Aphra Brandreth

Carbon monoxide alarms should be properly tested before they can be placed on the UK market. British Standard EN 50291-1:2018 outlines the test methods and performance requirements of carbon monoxide alarms used in a domestic setting, and British Standard EN 50291:2:2019 outlines the same for carbon monoxide alarms used in recreational vehicles and similar premises.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, which is going through Parliament at the moment, will provide the powers needed to keep our wide and technical product regulation framework up to date, enabling the UK to maintain its high product standards.

Nuclear can play an important role in helping to achieve energy security and clean power while securing thousands of skilled jobs. As a site which has previously hosted a nuclear power station, and is now owned by Great British Nuclear, we want Wylfa to play an important role in new nuclear in the UK, and we will set out our plans for the site in due course.

The department is committed to supporting the UK net-zero carbon targets. Since 2021, the department’s own building standards require that all new school buildings delivered by the department are net-zero carbon in operation and are adapted to climate change.

Additionally, the department recently announced the £80 million Great British Energy Solar Accelerator Programme, in partnership with GB Energy, that will install solar and other technologies, such as electric vehicle (EV) chargers, in 200 targeted schools and colleges, prioritising those in areas of deprivation, to start in 2025/26.

The department is providing support for all schools and colleges to start on their journey towards net zero via our new online sustainability support for education platform and our climate ambassador programme. Where schools are considering options to become more sustainable, including considering decarbonisation of their energy supply, our ‘Get help for buying’ service provides support to ensure that schemes procured are of high-quality and value to the sector. More information can be found at: https://gethelpbuyingforschools.campaign.gov.uk/.

Details of other government funding available to public bodies for sustainability, prepared by the Crown Commercial Service can be found at: https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/social-value/carbon-net-zero/funding-and-grants.

Capital funding allocated to the school sector each year can also be used for projects that improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of school buildings, as well as improving the condition of the estate to keep schools safe and operational.

The department has allocated £2.1 billion in condition funding for the 2025/26 financial year, which is £300 million more than the previous year.

An announcement on funding for the adoption and special guardianship support fund will be made as soon as possible. All future decisions will be considered as part of the next spending review.

The Cass Review was an independent review of gender identity services for children and young people, so did not make any specific recommendations in respect of schools and local authorities. However, the final report highlighted the importance of what happens in school, and that guidance for schools should utilise the principles and evidence from the review.

It is crucial that schools and colleges receive guidance on these matters, which is why the government is looking carefully at the consultation responses for the draft guidance on gender questioning children, discussing with stakeholders and considering the evidence, including the Cass Review, before setting out next steps.

As of the 24 March, of the applications that had been submitted for the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer 14,191 had received an agreement offers and 3,700 had not yet received an agreement offer.

As with all demand-led schemes there comes a point when they are fully-subscribed. We ensured farmers and their representative bodies were made aware when that happened.

(a)

The war in Ukraine led to rising oil, fuel and energy prices, which created inflationary pressures right across the food chain. Farmers experienced higher energy and fertiliser costs; manufacturers experienced higher production costs; and importers and hauliers experienced higher transportation costs. All of these fed through to higher consumer prices.

The Institute of Grocery Distribution anticipates food price inflation in 2025 to average 3.4%, with a range of 2.4 to 4.9%.

Food chain businesses will be keeping a close eye on developments in Russia/Ukraine and the Middle East, and their potential to influence global energy and input prices.

(b)

Reliance on food supplies from Ukraine is low. Defra actively monitors risks to UK food security on an ongoing basis. The UK Food Security Report, which was published in December, examines past, current, and future trends relevant to food security to present a full and impartial analysis of UK food security.

While climate and geopolitical volatility have weakened aspects of food supply stability since 2021, food availability or the quantity of food available to the UK has been maintained thanks to continued resilience in food production and the global trading system.

(c)

Farm businesses with existing SFI agreements or submitted applications will see no change to their payments due to the announced closure of SFI. Forecasts published this week suggest that at the all-farm level agri-environment scheme payments are predicted to have increased substantially in 24/25.

On the 11 March 2025 we published forecasts which suggest that Average Farm Business Income has risen in 2024/25 across all farm types with the exception of cereal farms.

In line with its obligations under the Agriculture Act 2020, Defra regularly publishes an annual report setting out commitments in the previous financial year. Defra intends to publish the annual report for the financial year 2024/25 later this year.

The high uptake of the scheme means it is fully subscribed. The decision to close the scheme to new applications was taken at that point.

We could not give any advance notice because we needed to ensure fair access to the scheme and avoid creating a sudden increase in the level of demand.

Transport is an essential part of our mission to rebuild Britain, and we are absolutely committed to improving rail connectivity across the North and working with local leaders. Our Budget in October 2024 confirmed we are progressing planning and design work to support future delivery of our plans for northern rail connectivity and, following the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2, we are considering how to address capacity and connectivity issues north of Birmingham.

We are also going beyond the government’s promise to fix an additional 1 million potholes per year and providing a £500 million cash increase on 2024-25 local roads maintenance baseline funding, for 2025-26. Chester South and Eddisbury Parliamentary constituency is across two local authority areas, Cheshire West and Chester, and Cheshire East. For 2025-26, Cheshire West and Chester will receive an uplift in highways maintenance funding of £4,084,000 for a total of £15,515,000, and Cheshire East will receive an uplift of £5,546,000 for a total of £21,030,000.

