Written questions by Ballinger.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of inaccessible (a) public transport and (b) streets on disabled people seeking employment.

The Government recognises the importance of accessible streets and public transport to enable disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity, including ensuring they can access and sustain employment opportunities. As part of our broader mission to break down barriers to opportunity, we recognise that more needs to be done to ensure transport is accessible to all. The Government welcomed the findings of the Transport Select Committee’s report on improving accessibility across the transport network, and we are committed to driving change. Local authorities are responsible for the design, management and maintenance of their streets. It is for them to ensure they carry out these functions in a way which takes account of the needs of everyone, and complies with the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Department has published good practice guidance on this in ‘Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure, available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mobility-making-transport-accessible-for-passengers-and-pedestrians. In December last year, the government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill which includes a comprehensive package of measures to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of local bus services. We have also confirmed over £1 billion for 25/26 to support and improve bus services and keep fares affordable, including £712 million for local authorities. Local authorities can use this funding in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including improving the accessibility of bus infrastructure. The government also has ambitious plans to reform the rail sector, unifying track and train under one organisation. The cornerstone of the Government’s plan for rail reform is to establish Great British Railways (GBR), a publicly owned arm’s length body charged with running Britain’s railways in the public interest. Accessibility is one of the Government’s six priorities for the railway and will be central to GBR. To support this, the Railways Bill includes legal requirements relating to accessibility that will ensure that the interests of passengers, including those with accessibility needs, will be a fundamental part of decision-making on the railways. We will shortly publish an Accessibility Roadmap for rail that sets out the actions we are taking to deliver a more accessible railway. We are also committed to developing an Accessible Travel Charter. The charter is a commitment to a shared vision for accessible travel. It will aim to set out what disabled travellers can expect from their journeys and what to do when standards aren’t met, share best practice across organisations and create consistency in end-to-end journeys for disabled travellers. All of these measures and many more projects and policies within the Department are aimed at making the journeys of disabled people more accessible and allowing them to travel as they need.

If she will respond to her Department's consultation entitled Managing Pavement Parking, which closed on 22 November 2020, by 31 December 2025.

The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with local authorities on ensuring that local trading standards services are adequately resourced.

Local Authorities are responsible for determining resourcing priorities in accordance with the needs of their local communities, and the members of those communities will differ according to the areas where they live.

What measures he is taking to ensure small businesses deliver (a) prompt, (b) competent and (c) honest services to consumers.

All businesses are required to comply with consumer law, which aims to protect consumers from poor conduct by traders. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods sold by traders must be as described, of a satisfactory quality, and fit for a particular purpose. Traders are required to carry out a service with reasonable care and skill, and where the timeframe is not specified in the contract, within a reasonable time.DBT has strengthened consumer protections through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.DBT also funds Business Companion, who publish free guidance for businesses on complying with consumer law.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of (a) the adequacy of funding for local trading standards and (b) the potential impact of this on their ability to respond promptly to complex and resource-intensive cases.

Local Authorities are responsible for determining resourcing priorities in accordance with the needs of their local communities, and the members of those communities will differ according to the areas where they live.

What steps he is taking to ensure civil court judgments related to consumer fraud are effectively (a) satisfied and (b) enforced; and what steps he is taking to ensure perpetrators cannot continue with such behaviour.

The civil courts offer several methods for creditors to enforce civil judgment debts, including warrants or writs of control, attachment of earnings orders, third party debt orders and charging orders. These processes are designed to address different financial circumstances and aim to make it as difficult as possible for judgment debtors to avoid their responsibilities. Individuals are encouraged to engage legal experts to consider the best option for their individual circumstances.Victims of fraud are encouraged to report fraudulent activity and cybercrime to Action Fraud which is the UK’s national reporting centre run by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau by of the City of London Police (national policing lead for economic crime).

What steps she is taking to prevent racially-motivated (a) violence and (b) sexual assault against members of the Sikh community.

