Written questions by Franklin.

Communities and Local Government, when he will publish the Community Cohesion Strategy.

The Department published its Pride in Place Strategy in September 2025, setting out this government‘s plan to create safer, healthier neighbourhoods where communities can thrive. It sets out how we will deliver a step change in how we support communities across the country and provide long-term funding to the most doubly disadvantaged areas. As part of this, the Strategy announced the expansion of the Pride in Place Programme – this will provide up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade to 244 places across the UK. Funding will be made available to improve community cohesion.

What steps he is taking to ensure that Child Maintenance Service enforcement action is proportionate in cases involving (a) small and (b) short-term arrears.

In cases where arrears are outstanding, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) proactively seek to negotiate with the paying parent a feasible and affordable repayment plan, taking into account the individual circumstances of each case. For small arrears payments can be spread over an appropriate timescale negating the need for enforcement action. Each enforcement decision and action taken by CMS considers the welfare of all parties, potential financial hardship of paying parents, to ensure any associated charges for the customer are commensurate and not seen as punitive to give the greatest chance of securing money for children. CMS is committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families.

If he will extend Business Rates reimbursements to Community Pharmacies.

In the 2025 Autumn Budget, the Government took the hard choices to protect the National Health Service in England and continue prioritising reducing waiting times. We have also stepped in to cap bills and help businesses, as part of a £4.3 billion support package.This year, we have also increased funding to community pharmacies to almost £3.1 billion, the largest uplift in funding for any part of the NHS across 2024/25 and 2025/26.The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of enforcement correspondence issued by the Child Maintenance Service in cases involving very small arrears, including where that correspondence refers to bailiff action, licence removal and imprisonment.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) missed payment and arrears notifications do reference potential enforcement action that can be considered, should a paying parent continue to miss or avoid making child maintenance payments. This is to ensure the paying parent fully understands the potential consequences if their non-compliance persists. The notification also asks the paying parent to contact CMS immediately, so we can work with the parent paying to negotiate a sustainable and feasible repayment plan. For small arrears, payments can spread over an appropriate timescale negating the need for enforcement action. Only, where this is not possible will CMS consider the use of our wider enforcement powers. CMS uses a small‑value threshold (de minimis) before taking certain enforcement actions. This is to make sure any charges to customers are fair and not excessive. Therefore, enforcement action is not likely to be taken against very small arrears.

In what circumstances the Child Maintenance Service ceases to pursue historic child maintenance arrears.

The Child Maintenance’s priority is to collect money owed to children who will benefit today, thereby preventing the build-up of arrears on the CMS. The Child Maintenance Service has powers to write off historic Child Support Agency (CSA) and Child Maintenance Service debt in specific scenarios where it would be unfair or inappropriate to enforce liability, such as if the receiving parent tells us they no longer want us to collect the arrears or the paying parent is deceased and no further action can be taken to recover the arrears from the paying parent’s estate. Powers introduced in 2018 allowed remaining Agency cases to be closed following the collection or write-off of historic arrears, as part of the closure of the scheme. All CSA arrears were at least five years old, with some CSA debt dating back much further. This was a one-off exercise, applying only to Agency debt.

What steps he is taking to prevent enforcement correspondence being issued by the Child Maintenance Service where maintenance has been paid early but outside the Service’s payment window.

Correspondence issued by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) referencing enforcement action as being considered should only be issued if a customer has missed payments due and has fallen into arrears. CMS is currently reviewing its processes to ensure that this principle is consistently applied and that such correspondence is not issued where payments have been made.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with local authorities and regional stakeholders, including in Surrey, on the delivery of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

The Government’s intentions to enhance the roles and functions of Local Nature Recovery Strategy responsible authorities to take a leading role in environmental delivery are set out in English Devolution White Paper. Officials have been engaging with all responsible authorities, including Surrey County Council, and other relevant stakeholders to develop more detailed expectations for what this delivery role should entail.

What assessment she has made of (a) trends in the level of regional disparities in the location of electric vehicle charging points and (b) the potential impact of those trends on the Government’s environmental objectives.

The zero emission vehicle (ZEV) transition is crucial to the UK meeting its climate change obligations, as well as improving air quality and supporting growth. The Government closely monitors regional deployment and the disparities in the location of electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints, as detailed in statistics released in October 2025. Chargepoint availability is increasing across the country. The Government’s £400 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund has been allocated to all highest tier local authorities in England to ensure equitable chargepoint rollout across the country. In total, it is expected to support the rollout of at least 100,000 EV chargepoints.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding levels to meet the Government’s environmental targets.

The Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 sets out how we will deliver against our Environment Act targets. This is backed by a settlement that maintains the Government’s steadfast commitment to farming, food security, and nature’s recovery.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) funding and (b) capacity for local authorities to implement Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

Funding for Local Nature Recovery Strategy responsible authorities to support the delivery of the strategies will be confirmed as part of departmental business planning for financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29. This will be informed by discussions with responsible authorities about what the new delivery role will entail.

Whether her Department plans to publish an assessment of the potential impact of electric vehicle charging infrastructure on the Government’s environmental improvement goals.

The zero emission vehicle transition is crucial to the UK meeting its climate change obligations – and to delivering wider environmental benefits, including improvements to air quality. It will drive economic growth and help make Britain a clean energy superpower. The ZEV transition is a major component of our Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, which was published in October 2025. There are therefore no plans at present to publish a specific assessment.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government will take to improve water quality and flood resilience in Surrey and Guildford, in the context of the latest environmental progress assessment.

