Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of whether the pay as you dine scheme in military bases is the optimal approach to meeting the cost of food and drink.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Catering Strategy (DCS) was built on the comprehensive assessment undertaken through the Delivering Defence Dining Quality (3DQ) Review, led by the Institute of Naval Medicine on behalf of all three Services, and which reported in December 2021. 3DQ made a number of recommendations for changing the dining experience in Defence all of which were incorporated into the DCS.

The first stage of implementation of the DCS began in May 2024 with new menus and a change to our charging approach, namely moving to meals sold at the food cost of each item plus VAT, with Defence continuing to meet the total cost of service provision. The Strategy also aims to improve the dining environment, to vary opening times to suit local needs, and to enhance the dining experience through greater use of technology. Feedback on the new dining offer has largely been positive, including regarding the range and healthiness of choices, and the cost to the individual. This is a constantly evolving offer, with views gathered locally to ensure that the menus, continue to improve.

This activity is taking place within existing arrangements whilst the process of securing the future of Soft Facilities Management contracts is ongoing. The health needs of our personnel will also inform the food elements of those new contracts. We are working to ensure that our people are routinely eating in our facilities and that the menus they choose from offer the balance that they need to be able to perform in their demanding roles.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of GP appointment availability in South Northamptonshire.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is determined to work with the National Health Service to fix the front door of our health service and ensure everyone can access general practitioner (GP) appointments, including in South Northamptonshire. In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of 1,700 newly qualified GPs across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients

We delivered an £889 million uplift in funding for 2025/26, with general practice now receiving a growing share of NHS resources. Additionally, the new £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will upgrade more than a thousand GP surgeries across England, helping to improve productivity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of NHS dental contract reforms on rural patient access.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas. This is why we have launched the Golden Hello scheme which will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists. There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.

We are continuing to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for NHS dental patients.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to increase funding levels for grassroots sports facilities in market towns.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to ensuring that communities across the UK benefit from high-quality sports facilities, removing barriers to participation and enabling as many people as possible to be active.

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

In March, DCMS confirmed an additional £100 million investment in new and upgraded facilities across the UK as part of our Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. Our delivery partner for the programme in England is the Football Foundation, who plan their investment pipeline using Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs), which are developed in partnership with local authorities so as to understand the needs of each community. These plans are being updated to better reflect current demand.

Future funding is subject to the ongoing Spending Review process, with further details to follow in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce ambulance response times in South Northamptonshire.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the pressures on the National Health Service and the impact this is having on ambulance response times, including in South Northamptonshire.

We are determined to turn things around, our 10-Year Health Plan will be published in summer 2025, setting out major NHS reforms to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention.

The NHS Urgent and emergency care plan 2025/26, published on 6 June 2025, requires health systems to focus on those areas likely to have the biggest impact on urgent and emergency care services this year. The plan includes actions that will reduce category 2 ambulance response times to 30 minutes and reduce ambulance handovers to 45 minutes, helping to get 550,000 more ambulances back on the road.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support his Department is providing for local manufacturers in South Northamptonshire to expand their export markets.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is committed to supporting UK businesses, including in South Northamptonshire, including those in the manufacturing industry, to grow and export. UK businesses can access DBT's wealth of export support via great.gov.uk. This comprises an online support offer and a wider network of support including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and one-to-one support from International Trade Advisers.

As part of our work on a new trade strategy and a small business strategy, we are looking at further proposals to help UK businesses to export more.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available for older workers in rural areas seeking to return to employment.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is reforming jobcentres to better match people with the right jobs and provide employment skills, and career support to individuals including older workers and those in rural areas.

Design elements of the new National Jobs and Careers Service will be tested to develop a service that is effective for local areas, individuals, and employers. The service will cover Great Britain and will adapt to operate differently in each locality to accommodate local systems and needs, including rural regions and reflecting devolution settlements in Scotland and Wales.

