Written questions by Gardner.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with social media platforms to help tackle the spread of extremism online.

Under the Online Safety Act, companies must act against illegal mis- and disinformation or hateful content, including illegal content that stirs up racial or religious hatred, and direct incitement to violence. The illegal content duty Codes of Practice are currently being scrutinised by Parliament, and Ofcom is anticipated to begin enforcing them in the Spring.Social media platforms are responsible for ensuring that those seeking to spread hate online are not facilitated by their service. DSIT engages constructively with social media platforms, whilst being clear about that responsibility. DSIT also engages with major platforms on their responses to emerging risks relating to national security and public safety.

What assessment she has made of the appropriacy of custodial sentences for pregnant women.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts. The sentencing framework, maximum penalties and the Sentencing Council’s sentencing guidelines apply to all offenders.Sentencing guidelines are clear that there are factors that sentencers should take into account to reflect personal mitigation, including pregnancy, or the impact on dependent relatives. Guidance makes clear that where an offender is on the cusp of custody, imprisonment should not be imposed where there would be an impact on dependents, that would make a custodial sentence disproportionate to achieving the aims of sentencing. However, in some circumstances, custody would be the only appropriate punishment for the most dangerous and violent offenders.This Government has delivered on a manifesto commitment by launching an Independent Review of Sentencing, chaired by former Lord Chancellor, David Gauke. The Review will assess whether the sentencing framework appropriately considers the specific needs or vulnerabilities of women, including pregnant women. Additionally, we are establishing a Women’s Justice Board with a clear ambition to reduce the number of women in prison and to address their distinct needs within the Criminal Justice System.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled New reforms and independent commission to transform social care, published on 3 January 2025, how these reforms will improve service provision in Stoke-on-Trent South constituency.

In January 2025, we announced that we will be taking forward a range of initiatives, including funding more home adaptations, promoting better use of care technologies, and further professionalising the adult social care workforce.On top of the Budget making £3.7 billion of additional funding available to social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant, this announcement included an immediate £86 million uplift to the Disabled Facilities Grant. Local authority funding allocations will be announced shortly.We also announced that in April 2025 we will be launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. This will start a national conversation about what care and support working age adults, older people, and their families expect. The commission will identify the biggest challenges in adult social care and recommend practical changes to best meet the current and future needs of the population across England.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the number of trainee GPs who undertake specialist training in mental health.

The standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent statutory body. The GMC has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for professional practice.   The curriculum for general practitioner (GP) specialty training is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners and must meet the standards set by the GMC and be formally approved by them.  Whilst the curriculum may not necessarily highlight a specific condition, it instead emphasises the skills and approaches a GP must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients. This is assessed by the MRCGP Examination.   Health Education England, now part of NHS England, published a reform of GP Specialty Training, and this includes enhancing mental health training for all.

What steps his Department is taking to increase recruitment of (a) healthcare and (b) dentistry professionals in rural areas.

We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service. A central part of the plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to ensure the NHS has the right people across healthcare and dentistry, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.To tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care, the Government has launched a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most.Integrated care boards have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) help tackle far right extremism.

The Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society, and that radicalise others into terrorism. To understand such threats, we maintain expertise and capabilities to understand terrorist and extremist online communications, in order to produce rapid, high-quality assessments designed to support the Prevent programme.The Prevent programme tackles the ideological causes of terrorism and provides early intervention for people at risk of radicalisation. The programme deals with all forms of terrorist ideology, including Islamist, Extreme Right-Wing, other threats.We work closely with law enforcement and multi-agency partners to respond to any such activity which may pose a threat.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that people carrying out jury duty do not experience financial hardship.

Juries are a vital part of our criminal justice system and undertake an important civic duty. The support provided to jurors includes measures to assist those who may suffer financial hardship. People who are not paid by their employer whilst they are on jury service can claim a loss of earnings allowance from the court, and jurors can apply for a deferral or excusal based upon financial hardship.

What steps he has taken to improve mental health provision for young people in Stoke-on-Trent South constituency.

Too many young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, including in Stoke-on-Trent South constituency, and we know that waits for mental health services are too long. As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and roll out Young Futures Hubs in every community.There are currently approximately 65 locally funded early support hubs in England offering early easy access mental health interventions to thousands of children and young people aged between 11 and 25 years old including those from low-income families.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce levels of reoffending among people released on licence.

This Government is committed to reducing reoffending by giving prison leavers, including those released early on licence, the tools they need to turn their backs on crime. To do that, we will increase prisoners’ access to purposeful activity, such as education, deliver pre-release plans for all those leaving custody and ensure that people leave prison with a job and the skills needed to lead law abiding lives.We are determined to help ensure our hard-working probation staff can continue to deliver high-quality supervision, including to those released on licence, and focus their time on those cases which need most attention. We need to increase the size of the workforce and are committed to bringing in at least 1,000 new trainee probation officers across the 2024/25 financial year.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support local councils to tackle antisocial behaviour within council homes.

