Katie Lam

Ofgem publishes price cap levels on its website. The information is available here:

Energy price cap (default tariff) levels | Ofgem.

The Solar Taskforce, which has now concluded its work, brought together government and industry stakeholders to identify the actions needed to accelerate the deployment of solar energy by 2030, which will be outlined in the forthcoming Solar Roadmap. Following this, we will establish a new Solar Council to monitor the delivery of the Roadmap’s recommendations, including on the critical issue of ethical supply chains and procurement. DESNZ officials will continue to provide secretariat and advisory support.

Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs) currently play a crucial role in getting more people active across the UK. They provide durable, safe, year-round playing surfaces which can sustain up to 80 hours of use per week - significantly more than grass pitches, helping more people to access the benefits of physical activity.

The Government is aware of potential impacts which AGPs have related to the spread of rubber crumb - which contains microplastics. While, currently, there is no clear alternative, DCMS continues to work closely with Defra and the wider sector to help identify a viable long-term solution, which can maximise opportunities to get active in the most healthy and sustainable way possible.

In 2017, the European Chemical Agency published findings from a study which found there is no reason to advise people against playing sports on synthetic turf containing recycled rubber granules as infill material. Further European-led research published in the scientific journal Science of the Total Environment in 2020 reported there were no health concerns for AGPs, and in 2024 the US Environmental Protection Agency published a report noting no significant difference in chemical exposure between players on artificial grass and those on natural grass fields.

The department spends over £1.5 billion supporting schools to deliver healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches in schools. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how provision is made. They have the autonomy to source food locally and sustainably, and to cater to religious dietary requirements based on the needs of their local communities. The department does not hold the requested information, owing to the freedoms that schools have. However, details about the UK’s overall sources of food are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-theme-2-uk-food-supply-sources#overall-sources-of-uk-food.

The department does not hold or collect information regarding how many asylum seekers aged 25 and under require special educational needs provision.

The department spends over £1.5 billion supporting schools to deliver healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches in schools. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how provision is made. They have the autonomy to source food locally and sustainably, and to cater to religious dietary requirements based on the needs of their local communities. The department does not hold the requested information, owing to the freedoms that schools have. However, details about the UK’s overall sources of food are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-theme-2-uk-food-supply-sources#overall-sources-of-uk-food.

The department spends over £1.5 billion supporting schools to deliver healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches in schools. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how provision is made. They have the autonomy to source food locally and sustainably, and to cater to religious dietary requirements based on the needs of their local communities. The department does not hold the requested information, owing to the freedoms that schools have. However, details about the UK’s overall sources of food are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-theme-2-uk-food-supply-sources#overall-sources-of-uk-food.

The previous Government did not hold information about where the food served by public bodies comes from. However, at January’s Oxford Farming Conference, it was announced that, for the first time ever, the Government would monitor just that. The initial phase of the work to better understand the data available across public sector food supply chains is near completion. It will inform further work to develop a mechanism via which the Government is able to better understand how much of the food bought by the public sector is from British suppliers.

Since January 2025 there have been 16 pieces of correspondence addressed to Defra ministers by producer organisations, expressing their concern over the discontinuation of the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme on 31 December 2025.

As Minister for Farming, I have visited abattoirs and will continue to do so.

Defra ministers regularly visit farms and meet with farmers nearly every week.

A number of Kent MPs have made representations to the Department over the last twelve months regarding international rail services serving Kent stations. As a result of the representations received prior to March this year, the Rail Minister agreed to meet with a delegation of MPs that had requested a meeting to discuss this issue. I am not aware that the Department has received a request from the hon. Member to discuss this topic, but the Rail Minister would be very happy to do so.

A number of Kent MPs have made representations to the Department over the last twelve months regarding international rail services serving Kent stations. As a result of the representations received prior to March this year, the Rail Minister agreed to meet with a delegation of MPs that had requested a meeting to discuss this issue. I am not aware that the Department has received a request from the hon. Member to discuss this topic, but the Rail Minister would be very happy to do so.

DfT officials met with Kent and Medway Economic Partnership (KMEP) representatives on 10 October to discuss the issue of international rail services serving Kent stations. Following this, DfT officials have maintained a dialogue with KMEP, including providing feedback on their public interest case.

how many and what proportion of her Department's suppliers for:

(a) ICT (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK

The information requested is not collected centrally. Providing an answer to this element of the question would incur disproportionate cost.

(b) stationery (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK

DWP’s contract for office products has been procured through the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Office Solutions Framework RM6299; further information can be found here: Office Solutions - CCS

DWP has 1 UK based supplier for all our stationery requirements. There is no specific requirement or metric with which we record the country of manufacture for each individual stationery item procured.

(c) office furniture (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK

We currently have two furniture suppliers in contract, with DWP Senator Group and Bates Office Services. Both are UK based.

Senator Group fully manufacturer all products within their UK site. Bates office services utilise a combined sourcing approach to manufacturing where in products are partially manufactured in the UK and partially sourced from outside the UK.

The furniture is purchased via procurement from CCS frameworks, and all Office furniture meets the Government hub standards and Includes supply, delivery, and installation.