DWP currently offers tailored employment support through Jobcentres, including a review of health finances and skills for eligible over 50’s on Universal credit, with an online offer available to all. Our network of 50plus Champions drive localised activity through Jobcentres. In rural communities this includes adapting delivery of employment support, to ensure attendees in rural communities can access information, training courses and job opportunities.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support veterans living in rural communities.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

This Government is committed to improving services for veterans wherever they live, including those who live in rural communities. We recently announced VALOUR, a new commitment to establish the first-ever UK-wide approach to veteran support, to ensure easier access to essential care and support for veterans across the UK.

This regional approach, based on a network of VALOUR support centres, together with regional field officers, will ensure that services are designed to meet the needs of their local communities.

Further details on VALOUR will be announced in due course and more information can be found at the following link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/valour-information-and-next-steps

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation agreement includes provisions for mutual recognition of (a) agri-input standards, (b) fertilisers and (c) pesticides.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Technical Barriers to Trade chapter of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides the structures to address non-tariff barriers for businesses. Annex 14 to the TCA recognises the equivalence of organic regulations between EU and UK, facilitating trade in organic products. The TCA does not otherwise make binding provision for mutual recognition of technical regulations in relation to agri-food standards, pesticides and fertilisers.

On 19 May, the UK and the EU agreed the principles for a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers. The agreement will cover SPS standards and controls and also wider agrifood rules related to food labelling, organics, and key marketing standards and compositional standards – as well as pesticides. This will further bring down costs for UK businesses by removing the majority of regulatory trade barriers to agrifood trade.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to standardise the approval process for battery safety management plans across local planning authorities.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

National planning policy and guidance clearly considers safety aspects of a proposed energy development, with expectations set out early for applicants to submit supporting information with their application for the proposed development.

The overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) sets out the role of the Health and Safety Executive as a statutory consultee in the planning system as well as how the Secretary of State should account for safety concerns in their decision making.

The government updated its Planning Practice Guidance (August 2023) to encourage battery storage developers to engage with Local Fire and Rescue Services before submitting a planning application. National Fire Chiefs guidance sets out how risks should be identified early on in the design process. Local authorities are consulted by applicants and can engage in the Development Consent Order process formally through relevant representations, local impact reports or through hearings at examination.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to review the development consent order process for solar projects to increase local authority input on battery storage safety.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

National planning policy and guidance clearly considers safety aspects of a proposed energy development, with expectations set out early for applicants to submit supporting information with their application for the proposed development.

The overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) sets out the role of the Health and Safety Executive as a statutory consultee in the planning system as well as how the Secretary of State should account for safety concerns in their decision making.

The government updated its Planning Practice Guidance (August 2023) to encourage battery storage developers to engage with Local Fire and Rescue Services before submitting a planning application. National Fire Chiefs guidance sets out how risks should be identified early on in the design process. Local authorities are consulted by applicants and can engage in the Development Consent Order process formally through relevant representations, local impact reports or through hearings at examination.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) training and (b) resources her Department has provided to fire and rescue services to respond to battery energy storage system-related incidents.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

It is the responsibility of fire and rescue authorities to ensure that firefighters receive the appropriate equipment and training to safely respond to the wide range of incidents that they attend.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) also provides guidance to fire and rescue services to help keep firefighters and the public safe. In 2023, the NFCC published guidance on Battery Energy Storage System sites.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued to fire and rescue services on responding to incidents involving large-scale battery energy storage systems.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

It is the responsibility of fire and rescue authorities to ensure that firefighters receive the appropriate equipment and training to safely respond to the wide range of incidents that they attend.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) also provides guidance to fire and rescue services to help keep firefighters and the public safe. In 2023, the NFCC published guidance on Battery Energy Storage System sites.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to support the recruitment and retention of teachers in rural secondary schools.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s educational outcome. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s opportunity mission and boosting the life chances for every child. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new teachers across secondary and special schools and in our colleges over the course of this Parliament.

We have announced a 4% pay award to school teachers and leaders, accepting in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s pay recommendation and two months ahead of last year.

