Written questions by Slade.

How many offenders convicted of offences against children have been released under early release schemes; and what continuing supervision is taking place.

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We were forced to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. All sex offences, irrespective of sentence length, are excluded from SDS40.Offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions, such as curfews and exclusion zones, and face being immediately returned to prison if they break the rules.

When she expects the Migration Advisory Committee's review into the financial requirements for the Family Visa route to be published; and what plans she has for the minimum salary threshold for the Family Visa.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent body, and their review of the financial requirements will be robust and transparent. It is expected the MAC will issue their report in the Summer. We will carefully consider the MAC’s recommendations before making any further changes.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure that ongoing work under the digital identities framework to digitise (a) sex and (b) other personal information incorporates safeguards to guarantee the information used is accurate where it might be recorded differently on (i) passports, (ii) driving licences and (iiI) other documents.

Digital identities do not offer a new way to determine sex or gender. As with physical verification, individual organisations are responsible for determining what precise information it is appropriate to verify in a particular case and how they verify that to meet their requirements. The UK digital identity and attributes trust framework creates rules for how digital identity services operate. It does not set requirements for how government departments record sex and other personal information. Under data protection law, personal data which is processed must be accurate for the purposes for which it is processed.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a long-term funding strategy for Internal Drainage Boards.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 43491 on 10 April 2025.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to announce the allocation by local authority of the £5 million Internal Drainage Board support grant for 2025/26.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 43491 on 10 April 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of waste incineration on (a) public health and (b) respiratory conditions.

The Environment Agency assesses the emissions from new waste incinerators, also known as Energy from Waste (EfW) plants, as part of the permitting process and consults the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on every application received. The UKHSA’s position is that modern, well-run and regulated municipal waste incinerators are not a significant risk to public health. This view is based on detailed assessments of the effects of air pollutants on health and on the fact that EfW plants make only a very small contribution to local concentrations and overall national emissions of air pollutants.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of an increase in waste incinerators on the UK's carbon emission reduction targets.

The Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. Defra published the Residual Waste Infrastructure Capacity Note and an accompanying statement on 30 December 2024, which set out that government will only back new Energy from Waste projects that meet strict conditions. Proposals for new facilities will have to demonstrate a clearly defined domestic residual waste treatment capacity need to facilitate the diversion of residual waste away from landfill, or enable the replacement of older, less-efficient facilities. New facilities will have to maximise efficiency and support the delivery of economic growth, net zero and the move to a circular economy. This will be achieved through application of Decarbonisation Readiness requirements that come into force from February 2026, increased heat recovery, and roll-out of Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). The government is developing a business model to support Waste CCUS projects and stimulate private investment. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Authority has confirmed its intention to include waste incineration and energy from waste in the scheme from 2028. Inclusion in the ETS means the sector's emissions will be capped along with other sectors in the scheme, and that cap will reduce in line with delivery of climate targets.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on investment by businesses.

The Government has taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances and fund public services. One of the toughest decisions we took was to raise the rate of employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%, whilst reducing the per-employee threshold at which employers start to pay National Insurance (the Secondary Threshold) from £9,100 to £5,000. The Office for Budget Responsibility published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances. We acknowledge that, as the OBR set out, employers will pass on some of the costs of this change, as well absorbing some themselves, and employers have a choice about how they respond.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling carers receiving Carer's allowance who defer drawing state pension to receive the same uplift as those who do not.

Where a person has deferred claiming their State Pension, they cannot accumulate increments that will increase their State Pension amount if they have received certain social security benefits including Carer’s Allowance. The underlying principle is to prevent a person earning an enhancement to their pension while drawing another benefit that would otherwise have not been payable had they been receiving their State Pension. The Department encourages people to seek independent financial advice before making a decision not to claim their State Pension when they reach State Pension age and this is set out in GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/plan-retirement-income/get-financial-advice

What steps his Department plans to take to help retain alternatives to digital booking systems for GP appointments for those that cannot access online systems.

