Written questions by Slade.

If she will publish guidance for schools on (a) responding to parental requests for the withdrawal of books from recommended reading lists and (b) the circumstances under which schools can remove books from those lists.

The current National Curriculum requires teachers to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information. Following the publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review on 5 November 2025, the department will continue to emphasise the importance of pupils listening to, discussing, and reading for themselves a wide range of stories, poems, plays and non-fiction books.Within the framework of the National Curriculum, schools make their own choices about which specific books or other resources they use. Teachers have flexibility in their choice of books to teach within the context of the curriculum.  Any sensitive issues should be covered by the school’s own policy, and in consultation with parents.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of HMRC's Child Benefit verification checks on the timelines of Self Assessment tax repayments.

Child Benefit is a non-means tested benefit payable to families as a contribution towards the cost of raising children. It is claimed through the Child Benefit service, which is separate to Self Assessment, so for the majority of families Child Benefit checks should have no impact on the timelines of Self Assessment tax repayments. There are no further impacts anticipated.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) delays in HMRC Self Assessment tax repayments and (b) the non-fulfilment of published complaint response timeframes on taxpayers awaiting refunds.

HMRC recognise that repayments are important for customers. They prioritise them to ensure they are processed as quickly and securely as possible. HMRC balance the provision of prompt payments to eligible customers with effective revenue protection from fraudsters. For Self Assessment repayments, once the repayment is created it goes through automated fraud and compliance checks. In 2024-25, after these checks, 93.1% of the repayments were paid automatically within a few days. HMRC continues to invest in automation and to review their internal processes to ensure repayments are issued as quickly as possible. HMRC recognise too the importance of keeping the customer, and where appropriate the customer’s representative, informed of progress, and are exploring ways of doing that more effectively.In the meantime, HMRC’s online ‘Where’s My Reply’ tool can help customers understand when they can expect to receive a response. HMRC aim to respond to complaints within six weeks.In 2024-25, HMRC responded to 73% of new complaints within this timeframe. HMRC are committed to prioritising customer experience and are reviewing their complaints processes. The Adjudicator’s Annual Report was published on 20 October 2025 and HMRC are using the insight in the report to make further improvements.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that Ofsted inspections are carried out in accordance with standardised procedures across childcare settings.

From 10 November 2025, Ofsted report cards will be introduced across all education remits Ofsted inspects, including early years. We need all inspections to be high-quality, consistent and conducted with the highest levels of professionalism. That is what Ofsted is determined to achieve.Ofsted will receive additional funding from the department as part of the Best Start in Life strategy to enhance the quality and consistency of early years inspections. We will also fund Ofsted to move to inspecting all providers at least once every four years, as opposed to the current six-year window, to achieve parity with schools. This investment will support the government’s ambition to deliver the best start in life for every child.

Whether he has made an assessment with Secretary of State for Education of the potential impact of amending Schedule 17, Part 1, Paragraph 12(b) of The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to enable schools to obtain new adrenaline nasal sprays for the treatment of allergic reactions on children with allergies .

Officials at the Department are in the early stages of considering if potential amendments to Schedule 17 of the Human Medicines Regulations (HMRs) 2012 are required.Should amendments to the HMRs be required, the Government will conduct a public consultation to ensure that the views of stakeholders are carefully considered, prior to any changes being made.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to amend the (a) Building Safety Act 2022 and (b) Building Regulations to ensure (i) building owners and (ii) nominated building design professionals can access Building Control records when required.

Provisions already exist within section 53 of the Building Act 1984 (as amended by the Building Safety Act 2022) to ensure relevant building control information is made available to both local authorities and those carrying out building work when changing building control body.When a building control body can no longer provider services, they are required to provide the local authority any information it would have obtained had it been performing building control functions itself, and any additional information reasonably required to enable it to do so within 21 days. The building control body must also provide the person carrying out the work, typically the building owner or their nominated building design professional, any such information and other records necessary to allow another building control body to perform those functions.The Department is considering how best to invest in building control digitalisation to improve the openness, accessibility, interoperability and reusability of building control data and deliver better outcomes for regulators, developers, built environment professionals and members of the public.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of requiring water companies to demonstrate efficient land asset management before price increases are approved on customers.

Water bills are set by Ofwat who consider all aspects of company business planning through their price review process. The Government is preparing to respond to the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission, including on asset management. Reforms outlined in the government's forthcoming white paper will form the basis of a new water reform bill to be introduced early in this Parliament.