This comes on top of the 5.5% pay award that we announced last July. We are seeing early improvements in recruitment and retention with over 2,000 more people training to become secondary school teachers this year. Recruitment is also on track to improve further for 2025/26, with 1,070 more acceptances to postgraduate and teacher degree apprenticeship initial teacher training courses in secondary subjects by the end of April 2025, compared to the same time last year. Additionally, over 2,500 more teachers are expected to stay in the profession over the next three years.

We are doing more to continue to improve recruitment and retention, including in rural secondary schools. We have increased funding for training bursaries to £233 million in 2025/26, worth up to £29,000 tax-free. We are also offering scholarships worth up to £31,000 tax free. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department is also offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including rural and coastal areas.

As part of our recruitment and retention strategy, it is vital that we improve the day-to-day experience of teachers and ensure that teaching is once again a respected and attractive profession that teachers remain and thrive in. We are supporting teachers to reduce their workload and improve their wellbeing and enabling greater opportunities for greater flexible working.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential long-term fire risk associated with lithium-ion battery energy storage systems.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government considers that the safety risks posed by BESS are small and well managed under the robust regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This framework requires responsible parties to take measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of a battery system’s deployment.

The safety standards framework for BESS is kept under review to respond to changing circumstances. Government, working alongside the industry-led Electricity Storage Health and Safety Governance Group, will continue to monitor events in the sector to ensure that a robust framework is sustained.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to publish a national register of safety (a) incidents and (b) near-misses involving battery energy storage systems.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department does not plan to publish a national register of safety incidents and near-misses involving battery energy storage systems (BESS). However, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has developed a publicly available database of global BESS failure incidents. The EPRI database can be accessed here: https://storagewiki.epri.com/index.php/BESS_Failure_Incident_Database

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department is providing for special educational needs provision in rural schools.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department recognises the essential role that small, rural schools play in their communities. The national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges, including those of providing for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factors. The NFF lump sum for the 2025/26 financial year is set at £145,100 and provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to pupil-led factors. In addition, eligible (small, rural) primary schools attract up to £57,400, and eligible secondary or all-through schools attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26 through the NFF.

Where the additional support for a pupil with SEN exceeds £6,000 per annum, the local authority provides the school with extra funding from its high needs budget. The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion, to help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting their pupils with complex needs. Of that total, West Northamptonshire Council is being allocated over £79 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £5.5 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs NFF.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he has taken to improve broadband connectivity in rural parts of South Northamptonshire constituency.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, over 99% of homes and businesses in the South Northamptonshire constituency can access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 93% have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection (>1000 Mbps).

To improve this coverage further, CityFibre is delivering a Project Gigabit contract across Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes, targeted at bringing gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses in hard-to-reach areas that are unlikely to be otherwise reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout. Approximately 1,700 premises in the South Northamptonshire constituency are currently expected to benefit from this contract. The vast majority of these premises are in rural parts of the constituency.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to ensure that new housing developments in rural areas are accompanied by appropriate infrastructure.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question UIN 26106 on 5 February 2025.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of local abattoir closures on small-scale livestock farmers; and what steps his Department is taking to support the viability of local meat processing infrastructure in rural areas.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the vital role smaller abattoirs, and the accompanying infrastructure play in supporting local livestock producers, sustaining rare and native breeds, providing skilled employment opportunities and maintaining a resilient, competitive food supply chain.

Defra is aware of the potential impacts local abattoir closures can have on small-scale livestock farmers, including reduced access to slaughter facilities and increased costs. While the wider meat processing sector remains resilient, we understand the unique pressures faced by some smaller operators.

To support the viability of smaller abattoirs, Defra continues to work closely with sector stakeholders including through the Small Abattoirs Working Group and the Small Abattoirs Task and Finish Group. These groups help identify challenges faced by the sector and support the development of practical solutions to improve sustainability.