This Government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime, including those targeting the Sikh community. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion, and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has provided funding to True Vision – the police hate crime programme and online reporting portal – to encourage communities to report hate crime and reinforce relationships between communities and policing. As part of this, True Vision has been working with the Sikh Guard (established by the National Sikh Police Association) and Rakkha (a third-party reporting site) to encourage reporting from within Sikh communities. The Home Office also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with all forms of online hate crime. We back the police in taking strong action against those targeting our communities. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, communities are now benefitting from more visible patrols, and more focused local engagement. Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), including sexual violence, is a top priority for this Government. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach, underpinned by a new strategy which we aim to publish as soon as possible. The Home Office also announced £13.1 million funding to launch a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP).  The Centre will improve the police response to VAWG, helping officers respond effectively to these crimes and to offer victims consistent protection. Whilst the police are operationally independent and work in line with the College of Policing’s operational guidance to respond to all forms of hate crime, we expect the police to fully investigate these appalling offences and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) consumers are protected from consumer fraud by small businesses and (b) victims are (i) promptly and (ii) sufficiently compensated for their losses.

DBT funds Citizens Advice to provide consumer advice in England and Wales. Citizens Advice run an annual Scams Awareness campaign on behalf of the Consumer Protection Partnership to raise awareness about scams: how to spot a scam, prevent becoming a victim and report scams.The next campaign will run from 20 October-2 November. The Citizens Advice website has detailed advice on that how to report a scam to the Citizens Advice consumer service and additionally to Action Fraud. There is also advice to consumers about checking to see whether they can get their money back if they have been scammed.

What steps she is taking to help improve the confidence of the Sikh community in the police to report hate crimes that (a) include and (b) do not include extreme violence.

This Government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime, including those targeting the Sikh community. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion, and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has provided funding to True Vision – the police hate crime programme and online reporting portal – to encourage communities to report hate crime and reinforce relationships between communities and policing. As part of this, True Vision has been working with the Sikh Guard (established by the National Sikh Police Association) and Rakkha (a third-party reporting site) to encourage reporting from within Sikh communities. The Home Office also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with all forms of online hate crime. We back the police in taking strong action against those targeting our communities. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, communities are now benefitting from more visible patrols, and more focused local engagement. Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), including sexual violence, is a top priority for this Government. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach, underpinned by a new strategy which we aim to publish as soon as possible. The Home Office also announced £13.1 million funding to launch a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP).  The Centre will improve the police response to VAWG, helping officers respond effectively to these crimes and to offer victims consistent protection. Whilst the police are operationally independent and work in line with the College of Policing’s operational guidance to respond to all forms of hate crime, we expect the police to fully investigate these appalling offences and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for her Department’s policies of the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Sikhs entitled Anti-Sikh Hate Crime Report, published in October 2020.

We welcome the Sikh Guard initiative, a third-party reporting service specifically for the Sikh Community. The Government has worked with the police to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. As a part of this, True Vision has been working with the Sikh Guard (established by the National Sikh Police Association) and Rakkha initiatives to encourage reporting from within Sikh communities.The Government also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub, which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these abhorrent offences.

What discussions she has had with police forces on ensuring that police (a) officers and (b) staff receive (i) mental health and (ii) self-harm prevention support.

This Government is committed to supporting the mental and physical wellbeing of all our police and are working closely with police leaders to ensure this.This includes providing ongoing funding to the National Police Wellbeing Service, which provides evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources which can be accessed by forces. This helps Chief Constables in their duty to ensure the wellbeing of their workforce. In particular, the Service is helping forces to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it in response to traumatic events.A National Action Plan for Suicide Prevention and Postvention in policing has been launched, which aims to reduce rates among the police workforce as well as enhancing data recording. The plan, which includes ensuring adequate training for the police workforce, emphasises a supportive environment that promotes mental health and combats stigma to ensure that those affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts can access appropriate and timely support.

How the (a) commissioning and (b) funding model for gambling harm treatment services is structured across England; and whether he plans to issue a Letter of Comfort to Providers.

At present, NHS England provides ringfenced funding to the integrated care boards for the commissioning of eight regional gambling harms services in England. The majority of other gambling harms treatment services in England, largely provided by the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector, are commissioned by GambleAware until 31 March 2026.The new statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect in April 2025. Under the levy, NHS England, and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, are the commissioners for gambling-related harm treatment and support services. They will receive 50% of available levy funding to improve and expand treatment services across Great Britain.From 1 April 2026, NHS England will be taking on responsibility for the commissioning of the full gambling harms treatment pathway in England, from referral and triage through to aftercare. All services will be funded by the new levy, which will be ringfenced for services to reduce gambling harms. NHS England is currently working at pace to confirm future commissioning arrangements and aims to provide all stakeholders with an update in the autumn.