Whether he has made an assessment with the Home Secretary of the potential merits of funding a wider rollout of long-acting Injectable Buprenorphine as a treatment option for people using opioids in Dorset.

The Department supports the provision of long-acting injectable buprenorphine as an option for those undergoing Opioid Substitution Treatment. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment services according to local need, and this includes the provision of long-acting injectable buprenorphine.In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Department is providing Dorset Council with £1,469,140 to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. The Department encourages local authorities to prioritise resourcing long-acting injectable buprenorphine prescribing from this additional funding if current provision is not adequate.The Department is currently doing more analysis to understand cost-effectiveness and develop clinical guidance, and to scope out how best to expand access to long-acting injectable buprenorphine further.

Whether her Department holds data on families with home-educated children who are unable to (a) secure a place in a GCSE examination centre and (b) afford exam entry fees.

The department does not hold data on families with home educated children who are unable to secure a place in a GCSE examination centre or afford exam entry fees.The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce the first ever duty on local authorities to provide support for home educating families in their areas who are registered with them and who request support. This support could include advice and information on how to access examinations.

What assessment his Department has made of (a) the optimum number of pharmacies and (b) areas where there is an oversupply of pharmacies.

Community pharmacies are private businesses that provide National Health Service funded services.There were 10,402 community pharmacies on 30 September 2025. In general, despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies in recent years, patient access to pharmacies remains good, and continues to be better in the most deprived areas when compared with the least deprived.The vast majority of pharmacies are not directly commissioned or contracted by the NHS, instead contractors apply to gain entry to the NHS pharmaceutical list and if an application is approved, a pharmacy can start providing NHS services.The assessments of the adequacy of provision, the location, and the number of pharmacies required in a certain area are the statutory responsibility of local authorities health and wellbeing boards. Local authorities are required to publish a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years. Integrated care boards (ICBs) give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications from potential contractors.Contractors can apply to open a new pharmacy to meet any current or future need identified in the PNA, but also to offer benefits to patients that were not foreseen by the PNA. If there is a need for a new local pharmacy to open and no contractors apply to open a pharmacy and fill the gap, ICBs can directly commission a new pharmacy to open outside of the market entry processes and can fund the contract from the ICB’s budgets.Contractors can already seek an ICB’s permission to either consolidate different premises onto one site or to relocate their pharmacy premises to a different address. The approval of such requests depends on the impact it is likely to cause for patients and commissioners.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the CMA's decision to allow some water companies to increase bills above the rate set by OFWAT on consumers.

Redetermination is an independent process, and the decision remains subject to consultation. The CMA will publish their final decision in March 2026.We expect all water companies to put appropriate support in place for customers struggling to pay their bills and to proactively engage with their customers to ensure they know what support schemes are available and how to use them.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether Ofwat records non-operational land assets held by water companies.

Information on water companies non-operational land assets is held by water companies themselves.

Whether he has plans to adapt pharmacy contracts so that pharmacies can be re-located to areas of high need.

Community pharmacies are private businesses that provide National Health Service funded services.There were 10,402 community pharmacies on 30 September 2025. In general, despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies in recent years, patient access to pharmacies remains good, and continues to be better in the most deprived areas when compared with the least deprived.The vast majority of pharmacies are not directly commissioned or contracted by the NHS, instead contractors apply to gain entry to the NHS pharmaceutical list and if an application is approved, a pharmacy can start providing NHS services.The assessments of the adequacy of provision, the location, and the number of pharmacies required in a certain area are the statutory responsibility of local authorities health and wellbeing boards. Local authorities are required to publish a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years. Integrated care boards (ICBs) give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications from potential contractors.Contractors can apply to open a new pharmacy to meet any current or future need identified in the PNA, but also to offer benefits to patients that were not foreseen by the PNA. If there is a need for a new local pharmacy to open and no contractors apply to open a pharmacy and fill the gap, ICBs can directly commission a new pharmacy to open outside of the market entry processes and can fund the contract from the ICB’s budgets.Contractors can already seek an ICB’s permission to either consolidate different premises onto one site or to relocate their pharmacy premises to a different address. The approval of such requests depends on the impact it is likely to cause for patients and commissioners.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent appointments to the Food Strategy Advisory Board on (a) animal welfare, (b) farming practices and (c) farmers in Dorset.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Newton Abbott, Martin Wrigley on 30 October 2025 PQ UIN 82470.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the Financial Conduct Authority responds in full to complainants against companies it has given permits to operate.