It is recognised that there are many different and varied reasons why abattoirs close, and that closures can impact the access livestock producers have to local slaughter facilities. While the Government does not intervene in individual business decisions, it is committed to working with the sector to help, where possible, mitigate pressures abattoirs face.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support his Department is providing for rural households to transition to low-carbon heating systems.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As part of our Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency measures, including those in rural communities.

This includes supporting property owners in England and Wales through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, offering grants up to £7,500 for heat pumps and £5,000 for biomass boilers. This also includes £1.8 billion to support low-income households through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.

Additional support is also provided through the Energy Company Obligation which offers insulation and low-carbon heating to GB households.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Land Use Framework will be updated to include details on wildfires.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government consulted on land use in England earlier this year. While it did not specifically ask about wildfires, the consultation included questions on how we could better support landowners and land managers to adapt to climate change impacts. The consultation responses are being analysed and will inform the Land Use Framework that will be published in due course.

In 2024 and 2025, the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional national wildfire capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to wildfire risk, and to ensure coordination of approaches across sectors.

Defra regularly engages with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and other Government departments in addition to bodies such as the National Fire Chiefs Council and the England and Wales Wildfire Forum, to monitor and review sector-led improvements and mitigations. Defra also encourages landowners and land managers to undertake wildfire risk assessments and consider mitigating actions as part of good quality wildfire management plans.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers in South Northamptonshire with sustainable agriculture practices.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

At February’s National Farming Union Conference, the Secretary of State announced a raft of new policies to put money in the pockets of farmers in South Northamptonshire and across the country.

We remain committed to investing £5 billion of funding in the farming budget over two years and are on track to do so. This is the highest budget for sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our history.

We will be working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the re-formed SFI offer will be announced following the spending review in summer 2025.

We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome; and we are making £110 million available for new grant competitions to support research and innovation, technology and equipment for farmers.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to engage with rural communities in the development of nationwide policies.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government believes that it is important that rural communities have the opportunity to help shape decisions that affect them. As rural affairs lead, Defra continues to encourage all Government Departments to rural proof their policies, including engaging rural stakeholders in their public consultations and engagement processes. Defra also facilitates engagement with rural people and businesses via its Rural Insights Forum - a group of stakeholders that represent rural communities. Rural representatives and sector specific experts are also engaged with Defra’s Rural Taskforce, which will consider the value and contribution of rural communities and businesses in achieving the Government’s priorities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help reduce waiting times for autism assessments for children in rural areas.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service, published September 2024, highlighted the severe delays for accessing autism assessments and that demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments for children in rural areas, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. In doing so, ICBs should take account of waiting lists, considering how local funding can be deployed to best meet the needs of their local population.

On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs, including those in rural areas, and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these. NHS England is also working with research organisations to explore evidence-based models that support improved outcomes for those people waiting for an autism assessment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle rural crime in South Northamptonshire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Under our Safer Streets Mission reforms, rural communities will be better safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, increased neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent theft of farm equipment and fly-tipping.

This financial year we will be providing the first Home Office funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU) as well as continuing funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). The funding boost of over £800,000 in total will help the units tackle those crimes that predominantly affect our rural communities.

This will allow these specialist units to continue their work in tackling rural and wildlife crime which can pose unique challenges for policing given the scale and isolation of rural areas.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities NPCC-Wildlife-Rural-Crime-Strategy-2022-2025.pdf (nwcu.police.uk) We are working closely with the NPCC to deliver the next iteration of their strategy, to ensure the government’s Safer Streets Mission benefits every community no matter where they live, including rural communities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to help improve police response times in rural areas.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Chief Constables are responsible for determining the allocation of resources for operational policing and managing their response times, in line with the priorities set out by their Police and Crime Commissioner.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services regularly inspects forces’ response to the public as a part of its Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy inspections. As a part of this, it examines whether forces provide an appropriate response to incidents.

The Government also recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime more broadly. That is why we are working closely with the National police Chiefs’ Council to deliver its updated Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy. The strategy will set out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling crimes that predominantly affect rural communities.

