Andrew Snowden

Enforcement of drug driving legislation and how available resources are deployed is an operational matter for individual Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to determine in conjunction with local crime and policing plans, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes cases that are referred to it by the police.

The Government has announced more than half a billion pounds of additional central government funding for policing next year to support the Government’s Safer Streets Mission.

Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, introduced in 2015, aligned enforcement of drug driving with that of drink driving by introducing a strict liability offence to avoid the need to prove impairment. CPS management information shows that in the financial year 2023/2024, 25,559 offences were charged under this section which proceeded to a first hearing in the magistrates’ courts.

Exports of the Eurofighter Typhoon jets are led by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). My Department does however support MOD-led export campaigns through our network of staff in the UK and overseas. We also work closely with the Typhoon partner governments of Germany, Italy and Spain, in line with the commitments each nation has made to support the others' exports.

Earlier this month, the Defence Secretary was in Turkey and Saudi Arabia to discuss with Defence Ministers the future role that UK-made Typhoons could play in both countries.

All relevant information on the Morgan and Morecambe transmission assets can be found on the appropriate project page of the Planning Inspectorate website. The developers set out their proposals for a contingency fund to address temporary business disruptions caused by necessary construction works in their Development Consent Order Application documents.^[1]

^[1] https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/EN020032/EN020032-000632-D1.1_MMTA_Annex%201%20Morgan%20Offshore%20Wind%20Limited%20Property%20Cost%20Estimate.pdf

National Energy System Operator considered the onshore and offshore impacts of the proposals for the Morgan and Morecambe windfarms cable corridor and substation on sensitive habitats as part of its Holistic Network Design.[1] Following this, the developers BP and EnBW submitted detailed environmental assessments as part of the project planning application, which include assessment of the impacts on specific species such as badgers.[2]

^{[1] https://www.neso.energy/publications/beyond-2030/holistic-network-design-offshore-wind}

^{[2] https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN020032/documents?date-to-day=6&date-to-month=12&date-to-year=2024&itemsPerPage=25&lang=en&page=8}

National Energy System Operator (NESO) considered the environmental impacts of the proposed Morgan and Morecambe windfarms cabling corridor and substation as part of its Holistic Network Design (HND).[1]

The developers, BP and EnBW, have submitted detailed environmental assessments addressing the impacts on biodiversity as part of the Morgan and Morecambe transmission project planning application.[2]

^{[1] https://www.neso.energy/publications/beyond-2030/holistic-network-design-offshore-wind}

^{[2] https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/EN020032/EN020032-000718-Morgan%20and%20Morecambe%20Offshore%20Wind%20Farms%20Examination%20Library.pdf}

National Energy System Operator (NESO) recommended the transmission infrastructure required to connect Morgan and Morecambe offshore wind projects to the grid as part of its Holistic Network Design (HND). In producing the HND, NESO assessed multiple onshore and offshore design options against future generation and demand scenarios, existing infrastructure in the National Electricity Transmission System, and total capital and operational costs. NESO then used an economic optimiser to determine the optimal economic design from the options.

The Electricity System Operator (then ESO, now NESO) assessed connection to the Stanah substation for Irish Sea windfarms alongside other substations in the Northwest and North Wales as part of the Holistic Network Design.[1]

ESO identified that Stanah substation would require extension to accommodate the Morgan and Morecambe offshore windfarms. Due to limited space, a new substation would be needed, with associated time and cost. Access was challenging due to residential and recreational surroundings, and there were environmental constraints around Morecambe Bay.

In contrast, Penwortham had a more accessible footprint, fewer constraints, and better electrical connectivity to the wider network.

[1] https://www.neso.energy/publications/beyond-2030/holistic-network-design-offshore-wind

Funding allocations for VisitBritain are reviewed as part of the comprehensive spending review process, which in turn depends on the recent Budget. I note the Honorable Member’s bid for additional funding - and his opposition to the Budget. It is difficult to see how one can will the ends but not the means.

The department wants apprenticeships and technical education to be part of career conversations in every school so that young people can access the opportunities they deserve.

We have set clear requirements through strengthened legislation and statutory guidance, backed by over £30 million of investment in 2024/25 to support schools and colleges to improve careers provision for young people.

Since January 2023, schools have been required to offer at least six opportunities for pupils to meet providers of technical education or apprenticeships, during years 8 to 13.

We promote apprenticeships in schools and colleges through our Apprenticeships Support and Knowledge Programme (ASK). During the 2023/24 academic year, ASK engaged with 2,366 schools and colleges. The ASK sessions, spanning awareness assemblies, mock assessment centres and interview workshops, reached over 575,000 students, as well as almost 37,000 parents and carers.