We understand that not all patients can or want to use online services. The GP Contract is clear that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, and all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a general practice.The 2025/26 GP Contract includes a new requirement for practices to enable online appointment requests throughout the duration of core opening hours. In addition to improving online access, this will help free up phone lines for people who prefer to telephone.

If her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of linking stamp duty thresholds to regional house prices.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a national tax in England and Northern Ireland charged using the same percentage rates across the country. This ensures stable and predictable revenue for the Exchequer while maintaining fairness for taxpayers. The current structure of SDLT ensures that those buying the most expensive properties contribute the most. Linking SDLT thresholds to regional house prices could increase complexity and create distortive effects around borders, impacting property markets. More broadly, SDLT continues to be an important source of Government revenue, raising around £12 billion each year to help pay for the essential services the Government provides. Any reforms to SDLT would have to carefully consider impacts on the Exchequer alongside administrative costs and simplicity for the taxpayer. The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the usual tax policy making process.

Whether she plans to increase funding rates for early years provision of three and four year olds.

As usual, the hourly funding rates will vary between local authorities reflecting the different communities that local authorities serve. However, for the 2025/26 financial year, the national average three and four year-old hourly funding rate of local authorities is increasing by 4.1%. On top of this, eligible children can also attract additional funding through the early years pupil premium.Early education gives all children, especially disadvantaged children, the best start in life. That is why the department is delivering the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% from 68p per hour in 2024/25 to £1 per hour in 2025/26, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.Future spending decisions beyond 2025/26 will be announced following the next spending review.

What information her Department holds on the number of vehicular accidents involving drivers who have not disclosed age-related health conditions on their driving license renewals in each of the last five years.

This information is not held by the Department for Transport.The Department’s data on road injury collisions is based on information reported to the police via the STATS19 data collection system. STATS19 does not capture information on the health conditions of those involved in collisions.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on recruitment by businesses.

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts. The Office for Budget Responsibility also published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), with a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances. We acknowledge that, as the OBR set out, this measure will have an impact on labour supply. With all policies considered, the OBR expect the employment level to increase from 33.6 million in 2024 to 34.8 million in 2029.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of HM Passport Office accepting multilingual standardised birth certificates as part of passport applications for the children of British parents born in Europe.

His Majesty’s Passport Office requires customers to provide a full birth certificate, issued in the country of birth, as part of a passport application. Multilingual Standard Forms do not meet this criteria: they are an extract of a civil registration record translated into the language needed and are not a full original certificate.

What recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of areas without childcare providers in England; and what estimate her Department has made of the number of early years providers that have closed since September 2024.

The government is committed to ensuring children have the best start in life, and has set a target of a record number of children starting school ready to learn as part of the government’s Plan for Change.Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. They are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting this duty, and to make this report available to parents. The department regularly discusses sufficiency with each local authority in England, and where there are challenges, the necessary actions to take and provision of support via our childcare sufficiency support contract is explored. We do not currently have any reports of sufficiency issues in any local authority.The latest available figures on early years providers show that, between 31 August and 31 December 2024, 1,275 providers joined Ofsted’s Early Years Register and 1,581 providers left the Register. In the same period, the number of registered places grew slightly from 1,275,264 to 1,277,932.His Majesty's Treasury has been working on a fundamental review of business rates in the UK. The latest update indicates that the final report of this review will be published in autumn 2025. This review aims to reduce the overall burden on businesses, improve the current business rates system and consider more fundamental changes in the medium-to-long term. Childcare providers are being considered as part of this, and the review acknowledges the unique challenges faced by nurseries and other childcare providers.

Whether she plans to take steps to identify alternative sources of funding for the university sector.