More broadly, the Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

In the latest annual fuel poverty statistics published in March 2025, it is estimated that changes to Winter Fuel Payment eligibility did not affect the rate of fuel poverty in England in 2024, as measured by the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric- Annual fuel poverty statistics report: 2025 - GOV.UK. The next annual fuel poverty stats will be published in Spring 2026.

A very wide range of factors impact changes in mortality. Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Excess mortality in England - GOV.UK

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reviewed topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) reactions, and first communicated about these reactions in September 2021 through our Drug Safety Update, which is widely disseminated among health care professionals. This communication is available at the following link:

www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/topical-corticosteroids-information-on-the-risk-of-topical-steroid-withdrawal-reactions.

The MHRA has continued to monitor reports of TSW and undertook an additional review in 2024, which can be found at the following link:

www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/topical-steroids-introduction-of-new-labelling-and-a-reminder-of-the-possibility-of-severe-side-effects-including-topical-steroid-withdrawal-reactions.

During this review, further advice was sought from dermatologists, the National Eczema Society, and the Commission on Human Medicines. Consequently, the MHRA took forward a number of actions, including ensuring that there are updated warnings in the product information that is supplied with the creams, and the inclusion of information regarding the potency of topical steroids on the packaging. The British National Formulary (BNF) has updated their topical steroids potency information in line with the outcomes of the MHRA’s review. The BNF’s treatment summary for topical corticosteroids is available at the following link:

https://bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-summaries/topical-corticosteroids/

Furthermore, the MHRA engaged with the British Association of Dermatologists who have released an updated statement that is available at the following link:

https://cdn.bad.org.uk/uploads/2024/02/22095550/Topical-Steroid-Withdrawal-Joint-Statement.pdf

Following these discussions, the British Association of Dermatologists has formed a Topical Steroid Withdrawal Working Party Group (TSW WP) in collaboration with National Eczema Society, Scratch That, the Primary Care Dermatology Society, and the British Dermatological Nursing Group. The objective of the TSW WPG is to develop expert consensus guidance on supporting people with concerns about TSW, including a Patient Information Leaflet, and any revision to the above joint statement, as appropriate. Further information on the TSW Working Party Group is available at the following link:

https://www.bad.org.uk/topical-steroid-withdrawal-joint-statement/

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

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, enabling the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.

The employer National Insurance contribution rise was implemented in April and the planning guidance, published on 30 January, sets out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding providers during this next financial year. It takes into account a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on providers of secondary healthcare, including charitable hospices. Further information on the planning guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2025-26-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance/

Regarding the national minimum wage, independent organisations, such as charities and social enterprises, including hospices in Kent, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales. It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate, and how to recoup any additional costs they face if they choose to utilise the terms and conditions of NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England, to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant.

The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme sources the fruit and vegetables used by the scheme from a number of different countries. 18.9% of the produce used by the scheme is sourced from the United Kingdom, and this is the highest proportion of any country supplying produce to the scheme.

We have made the necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department will be £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement. The employers’ National Insurance rise and National Minimum Wage rise was implemented in April 2025.

General practices (GPs) are valued independent contractors who provide over £13 billion worth of National Health Services. Every year we consult with the profession about what services GPs provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract, taking account of the cost of delivering services.

We are investing an additional £889 million into GPs to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.

There have not been any rulings from international courts on the UK's sovereignty over Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia or any other Overseas Territories. The circumstances around the Diego Garcia Military Base Agreement are unique with absolutely no bearing on the wider Overseas Territories. It is a very different issue with a very different history. We remain committed to our Overseas Territories family. Sovereignty of other Overseas Territories is not up for negotiation.

The Home Secretary is committed to ensuring that asylum costs fall and has already acted. The Government has taken measures to reduce the asylum backlog and reform the asylum accommodation system to end the use of expensive accommodation in the next Spending Review period to ensure more of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget is spent on our development priorities overseas.

The aid spent in the UK on refugee and asylum costs fell by a third last year and the Home Office is working to bring it down further. The provisional Statistics on International Development show that in 2024, £2.8 billion was spent on support to refugees or asylum seekers in the UK, a £1.4 billion or one third reduction on the previous year. This reduces the share of ODA spent on asylum costs in the UK to 20 per cent, down from 28 per cent.

We report on ODA spend annually as part of the Statistics on International Development publication. Provisional figures for 2025 will be available in spring 2026.

The Agreement will be underpinned by a financial package which will consist of: an annual payment; a Development Framework underpinned by UK grant funding; and a Trust Fund to benefit Chagossians.  Costs and other aspects of the Treaty can be found at the following link - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukmauritius-agreement-concerning-the-chagos-archipelago-including-diego-garcia-cs-mauritius-no12025

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office deploys Official Development Assistance (ODA) to fund a range of organisations and programmes which address the productivity of farmers and small-medium enterprises in agri-food value chains in developing countries.

Figures for the UK 2024 ODA are due to be published in Autumn 2025 through the Statistics on International Development report. ODA is an international measure and is collected and reported on a calendar year basis.

Contracts for office products and materials are awarded in compliance with the relevant public procurement regulations to ensure value for money, utilising Crown Commercial Service framework agreements.

Details of government contracts above £12,000 (inc. VAT) are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder) and, if procured under the Procurement Act 2023, on the Central Digital Platform (Find a Tender service). This includes a note of winning suppliers. (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search(opens in a new tab)).