Young people aged 13 to 18 can discover their career options via the National Careers Service website, which can be accessed at https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ and includes around 800 job profiles. Young people can access information and advice via webchat and a telephone helpline which is supported by local community-based career advisers. This is supported by the Skills for Life campaign, ‘It all starts with skills’, which promotes a range of priority skills programmes to young people, including apprenticeships, T Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications. We have collaborated with UCAS so that pupils can now explore apprenticeship vacancies alongside university courses on the service. We are confident this is responding to demand, with the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) reporting that nearly three in five young people in years 9-12 are considering apprenticeships.

These interventions are part of a national careers system that is driving improvements in careers advice and work experience for young people. 93% of secondary schools and colleges are in a Careers Hub, linking with networks of employers and apprenticeship providers.

Through Careers Hubs, we are using data and front-line insight to support conversations about what is preventing the take-up of technical and vocational pathways at the local level, enabling solutions to be devised by local partners.

Ofsted’s review of careers, published in 2023, found that most providers are making good progress towards improving students’ access to options such as apprenticeships and technical qualifications. In addition, the latest data from a survey of the career readiness of 230,000 students shows that they are more than twice as likely to understand apprenticeships by the time they take their GCSEs, compared to students in year 7. Awareness of year 11 students is 80% and almost on a par with A Levels at 84%.

​The within school factor that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcome is high quality teaching. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is therefore critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child.

This government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, with numbers not keeping pace with demographic changes. That is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament, including targeting shortage subjects.

​​The department has made good early progress towards this key pledge by ensuring teaching is once again an attractive and respected profession, key to which is ensuring teachers receive the pay they deserve. We accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools for 2024/25. Alongside teacher pay, we have made £233 million available from the 2025/26 recruitment cycle to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £29,000 and scholarships of up to £31,000 in shortage subjects. The department has also expanded its school teacher recruitment campaign, ‘Every Lesson Shapes a Life’, and the further education teacher recruitment campaign, ‘Share your Skills’.

A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy, and new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing will now receive a targeted retention incentive of up to £6,000, after-tax, if working in disadvantaged schools, in the first five years of their careers. There are three schools in Fylde that are eligible for targeted retention incentives.

The department is also working closely with teachers and school leaders to improve the experience of teaching. This includes introducing a new school report card in place of Ofsted’s single headline grades, to provide a clearer picture of schools’ strengths and weaknesses for parents and more proportionate accountability for staff. It also includes promoting flexible working, such as allowing planning, preparation and assessment time to be taken from home, and making key resources to support wellbeing, developed with school leaders, available to teachers.

The department is also funding bespoke support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts, to ensure schools are able to capture the benefits of flexible working whilst protecting pupils’ face-to-face teacher time. Schools can be matched with an appropriate ambassador via the national delivery provider to receive tailored peer support.

High quality continuous professional development is also key to ensuring we have and retain an effective teaching workforce. The department has established Teaching School Hubs across the country, which provide approved high quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers. These Hubs play a significant role in delivering initial teacher training, the early career framework, national professional qualifications and appropriate body services. Embrace Teaching School Hub is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Chorley, Fylde, South Ribble and West Lancashire. Star Teaching School Hub North West Lancashire is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Blackpool, Lancaster, Preston and Wyre. ​​

The number of children looked after who were placed in secure homes and children’s homes over 20 miles from their family home on 31 March 2024 was 4,220.

This is published in Table A4 of the ‘Children looked after including adoptions’ statistical release, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/03be7f62-cb0e-4000-2555-08dd1b6649db.

The needs of the child are paramount when deciding the right care placement. Though the department wants to reduce out of area placements, they will always be part of the care landscape, as sometimes circumstances make it the right decision for a child to be placed elsewhere, for example when they are at risk from domestic abuse or sexual exploitation, trafficking or gang violence.

The department knows that children placed away from home can experience disruption to their lives and they can make it harder to maintain important relationships, such as with their birth family, education setting or wider community. This is why moving a child away is not a decision to be taken lightly and there are legislative safeguards around this. Regulations are clear that the decision to place a child outside of the local authority should have the child’s interest at heart and the child, family and independent reviewing officer’s views should be considered. It should be signed off by the director of children’s services, and all relevant parties should be notified, including the receiving local authority and safeguarding partners.

