Written questions by Thompson.

Whether the government plans to include representatives of families with a child harmed by maternity or neonatal negligence, and a representative of women harmed by maternity or neonatal negligence, on the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce.

Family voices are at the heart of our work to improve maternity and neonatal care.There are four family representatives on the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, many of whom have experienced bereavement in maternity and neonatal services. To hear a wider breath of family voices, the taskforce will be supported by three family Expert Reference Groups. These will comprise of people who have lived experience of maternity and neonatal care, particularly, but not exclusively, those families and mothers who have experienced harm or bereavement.

What steps the Government will take to ensure that the sale of properties acquired by HS2 minimises disruption to existing tenancies and safeguards the housing of current tenants.

We recognise the concern regarding disruption to existing tenants due to the sale of HS2 properties that are no longer required. We are committed to ensuring that sales are delivered in a sensible and sensitive way. We will provide updates to tenants as the programme develops and, wherever possible, properties will be sold where tenancies have run to the end of their term.

What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for clean energy projects in Wales.

This Government is backing Wales to lead the UK’s clean energy mission. Our recent Contracts for Difference scheme successfully secured contracts for Wales’ first floating windfarm Erebus, the Awel-y-Mor offshore windfarm in North Wales, and 20 onshore wind, tidal stream and solar projects. As well as our investment to deliver SMRs at Wylfa, these projects will deliver thousands of good, green jobs across every part of Wales, drive economic growth and bring down bills.

If she will will consider exempting PhD students from the International Student Levy.

We are engaging with the higher education sector to shape the design of the International Student Levy (ISL) to make delivery as easy as possible for providers. A technical consultation on the delivery of the ISL was open for responses until 18 February 2026. The government will publish its response in Summer 2026.We have listened to concerns raised by the sector. The levy will not be introduced until 2028/29 to give providers time to plan for its introduction. Providers will also pay the ISL one year in arrears, to help with their financial planning and will also be given an allowance for the first 220 international students per year. This is to mitigate the ISL having a disproportionate impact on smaller providers, particularly those operating specialist and resource intensive models with limited other means of cross-subsidisation.

What steps his Department is taking to help expand the pipeline of qualified floor layers to deliver (a) public housing, (b) hospitals, (c) schools and (d) other infrastructure projects.

Government is investing £625 million in construction skills over this Parliament. This includes Foundation Apprenticeships, expanded Skills Bootcamps, and the launch of Construction Technical Excellence Colleges. These measures aim to deliver up to 60,000 additional skilled workers and support employers to invest in training.The industry-led Construction Skills Mission Board is working to create construction job opportunities to meet the government's announced 159 infrastructure and built environment (1.5 million homes and retrofitting 5 million existing homes) commitments.

What steps he is taking to ensure that (a) organisations delivering commercial flooring apprenticeships and (b) other independent specialist training providers can access funding and opportunities at parity with large further education colleges delivering for trades.

The funding band of each apprenticeship standard sets out the maximum amount that the government will contribute to the costs of apprenticeship training and assessment. This is irrespective of the type or size of funding provider. New training providers can enter the apprenticeship training market under one of the three entry routes in place: where there is a legitimate gap in provision that is generated by unmet employer demand, where a levy paying employer wants to become an employer-provider to train its own workforce, or where the provider is in an area we want to grow or where we identify a capacity issue.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed higher multiplier for business rates on (a) The Underworld, (b) Soul Mama and (c) other grassroots music venues with a rateable value of over £500,000.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with rateable values (RVs) below £500,000, including grassroots music venues, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government is sustainably funding this by introducing a higher multiplier on properties with RVs of £500,000 and above. The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the Government can factor the revaluation outcomes, as well as the broader economic and fiscal context into decision-making. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

What steps he is taking to help prevent ill health.

The 10 Year Health Plan announced ambitious measures to prevent ill health by making the healthy choice the easy choice. This includes a moonshot to end the obesity epidemic through mandatory healthy food sales reporting and introducing business targets to increase the healthiness of sales in all communities. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will deliver a smoke-free UK by gradually ending the sale of tobacco products.

What steps she is taking to improve the assessment of the value for money of Government funding for universities.

The government has commissioned the Institute for Fiscal Studies to update their 2020 research report on the impact of undergraduate degrees on lifetime earnings, and this will be published in early 2026.The 2020 research suggests that higher education (HE) yields a positive financial return to both the graduate and the exchequer for the majority of graduates over their lifetime. Previous graduates are estimated to be over £100,000 better off on average in real terms by going to university after taxes, student loan repayments and foregone earnings are considered.Whilst the department recognises not all HE qualifications are associated with high salaries, we want all HE providers to equip their students with the skills they need to progress to good jobs they find rewarding.The government will continue to work with the Office for Students, empowering it to hold HE providers to account for the quality of students’ experiences and the outcomes they achieve.

