Written questions by Slade.

If he will make it his policy to review the status of people held on remand in custody for more than six months to determine whether they should be considered for conditional release.

The decision to remand an individual in custody or to grant bail is solely a matter for the independent judiciary acting in accordance with the Bail Act 1976. With limited exceptions, the Bail Act creates a presumption in favour of bail for defendants involved in criminal proceedings. This recognises that a person should not be deprived of his/her liberty unless that is necessary for the protection of the public or the delivery of justice. There is a well-established process that enables remanded prisoners to apply to the court for bail, and we have expanded the Bail Information Service over the last year to provide more support.

What information her Department holds on the number of animals in the UK who are bred for, but not used for, scientific research.

The Home Office does not currently collect statistics on the number of animals in Great Britain that were bred for use in scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures.Additional statistics were previously collected as required by European Directive 2010/63/EU. In 2017, the Home Office published these additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures, and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping.The Home Office is no longer required to collect and release additional statistics. Future publication of this data is under review.

What consideration she has given to the potential benefits for schools of introducing a register of supply teachers, allowing access to available, qualified and DBS checked substitute staff.

The department continues to develop and review policy on supply teaching and currently has no plans to introduce a national supply register for teachers.The mix of models presently available in England, including agencies, direct hire and some local pools, gives schools choice over how they secure supply teachers, how many providers they work with and how they engage with providers to ensure their needs are met.As part of our Maximising Value for Pupils programme, we will introduce a cap on supplier rates on the new Crown Commercial Service framework due in June 2026, and expect schools and trusts to use this new framework unless they are achieving better value for money elsewhere.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that those remanded in custody for more than six months receive access to (a) education, (b) work and (c) mental health support.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring that individuals held in custody, including those on remand, have access to appropriate rehabilitative, educational, and wellbeing support while in prison.Remand prisoners are eligible to access the core education provision available in prisons. This may include literacy, numeracy, English for Speakers of Other Languages, basic digital skills, and library services. On arrival, all prisoners undergo initial screening for learning needs and receive an individual Learning and Work Plan to support progression. Governors must ensure that education is available to all prisoners who can benefit, in line with Prison Rule 32, and remand prisoners are encouraged to participate in these opportunities. In addition to education, remand prisoners can take part in work related activities where they wish to and where operationally feasible. These activities provide purposeful engagement and help maintain routine and structure during custody.Together with our health partners, we are committed to ensuring that people in prison have access to an equivalent standard, range and quality of health care in prisons to that available in the wider community. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England. All people in prison, including those held on remand, have access to integrated mental health services commissioned by NHS England. This includes access to a range of treatments and interventions within prison as set out in the national service specification for mental health care in prisons.For prisoners with severe mental health needs, the Mental Health Act received Royal Assent earlier this month and contains several flagship reforms to improve access to mental health care and treatment, including, but not limited to, provisions to:Introduce a new statutory 28-day time limit for transfers from prison and other places of detention to hospital to reduce unnecessary delays experienced by prisoners who require mental health treatment.Stop courts temporarily detaining people with severe mental illness in prison as a ‘place of safety’ whilst awaiting a hospital bed for treatment or assessment under the Mental Health Act; andEnd the use of remand for own protection under the Bail Act where the court’s sole concern is the defendant’s mental health.We will implement these reforms as soon as it is safe to do so.

If he will take steps to restore the UK steel rebar importation quota rollover.

On 30 June 2025, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade took the decision to vary the steel safeguard quotas for the final year of the steel safeguard. As recommended by the independent Trade Remedies Authority, this included preventing any unused quarterly quotas from being made available in the following quarter. This decision was taken to ensure the overall effectiveness of the UK’s steel safeguard measure for domestic producers whilst balancing the need for security of supply for the UK market. I am not considering restoring the quota rollover as part of the steel safeguard.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the current steel rebar importation quotas on the growth of the UK steel industry.

The UK applies a steel safeguard measure to protect domestic producers against injury caused by unforeseen surges in imports. The decision in June 2025 to vary the steel safeguard, including category 13 (rebar), was made to ensure the measure continues to effectively protect domestic producers whilst balancing the need for security of supply for the UK market. Steel is a top priority for this Government and is essential for a modern and secure economy, underpinning many sectors which are critical for secure economic growth. The Government is determined to reverse the years of decline and neglect in the steel industry, caused in large part by global excess capacity and market distortions. We will publish our Steel Strategy in early 2026 which will set out an ambitious vision for the sector and a more competitive business landscape.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce mandatory animal welfare labelling on supermarket products in the forthcoming animal welfare strategy.

The Government's animal welfare strategy was published on 22 December 2025 and is available here on GOV.UK. As set out in the strategy, we are committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, we will continue working with relevant stakeholders, including the farming and food industry, scientists and NGOs to explore how improved animal welfare food labelling could provide greater consumer transparency, support farmers and promote better animal welfare.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of junk food advertising on childhood obesity.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England, we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. We have implemented United Kingdom-wide restrictions on advertising of less healthy food and drink on television and online which we estimate will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from UK children’s diets each year and deliver health benefits of approximately £2 billion. We have also committed to updating the standards that underpin the advertising and promotions restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink to reflect the latest dietary advice and strengthen the restrictions by more effectively targeting the products of most concern to childhood obesity.An impact assessment on the advertising restrictions of less healthy food and drink on television and online is published on the GOV.UK website.