This government’s proposed reforms will mean less need for distance placements. Proposals on planning permissions and process will enable providers to more easily set up homes where they are most needed. Regional care cooperatives will improve local authorities’ ability to shape the local market, and the kinship local offer requirement will encourage more kinship arrangements. We are also investing £86 million in capital funding to create up to 200 additional children’s homes beds which will help ensure more of the right provision in the right places.

The number of children looked after who were placed in secure homes and children’s homes over 20 miles from their family home on 31 March 2024 was 4,220.

This is published in Table A4 of the ‘Children looked after including adoptions’ statistical release, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/03be7f62-cb0e-4000-2555-08dd1b6649db.

The needs of the child are paramount when deciding the right care placement. Though the department wants to reduce out of area placements, they will always be part of the care landscape, as sometimes circumstances make it the right decision for a child to be placed elsewhere, for example when they are at risk from domestic abuse or sexual exploitation, trafficking or gang violence.

The department knows that children placed away from home can experience disruption to their lives and they can make it harder to maintain important relationships, such as with their birth family, education setting or wider community. This is why moving a child away is not a decision to be taken lightly and there are legislative safeguards around this. Regulations are clear that the decision to place a child outside of the local authority should have the child’s interest at heart and the child, family and independent reviewing officer’s views should be considered. It should be signed off by the director of children’s services, and all relevant parties should be notified, including the receiving local authority and safeguarding partners.

This government’s proposed reforms will mean less need for distance placements. Proposals on planning permissions and process will enable providers to more easily set up homes where they are most needed. Regional care cooperatives will improve local authorities’ ability to shape the local market, and the kinship local offer requirement will encourage more kinship arrangements. We are also investing £86 million in capital funding to create up to 200 additional children’s homes beds which will help ensure more of the right provision in the right places.

The department has already set out funding allocations for all schools in the current year. The removal for the school fees exemption to VAT does not change those allocations.

The government has also set out that it expects the number of additional pupils joining the state-funded sector to be low, around 35,000 pupils UK-wide, which is less than 0.5% of the state-funded pupil population, over several years.

The impact on individual schools and local authorities will vary and interact with other pressures. The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places. Deciding whether to move a child part-way through the school year in January 2025 is a matter for parents. Requirements for state-funded places for children that would have attended a private school will be addressed in each local authority through normal processes.

The Government continues to roll out ELM schemes, including Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), to support farmers in actions including improving soil health and supporting flood and drought resilience. CSHT is in its pre-application phase with applications opening in summer, and the SFI is open for applications.

There is no size or income threshold below which a farm would not be eligible to apply for either scheme. For SFI, the requirement that farmers must have been eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in either 2022 or 2023 no longer applies to the expanded SFI offer. This means that groups that were not eligible for BPS are now eligible to apply for the expanded SFI offer. This includes groups such as new entrants, non-farming land managers and smallholders.

For CSHT, farmers, foresters or land managers wishing to apply must have management control of the land they want to enter into CSHT actions for the duration of those actions, and cannot be paid twice for the same activity included in other agreements. We have published information that sets out what you can do now to prepare to apply for CSHT. We will publish more details on the timing and approach to widening applications further in 2025. We will also provide more details in February about how other farm and land managers who are not initially invited, but who are interested in applying for CSHT, can contact RPA.

The Government continues to roll out ELM schemes, including Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), to support farmers in actions including improving soil health and supporting flood and drought resilience. CSHT is in its pre-application phase with applications opening in summer, and the SFI is open for applications.

There is no size or income threshold below which a farm would not be eligible to apply for either scheme. For SFI, the requirement that farmers must have been eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in either 2022 or 2023 no longer applies to the expanded SFI offer. This means that groups that were not eligible for BPS are now eligible to apply for the expanded SFI offer. This includes groups such as new entrants, non-farming land managers and smallholders.

For CSHT, farmers, foresters or land managers wishing to apply must have management control of the land they want to enter into CSHT actions for the duration of those actions, and cannot be paid twice for the same activity included in other agreements. We have published information that sets out what you can do now to prepare to apply for CSHT. We will publish more details on the timing and approach to widening applications further in 2025. We will also provide more details in February about how other farm and land managers who are not initially invited, but who are interested in applying for CSHT, can contact RPA.

The Government continues to roll out ELM schemes, including Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), to support farmers in actions including improving soil health and supporting flood and drought resilience. CSHT is in its pre-application phase with applications opening in summer, and the SFI is open for applications.

There is no size or income threshold below which a farm would not be eligible to apply for either scheme. For SFI, the requirement that farmers must have been eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in either 2022 or 2023 no longer applies to the expanded SFI offer. This means that groups that were not eligible for BPS are now eligible to apply for the expanded SFI offer. This includes groups such as new entrants, non-farming land managers and smallholders.