We have been clear that the Home Office will play a greater role in setting performance measures and monitoring and driving system performance in the police. Further details on the new performance framework will be set out in due course

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she plans to take to support small businesses in market towns.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Small businesses are vital to high streets and communities, and essential to the success of the government’s growth mission.

At the 2024 Autumn Budget, Government announced generous tax reforms to support small businesses. Most notably, more than doubling the employment allowance to £10,500; commitments in the Corporate Tax Roadmap to maintain the Small Profits Rate and marginal relief at their current rates and thresholds; and freezing the small businesses multiplier for 2025/26.

The Government also announced changes to inheritance tax, including reforms to business property relief (BPR). The Government has protected smaller family businesses from BPR changes, providing a very significant level of relief with the first £1 million of business assets continuing to receive 100% relief and then 50% thereafter.

The Government has also committed £250m in 2025-26 for the British Business Bank’s small business loans programmes, including Start Up Loans and the Growth Guarantee Scheme.

We have also extended funding for Growth Hubs across England in 2025-26, meaning businesses in market towns can access free expert advice and support.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on family farms in Wales.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

The Government is steadfastly committed to family farms in Wales. That is why we protected the farm budget at its current level and allocated £337 million to the Welsh Government at the Autumn Budget.

Furthermore, at the UK-EU Summit on the 19^th of May, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would deliver a new agri-food deal with the European Union. This will make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cut costs and red tape for Welsh producers and retailers, and help keep prices down and increase choice in the shops.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support is available for (a) local heritage and (b) arts organisations in South Northamptonshire constituency.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

In the South Northamptonshire constituency, Arts Council England has provided over £600,000 of funding between 2021-2025.

This includes 11 awards across combined arts, music and theatre, totalling more than £290,000. “The Play’s The Thing” Theatre Company received £39,366 for their biennial ‘Taking the Stage’ symposium, celebrating the role of women in the performing arts.

Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice has also supported four individual artists with a total of £47,113 across theatre and visual arts. ItsCreative People and Places funding stream has awarded £321,703 per annum to ‘Made with Many’ for 2022-25 – to produce events and activities that put the community at the heart of commissioning artists and producing new and exciting events, through conversations with local people and community decision-making panels.

Since 1994, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded more than £18.2m to 95 projects in South Northamptonshire. Examples of organisations and projects they have supported include £11.6m in support of Silverstone Heritage and a grant of £233,800 supporting much needed repairs to the roof of the Grade I listed All Saints' Church, Middleton Cheney.

Since 2020, Historic England provided £56,000 towards re-roofing the Brewhouse at Sulgrave Manor. They also provided financial support for the Peterborough Diocese Places of Worship Support Officer for 10 years up to 2024 and £4,000 for Weedon Lois Castle site.

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme provide grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship. Since August 2022, a total of £228,640.15 has been awarded to 33 Listed Places of Worship in the South Northamptonshire constituency area.

This year, the Secretary of State also announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund. This will include support to museums, heritage, arts and music venues across the country and is a critical step that this Government is taking to help create jobs, boost local economies, and expand access to arts, heritage and culture for communities.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has she made of access to legal aid services in rural constituencies.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

It is vital that those who need legal aid – some of the most vulnerable people in our society – can access it wherever they live in the UK.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid. Procurement for legal aid contracts is now operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This new approach enables new entrants to apply for a contract at any time and for existing providers to expand their services. It is a more flexible approach removing hard deadlines and maximising the available supply of services so that we can adapt quickly and ensure everyone has access to legal aid.

The Ministry of Justice has recently concluded a consultation on uplifts to housing & debt and immigration & asylum legal aid fees (which once fully implemented, would inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year), and is currently consulting on funding of up to £92 million more a year for criminal legal aid solicitors.