The Environment Agency (EA) works with the Surrey Local Resilience Forum to plan and prepare for incidents and mitigate impacts on local communities. In Guildford, the EA has temporary flood barriers ready for deployment, and is developing a scheme which will reduce flood risk from the River Wey to over 300 properties. Citizens and organisations can check flood risk and register for warnings by accessing Check the long term flood risk for an area in England. Regarding improving river quality in Surrey, the EA leads on the Water Industry National Environment Programme with improvement schemes that Thames Water must implement including the reduction of phosphorus levels in treated sewage effluent and investigations of storm overflows at Guildford, Woking, Weybridge, Camberley, and Dorking. The EA is transforming its regulation of water companies, developing a larger specialised workforce, and delivering a step change in inspections of permitted sites and associated enforcement.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Civil Procedure Rules.

The Civil Procedure Rules provide a framework for a fair, transparent, efficient and proportionate civil justice system. The Rules are regularly updated to support court services, to reflect wider changes in legislation and societal need, and in response to issues in practice and case law. Generally, there are at least two statutory instruments per year (April and October) which amend the Rules and ensure they remain up to date and relevant. These updates are made under the negative resolution SI process, which is subject to the related parliamentary scrutiny, having first been signed by Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) members, Master of the Rolls and Minister of State for Justice.In addition to the Government keeping the Rules under review in conjunction with the CPRC, the Civil Justice Council (a statutory advisory body chaired by the Master of the Rolls) keeps the civil justice system under review and makes recommendations on, how to make the civil justice system more accessible, fair, and efficient. The Council routinely refers proposed amendments to the Rules to the CPRC for consideration.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on biodiversity outcomes of substantially increasing the de minimis threshold for mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain requirements.

The Government recently consulted on options to improve the way Biodiversity Net Gain works for small, medium and brownfield development. This included potential changes to the de minimis exemption threshold. Since then, Government has announced its intention to introduce a new area-based exemption set at 0.2 hectares to reduce costs for smaller development while maintaining nature recovery at scale. A full consultation response and impact assessment will be published in due course.

What impact assessment his Department has made on the effect of current apprenticeship visa duration requirements on (a) young migrants educated in the UK, (b) individuals on private or family life routes, and (c) young people who have resided in the UK for over ten years.

The apprenticeship funding rules are reviewed each year. They are applied to all apprentices and potential apprentices consistently. The Department does not hold the data requested.

Whether the apprenticeship funding rules have been reviewed to reflect the operation of section 3C leave under the Immigration Act 1971, which ensures lawful and uninterrupted permission to work for individuals transitioning to Indefinite Leave to Remain during the course of an apprenticeship.

The apprenticeship funding rules are reviewed each year. Currently providers are not permitted to start learners on apprenticeships if they are unable to complete the apprenticeship within the time available. For example, because their visa will expire, or because they have a fixed-term contract that is shorter than the duration of the apprenticeship. This applies to all learners including UK nationals (whose contract will expire) and foreign nationals (whose visa will expire). The rules do not differentiate between those on different visas.This rule ensures that learners can complete an apprenticeship within the time they have available, including the end-point assessment.  It ensures that public funds are protected and prevents investment in someone who is ultimately unable to complete their course, for example, because their circumstances have changed and they are not able to extend their residency. The rule is in place to protect public funds where continued residency rights are not certain.

Communities and Local Government, whether district elections in one area can go ahead if another district in the reorganisation area has requested postponement due to capacity issues in areas in which Mayoral elections have been postponed to 2028 and councils are undergoing reorganisation.

The Secretary of State will take his decision on whether or not to postpone a council’s elections having regard to any views provided by councils, together with any other representations received.  The Secretary of State will consider the position of each council individually, weighing up the evidence received. This means that different decisions may be taken for different councils within the same area, depending on the representations received.

What discussions her Department has had with teaching unions on the role of schools and education settings in the development and implementation of the Government’s strategy on tackling violence against women and girls.

The Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy recognises that we must take a whole system approach to tackle and halve VAWG in a decade. The government has undertaken stakeholder engagement to inform the development of the strategy, meeting with key sector leaders, unions, academics, police representatives, and has an established the VAWG Strategy Advisory Board. The department meets teaching unions and school stakeholder groups regularly. We will continue this engagement as work progresses on the implementation of our contribution to the strategy, which includes a departmental investment of £11 million in further support.

Communities and Local Government, when he briefed leaders of upper-tier local authorities on the Government’s decision to postpone mayoral elections in Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent and Sussex and Brighton.

I spoke to leaders in Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent and Sussex and Brighton following the announcement of funding and next steps for the devolution agreements that are being developed through the Devolution Priority Programme. I have engaged closely with them since the announcement, jointly discussing the benefits devolution will bring to these areas.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that people with a serious or terminal diagnosis are not required to repay benefit overpayments that arose due to official error, particularly in cases in which the claimant notified the Department promptly that they believed they were receiving benefits to which they were not entitled.

All DWP colleagues are trained to support our most vulnerable customers and have access to a wide range of guidance to support them. DWP will always strive to set affordable and sustainable repayment plans and encourages customers to make contact if they are unable to afford the proposed repayment rate. People with a serious or terminal diagnosis can request that DWP cease recovery of their overpayment. This is a waiver request and details for claimants can be found here in Chapter 8 of this link : Benefit overpayment recovery guide - GOV.UK. Claimants can also request mandatory reconsiderations and have the right to appeal overpayment decisions. This link sets out the path for this: Challenge a benefit decision (mandatory reconsideration): Eligibility - GOV.UK