For CSHT, farmers, foresters or land managers wishing to apply must have management control of the land they want to enter into CSHT actions for the duration of those actions, and cannot be paid twice for the same activity included in other agreements. We have published information that sets out what you can do now to prepare to apply for CSHT. We will publish more details on the timing and approach to widening applications further in 2025. We will also provide more details in February about how other farm and land managers who are not initially invited, but who are interested in applying for CSHT, can contact RPA.

Internal Drainage Boards (IDB) are local independent statutory public bodies, mainly funded by the beneficiaries of their work; this includes farmers who pay drainage rates and local authorities that pay special levies. Determining where new IDBs should be created is a matter of local choice, and the Government will only consider proposals where there is clear local support, including from local authorities and farmers.

Defra is addressing the current barrier to establishing new IDBs and expanding existing ones. Changes were made to the Land Drainage Act 1991, via the Environment Act 2021, enabling new IDBs to be created and existing IDBs to expand their boundaries. Defra will bring forward the necessary statutory instrument when Parliamentary time allows.

The Government is strongly committed to requiring standardised Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in new developments. These should be to designs that cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water infrastructure benefits, reduce run off and help to improve water quality, amenity and biodiversity. It is also important to ensure appropriate adoption and maintenance arrangements are in place.

We believe that these outcomes can be achieved through either improving the current planning led approach using powers now available or commencing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. A final decision on the way forward will be made in the coming months.

We have made some immediate changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to support increasing SuDS. The NPPF now requires all development to utilize SuDS where they could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development.

We will review the planning system holistically and consider whether further changes are required to address SuDS when we consult on further planning reform, including national policy related to decision making, in 2025.

The cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The taskforce is supported by a separate stakeholder panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector. The Government is committed to tackling high costs as part of our Plan for Change to raise living standards across Britain and we will provide updates on the taskforce’s work in due course.

Since the general election, the Department has begun work on a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade. The Department will share more details in due course.

In the Budget on 30 October, the government confirmed it will invest over £150 million to introduce a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January until 31 December 2025. Under the plans of the previous administration, the current £2 cap on bus fares had been due to expire on 31 December 2024, and prior to the Budget, there was no further funding available to maintain the cap beyond this point.

The published interim evaluation of the £2 fare cap showed that patronage continued to recover following the COVID 19 pandemic. The final evaluation of the £2 fare cap will be published in due course.

Considering all its impacts, the fare cap is not financially sustainable for taxpayers and bus operators at £2. Capping fares at £3 will keep bus travel affordable while ensuring the cap is fair to taxpayers, helping millions of people access better opportunities, travel for less and protect vital bus routes, in Lancashire and right across England.

Following the closure of the Restoring Your Railway (RYR) programme, the Department is now reviewing its portfolio, including proposals for the South Fylde line.

There is currently no DfT funding allocated to develop this project any further, but we encourage local authorities to lead the development of transport schemes that have a strong business case and clear benefits to their communities.

No estimate is available of the unemployment rate in Fylde since the Autumn Budget 2024. The latest estimates of unemployment, covers the period October 2023 – September 2024. This is available via ONS Nomisweb site: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Guidance for users can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

We do not hold the data requested at constituency level. However, where the customer is eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment, the Department aims to make this payment within 2 weeks of the award of their qualifying benefit. Customers won't miss out on Winter Fuel Payments even if their qualifying benefit takes longer to process than usual.

Statistics on Winter Fuel Payments are published annually. The latest publication contains data on Winter Fuel Payments made in 2023/24.

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health and improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis. Several measures are in place to raise awareness of endometriosis among clinicians and support diagnosis and care.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines support healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat conditions. In November 2024, NICE published updated recommendations on the diagnosis, management, and treatment of endometriosis. These are available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73

Endometriosis is included in the core curriculum for general practitioners, and for obstetricians and gynaecologists. The General Medical Council is introducing the Medical Licensing Assessment for most incoming doctors, including all medical students graduating from academic year 2024/25 and onwards. Within this assessment are several topics relating to women’s health, including endometriosis. This will encourage a better understanding of endometriosis among doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom.

Never again will women’s health be neglected. We will prioritise women’s health as we reform the NHS and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions.

The Department does not hold the information requested.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Fylde constituency, this is the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB.

Approximately £1.5 billion of additional capital funding has been allocated in the budget for 2025/26, to support National Health Service performance across secondary and emergency care, and to begin to deliver against the Government's three strategic shifts, which include moving care from the hospital to the community.