The FCA does not generally have a role in relation to managing or intervening with individual complaints between the firms it regulates and their customers. Under the independent Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) Dispute Resolution Rules, firms that are regulated by the FCA are required to operate complaints handling procedures to deal with complaints promptly and fairly.Where complaints are not resolved through a firm’s own complaints procedures, the customer can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS is an independent body established by Parliament to provide consumers with a cost-free and quick route to resolve disputes with financial services firms. Firms are required under the FCA’s rules to co-operate with the FOS and comply promptly with any decision that the FOS may make. The FCA is directly involved in some types of complaint, for example where a person has information about potential wrongdoing or misconduct, or an individual wants to raise a whistleblowing concern. People who are worried they have been the victim of relevant scams can also make a report to the FCA. While the FCA cannot resolve individual disputes, it can take information provided into account as part of its ongoing supervision of a firm and wider monitoring of practices in the sector. The FCA is required not to disclose confidential information it receives in the course of carrying on its functions, and will not normally be able to discuss this with the person making the complaint due to statutory restrictions on disclosing certain information.Anyone directly affected by the way in which the FCA has exercised, or failed to exercise, its functions (other than its legislative functions) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 may also complain about the FCA using the Financial Regulators Complaints Scheme. This would include, for example, complaints about the FCA’s actions supervising a relevant firm. The FCA website gives details of how to make a complaint about the regulators at https://www.fca.org.uk/about/complain-about-regulators The FCA is fully accountable to Parliament for how it discharges its statutory functions, and there are a range of mechanisms in place to provide accountability and oversight. Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the FCA to discuss a wide range of issues, including its overall performance in furthering its statutory objectives.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps with the Secretary of State for Education to reduce the usage of single-use plastics in (a) early years and (b) childcare settings.

Plastic is a very useful material that can often be the best environmental choice provided it is used and disposed of correctly. This Government is committed to moving to a circular economy for plastics – a future where we keep our resources in use for longer, waste is reduced, we accelerate the path to net zero, we see investment in critical infrastructure and green jobs, our economy prospers, and nature thrives. We currently have a number of restrictions on unnecessary single use plastic products, which apply to all, and we will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/or materials to take a systematic approach, in line with circular economy principles, to reduce the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products and encourage reuse solutions. Materials which can be and will be reused or recycled are a better option. The Department for Education is committed to reducing plastic waste and single use plastic in educational settings. It provides advice to education settings on legal requirements and alternatives to single use plastic.

What estimate her Department has made of the cost of moving asylum seekers housed in hotels into disused military bases.

As part of our commitment to close all asylum hotels, we are looking at a range of more appropriate sites including disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so we can reduce the impact on communities. Alternative accommodation sites will be considered on a site-by-site basis, we will continue to work closely with key stakeholders and in compliance with published policy.

What steps he is taking to support the hospitality sector in Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency.

Hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities. They bring people together, create welcoming spaces and support local suppliers.We have reduced alcohol duty on qualified draught products and plan to permanently reduce business rates for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure properties.Additionally, we have just invested £440,000 in rural pubs through Pub is The Hub, helping to unlock stalled projects and deliver essential services to those communities, helping businesses adapt to local needs.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department have made an assessment of the potential impact for home boiler longevity of amending Part L of the Building Regulations to mandate (a) boiler inhibitor checks and (b) re-dosing as part of a boiler's required service.

Approved Document L provides statutory guidance on how to comply with Part L, including advice on adding an inhibitor when a heating system is installed and on providing maintenance information to homeowners through a home user guide. Checks or re-dosing of inhibitors during routine servicing are outside the scope of the Building Regulations where no building work is being undertaken. The safe installation, maintenance and use of gas systems and appliances are covered by the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 2018. The Government intends to amend Part L and its accompanying guidance in the coming months. The new standards, known as the Future Homes Standard, intends to effectively preclude the installation of gas boilers in new homes and ensure the use of low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled Pride in place strategy, published on 25 September 2025, what steps he is taking to support (a) immigrants, (b) asylum seekers and (c) asylum accommodation providers.

The Government has launched its Pride in Place Programme, providing up to £5bn funding and support over the next decade for 244 places across the country. This flagship offer will help build strong, resilient communities in areas that experience the most entrenched social and economic challenges. All forms of racial and religious hatred are completely unacceptable and have no place in our communities. The Government has established an independent working group to advise on a definition of anti-Muslim hatred or Islamophobia. Furthermore, the Government has established an Antisemitism Working Group to provide advice on antisemitism. The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders to fulfil their statutory obligations to asylum seekers. They are also working to deliver the commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, including ending the use of hotels, by the end of this Parliament.