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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many miles of the King Charles III England Coast Path are now fully open to the public.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

A total of 2,065 miles of the King Charles III England Coast Path is now open to the public, out of the 2,689 miles submitted to Government. A further 556 miles are currently in the establishment phase, with 78 miles awaiting Government decision.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many presenting officers they employ in the Department for Work and Pensions.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions employs a total of 177.6 (FTE) Presenting Officers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many and what percentage of the new style Employment and Support Allowance applications were for the primary condition of poor mental health in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Initial ESA Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) by date of decision:

* Data is taken from Stat-Xplore. Volumes have been rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding and the disclosure control applied.

* The latest available data is for September 2025. Therefore, the 2025 volumes do not cover the entire year and are not comparable to the 2023 or 2024 volumes.

* New Style ESA applications and Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) are distinct processes, and condition is centrally collated only once a WCA has been completed. Not all applications proceed to a WCA, and the primary health condition as per the International Classification of Diseases (2010) classification (ICD10) used in official statistics is captured at the WCA stage rather than on the application form. As a result, the only robust data source for health condition is WCA data. The figures include WCAs for means-tested ESA as well as new style, contributory ESA, but the great majority will be for new style ESA

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many charges have brought by the Environment Agency with regards to their national criminal investigation into water and sewerage service companies launched on 18 November 2021.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There have been six charges involving two defendant water companies. This includes one conviction and two related acquittals for one defendant, Anglian Water Services Ltd. The other defendant has three charges pending.

Question

To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker why the Parliament Now app will no longer be supported from late March.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The ParliamentNow app is based on out-of-date technology that is no longer supported on the Apple and Google app stores, making it a potential security risk.

There are very few users of the app - the ParliamentNow app has on average 160 monthly users, compared to 51,000 monthly views of the equivalent webpages. Maintaining a standalone app is a disproportionate use of Parliament’s resources, when all the information is readily available on the website https://now.parliament.uk/.

While the ParliamentNow app is being decommissioned, and will no longer be supported from late March, the Parliament Now website will continue to be available at https://now.parliament.uk/.The website delivers a more accessible and future-proof service, better supporting reliable use with both current and emerging assistive technologies.

App-like shortcuts for the website can be set up on tablets and mobile devices to take users directly to the relevant content and provide all the same information, without the requirement for a bespoke mobile app. Instructions on how to set up an Annunciator icon on your phone can be found on ParliNet and support for members is available from the Parliamentary Digital Service Drop-In and Support Desk.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much financial borrowing has been enabled by NHS trusts due to their foundation trust status in the past five years.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We do not hold a comprehensive breakdown of National Health Service foundation trusts (FTs) borrowing from commercial lenders, so it is not possible to answer the specific question asked.

However, the Department provides financing for FTs in the form of Public Dividend Capital at 3.5% dividend rate and loans at interest rates at below market rates.

The lower costs and lower risks, for example terms relating to default of commercial borrowing, of obtaining finance from the Department has meant that commercial borrowing has not been typically needed.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Environment Agency has finished its investigation into Healthcare Environmental Services regarding disposal of waste in relation to the NHS.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The matter is under an advanced stage of review by the Environment Agency (EA). This is a complex case requiring the consideration of matters arising across jurisdictions and parallel legal proceedings. It is not appropriate to comment further until the EA’s review of the matter has been concluded.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there has been an increase in successful claims of new style Employment Support Allowance in the past three years; and if so, what assessment they have made of the reasons for that increase.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The volume of New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NS ESA) new claims awarded has not increased in the past three years.

NS ESA new claims awarded:

*Data is taken from internal Management Information. Volumes have been rounded to the nearest ten.

*Volumes for 2025/26 only include awards made between April 2025 and September 2025, therefore are not comparable to 2022/23 – 2024/25.

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