Whether the contracting process to enable established providers to apply for or maintain commissioned status for the commissioning of gambling harm treatment services will be through (a) open tendering, (b) direct awards, (c) partnership agreements and (d) a spot-purchasing framework; and whether that process will (i) be the same or (ii) vary across England.

The new statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect in April 2025. Under the levy, NHS England, and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, are the commissioners for gambling-related harm treatment and support services. They will receive 50% of available levy funding to improve and expand treatment services across Great Britain.From 1 April 2026, NHS England will take on responsibility for the commissioning of the full gambling harms treatment pathway in England, from referral and triage through to aftercare. NHS England continues to work at pace on the design of the future commissioning approach, however, no decisions have yet been taken. The aim is to provide all stakeholders with a further update in the coming months. All contracting arrangements and their associated funding models will subsequently be confirmed by the appropriate commissioners.

Whether funding for gambling harm treatment services will be structured through (a) block funding, (b) activity-based models or (c) outcome-based models; what his Department's timetable is for (i) implementing its funding model and (ii) providing payments to providers; and whether his Department plans to provide (A) upfront or (B) staged payments for those providers.

The new statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect in April 2025. Under the levy, NHS England, and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, are the commissioners for gambling-related harm treatment and support services. They will receive 50% of available levy funding to improve and expand treatment services across Great Britain.From 1 April 2026, NHS England will take on responsibility for the commissioning of the full gambling harms treatment pathway in England, from referral and triage through to aftercare. NHS England continues to work at pace on the design of the future commissioning approach, however, no decisions have yet been taken. The aim is to provide all stakeholders with a further update in the coming months. All contracting arrangements and their associated funding models will subsequently be confirmed by the appropriate commissioners.

When the Road Safety Strategy will be published.

The Government treats road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Department is developing our Road Safety Strategy with plans to publish it this year. We will set out more details in due course.

Whether the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will be responsible for commissioning gambling harm treatment services in relation to the portion of the Gambling Levy allocated for treatment; and what role his Department expects that NHS England will have in the commissioning of gambling harm treatment services in the long term.

Under the new statutory levy on gambling operators which came into effect in April, NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales are the commissioners for gambling-related harm treatment and support services. They will receive 50% of available levy funding to improve and expand treatment services across Great Britain.NHS England continues to lead work on the future design of treatment and support services in England, working closely with the other levy commissioners to ensure a co-ordinated approach to addressing gambling-related harms.The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to work closely with NHS England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to fully consider the implications of the NHS England transformation announcement on the future statutory levy commissioning structure.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of penalty levels for uninsured driving.

My department is developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course. All drivers must be insured to drive or ride the vehicle they are using and for the purpose it is used for. The Government takes uninsured driving seriously. My department is currently considering a range of policies relating to the motoring offences and their penalties.

Whether she has made a comparative assessment of penalty levels for uninsured driving in (a) the UK and (b) other European countries.

The Department has not made a comparative assessment of penalty levels for uninsured driving in the UK and other European countries.

Whether she has considered including measures to combat uninsured driving in the Road Safety Strategy.

The Department is developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.All drivers must be insured to drive or ride the vehicle they are using and for the purpose it is used for. The Government takes uninsured driving seriously. Police forces work closely with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) to tackle this. This is achieved through Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE), a scheme where MIB and DVLA collaborate to identify uninsured drivers and police enforcement on the road.There is also a national policing initiative known as Operation Tutelage to reduce the level of uninsured driving on our roads. The police send advisory letters to the registered keepers of vehicles seen on the road in circumstances where the current insurance status of the vehicle is unclear. The letter encourages the registered keeper to identify if there is a problem with the insurance for the vehicle, and to put things right.

Whether any COBR meetings took place on the (a) data breach relating to Afghanistan and (b) Afghan Response Route between August 2023 and May 2024.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees is not normally shared publicly.