Future funding for capital investment in transport will be determined as part of DfT’s spending review, scheduled for spring 2025. This process will involve assessing national priorities and allocating resources accordingly to address critical infrastructure needs.

Whoever they are and wherever they live, we want individuals to secure appropriate work as we know that work is generally good for health and overall financial well being. We must ensure that disabled people and individuals with health conditions have the opportunity to work. The Keep Britain Working review, is an independent review looking at the role of employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025. This review is backed by £240m investment, announced as part of the Get Britain Working White Paper to drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.

Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. DWP have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/

The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start. The Chester South and Eddisbury constituencies are included within the local authority areas of Chester West and Chester, within NHSBSA data reporting. The total number of people on the scheme for Chester South and Eddisbury in March 2025 was 1,729.

The NHSBSA does not currently hold data on the number of people who are eligible for the scheme. An issue was identified with the source data that is used to calculate uptake of the NHS Healthy Start scheme. The NHSBSA has therefore removed data for the number of people eligible for the scheme and the uptake percentage from January 2023 onwards.

The issue has only affected the data on the number of people eligible for the scheme. It has not prevented anyone from joining the scheme or continuing to access the scheme if they were eligible.

Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions such as Sjogren’s syndrome are a diverse group, so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions are committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with Sjogren’s, and have range of support available so individuals can stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.

Measures include joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, as well as support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants.

It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the joint Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care’s Work and Health Directorate is facilitating Keep Britain Working, an independent review of the role of the United Kingdom’s employers in reducing health-related inactivity, and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025.

Most patients with Sjogren’s syndrome will be cared for in primary and secondary care services. A small number of people with complex disease will be cared for in specialised rheumatology services. The national service specifications for specialised rheumatology services define the standards of care expected from organisations commissioned by NHS England to provide specialised rheumatology services for either adults or children. These specifications set the national minimum standards for the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for people with Sjogren’s syndrome, and include the requirement for a multi-disciplinary team. People with Sjogren’s will be given the support to manage their condition and signposted to employment advice if required.

The Government welcomes the Early Access Programme (EAP) that the company has put in place to provide early access for patients to givinostat. Access to the EAP must be through one of the 23 NorthStar Centres in the United Kingdom. However, participation in the EAP is decided at an individual National Health Service trust level and a NorthStar Centre will not be able to provide givinostat, if its local trust has not approved participation. Under the EAP, givinostat is free to both patients taking part in it and to the NHS, but the NHS trusts must still cover the cost of administering it to patients.

The programme this government inherited was severely delayed and did not have funding required to deliver it.

The Secretary of State has asked for an urgent report on the degree to which the New Hospital Programme (NHP) is funded and a realistic timetable for delivery. This will take into the account the urgent need to rebuild Leighton Hospital, which was built using Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), to protect staff and patient safety.

Once the review into the New Hospital Programme is concluded the Secretary of State will update parliament and set out the next steps for the Programme.

Aid diversion is an ongoing concern in Gaza, but we welcome reports that more aid is now entering Gaza, and looting has reduced. Israel must now continue to work with partners to ensure law and order is maintained in Gaza so that safe distribution of aid across the Gaza strip is sustained. Most of our aid budget for the Occupied Palestinian Territories is disbursed as funding to trusted partners. The UK conducts thorough due diligence assessments of partners to ensure procedures are in place to manage the risks of aid diversion and to report losses. Programmes are monitored regularly, including through annual and project completion reviews.

Education is an essential component to the humanitarian response in Gaza, and critical to building the foundations for a sustainable and lasting peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people. It is therefore essential that partners delivering education services across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), including United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), uphold the highest standards of neutrality. Catherine Colonna's Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality notes that the most recent UNRWA Rapid Review of textbooks from the Palestinian Authority (2022/2023) "found that 3.85 per cent of all textbook pages contain issues of concern to UN values, guidance, or position on the conflict". The UK supports the Colonna review's conclusion that "the presence of even a small fraction of problematic content in textbooks, supplemental material and teaching content remains a serious issue." We welcome the initiatives launched by UNRWA to ensure neutrality of its educational material and teaching, in addition to its long-standing work with UNESCO and the Palestinian Authority to reform curricula and educational materials. £1 million of UK funding to UNRWA this financial year has been earmarked for the implementation of the Colonna review's recommendations.

I reiterated this government's steadfast support and respect for Armenia to Foreign Minister Mirzoyan on 11 October. We will continue to support Armenia through our programming engagement to develop its governance and rule of law, our defence cooperation and our trade and economic ties.

Deepening our trading relationships is an important part of this government's Growth Mission. The Department for Business and Trade is currently developing a new Trade Strategy and the FCDO is reviewing the Political Cooperation Agreement negotiations which were underway when the election was called. Next steps for the UK-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement are part of this work.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances.

Legislation implementing this policy will be brought forward in the Finance Bill ahead of the measure taking effect.

Licenced establishments are responsible for the welfare of employees at animal testing facilities.

The Regulator has published extensive guidance for the regulated community on the operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The published guidance includes information on the operation of named roles whose responsibilities include ensuring that those dealing with animals are adequately educated, trained and supervised until they are competent and ensuring that those dealing with animals have access to the information they need.

The Home Office holds regular, scheduled, meetings with stakeholders from the regulated community to discuss their concerns.