David Smith

Renewable liquid fuels are a limited resource, and the Government expects sustainable biomass to be prioritised where there are limited alternatives for decarbonisation. Renewable liquid heating fuels are also much more expensive to use than other heating solutions.

Before taking decisions on whether to support the use of renewable liquid fuels in heating including as a 20% blend, the Government would require stronger evidence on their affordability for consumers, and the availability of sustainable feedstock.

I have written to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on this matter and we will continue to work closely with His Majesty’s Treasury on aspects related to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.

I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave on 6 March 2025 to my hon Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth to Question UIN 35113.

The Department is working closely with industry to make sure they are addressing meters across GB that are not providing automatic readings. Statistics on meters not providing automatic readings are published at a GB wide level only (at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics).

Energy suppliers are required to take all reasonable steps to ensure their customers’ smart meters are fully functional. Ofgem regulates suppliers against these obligations.

The Government recognises that too many households across GB have smart meters which currently cannot send automatic readings to their energy suppliers. We will set out new plans to improve the rollout and the consumer experience, alongside Ofgem, in due course.

As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expects to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation, and potentially the small number of homes unsuitable for heat pumps, as these sectors have fewest options to decarbonise. The cost of renewable liquid heating fuels is currently much higher than other fuels available to off grid customers. Before taking decisions on whether to support the use of renewable liquid fuels, like hydrotreated vegetable oil, in heating, the Government would require stronger evidence on their affordability for consumers, and the availability of sustainable feedstocks.

In North Northumberland, there are four government funded Home Office masts that are due to be upgraded as part of the Shared Rural Network. The first of these upgrades at Herdlaw Farm should be activated in July and we will write to you with the details once the mast is delivering new coverage. The remaining masts in Mindrum, Bell Hill and The Ladyship Field will be activated no later than by the end of next year in line with the overall programme’s delivery timescales.

School funding will increase by £4.2 billion over the Spending Review period, meaning core school funding will total £65.9 billion by 2028/29. This additional funding will provide an above real terms per pupil increase on the core schools budget.

The majority of school funding is allocated on a per pupil basis through the National Funding Formula (NFF) on a lagged funding system, where schools are funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census. This arrangement helps to give schools more certainty over funding levels and is particularly important in giving individual schools time to adjust to demographic change before experiencing the funding impact.

Local authorities are also allocated funding through the NFF for growth and falling rolls, which they can use to support schools experiencing significant growth in pupil numbers, to support schools facing a temporary drop in pupil numbers, or to help meet the revenue costs of removing or repurposing surplus places.

​​This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty, which is why the department is taking action to expand access to free breakfasts and lunches in schools.

Free breakfast club places are already being offered in six early adopter schools in North Northumberland.

Furthermore, Department for Work and Pensions data shows that 3,690 children in North Northumberland will be eligible to receive free school meals when provision is extended to all household in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. Overall, this measure will lift 100,000 children out of poverty.

​

Berwick Academy is the body responsible for the school buildings and has not put forward a nomination for the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP). The department is aware that Northumberland County Council has plans to invest in Berwick Academy as part of a wider school reorganisation in the area but we are yet to receive a business case or further detail.

The government has given a long-term commitment for capital investment through to 2034/35 to improve the condition of schools and colleges across England. We are investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance and renewal of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

This is in addition to investment of almost £20 billion in the SRP through to 2034/35, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools across England within the existing programme, with a further 250 schools to be selected within the next two years.

The department plans to set out further details on the process for selecting additional schools for the rebuilding programme later this year.

School buildings are integral to high and rising standards and need to be fit for the future.

The government has announced almost £20 billion of investment for the School Rebuilding Programme through to 2034/35, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools across England within the existing programme, with a further 250 schools to be selected within the next two years. We plan to set out further details about the selection process later this year.

At the 2025/26 budget, the government increased capital investment to improve the condition of school buildings across England to £2.1 billion, almost £300 million more than 2024/25. More information on allocations and successful Condition Improvement Fund bids for 2025/26 can be found on GOV.UK.

£31 billion of capital funding for the education estate was announced at the Spending Review in June 2025 for the period the 2026/27 financial year to the 2029/30 financial year. As part of the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, the government also committed to increase annual capital maintenance investment per year through to 2034/35. Further details on funding commitments and any application processes for capital funding will be announced on GOV.UK in due course.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for North Northumberland, to the answer of 02 June 2025 to Question 54205.

a) The application window for Productivity and Slurry FETF 2024 grants closed on the 07 April 2024; the application window for Animal Health and Welfare FETF 2024 closed on the 01 May 2024.

The majority of Productivity applicants received their Grant Funded Agreement offer on 24 May 2024 totalling a wait time of approximately 7 weeks.

The majority of Slurry applicants received their Grant Funded Agreement offer on 23 May 2024 totalling a wait time of approximately 7 weeks.

The majority of Animal Health and Welfare applicants received their Grant Funded Agreement offer on 29 May 2024 totalling a wait time of approximately 4 weeks.

b) More than 70% of all FETF 2024 claims paid to date have been processed within 30 working days.

I hold regular discussions with National Highways on matters related to the Strategic Road Network. I am aware that National Highways is undertaking a safety study on the A1 through Northumberland which focuses on how it can improve the route’s safety rating. The study will identify specific locations where safety performance can be enhanced. These locations can then be considered for funding as part of the future Road Investment Strategies.

National Highways has considered the safety record of the A1 through North Northumberland, along with other priorities for this section of the route, as part of its London to Scotland (East) Route Strategy. The outputs of this work will be considered as part of final decisions on investment in the third Road Investment Strategy.