The Department is also providing over £6 million of legal support grant funding up to March 2026 to deliver free legal support and advice for people with social welfare legal problems. This includes the ‘Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support’ grant, which supports the work of organisations across England and Wales to sustain and improve access to early legal support and advice, including support at court. It also includes the ‘Online Support and AdviceGrant’, which ensures the provision of online support across a range of civil, family and tribunal problems via one service (Advicenow). The Advicenow website includes information about how to get legal aid in relevant areas of law and signposts users to further information and support.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of large-scale solar farms on (a) agricultural land use and (b) landscape character in South Northamptonshire constituency.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra does not collect information on the potential impacts of constructing green energy infrastructure. However, Defra does produce statistical estimates of agricultural land areas each year from the annual June Survey of Agriculture:

• In 2024, the utilised agricultural area (UAA) in England was 8.7 million hectares and this has remained broadly stable, only changing by around +/-1% each year over the past decade. Full breakdowns of agricultural land areas are published here Agricultural land use in England - GOV.UK

• In 2024, around 7,300 hectares of this land were used for solar panels (less than 0.1% of UAA). However, 50% of this land is still being used for agricultural production e.g. for livestock grazing.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure effective coordination between (a) statutory bodies, (b) water companies, (c) HS2 Ltd and (d) local authorities to help reduce disruption when (i) planning and (ii) implementing road closures.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Sections 59 and 60 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 places a duty on local highway authorities and statutory undertakers (including water companies) to co-ordinate works in order minimise inconvenience for road users and for safety. This is supported by the Code of Practice for the Co-ordination of Street and Road Works produced by my Department to ensure that, although there will always be some disruption from road and street works, these are minimised. Where road closures are unavoidable as part of construction of HS2, contractors work closely with relevant local highway authorities to minimise disruption to local communities.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take through the Strategic Defence Review 2025 to tackle recruitment shortfalls in the armed forces; and how these will be implemented.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The current Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and retention from the last administration.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) 2025 is clear that Defence must now meet the longstanding challenge of recruiting and retaining new generations with different requirements. We are committed to the vision that long-term success depends on reconnecting society with the Armed Forces and the purpose of Defence, and for recruitment the focus should be on speed, drastically shortening the period between applicants expressing interest and joining.

To achieve this, Defence will offer novel ways of entry into the Armed Forces that attract more people from a wider range of backgrounds. The Army and Navy are developing short term employment opportunities - “gap year” schemes - for young men and women across a variety of exciting roles that will upskill, provide apprenticeships, and a flavour of life in the Armed Forces.

Full plans will be announced in due course now that we have published the SDR, but we have already introduced several initiatives to improve recruitment including pay increases for new recruits and existing personnel, the scrapping of outdated medical policies, the implementation of a direct-entry cyber pathway and the setting of ambitions to make conditional offers of employment and provisional training start dates in much shorter time. All of these have achieved results; year on year there are now increased applications to the Armed Forces, increased inflow by 19% – including exceeded recruitment targets by the Royal Navy – and at the same time we have reduced outflow by 7%.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the mental health challenges facing farmers in England; and what steps his Department is taking to improve access to mental health support services in (a) rural and (b) agricultural communities.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We use existing channels to listen to, and monitor, impacts of our policy changes on farmers. This includes regular meetings with farming welfare charities, listening to feedback from farming organisations, speaking to farmers directly at events, and through our Farmer Opinion Tracker.

Defra are working in consultation with communities, farming support organisations and experts across government with the aim of improving mental and physical health outcomes for the agricultural community.

Delivery of mental health interventions sits with the Department for Health and Social Care, who are investing in mental health to ensure it receives the same attention as physical health. This includes the hiring of 8,500 new mental health support workers, which will reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes – including in rural communities.

The Government is also building a national network of Young Futures hubs, which will be present in every community and will deliver support for young people facing mental health challenges.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of redress mechanisms for victims of investment fraud.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Protecting the public and businesses from fraud requires a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and industry. The Government committed in its manifesto to introduce an expanded Fraud Strategy, and will set out further details in due course.

