table shows a breakdown by age group of the number of people with self-reported long COVID symptoms, more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection:Age groupEstimate3 to 17 years old111,81618 to 34 years old406,53835 to 44 years old294,09945 to 54 years old397,80255 to 64 years old389,97765 to 74 years old271,37475 years old and over113,467 While no estimate has been made specifically for Hertfordshire, the same dataset from the ONS estimated that 202,852 people self-reported experiencing long COVID symptoms in the East of England region in that same time period.NHS England has invested £314 million since the start of the pandemic to provide care and support for people with long COVID. This includes establishing specialist clinics throughout England to assess children and young people who are experiencing the long-term effects of COVID-19 infection. A further £86.7 million of funding was included in integrated care board (ICB) core allocations for 2024/25, and specific regional funding was also allocated for assurance and system support.As of 1 April 2024, there were over 90 adult post-COVID services across England, along with an additional 10 children and young people’s hubs. Since April 2024, commissioning of long COVID services has been the responsibility of local ICBs, following the closure of the national programme.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for keeping its published guidelines up to date and under active surveillance, to ensure that they reflect developments in the evidence base and its recommendations on new medicines.The NICE is changing the way that it develops guidelines to ensure that they respond more rapidly to the latest evidence and newly recommended technologies, to help speed up access for patients.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that children and young people with long covid have access to age-appropriate care and treatment.

The most recent data from the Winter COVID-19 Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period 6 February 2024 to 7 March 2024, an estimated two million people, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England and Scotland, self-reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection. The following table shows a breakdown by age group of the number of people with self-reported long COVID symptoms, more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection:Age groupEstimate3 to 17 years old111,81618 to 34 years old406,53835 to 44 years old294,09945 to 54 years old397,80255 to 64 years old389,97765 to 74 years old271,37475 years old and over113,467 While no estimate has been made specifically for Hertfordshire, the same dataset from the ONS estimated that 202,852 people self-reported experiencing long COVID symptoms in the East of England region in that same time period.NHS England has invested £314 million since the start of the pandemic to provide care and support for people with long COVID. This includes establishing specialist clinics throughout England to assess children and young people who are experiencing the long-term effects of COVID-19 infection. A further £86.7 million of funding was included in integrated care board (ICB) core allocations for 2024/25, and specific regional funding was also allocated for assurance and system support.As of 1 April 2024, there were over 90 adult post-COVID services across England, along with an additional 10 children and young people’s hubs. Since April 2024, commissioning of long COVID services has been the responsibility of local ICBs, following the closure of the national programme.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for keeping its published guidelines up to date and under active surveillance, to ensure that they reflect developments in the evidence base and its recommendations on new medicines.The NICE is changing the way that it develops guidelines to ensure that they respond more rapidly to the latest evidence and newly recommended technologies, to help speed up access for patients.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of umbrella company practices on the (a) rights and (b) take-home pay of contractors; and whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to improve (i) transparency, (ii) regulation, and (iii) enforcement in this sector.

In March 2025, this Government published a response to the previous Government’s consultation on tackling non-compliance in the umbrella company market, outlining our approach to regulating the sector. Responses to the call for evidence and consultation gathered data from workers, including contractors. Through the Employment Rights Bill, we are defining the activities of umbrella companies, and allowing for their subsequent regulation and enforcement through the Fair Work Agency. We will ensure that those who work through umbrella companies receive comparable employment rights to those taken on directly by an employment business. This complements the announcement made at Autumn Budget 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to protect supported housing in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Hertfordshire.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 51474 on 19 May 2025.

What steps her Department is taking to increase the uptake of means-tested benefits among households with children in poverty in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England.

The Department provides extensive information on Universal Credit including on GOV.UK that supports customers to identify what support may be available. Additionally, we signpost potential customers to external benefit calculators where they can identify what they are likely to be eligible for. We also work closely with Citizens Advice who provide Help to Claim support by phone and on-line for customers to apply for Universal Credit. Tackling child poverty is an urgent priority for this government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy as soon as possible.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of potential benefits of including landlords of residential boats in the proposed Private Rented Sector database.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22356 on 17 January 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to help consolidate agricultural advice services; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on the (a) consistency and (b) coordination of guidance provided to farmers on climate change.

We are working across Defra to continue to improve the advice services on offer to farmers, building on existing broad services such as the Farming Advice Service and Catchment Sensitive Farming. We will aim to create greater alignment across services. We also continue to work with the commercial advice sector, who are often best placed to ensure that farmers get the information they need to make decisions that support their business and help achieve their aims.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle environmental harm in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Hertfordshire.

The Environment Agency (EA) advises and regulates businesses across the energy, agriculture, and waste sectors; they are the environmental regulator for water companies; they prosecute and take action against those who pollute the environment and blight our communities; and they reduce and protect against flood risk and coastal erosion. They are a Category 1 Responder (with the emergency services) under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and have a duty to warn, inform, and respond to flood incidents and prevent environmental damage. They work with other local responders to co-ordinate their response and support recovery. For example, the EA advises on planning applications for all local planning authorities within their statutory remit, including St Albans and Dacorum district councils. This includes assessing flood risk and potential impacts to main rivers or controlled waters. They also have a role in working with Local Planning Authorities during the preparation of Local Plans to ensure flood risk, climate change, land contamination, and the water environment are appropriately included in their evidence base and policies. In addition, they partner with the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, local authorities, and local police departments, such as Hertfordshire Constabulary, to tackle environmental waste crime. They follow a triage style approach to enforcement, ensuring it is intelligence led and target their efforts based on threat, risk, and harm.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to establish (a) a timetable and (b) interim targets for the replacement of dogs in regulatory scientific procedures; and if he will make it his policy to publish that timetable before the end of the 2025-26 session.