If she will review the maximum value of fixed penalty notices for breach of permit conditions, relating to offences under the New Roads and Street Works Act to provide a stronger deterrent to utilities companies against breach of those conditions.

The Government is taking decisive action to reduce unnecessary disruption caused by street works by increasing the value of Fixed Penalty Notices. For certain offences, such as undertaking works without a permit, breaching permit conditions, or failing to provide timely notifications of reinstatements or start/stop notices, the penalties will be doubled. This measure is intended to strengthen compliance and ensure that street works are carried out responsibly and with minimal impact to road users and the public.

Whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of people who pass away before their attendance allowance appeal is concluded.

For Attendance Allowance Appeals raised in the 2024/25 year, 10 claimants died before their appeal was concluded. Please note that the figure supplied is derived from unpublished information and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. It should therefore be used with caution and may be subject to future revision. Notes:Figure has been rounded to the nearest 10

How many applications for attendance allowance are processed each year; and what proportion of those applications do not proceed to assessment.

The number of Attendance Allowance (AA) applications cleared are measured weekly. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. In 2022/23, 415,800 applications were cleared.In 2023/24, 508,200 applications were cleared.In 2024/25, 517,200 applications were cleared. Because of how we capture our operational data, information on if a claim has progressed to assessment is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. Special Notes:The Applications Cleared figures are unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. Please note that data is missing for w/c 18th December 2023 as such the figure for 2023/24 has a small undercount.

Media and Sport, how her Department monitors progress of the grassroots ticket levy.

The Government wants to see the music industry supporting the ticket levy to back the artists, venues, festivals and promoters who make up our grassroots sector. We are working closely with the sector to monitor progress, particularly with LIVE and the Music Venue Trust, who are tracking data on the uptake of the levy. Sector reporting shows 8% of 2025 tickets on sale in the UK now include the grassroots ticket levy, with an encouraging uptake in recent months. Summer ticket sales and the establishment of the LIVE Trust should mean greater uptake by autumn. I am delighted that the Royal Albert Hall has announced that it will now include the levy for all ticketed events and am enthusiastically encouraging all venues, promoters and artists to follow suit. If not, the Government will reconvene the live music sector to consider legislative options.Since November I have held two roundtables with members of the live music sector to drive progress on the levy uptake. We are urging major promoters to act without delay, and I recently met Live Nation to encourage them to back the scheme in earnest. I would also urge every major artist to encourage their team to sign up as a matter of urgency so that at least a majority of qualifying tickets carry the levy by the end of the year.

Media and Sport, what her Department's policy is on investment in skills in the grassroots performing arts.

This government is making a substantial investment in skills across the economy, with over £1 billion of additional funding by 2028-29, on top of the phase 1 settlement for 2025-26. This protects opportunity, delivers the workforce needed for the Plan for Change, and fuels future growth.The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out how we will develop high quality, responsive, inclusive and targeted education, skills and training for the Creative Industries, which will benefit grassroots performing arts. This includes delivering a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service to raise awareness of creative careers and ensuring that we continue to consider the needs of smaller employers when developing our growth and skills offer. The Plan recognises the UK’s significant strengths in educational infrastructure for performing arts, including our world-leading institutions, and commits to working with DfE, Skills England and industry to support increased access to quality specialist creative education provision across England.On the 2nd June, the government also announced that £132.5 million of dormant assets funding will be allocated to increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability.The Department for Education will launch the National Centre for Arts and Music Education in September 2026 to expand arts access for young people, enhance teacher training, and strengthen school-arts partnerships. In addition, in 2024/25, Arts Council England awarded £14.2 million to 1,220 creative practitioners through its Developing Your Creative Practice programme, and a further £28 million to 1,119 practitioners via National Lottery Project Grants.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with (a) music concert event organisers, (b) large venue event organisers, (c) ticketing platforms and (d) others on the amount expected to be raised by the grassroots ticket levy in the second quarter of 2025.

