Rebecca Smith

The government knows that Britain needs a modern transport network to help kickstart economic growth. Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will introduce 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, including in South West Devon and the South West.

We also plan to empower local transport authorities through reforming bus funding. By giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding they can plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities. The Department will work closely with local leaders and bus operators to deliver on the government’s ambitions.

This Government takes the condition of local roads seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing our road network as a priority; on which Ministers will say more in the future.

The responsibility for the maintenance of the local highway network in Devon, including the South West Devon constituency, rests with Devon County Council. In 2024/25, the Department allocated over £59.4 million to Devon County Council, the largest amount any local authority was allocated for highway maintenance.

Further funding for highways maintenance beyond 2024/25 is a matter for the forthcoming Spending Review.

The Government knows that Britain needs a modern transport network to help kickstart economic growth and is committed to delivering the biggest overhaul to transport in a generation, working closely with local leaders and industry partners across the country.

The Department is undertaking a full review of its infrastructure programme following the Chancellor’s statement on the public spending inheritance on 29 July, which will consider the South-West Rail Resilience Programme and the scheme to restore rail services between Plymouth and Tavistock.

With regards to the £2 bus fare cap, delivering reliable and affordable public transport services for passengers is one of the Government’s top priorities and we know how important this is for passengers and for local growth. The Government is urgently considering the most effective and affordable ways to deliver on these objectives.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 18 November 2024 to question UIN 14156.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring that it delivers a safe service that is sensitive to the needs of all the parents that use it. We recognise that some parents may face difficult circumstances, particularly at a time of separation.

The CMS is well prepared to respond quickly and effectively if it becomes aware that the safety of any of its customers are at risk, and caseworkers receive extensive training and follow a well-managed process with clear steps to support vulnerable clients.

The CMS also has a toolkit for its caseworkers, which includes clear steps to follow in order to support customers and signpost to support organisations, where appropriate. This Toolkit is regularly reviewed and strengthened on the basis of customer insight.

The Pension Credit data that is used is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024, in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics. It is estimated that around 20,000 people in South West Devon constituency will be affected by the change in policy. This is based on Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics and 22-23 Winter Fuel Payments statistics (sources below).

This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for South West Devon constituency from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for South West Devon constituency. This is essentially the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients pre-policy change not claiming Pension Credit, as an estimate of those who will no longer receive Winter fuel payment.

Also, the above figures do not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the Government’s Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.

Furthermore, the published Pension Credit figures refer to households, so the number of individuals will be higher (i.e., taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).

In addition to that, Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.

Source:

The Winter Fuel Payments statistics are published here:

Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pension Credit data is published here: Pension Credit – Data from May 2018

The National Health Service Cancer Programme is working to detect more hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) at an early stage when the chances of survival are higher. Six-monthly liver ultrasound surveillance for patients with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis is key to identifying liver cancers earlier. The programme has been providing funding to Cancer Alliances in 2023/24 and 2024/25, to invest in local liver surveillance programmes. This includes Peninsula Cancer Alliance, which covers Devon.

The cancer programme is also funding two pilot initiatives, the Community Liver Health Checks and liver primary care case finding pilots, to identify people with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis requiring HCC surveillance. Both pilot initiatives are being delivered across in the peninsula, with one primary care case finding pilot taking place within Devon Primary Care Network.

The Department is working hard with industry to help resolve the intermittent supply issues with some epilepsy medications. As a result of ongoing activity and intensive work, including directing suppliers to expedite deliveries, some issues, including with some carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine presentations, have been resolved.

There is a supply issue with all strengths of lamotrigine tablets due to manufacturing issues, and this is expected to resolve from late November 2024. Other manufacturers of lamotrigine tablets can meet the increased demand during this time.

The Department continues to work closely with industry, the National Health Service, and others to help ensure patients continue to have access to an alternative treatment until their usual product is back in stock.

The Department works with NHS England to ensure that the prescribing responsibilities for all Allied Health Professionals are regularly reviewed and updated. Where it is deemed clinically appropriate and necessary to extend prescribing responsibilities to Allied Health Professionals, the Department follows an established process for making changes that ensures proposals are safe and beneficial for patients.

Regarding wider work related to non-medical prescribing, in late 2020 NHS England launched a series of public consultations seeking views on proposals to amend responsibilities for the prescribing, supply, and administration of medicines for the following professionals:

• dental hygienists and dental therapists;
• biomedical scientists, clinical scientists, and operating department practitioners;
• podiatrists and physiotherapists; and
• paramedics.

This work was undertaken as part of the Chief Professions Officers’ medicines mechanisms (CPOMM) programme. The Department is working with NHS England to consider the CPOMM consultations and progress the extension of responsibilities to supply, administer, or prescribe medicines under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (HMRs 2012) to regulated healthcare professionals, where a clear need and benefits have been identified.

For example, in June 2024 the Department completed work to amend the HMRs 2012 to allow dental hygienists and dental therapists to supply and administer specified medicines via exemptions, and pharmacy technicians to use Patient Group Directions. This legislation came into force in late June 2024. At present, the Department is reviewing priorities for progressing work in the CPOMM programme.

We are aware of the reduction in the number of pharmacies in recent years and recognise that pharmacy closures can impact on local communities. Local authorities are required to undertake a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served and must keep these assessments under review. Integrated care boards give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications from the new contractors. Contractors can also apply to open a new pharmacy to offer benefits to patients that were not foreseen by the PNA.

The Minimum Activity Requirements for the Pharmacy First Service have been amended for the remainder of 2024/25, to 20 for October, November, and December, 25 for January and February 2025, and 30 for March 2025.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms, and further explanatory information at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. Around 500 estates across the UK are expected to be affected each year from 2026-27.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms, and further explanatory information at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. Around 500 estates across the UK are expected to be affected each year from 2026-27.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

Revenue from motoring taxes and associated VAT ensures that the Government can continue to fund the vital public services and infrastructure that people and families across the UK expect.

Following the spending audit, the Chancellor has been clear that difficult decisions lie ahead on spending, welfare and tax to fix the foundations of our economy and address the £22 billion hole the government has inherited. Decisions on how to do that will be taken at the Budget in the round; the Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.

This Government is committed to working with the police and other partners to address the blight of rural crime, with the introduction of stronger powers for the police to tackle antisocial behaviour, and action to tackle farm theft and fly-tipping.

We are recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and police community support officers, including in rural areas, to ensure communities have somewhere to turn to report crimes and to report concerns.

Improving telecoms is a Department of Science Innovation and Technology lead.

We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.

The necessary secondary legislation to implement the Act will set out the detail, which will include minimum required standards.

I met with Ruth Bailey, CEO of Agriculture Association on the 5th November 2024 . I am currently considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation and its regulations, to understand the potential implications and determine the scope of the legislation. I will be in contact with the industry during the process and hope to make a decision shortly.

As part of the process of developing and implementing housing and planning policy, the government engages with a wide range experts and organisations. Our plans to tackle the housing crisis, including by building 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament and delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, will address several important points raised in the report in question. The government also intends to publish a long-term housing strategy and we will consider reports such as this one, in developing it.

The Government will provide an update in relation to the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report in due course.

As outlined in the King’s Speech, the Government will act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. This includes a new valuation scheme that leaseholders must follow to calculate how much they should pay to enfranchise and includes measures such as removing the requirement to pay marriage value, capping the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value in the calculation, and prescribing rates for the calculation. A small number of provisions came into force on 24 July, two months after Royal Assent, relating to rentcharge arrears, building safety legal costs and the work of professional insolvency practitioners.

The Government will further reform the leasehold system by enacting remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and removing the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture. We will also reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.

The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny.