Written questions by Kearns.

How many cases of human metapneumovirus have been identified in the UK.

The UK Health Security Agency’s long-term surveillance of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) in England, through systems covering general practice surgeries and hospital laboratories, indicates that hMPV levels in winter 2024-25 are in line with what we would expect to see at this time of year.Healthcare data for hMPV and other respiratory viruses comes from the sentinel surveillance system, a data collection method used to monitor trends. This means it is not a count of every person being treated for the respiratory virus in hospital. Total case numbers are therefore not held centrally.Further information on data collection is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sources-of-surveillance-data-for-influenza-covid-19-and-other-respiratory-viruses

If he will publish a plan to help tackle the use of Uyghur slave labour in solar supply chains.

The Government opposes all forms of slave labour. The Government is clear UK businesses should monitor their supply chains and do everything in their power to remove any instances of forced labour they may find.Through the reconvened Solar Taskforce, the Government is working across Whitehall and closely with industry stakeholders to take forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable, innovative, and free from forced labour. Further information will be set out in the Solar Roadmap, to be published in Spring 2025.

What discussions he has had with (a) his international counterparts and (b) the World Health Organisation on human metapneumovirus.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has had no recent communications from the World Health Organisation or other countries in relation to human metapneumovirus (hMPV).UKHSA’s long-term surveillance of hMPV in England, through systems covering general practice surgeries and hospital laboratories, indicates that hMPV levels in winter 2024-25 are in line with what we would expect to see at this time of year.Healthcare data for hMPV and other respiratory viruses is routinely published on the UKHSA dashboard, which is available at the following link:https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/respiratory-viruses/other-respiratory-viruses

What the average maximum number of patients registered per GP practice in England is.

The median number of patients registered at a general practice in England in December 2024 was 8,799.

Whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of making cuckooing a crime.

Cuckooing is an appalling practice associated with violence, exploitation and anti-social behaviour.The Government’s Safer Streets Mission aims to tackle these issues and we will make further announcements in the normal way in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to appoint the (a) special envoy for hostage affairs and (b) special envoy for arbitrary detention.

The FCDO is committed to strengthening support for British Nationals overseas, including through the appointment of an Envoy. Further details will be announced in due course.William Middleton has succeeded Charles Hay as Director for Gaza Hostages.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to improve mobile phone and broadband access in South Kesteven.

Project Gigabit is the government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans. Eligible premises in the district council area of South Kesteven are set to benefit from three Project Gigabit contracts currently set to deliver new gigabit-capable connections between now and 2029.We also want all areas of the UK to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. 4G coverage is now available from all four mobile network operators in 97% of South Kesteven. Our ambition is to go further, with all populated areas, including South Kesteven, having higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030.

Communities and Local Government, when the next round of the Community Ownership Fund will open for applications.

Following the announcement of Round 4 Window 1 outcomes on 23 December 2024, the Community Ownership Fund (COF) is now closed.There will be no further application windows on the COF programme.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a new sign asking drivers to move to the right at short slip roads.

The Department has not made an assessment of introducing a sign asking drivers to move to the right at short slip roads. There are currently no plans to introduce this.

What criteria she will use to measure the success of the ambition to halve violence against women and girls.

We are undertaking a programme of work to bring together suitable data and metrics to measure progress against the ambition to halve VAWG in a decade. We are working closely with The Office for National Statistics and other stakeholders in producing the metrics underpinning how the government will measure success. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to make being (a) the leader of and (b) involved in a grooming gang a statutory aggravating factor during sentencing.

Child sexual abuse and exploitation are the most vile and horrific of crimes - involving rape, violence, coercive control, intimidation, manipulation, and deep long-term harm.That is why this Government is determined to act – strengthening the law, taking forward recommendations from independent inquiries, supporting stronger police action and protection for victims.As part of this package of measures, the Government has committed to legislate to make grooming an aggravating factor in the sentencing of child sexual offences, to ensure that this behaviour is reflected in the sentencing of perpetrators.

How many foreign nationals have been convicted for grooming.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including grooming up to and including June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here:Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK. However, convictions data held centrally does not include if the offender is a foreign national. This information may be held in the court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate cost.

If she will launch an inquiry into grooming and rape gangs.

The Government's priority is to take action on delivering against the recommendations of the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The Home Secretary announced on 6th January that we will be bringing in mandatory reporting, making grooming an aggravating factor in CSA cases, and setting up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making.The Government will continue to support further inquiries that are needed, which can expose failings and wrongdoings in local areas and institutions. It is right that these take place at a localised level so that those are responsible for delivering services work to ensure lessons are learnt and that local partners are doing all they can to improve their response. We support local areas like Oldham Council, who have confirmed that work to set up a further local inquiry is already underway.The Government invest in the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce (or 'Grooming Gangs Taskforce') which provides practical, expert, on the ground support for local forces investigating complex, group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation, with a focus on grooming gangs.The Taskforce collect and report on data on group-based offending quarterly. 'Group-based' offending in this context includes any offence with two or more perpetrators. This will include - but is not limited to - 'grooming gang' type offending; other 'group-based' offending includes intra-familial and peer-on-peer abuse, for example.In November 2024, the Taskforce published 2023 data on group-based offending (available here: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/publications/hydrant-publications#LatestNews) which includes data on ethnicity. However, it is important to note that ethnicity data is limited and should be treated with caution. The Government will be working with the Taskforce to improve data collection, including dealing with the issues around ethnicity.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to support new FM licences for radio stations in (a) Rutland, (b) Mid-Wales and (c) other rural areas.

The growth and development of digital radio and changes in listener behaviour have resulted in a clear shift away from analogue listening – digital listening now accounts for 74% of all radio listening (RAJAR Q3 2024). Although AM/FM platforms remain important for smaller commercial and community stations, significant numbers of listeners are migrating to digital platforms.The licensing of AM/FM radio services is a matter for Ofcom, and in October Ofcom set out its current approach to licensing in a progress report on the rollout of small-scale DAB (SSDAB) technology. This report set out Ofcom’s current view that SSDAB offers audiences a wider range of services and makes a more efficient use of spectrum than FM, and committed to at least two further rounds of SSDAB licensing before considering the possibility of any further analogue licensing in the future.

What plans she has to provide funding for the expansion of electric vehicle chargers in (a) Rutland and South Kesteven and (b) other rural areas.

Rutland County Council was allocated £569,000 and Lincolnshire County Council, which South Kesteven sits within, was allocated £6,380,592 combined capital and resource funding through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to expand public chargepoints. The £381m LEVI Fund will accelerate public chargepoints for drivers without off-street parking across England, including rural areas. LEVI funding allocations considered the level of rurality in an area. This meant local authorities in rural areas were allocated additional funding compared to urban ones.

If she will (a) collect and (b) publish the ethnicity of (i) abusers and (ii) victims of grooming gangs.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure UN Security Council Resolution 2118 on Syria is implemented.

The UK has been clear. Syria must fulfil its international obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 2118 and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), as we stated at the OPCW Executive Council meeting on 12 December and at the UN Security Council on 17 December. While we welcome HTS's commitments to protect chemical weapons sites and never use these weapons under any circumstances, Syria must now take the next step, which is to comply with its obligations under UNSCR 2118 and the Chemical Weapons Convention and engage with the OPCW to declare fully its chemical weapons programme. The UK has recently announced an additional £120,000 of funding to OPCW to support its work on Syria.

What the immigration status was of Fawzi Omar when he committed a sexual assault on 8 May 2024.

My thoughts are with the victims of these appalling crimes and their families, and I applaud the work of the police forces who brought perpetrators for these crimes to justice.The Honourable Member will understand that, even in such appalling cases, the personal data of the perpetrators, including immigration and citizenship status, is exempt from release if disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to assess national security considerations when determining whether to grant planning permission for a new Chinese Embassy in Tower Hamlets.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question HL3240 on 19 December 2024.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that care providers, including those in supportive living care settings, are consulted during (a) policy reviews and (b) before policy decisions.

The Department regularly engages with and consults stakeholders, including providers and people with lived experience of care and support services, to ensure that a wide range of views are taken into account through all stages of the policy life cycle. This includes holding regular meetings and provider forums, working with partners in the sector, and also running formal public consultations, as necessary.