As the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 11 June, this Government will deliver improvements to people’s everyday travel by providing £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve national and local roads across the country. We will confirm funding for the third Road Investment Strategy in due course.

The Department for Transport will confirm the enhancement schemes and large-scale renewals to be delivered in the next road period when the third Road Investment Strategy is published in early 2026. National Highways will then publish further details in its Delivery Plan.

The Government does not believe the current access is working in the best interests of passengers and taxpayers. Our consultation set out proposals for fundamental reform of the access and charging framework under Great British railways, a single directing mind, able to take decisions on access in the public interest and make the best use of expensive national infrastructure.

The Government has been very clear that where it adds value and opens up new markets, with better outcomes for passengers, and where the levels of abstraction and service reliability impacts are acceptable, there will remain a place for open access on the Great British Railways managed railway. Great British Railways will be held to account by the ORR through a robust and independent appeals function which will ensure access decisions are fair and non-discriminatory with the ability to direct appropriate remedies.

The Department is working closely with the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, to get the country back on track to ending homelessness.

As I made clear in my statement to the House, Hansard, 1 July, col 219, any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading, and which will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. The review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is there to help people, now and into the future, with the extra costs of living with a disability.

PIP is not intended to cover housing costs, which are paid through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit, but my department is committed to identifying and preventing homelessness amongst all customers.

Tailored support is available to those at risk of and experiencing homelessness. This includes easements for those with work-related requirements, to give the space to resolve housing issues; referrals to local authority housing teams under ‘duty to refer’ legislation; and signposting to money advice services.

We are continuing funding this year for local authorities to provide additional financial support for people struggling with housing and other essential living costs through the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments. Through the Spending Review, we announced £1bn a year including Barnett consequentials from 2026 to reform crisis support in England.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper announced a broad package of plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Our reforms will ensure the most vulnerable and severely disabled people are protected, so they can live with dignity and security, while supporting those who can work to do so. As we develop detailed proposals for change, we will continue to consider the potential impacts of reforms.

Ending all forms of homelessness is a priority for this Government. £1 billion has been invested in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year. DWP is fully committed to playing its part in homelessness prevention and supporting MHCLG to develop a new cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness.

We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding

As the Green Paper notes, we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, organisations in the private, voluntary and charitable sectors, employers and potential users. We will confirm further details in due course after we have completed our consultation process.  We expect voluntary and charitable organisations to play a significant role in delivering employment support.

We strongly value the input of disabled people and people with health conditions, in addition to representative organisations that support them, and that is why we have brought forward this Green Paper and the consultation.

The consultation welcomes the views of voluntary organisations, and we hope many will respond before the consultation closes on the 30 June 2025. Our programme of accessible public events will further facilitate input, including in-person and online, and will help us hear from disabled people and representative organisations directly.

We are also exploring other ways to facilitate the involvement of stakeholders in our reforms. In addition to the consultation, we will establish ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups of people together for specific policy development areas and our wider review of the PIP assessment will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience.

As we develop proposals further, we will consider how to best to involve voluntary and community organisations in the planning and implementation of reforms, including in our employment support package.

Universal Credit treats all forms and sectors of self-employment in the same way, focusing on the level of a customer’s earnings rather than the sector in which they work. The Minimum Income Floor (MIF) encourages self-employed customers to progress in work and grow their earnings to a sustainable level.

The Government is committed to reviewing Universal Credit. Further details will be provided in due course.

While the Department has made no assessment, approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there is a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.

People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) are also available. PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with three-month and 12-month certificates available. The 12-month PPC can be paid for in instalments.

As of 31 May 2025, 58 general practitioners (GPs) have been recruited through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme in the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) since 1 October 2024, the ICB in which the North Northumberland constituency is located. Data is not available at a constituency level.

Earlier in the year we announced that we are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract for 2025/26 to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

Every year we consult with the British Medical Association’s General Practice Committee both about what services practices provide, and the money they are entitled to in return under their contract, taking account the costs of delivering services. Practices are required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of the patients registered at their practice. This includes making their own workforce plans.

The 10-Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or geography. The 10-Year Health Plan has been built on what we heard during engagement with the public. Our reimagined National Health Service will be designed to tackle inequalities in both access and health outcomes, and will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of age or geography.

The neighbourhood health service will reflect the specific needs of local populations, including the needs of older residents in rural communities. Neighbourhood health centres will be available in every community, providing easy access to NHS, local authority, and voluntary sector services. New technology-led services, including wearable and monitoring technology, will support patients such as older people with frailty to enable them to continue living independently in their own home.

Equality has been considered throughout, and we expect to publish an Equality Impact Assessment later this month.

The Neighbourhood Health Service will mean millions of patients, including those in rural constituencies, are treated and cared for closer to their home by new teams of health professionals. Our priority will be to address underperformance and health inequalities in the areas with the worst health outcomes, such as rural and coastal communities, where we know access to healthcare services is often particularly poor.

We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need.

Our 10-Year Health Plan is creating a National Health Service truly fit for the future, keeping patients healthy and out of hospital, with care closer to home and in the home. An impact statement for the plan will be published in shortly.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our plan to get the National Health Service back on track and make it fit for the future through delivering three big shifts in how the NHS works. By moving more care from hospital to community, shifting from analogue to digital, and reaching patients earlier by shifting from sickness to prevention, the NHS will be better enabled to meet future demographic changes.

Integrated care boards are expected to have a deep understanding of their population’s needs and will engage with the public to develop long-term plans that meet these needs.

US Visa policy and immigration issues are a matter for US authorities. We are seeking clarity from US officials, tracking announcements, and keeping our Travel Advice under constant review, to give students that currently study or want to study in the US clarity and confidence. We stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals abroad 24/7.