The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal.The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year, which will set out clear objectives and measurable milestones. Any work to phase out animal testing, including the use of dogs in regulatory scientific procedures, must be science-led and in lock step with partners including regulators, so we will not be setting interim targets or arbitrary timelines for reducing their use.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to prohibit the routine culling of male chicks.

The legislation sets out strict requirements to protect the welfare of animals at the time of killing, including male chicks from the egg production sector. Permitted killing methods for chicks, such as gas stunning and maceration, are based on scientific research and assessment to ensure birds are spared any avoidable pain, distress, or suffering. All laying hen hatcheries in the UK use argon gas mixtures as their stunning method. We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in the development of technologies that allow chicks to be sexed in-ovo (within the egg). We welcome the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Ban Hatch and Dispatch campaign.

The legislation sets out strict requirements to protect the welfare of animals at the time of killing, including male chicks from the egg production sector. Permitted killing methods for chicks, such as gas stunning and maceration, are based on scientific research and assessment to ensure birds are spared any avoidable pain, distress, or suffering. All laying hen hatcheries in the UK use argon gas mixtures as their stunning method. We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in the development of technologies that allow chicks to be sexed in-ovo (within the egg). We welcome the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology.

What steps she is taking to prevent motor insurers from raising premiums for vehicle theft victims making non-fault claims in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted, (b) Hertfordshire, and (c) the rest of England.

Insurers make commercial decisions about pricing and the terms of cover they offer based on their assessment on the likelihood of a claim being made and the cost of those claims. The Government does not set the terms, conditions, or prices for insurance policies. Motor insurance premiums have been affected by specific economic factors that increased the costs of claims, such as the rising cost of replacement car parts.Last year, the Government launched a cross-Government taskforce on motor insurance. This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. The taskforce most recently met in April and the Government will provide further updates in due course. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent regulator, is a member of the Taskforce. Last October, the FCA launched a package of work on the motor insurance market, including a market study on premium finance. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value (i.e. if the price a consumer pays for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive) and has powers to take action against firms that don’t meet its requirements.

What steps her Department takes to ensure that reviews of Personal Independent Payment claims for people with complex and chronic health conditions consider the (a) overlap between multiple health issues and (b) the potential impact this overlap has on people's (i) mental health and (ii) ability to work.

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment, at both new claim and award review, considers the impact of an individual’s health condition(s) or disability on their daily living and mobility rather than being based on the health condition itself. Individuals can be affected in different ways by the same condition, and be dealing with multiple health issues, so the outcome of a PIP claim depends very much on individual circumstances. Health conditions may be physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive, or any combination of these, and the assessment has been designed to take a comprehensive approach to disability, reflecting the needs arising from the full range of conditions. The assessment criteria are focused on an individual’s ability to carry out a series of key everyday activities which are fundamental to living an independent life. PIP is available whether an individual is in or out of work, education or training. In the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working published on 18 March I outlined plans to launch a review of the PIP assessment. Through the review, I want to make sure the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. This includes considering the PIP assessment criteria – including descriptors – and how the PIP assessment can play a role in unlocking wider support to enable better health, good work, higher living standards and greater independence. Additionally, the Government is legislating to encourage those on health benefits to try work by legislating to guarantee that work in and of itself will never lead to a reassessment.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the off-payroll working reforms on self-employed individuals.

I refer the Hon. Member to the written answer I gave to the Hon. Member for North Cornwall on 26 March 2025:Self-employed and Small Businesses: Off-payroll Working

Whether the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy will include (a) objectives and (b) targets beyond the initial 10-year framework to ensure sustained progress in reducing child poverty in (i) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency, (ii) Hertfordshire and (iii) England.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish its strategy as soon as possible and we are exploring all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. Our focus is on bringing about an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, thereby reversing the trend that is seeing forecasts of child poverty continuing to increase. More details, including on the time horizon, will be set out in the strategy publication.

What discussions she has had with car insurance companies on the affordability of compulsory car insurance for drivers who require larger vehicles for disability-related mobility needs.

My officials meet motor insurers and their representative bodies such as the Association of British Insurers periodically to discuss a range of motor insurance issues.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to allocate additional funding through UK Research and Innovation for the validation of non‑animal new approach methodologies to help replace the use of dogs in safety testing; and if he will make it his policy to ring‑fence funding for human‑relevant, animal‑free technologies.

The Government is committed to the development of non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year.UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has a diverse portfolio of investments that supports research which can lead to alternatives, such as organ-on-a-chip, cell-based assays, functional genomics and computer modelling. UKRI also invests £10 million annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) and is conducting a five-year funding review to guide future investment in this area.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to consult on draft regulations to commence Sections 61 to 64 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022.

Draft regulations to commence sections 61 – 64 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 are currently subject to a technical consultation. The consultation, which launched on 7 May and is open until 23.59 on 2 July 2025, can be found on the gov.uk website.

What discussions she has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the potential impact of changes to the costs of car insurance on vulnerable motorists.

Insurers make commercial decisions about pricing and the terms of cover they offer based on their assessment on the likelihood of a claim being made and the cost of those claims. The Government does not set the terms, conditions, or prices for insurance policies. Motor insurance premiums have been affected by specific economic factors that increased the costs of claims, such as the rising cost of replacement car parts.Last year, the Government launched a cross-Government taskforce on motor insurance. This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. The taskforce most recently met in April and the Government will provide further updates in due course. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent regulator, is a member of the Taskforce. Last October, the FCA launched a package of work on the motor insurance market, including a market study on premium finance. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value (i.e. if the price a consumer pays for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive) and has powers to take action against firms that don’t meet its requirements.