What steps he is taking to reduce the consumption of junk food by children.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. As part of this, the Government has announced an ambitious programme aimed at improving the healthiness of the food environment. In December 2024, the Government published the revised National Planning Policy Framework for local government. As part of this, local authorities were given the stronger, clearer powers they have told us they need to block new fast-food outlets near schools.On 1 October 2025, we implemented restrictions on volume price promotions for less healthy food and drinks, such as three for two offers, in stores and their online equivalents and United Kingdom-wide restrictions on the advertising of less healthy food and drink on television and online came into force on 5 January 2026.We have also consulted on banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old and announced changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy in the Autumn Budget to deliver greater health benefits to children.We announced in the 10-Year Health Plan that, in a world-first, we will introduce mandatory healthier food sales reporting for large food businesses and set new targets to increase the healthiness of sales. We will also strengthen the existing advertising and promotions restrictions by consulting on applying an updated definition of ‘less healthy food and drink’.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to (a) review and (b) update the Mobile Homes Act 2013.

A review of the effectiveness of the Mobile Homes Act 2013 was undertaken in 2017 and it made a number of recommendations. Most have been implemented, such as the introduction of a fit and proper person test and changes to the pitch fee review inflationary index from the Retail Price Index to the Consumer Price Index. The government has no plans to undertake a further review.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of mobile home occupants on their host community where the former do not have a legal obligation to pay (a) Community Infrastructure Levy or (b) a Section 106 contributions.

My Department has made no such assessment.

Communities and Local Government, what his planned timeline for progression is for areas of England not included in the devolution priority programme.

Decisions on future devolution areas beyond those in the Devolution Priority Programme have not yet been taken, but the Department will continue to engage with local authorities, including any new unitary authorities following local government reorganisation, about possible future devolution agreements. We want to see devolution that is built on strong foundations, with strong unitary structures in place before areas access mayoral devolution. The Government recognises that Mayoral Strategic Authorities are most successful when they are built on a strong history of partnership and joint delivery. Moving forward, we will therefore seek to facilitate the establishment of Foundation Strategic Authorities in areas without a significant history of collaboration, to build local capacity ahead of areas accessing mayoral powers.

Whether telephone bookmakers will be subject to the increase to Remote Gaming Duty to 40% from 1 April 2026.

Telephone bookmakers will be subject to the new General Betting Duty rate of 25% for remote bets from 1 April 2027. This rate will not include telephone bets placed on UK horseracing, pool bets or spread bets.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact on road safety in the UK of her Department’s policy allowing people who obtained their driving license abroad to drive in the UK for 12 months without obtaining a UK driving license from the DVLA.

Foreign visitors to the UK are permitted to drive cars and motorcycles for up to 12 months without needing to exchange their licences or take a test. This system was established in 1909 and has remained in place under all recent governments, including the 2010-2015 coalition. After 12 months, people with licences from designated countries must exchange their licence for a UK equivalent whilst other licence holders must pass a UK test. Information about driving safely in the UK, notably driving on the left, is given to foreign drivers at ports.

Whether he plans to ensure Mental Health Support Teams in schools are trained in Speech and Language therapy.

We currently have no plans to train the education mental health practitioners, who are the primary workforce of mental health support teams (MHSTs), in speech and language therapy. We are expanding MHSTs in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029, and 900,000 more children and young people will have access to support from MHSTs in 2025/26. The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.

Whether his Department plans to review the effectiveness of the working relationship between Ofcom and Royal Mail.

Ministers and officials have regular discussions both with Royal Mail and with Ofcom, as the independent regulator for the postal sector. The effectiveness of the working relationship between Ofcom and Royal Mail is fundamental to maintaining a sustainable and reliable universal postal service.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to remove the Television Licence exemption for people over 75 years old and in receipt of pension credit.

To ensure the BBC is on a stable financial footing, the Government has committed to the current licence fee model for the remainder of the current Charter period. Currently, TV licence concessions are available to people who are registered blind or severely sight impaired, people over-75 and in receipt of pension credit, and people living in qualifying residential care who are disabled or over 60 years old. The BBC, rather than the Government, is responsible for the concession for over-75s in receipt of pension credit.Looking further ahead, the Secretary of State has been clear that the BBC must be funded by a model that is sustainable and fair to all those that are paying it. The Government is keeping an open mind about the future of the licence fee, and the forthcoming Charter Review is a key opportunity to set the BBC up for success long into the future.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the incinerator capacity for waste destined for landfill in Dorset.

The Government publishes annual statistics related to waste collected by local authorities: Local authority collected waste management - annual results - GOV.UK. In 2023-24 Dorset Council reported sending 936 tonnes of collected waste to landfill and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council reported sending 18,724 tonnes of collected waste to landfill. However, this does not include waste processed by private waste management companies. Our Residual Waste Infrastructure Capacity Note shows that at the end of 2024, the Southwest of England had around 1.63 million tonnes of operational and under construction energy from waste capacity whilst total residual municipal waste arisings were reported as 2.27 million tonnes. Residual waste infrastructure capacity note - GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of re-instating the pause on the building of new waste incinerators.

Determining the need and location for waste management infrastructure is a matter for the relevant planning authority. To support decision making the Government has made it clear we only back new Energy from Waste projects if they meet strict local and environmental conditions. Projects are expected 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. Additionally, new facilities will have to maximise efficiency and support the delivery of economic growth, net zero and the move to a circular economy. We are considering how best to reflect the approach in this statement in the new set of national policies for development management which we have committed to producing, and in updates to National Policy Statements. The Government encourages those developing energy recovery facilities (at all stages in the process) to consider forecast changes to future capacity, demand, and the Government's circular economy opportunities.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing a progressive remote betting duty on small, independent bookmakers.

The Government launched a consultation on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system which closed on 21 July 2025. Responses are now being analysed and impacts are being assessed, and the Government will respond at Budget.