The Government wants to see the music industry supporting the ticket levy to back the artists, venues, festivals and promoters who make up our grassroots sector. We are working closely with the sector to monitor progress, particularly with LIVE and the Music Venue Trust, who are tracking data on the uptake of the levy. Sector reporting shows 8% of 2025 tickets on sale in the UK now include the grassroots ticket levy, with an encouraging uptake in recent months. Summer ticket sales and the establishment of the LIVE Trust should mean greater uptake by autumn. I am delighted that the Royal Albert Hall has announced that it will now include the levy for all ticketed events and am enthusiastically encouraging all venues, promoters and artists to follow suit. If not, the Government will reconvene the live music sector to consider legislative options.Since November I have held two roundtables with members of the live music sector to drive progress on the levy uptake. We are urging major promoters to act without delay, and I recently met Live Nation to encourage them to back the scheme in earnest. I would also urge every major artist to encourage their team to sign up as a matter of urgency so that at least a majority of qualifying tickets carry the levy by the end of the year.

Whether she plans to extend (a) film and (b) high-end TV tax relief to grassroots performing arts.

The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, including the key role they play in driving economic growth.The Government supports the creative industries through tax reliefs and funding, where the recently published Creative Industries Sector Plan set out the Government’s vision. Up to £30 million will be set aside for a new Music Growth package over the next three years, which will create new touring, performance, mentoring and export opportunities for emerging talent, while also delivering a significant uplift in funding for the grassroots sector to support small venues.The objective of the creative industry tax reliefs is to support and incentivise productions rather than to support venues themselves. When considering new tax reliefs, the Government takes into account costs, complexity, and the market failure the relief is seeking to address. Extending the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) to grassroots performing arts is not currently under consideration.

What steps she is taking to ensure that there is clear understanding within (a) her Department and (b) employers of which payments and benefits from employers are treated as income for the purposes of child maintenance calculations.

CMS staff have a clear understanding of what is classed as income from training and internal guidance. With regards to employers, income included in the basic child maintenance calculation is the same as that used in HMRC calculations of taxable income. There is therefore no requirement for employers to make additional or separate reports of income for child maintenance purposes as the CMS take this information directly from HMRC, and therefore no requirement for employers to understand what constitutes income for child maintenance purposes. In cases where the CMS request ongoing child maintenance payments are deducted directly from salary, this is done by issuing a Deductions from Earnings Order (DEO). When a DEO is served, the CMS provides the employer with the precise figure to be deducted. However, this does not cover all income that an employer may pay an individual. Where a paying parent is the director of their limited liability company, they are legally an employee of that company and are treated the same as any other employee for child maintenance purposes but may receive additional income as a result of their employment status, for example, dividends, which are not routinely included in the standard child maintenance calculation. In these circumstances, this income is only included within the calculation if the receiving parent in the case applies for a variation. Caseworkers are fully supported in processing variation applications through training and internal guidance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to make an assessment in (a) the six monthly report on Hong Kong and (b) the overseas business risk guidance for UK firms of the potential impact of declining public access to (i) the ombudsman archives, (ii) company, land and court records and (iii) other official information in Hong Kong.

Assessments in the six-monthly report and the overseas business risk guidance will be made in usual way. No decision has yet been made on whether to include analysis on the ombudsman archives and company, land, and court records in Hong Kong. As a co-signatory to the Joint Declaration, the UK will continue to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out the violation of their freedoms, and to hold China to its international obligations.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which water, sanitation and hygiene programmes his Department plans to continue funding through the Official Development Assistance budget in the next five years.

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) remain a key part of the UK's focus on global health; our work on tackling climate change; and our humanitarian action. The latest consolidated Statistics on International Development report shows UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on WASH totalled £37 million in 2023.The transition to spending 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income on ODA by 2027 demands significant shifts in the scale and shape of our ODA spending over the next five years. ODA allocations for 2026/27 to 2028/29 will be finalised in an internal resource allocation round following the recent Spending Review. In the meantime, our existing WASH sector programmes will continue.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to encourage (a) the private sector and (b) other donors to increase funding for water, sanitation and hygiene programmes.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) recognises the potential of private investment to accelerate progress on water supply, sanitation and hygiene. We work with governments in eight countries to improve the performance of the water and sanitation sector, strengthening systems and capacity and reduce commercial risks that discourage private investment. Our support to the World Bank also helps do this, for example through the Water Security and Climate Adaptation Global Challenge Programme. This work is complemented by our support to the Heads of State Initiative for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), which is mobilising domestic finance and encouraging collaboration between governments, donors and other development partners. These initiatives mark the FCDO's shift from projects that delivered WASH infrastructure to a more strategic focus on governance and finance, improving the sustainability and resilience of WASH services that can attract funding from users, government budget allocations and private investors.