To better protect consumers from fraud, in October 2024 the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment (APP) scams, which may include investment scams, that take place over the Faster Payments System. This regime requires all Payment Service Providers in scope to reimburse victims of APP scams up to the value of £85,000. The PSR has noted that in the first three months of the regime, 86% of money lost to APP scams was returned to victims.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has issued tax liability demands to people who have been victims of investment fraud; and what steps she is taking to review such cases to avoid penalising victims of financial crime.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is responsible for managing the tax system and is required by law to collect tax due. It must apply the law correctly and individuals are responsible for their own tax affairs.

Where individuals find themselves with unexpected tax bills as a result of taking bad advice from a third party on an investments scheme, this does not mitigate any tax that is legally due.

HMRC works with individuals to understand the facts of each case and only pursues tax where there is a genuine tax liability. It tailors its approach to individual circumstances and takes a supportive and proportionate approach to recovering tax due, including offering ‘Time to Pay’ instalment arrangements where appropriate, and providing extra support for customer who need it.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether financial incentives for service personnel on overseas deployments were considered during the the Strategic Defence Review.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Financial Incentives (FI) are offered by cohort and rank rather than geography of Service. As such there is not a singular FI for those serving overseas, but a number of Service personnel overseas are receiving a FI. Service personnel receive an allowance package to mitigate disadvantage of relocation and differing costs of living. Furthermore, Service personnel living in Service Families Accommodation overseas pay a smaller accommodation fee then those living in the UK. The Strategic Defence Review also explored the importance of pay and measures to improve retention, including recommending the Ministry of Defence prioritise delivering its 'flexible working' initiative, and providing support towards home ownership. Also announced as part of the Review was over £1.5 billion additional funding to fix forces family housing.

As a new Government, we have already improved the childcare offer for those Service personnel which was announced in November 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department took to consult with service (a) personnel and (b) veterans during the development of the Strategic Defence Review 2025.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The MOD issued a call for evidence, explicitly inviting responses from military personnel and veterans that saw 1,700 individuals provide over 8,000 responses. We also conducted an internal survey to gather additional insights from those currently serving which saw 800 responses. The Review and Challenge Panels also included serving and retired military personnel.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the 10 Year Plan for the NHS.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It will deliver the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change and will be published shortly.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 20 June 2025 entitled Fair Funding Review 2.0 and Modernising and Improving the Administration of Council Tax, HCWS724, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that West Northamptonshire Council is adequately supported to implement the modernised council tax administration system.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government has been clear in its council tax administration consultation, that it aims to strike a balance between delivering a fairer system for taxpayers and giving councils the tools to collect the council tax they require to deliver public services. The Government will engage directly with councils on how best to implement any changes in relation to council tax administration.

One element of supporting councils is changes to funding: At the 2025 Spending Review, the government committed a further £3.4 billion of grant funding to local government over the Spending Review period (2026-27 to 2028-29). Furthermore, the government’s Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation includes proposals which target funding where it’s needed most, this can be found here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed consolidation of small grants into larger funding pots on West Northamptonshire Council.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government is delivering its commitment to simplify the local government funding landscape by consolidating as much revenue funding as possible across departments into the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS). This will significantly streamline and rationalise local government funding, giving local authorities much greater certainty about their budgets in the coming years, allowing them to make more effective financial decisions.

The consolidation of grants will also reduce the resources that local authorities spend monitoring and reporting on grant conditions. This will free-up resources for public services and enable local authorities to decide the most effective way to spend money in their communities.

Further detail will be published at the provisional LGFS later this year.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Alistair Carmichael (Chair); Sarah Bool; Charlie Dewhirst; Helena

Found: Current membership Mr Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat; Orkney and Shetland) (Chair) Sarah Bool

Found: _51 Sarah Bool Adam Jogee Jonathan Davies .

