Ben Goldsborough

The Department for Business and Trade provides a comprehensive package of support to increase exports, including the Export Support Service, UK Export Finance and a network of trade advisers across the UK and overseas. The department remains committed to breaking down market access barriers affecting the horticultural industry, and to opening up new markets for horticultural exports through trade agreements.

For England and Wales, the Planning Act 2008 sets out the consultation requirements that developers of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), including electricity transmission projects, are required to follow. In April 2024, new guidance was published for NSIPs which sets out the consultation milestone that requires developers to demonstrate that they have consulted adequately with communities. The developer’s statutory consultation needs to show compliance with the energy National Policy Statements, including in relation to construction. In Scotland, the Scottish Government’s good practice guidance sets out the expectations and requirements for consultation.

The previous government’s response to the consultation on community benefits for transmission network infrastructure was published in November 2023. This document outlines that, when combined with bill discounts and additional benefits for underground cables and substations, these levels of wider benefits could lead to benefits to society with an estimated value between £1.5bn - £7.8bn if improved acceptability reduces delays to network build. These benefits come from reduced network constraint costs and emissions savings.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/community-benefits-for-electricity-transmission-network-infrastructure

It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it. We are currently considering how to ensure communities benefit from living near new onshore electricity transmission infrastructure.

It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it. We are currently considering how to ensure communities benefit from living near new onshore electricity transmission infrastructure.

The heart of the Government’s agenda is to make Britain a clean energy superpower, boost energy independence and reduce bills through clean power by 2030, and our electricity network is key to this success. It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it. We are currently considering ways that ensure communities benefit from living near new onshore electricity transmission infrastructure and are committed to ensuring fair and beneficial outcomes in alignment with our overall mission.

The department publishes official statistics on Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans annually, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans. This includes data at local authority level on the rate of EHC plans issued within the deadline of 20 weeks.

The attached table contains details of assessments in 2023 by local authority and by the duration, in days, between the date of the request for assessment and the date of the assessment outcome. This includes those for whom a plan was issued and those with the decision not to issue a plan, but excludes cases where the assessment was withdrawn.

The person-level data collection on EHC plans is in its second year. As a result, we expect the quality of data returns to improve over time, as the collection becomes established. In particular, the recording of the dates of the assessment request and the assessment outcome is subject to data quality issues, which become especially prominent when looking at a low level of granularity. For this reason, cases over two years have been aggregated, and where the date of request is missing or was recorded after the outcome date, this is marked in the table as ‘not available’. The department continues to work with local authorities in understanding and improving the data collection.

The information requested is not held by this department.

The department collects aggregate data on the use of parenting orders, education supervision orders and penalty notices from local authorities in England through the annual parental responsibility measures attendance census. No information is collected on characteristics of the children concerned. The available data is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures.

The department collects aggregate data on school attendance orders issued and revoked from local authorities in England through the new collection on elective home education and children missing education. No information is collected on characteristics of the children concerned. The available data is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education.

The Government is committed to a prosperous horticulture sector.

Unlocking innovation is integral to enabling our growers to improve productivity sustainably, and to contribute to our food security. We are working with the industry to stimulate this, including through the adoption of Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) technologies enabling crops to be grown and harvested year-round in a climate-controlled environment.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the sole National Accreditation Body for the United Kingdom.

Following consultation in 2022, exemptions to the biodiversity net gain requirement set out within the regulations are narrow and focussed. This keeps the policy ambitious, whilst being proportionate and deliverable for developers and local authorities.

My officials engage widely with stakeholders involved in delivering biodiversity net gain to increase our understanding of overall implementation. We will continue to engage with the horticulture sector and others, with evidence from industry to substantiate any suggested improvements to the requirement being crucial.

Following consultation in 2022, exemptions to the biodiversity net gain requirement set out within the regulations are narrow and focussed. This keeps the policy ambitious, whilst being proportionate and deliverable for developers and local authorities.

My officials engage widely with stakeholders involved in delivering biodiversity net gain to increase our understanding of overall implementation. We will continue to engage with the horticulture sector and others, with evidence from industry to substantiate any suggested improvements to the requirement being crucial.

This Government places great importance on our agricultural land and food production. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out how the best and most versatile agricultural land should be reflected in planning policies and decisions. The Framework is also clear that where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality.

Food security is national security, which is relevant to all five Government missions and central to our primary mission to grow the economy. Boosting Britain’s food security is one of the core priorities of this Government. We need a resilient and healthy food system that works with nature and supports British farmers. The only way to do this effectively is to listen to farmers and others with a stake in our food system, countryside and nature. We will consider relevant evidence and analysis, including that contained in Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy, as we develop our plans to support our farmers and food and drink businesses, boost food security, invest in rural communities, deliver growth, manage waste more effectively across the supply chain, improve resilience to climate change and tackle biodiversity loss.

The Government is committed to a prosperous horticulture sector.

Unlocking innovation is integral to enabling our growers to improve productivity sustainably, and to contribute to our food security. We are working with the industry to stimulate this, including through the adoption of Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) technologies enabling crops to be grown and harvested year-round in a climate-controlled environment.

We are committed to working across Government and are reviewing responses to the recently closed consultation which asked for sector views on our proposed approach to revising the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities, and the government is committed to delivering better bus services and growing passenger numbers. Since the de-regulation of buses in England, passenger numbers have declined, and the government is determined to fix this.

As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will pass the Better Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, to ensure networks can meet the needs to the communities who rely on them and encourage passengers back onto buses, including in South Norfolk, East Anglia and right across England. The Department will work closely with local leaders and bus operators to deliver on these ambitions.

Both the Rail Minister and I are early in our tenure as Transport Ministers, and he is yet to speak to Network Rail regarding the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement. However, as Transport Ministers we recognise the benefits the scheme could bring for freight and passenger rail services in East Anglia, including the Cambridge to Norwich route. The Rail Minister looks forward to discussing these proposals with Network Rail and other stakeholders in due course.

Active Travel England (ATE) provides funding and support to all local authorities in England, including those in rural areas. For example, ATE provides training on infrastructure design guidance and is developing specific guidance for good practice application in rural areas. In 2024, ATE also provided £1 million to the ten National Parks in England to help them develop better links to rural towns and villages.

Both the Rail Minister and I are early in our tenure as Transport Ministers. As such, he has yet to speak to Network Rail regarding the status of the Wymondham station accessibility project. The Department looks forward to discussing these proposals with Network Rail and other stakeholders in the near future.

DWP pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary accommodation cases but this is subject to limits to incentivise local authorities to find settled accommodation for residents and to ensure good value for money for the taxpayer. Local authorities usually pay the costs of temporary accommodation upfront and then claim back from DWP through the Housing Benefit subsidy.

The rate of subsidy is usually based on 90% of the January 2011 Local Housing Allowance rates and maximum subsidy caps of £500 and £375 per week are in place in some high rent areas.

DWP collects data on local authority Housing Benefit expenditure and levels of Housing Benefit subsidy paid, including temporary accommodation expenditure in England, Scotland and Wales. Housing Benefit expenditure and subsidy data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

We understand that local authorities are subject to many funding pressures which are impacting their budgets. However, any increases to the subsidy rates for temporary accommodation would need to be taken in the context of the government’s missions, goals on housing, and the fiscal position.

The Government is committed to the Triple Lock, which means that in April 2025, the basic and new State pension will increase by the higher of the growth in average earnings, price increases or 2.5%.

The relevant percentage increase applied to the State Pension in April 2025 is subject to a statutory review conducted by the Secretary of State. The review will typically begin in October, once the relevant indices have been published by the Office for National Statistics. On completion of the review, the Secretary of State will lay a statement in Parliament.

We cannot estimate the number of people who will be in receipt of the Winter Fuel Payment by constituency from 1 April 2025.

The Secretary of State will undertake her annual statutory review of benefits and State Pensions for the next financial year ahead of the Autumn Budget. This means that we cannot estimate what the total value of the Winter Fuel Payment and State Pension uprating will be by constituency from 1 April 2025.

The Department is committed to promoting safe and timely discharge for people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness to appropriate accommodation. Every acute hospital has access to a care transfer hub to manage discharge for people with more complex needs, who need extra support.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have published guidance and supporting materials for health and care staff on discharging people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. This ensures that every health and care interaction with a homeless person acts as an opportunity to provide support and signposting, with the aim of ending rough sleeping. This joint guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharging-people-at-risk-of-or-experiencing-homelessness/discharging-people-at-risk-of-or-experiencing-homelessness

The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the development of the Government’s plans for social and affordable housing.

There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for the assessment or treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) nationally. The National Institute for Health and Care Research has commissioned a research project to provide initial insights into local ADHD diagnosis waiting times data collection. We are also supporting a taskforce that NHS England is establishing to look at ADHD service provision, announced in March 2024. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD. NHS England is also working to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan.

In regard to autism, waiting times are published quarterly by NHS England, and include information about the waiting time from referral to a first care contact, since 2019. Further information is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/autism-statistics

The following table shows the number of people with an open referral, the number of people with an open referral and a care contact, and the median waiting time in days of patients with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was within the year, for each of the last five years:

Source: Mental Health Services Dataset.
Notes:

1. care contact is used as a proxy for an assessment, and data could only be provided from 2019/20 as this is the first full year in which the methodology was agreed, and the data quality of the fields used in the autism pathway was sufficient; and
2. given autism data has only been published since 2019/20, it should be expected that data quality would improve over time, and as such, some of the change seen will be the result of data quality improvements.

The information is not available in the format requested.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published a Review of the Seasonal Worker route on 16 July.

The Government will carefully consider the MAC’s recommendations and will announce a detailed response in due course.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

This data is collected at Police Force Area (PFA) level only, and information at lower levels of geography, such as Parliamentary Constituencies is not collected.

Table H1 of the data tables accompanying each 31 March release of the ‘Police Workforce’ publication shows the number of full-time equivalent police officers that are available for duty. The number of police officers available for duty excludes those on long term absence (career break, sick leave, study leave, maternity/paternity leave, suspension, special leave, compassionate leave and study leave).

The Home Office does not centrally collect information on police stations and never has done.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

This data is collected at Police Force Area (PFA) level only, and information at lower levels of geography, such as Parliamentary Constituencies is not collected.

Table H1 of the data tables accompanying each 31 March release of the ‘Police Workforce’ publication shows the number of full-time equivalent police officers that are available for duty. The number of police officers available for duty excludes those on long term absence (career break, sick leave, study leave, maternity/paternity leave, suspension, special leave, compassionate leave and study leave).

The Home Office does not centrally collect information on police stations and never has done.

Police Appeal Tribunals (PATs) play a crucial role in ensuring that we have a fair and robust police discipline system.

There was a recruitment exercise earlier this year to significantly increase numbers of PAT chairs, and decisions on appointments will be taken in due course.

Historically police forces and law enforcement organisations have made local commercial buying decisions through Chief Constables and PCCs for products such electronic notebook organisers. These organisers are used to increase efficiency whilst undertaking operational duties.

In support of increasing efficiency and effectiveness of data, the Home Office maintains under active review all processes needed to support police and law enforcement partners with their operational data requirements. However, the functioning of electronic notebooks remains a primary consideration for operational partners in policing and law enforcement.