This investment will deliver new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners. This creates new capacity for over 30,000 additional procedures, and over 1.25 million diagnostic tests, as they come online. The investments made at the October Budget also add new beds across the NHS estate.

Collectively, these investments will create more treatment space in emergency departments, reduce waiting times, and help shift more care into the community via the expansion of community based diagnostic capacity. More details will follow at the earliest opportunity.

The NHS is prioritising the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, and is currently delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs), with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics. In August 2024, NHS England published an updated list of 168 CDC sites currently delivering activity. A total of 170 CDCs have been approved and will be delivering activity by March 2025.

In line with this Government's stated commitment to the rule of law, we respect the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government reconfirmed that it is removing private schools’ eligibility for charitable rate relief under business rates in England from April 2025. This intervention will raise around £140 million per year.

Business rates retention means that local authorities retain a proportion of all business rates revenue. As such, the increase in rates receipts due to the reduction in charitable rate relief for private schools will be shared between central and local government.

The Government does not have an estimate of the revenue from this measure specifically from the Fylde constituency.

At the Autumn Budget the Government published a detailed response to the consultation conducted between July and September. Annexed to this is the costing methodology used to calculate the total revenue generated by this policy. Included is a breakdown of the exchequer impact by year, including 2025/26. This was published online and can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6734864af6920bfb5abc7a29/Government_Response_to_the_Technical_Note_on_Applying_VAT_to_Private_School_Fees_and_Removing_the_Business_Rates_Charitable_Rate_Relief.pdf

The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the price and yields of gilts to vary when there are wider movements in global financial markets.

The Chancellor has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility for an updated economic and fiscal forecast for the 26th of March, which will incorporate the latest data.

The Government recognises the important role charities play in our society and has made it a priority to reset the relationship with civil society by developing a Civil Society Covenant.

To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance.

The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of employers with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.

More broadly, within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving., with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 to 2024.

From 1 April 2025, films with a UK lead writer or director and budgets of under £15 million will be able to claim an enhanced 53% rate of Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC), known as the Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC). Generative artificial intelligence costs are not excluded from the IFTC. Costs that qualify for the IFTC will be the same costs that currently qualify for the normal rate of AVEC. Guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-audio-visual-expenditure-credits-for-corporation-tax.

From 1 April 2025, film and high-end TV companies may claim an enhanced AVEC rate of 39% on their UK visual effects costs. UK visual effects costs will be exempt from the AVEC’s 80% cap on qualifying expenditure. Generative artificial intelligence costs are not excluded from the additional tax relief for visual effects. Further information on the costs that will qualify for the additional tax relief can be found in the Government’s response to its consultation on the design of the policy, and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-additional-tax-relief-for-visual-effects-costs.

HMRC will publish specific guidance on the additional tax relief for visual effects in due course.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Home Office because drunk and drug driving offences are not among the list of offences for which police forces are currently required to notify the Home Office of data on arrests, charges and outcomes.

If it maintains officer numbers at the required level of 3,586 officers.

Total funding to police forces in 2025-26will be up to £17.4 billion, an increase of up to £987 million compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement.

This includes a £657.1 million additional Government grant funding to police forces, which includes:

• £230.3 million to support forces with the increase to the changes to employer National Insurance Contributions as set out by the Chancellor in the Autumn Budget; and

• £100.0 million to deliver the first steps of this Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Commitment in 2025-26.

In addition to the force’s government grant of up to £284 million, Lancashire Police will receive £12,596,034 to directly support the maintenance of officer numbers in FY2025/26

This Government is committed to bringing forward a Defence Industrial Strategy which ensures the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy are aligned. The defence sector, including the combat air sector, provides highly skilled jobs across the UK and the Defence Industrial Strategy will consider how we grow and retain the skills needed, working closely with partners across Government, industry and skills bodies to ensure we retain and attract a skilled workforce across the sector.

A resolution to this conflict has been a priority since day one of this Government. An immediate ceasefire is just the first step towards a lasting solution to the crisis. The UK continues to fund our operational presence in Middle East to support regional stability as we push for a long-term political solution that includes the implementation of a two-state solution.

Budget allocations for 2025-26 will be set in the usual way and informed by the findings of the Strategic Defence Review.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December makes clear that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of necessary infrastructure and facilities.

A number of updates have been made to the Framework to support the improvement and modernisation of public service infrastructure; ensure sufficient provision of post-16 education and early years places; and encourage a collaborative, vision-led approach to transport planning in both rural and urban areas.

My Department has published Planning Practice Guidance on the topic of lawful development certificates, which can be found on gov.uk here.