Found: Member's explanatory statement This is a drafting change. 13 REPORT STAGE Friday 20 June 2025 _51 Sarah Bool

Found: Not called_NC9 Sarah Bool Rebecca Paul Adam Jogee Rachael Maskell Andrew Rosindell Jonathan Davies

Found: Bhatti Mr Louie French Andrew Rosindell Lewis Cocking Dame Harriett Baldwin Tom Tugendhat Sarah Bool

Found: Bhatti Mr Louie French Andrew Rosindell Lewis Cocking Dame Harriett Baldwin Tom Tugendhat Sarah Bool

Found: Dame Karen Bradley Blake Stephenson Rupert Lowe Liz Jarvis Neil Duncan-Jordan Rebecca Smith Sarah Bool

Found: Dame Karen Bradley Blake Stephenson Rupert Lowe Liz Jarvis Neil Duncan-Jordan Rebecca Smith Sarah Bool

Found: Karen Bradley Blake Stephenson Rupert Lowe Liz Jarvis Neil Duncan-Jordan Rebecca Smith Sarah Bool

Found: Dame Karen Bradley Blake Stephenson Rupert Lowe Liz Jarvis Neil Duncan-Jordan Rebecca Smith Sarah Bool

Found: Member's explanatory statement This is a drafting change. 13 REPORT STAGE Monday 16 June 2025 _51 Sarah Bool

Found: Dame Karen Bradley Blake Stephenson Rupert Lowe Liz Jarvis Neil Duncan-Jordan Rebecca Smith Sarah Bool

Found: _NC9 Sarah Bool Rebecca Paul Adam Jogee Rachael Maskell Andrew Rosindell Jonathan Davies .

Found: _NC9 Sarah Bool Rebecca Paul Adam Jogee Rachael Maskell Andrew Rosindell Jonathan Davies .

Found: Not called_NC9 Sarah Bool Rebecca Paul Adam Jogee Rachael Maskell Andrew Rosindell Jonathan Davies

Found: _NC106 Dr Caroline Johnson Dr Ben Spencer Mary Glindon Tim Farron Carla Lockhart Sarah Bool Rebecca

Found: _NC9 Sarah Bool Rebecca Paul Adam Jogee Rachael Maskell Andrew Rosindell .

Found: _NC9 Sarah Bool Rebecca Paul Adam Jogee Rachael Maskell Andrew Rosindell .

Found: _NC9 Sarah Bool Rebecca Paul Adam Jogee Rachael Maskell Andrew Rosindell .

Found: Not called_NC55 Greg Smith Saqib Bhatti Joy Morrissey Sarah Bool .

Ireland and the Irish in Britain APPG
Tuesday 10th June 2025

Found: Welcome and Introduction to the Ireland and Irish in Britain APPG In attendance: Adam Jogee MP; Sarah Bool

Falkland Islands APPG
Tuesday 10th June 2025

Found: Dowd MP, welcomed those present to the meeting: Mr Luke Akehurst MP Mr Richard Baker MP Ms Sarah Bool

Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Chair] Cc: Bob Blackman CBE MP [APPG Co-Chair]; Sam Rushworth MP [APPG Co-Chair]; Sarah Bool

Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Sarah Bool MP, APPG Vice Chair. Lord Bryn Davies of Brixton, APPG Vice Chair.

Diabetes APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Diabetes UK and Breakthrough T1D Attendees Parliamentarians: Tom Gordon MP (Liberal Democrats), Sarah Bool

Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: APPG Vice Chair Sarah Bool MP added: “There is no doubt the FCA has a difficult job

Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Sarah Bool MP, APPG Vice Chair. Lord Bryn Davies of Brixton, APPG Vice Chair. 5

Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Chair] Cc: Bob Blackman CBE MP [APPG Co-Chair]; Sam Rushworth MP [APPG Co-Chair]; Sarah Bool

Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Chair & Registered Contact Bob Blackman Conservative Co-Chair Sam Rushworth Labour Vice Chair Sarah Bool

Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Contact: Bob Blackman CBE MP , Conservative ● Co-Chair: Sam Rushworth MP , Labour ● Vice Chair: Sarah Bool