The higher education (HE) sector needs a secure financial footing to face the challenges of the next decade and ensure that all students can be confident they will receive the world-class HE experience they deserve.The government is also determined to work with the sector to transition to sustainable research funding models, including by increasing research grant cost recovery, as announced by UK Research and Innovation last week. However, universities will also need to take their own steps to ensure they are working as efficiently as possible and, where necessary, make difficult choices.Ultimately, HE providers are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary and appropriate financial decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability.The department has set out five priorities for reform of the HE system, which relate to access and outcomes for disadvantaged students, economic growth, the civic role of HE providers, teaching standards and efficiency, transparency and reform.The department will publish our plan for HE reform this summer, and work with the sector and the Office for Students to ensure the system delivers these priorities.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the (a) changes to employer National Insurance contributions, (b) increase in the National Minimum Wage, (c) removal of the ability to charge for (i) consumables and (ii) compulsory extras and (d) requirement to extend funded hours of childcare provision to younger children as a standard rate on early years providers.

This government believes giving children the best start in life is the foundation of the mission to break down barriers to opportunity. We have set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. We will measure our progress through 75% of children reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage profile assessment by 2028. This assessment takes place at the end of reception.In the 2025/26 financial year alone, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements, which is a £2 billion increase on the previous year. The department is providing an additional £75 million expansion grant to support the sector in providing the additional places and staff needed ahead of the September 2025 expansion to 30 hours of childcare and early education from when a child is nine months old. The grant is focused on the 2 year-old and under-2s cohort to target the extra costs involved in delivering the entitlements to younger children.The department will also deliver the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, which is equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year. On top of this, we are providing £25 million through the National Insurance contributions grant for public sector employers in early years.In determining funding rates for 2025/26, the department will be reflecting forecasts of average earnings and inflation next year, including the National Living Wage. In line with a recent High Court judgment, any charges providers seek to levy must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing a funded place.Providers must offer reasonable alternatives to parents that enable them to access the entitlements for free if they wish, however we know that many parents prefer to purchase consumables from their provider and will continue to be able to do so.The department is grateful for the fantastic work the sector is doing to deliver the expanded entitlements and prepare for the final phase from September 2025. We are engaging closely with the sector through provider roadshows and engagement with representative bodies and will continue to listen to any concerns around costs and ensure the sector is financially sustainable going forward.

Whether she plans to review the upper threshold for small business rates relief for early years providers.

The government is committed to ensuring children have the best start in life, and has set a target of a record number of children starting school ready to learn as part of the government’s Plan for Change.Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. They are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting this duty, and to make this report available to parents. The department regularly discusses sufficiency with each local authority in England, and where there are challenges, the necessary actions to take and provision of support via our childcare sufficiency support contract is explored. We do not currently have any reports of sufficiency issues in any local authority.The latest available figures on early years providers show that, between 31 August and 31 December 2024, 1,275 providers joined Ofsted’s Early Years Register and 1,581 providers left the Register. In the same period, the number of registered places grew slightly from 1,275,264 to 1,277,932.His Majesty's Treasury has been working on a fundamental review of business rates in the UK. The latest update indicates that the final report of this review will be published in autumn 2025. This review aims to reduce the overall burden on businesses, improve the current business rates system and consider more fundamental changes in the medium-to-long term. Childcare providers are being considered as part of this, and the review acknowledges the unique challenges faced by nurseries and other childcare providers.

Whether she plans to complete the Pay Transparency pilot, launched on 8 March 2022.

We are a mission-led government and women’s equality is at the heart of all our missions. This means tackling the gender pay gap, where we are taking action much wider than just pay transparency. We are taking the first steps towards requiring employers to publish action plans alongside their figures, detailing the steps they are taking to narrow their gender pay gap and support employees during the menopause, as well as introducing stronger protections against sexual harassment. Our plan to Make Work Pay will move further and faster to tackle the gender pay gap, improve access to flexible working and provide stronger protections at work. We are also expanding access to high-quality, accessible early years education with more free hours for working families. Many employers understand that when women succeed, so does their business. As women’s equality and economic growth go hand in hand we need to ensure that every organisation is harnessing the talent, creativity and brilliance of women in their workforce.