Social landlords, including local councils, already have a range of powers and enforcement tools to tackle anti-social behaviour including powers to evict perpetrators. We expect landlords to use those powers promptly and proportionately, putting the needs of victims at the heart of their response. The government is strengthening these powers through the Renters’ Rights Bill for private registered providers.Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. We will crack down on those making neighbourhoods feel unsafe and unwelcoming by introducing the new Respect Order, which local authorities will be able to apply for and which will carry tough sanctions and penalties for persistent adult offenders. The police, local authorities and social landlords may already apply for a Civil Injunction under Section 1 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to prevent behaviour that is causing housing-related nuisance and annoyance.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of innovation in Stoke-on-Trent.

I set out in my previous answer to the Honourable Member for Stafford, that we are investing £29.8 million in research and innovation projects in Staffordshire.For example, through the Strength in Places Fund, we are investing £18 million in the Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry 4.0 project. This is a consortium of researchers, manufacturers and end-users led by the Lucideon Group, which has sites in Stoke-on-Trent and Stone. It will develop streamlined processes for proving and bringing new advanced ceramics technologies to market faster, with less energy usage and lower carbon emissions.

What steps she is taking to improve the accessibility of bus services for disabled people in Stoke-on-Trent.

The government is committed to improving public transport services so they are more inclusive and enable disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity. On 1st October 2024, the first phase of the Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023 came into force, meaning that newer vehicles providing local services must provide audible and visible information on stops, destinations and diversions. The majority of services will need to comply by October 2026. On 17th December, the government introduced a new Bus Services Bill that will give local leaders the freedom to take decisions to deliver their local transport priorities and ensure networks meet the needs of the communities who rely on them, including for disabled people. The Bill includes measures which will make bus travel more accessible and inclusive.

Whether his Department plans to improve access to adrenaline pens (a) for first aid organisations and (b) in schools.

Since October 2017, the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017 have allowed all schools to buy adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) devices without a prescription, for emergency use. The Department has published non-statutory guidance to accompany this legislative change, with the guidance being available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/using-emergency-adrenaline-auto-injectors-in-schoolsThis guidance advises schools on the recognition and management of an allergic reaction and anaphylaxis, and outlines when and how an AAI should be administered for pupils. The guidance makes clear that any AAIs held by a school should be considered a spare device and not a replacement for a pupil’s own AAIs. It also states that children at risk of anaphylaxis should have their own prescribed AAIs at school for use in an emergency, and that they should always carry two devices.In November 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Commission on Human Medicine’s Adrenaline Auto-injector Expert Working Group, with wide-ranging input from patient groups, leading allergy experts and healthcare professionals, published a report which outlined recommendations for the safe and effective use of AAIs, including quicker treatment, to help save lives. The MHRA has worked alongside the Department and wider health system to take forward these recommendations, some of which are already in place.In June 2023, the MHRA, with the support of allergy awareness advocates, launched a safety campaign to raise awareness of anaphylaxis and provide advice on the use of AAIs.The MHRA produced a toolkit of resources for health and social care professionals to support the safe and effective use of AAIs. Alongside this, the MHRA produced guidance, which states that prescribers should prescribe two AAIs to make sure patients always have the second dose and that those who are prescribed AAIs should always carry two of them.A public consultation will be needed before a decision can be made on the wider availability of AAIs in public places, including with first aid organisations, together with legislative change.The Community First Responder (CFR) programme enables volunteers trained by the ambulance service to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work. CFRs have had first aid training but are not medically trained. CFRs are trained in the administration of a patient’s own AAI, which would ensure the correct medication and dose for that patient. In general, CFRs do not carry medication.

What steps she is taking to support those with criminal records to reintegrate back into appropriate work.

We know that employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points for offenders released from custody. That is why we have committed to break the cycle of reoffending by better supporting prisons to link up with employers and the voluntary sector to get more people with convictions into work.For those leaving custody, there are Employment Hubs in all resettlement prisons where prisoners can access job vacancies and support with applications. Prison Employment Leads support prisoners to get work ready and match them to jobs on release. The proportion of prison leavers in employment six months post-release more than doubled across the past three performance years, from 14% in 2020/21 to 31% in 2023/24.Those on community sentences or under probation supervision on licence can access Jobcentre Plus support, and we are working with the Department of Work and Pensions to ensure that work coaches are equipped to give the right support to people with convictions, as set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper. HMPPS’ Creating Future Opportunities programme also works with those furthest from the labour market in the community to improve their employability and move into work. It has supported over 1,000 prison leavers into work in the year to March 2024.For all people with convictions, including those not under probation supervision, the criminal records disclosure regime strikes a balance between rehabilitation and safeguarding the public. Where a conviction has become spent, it is right that the individual is treated as rehabilitated and can move on with their life by not needing to declare the conviction when applying for most jobs or insurance.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Universal Credit reimbursement processes on claimants having to pay childcare fees upfront in a lump sum.

Universal Credit customers can claim up to 3 months of future childcare costs at a time with these costs reimbursed month by month. Universal Credit childcare element, when claimed together with upfront childcare costs, means that customers receive up to 185% of the first month of childcare costs to ease them into the Universal Credit childcare costs payment cycle.

What steps she is taking to improve safety on rural roads.

This Government takes road safety very seriously and reducing those killed and injured on our roads is a key priority. We do recognise that the majority of road fatalities (according to the latest statistics) occurred on rural roads (60%) with fewer fatalities on urban roads (35%) and motorways (5%). The Department’s Safer Roads Fund has awarded local authorities £185.8 million of funding between 2017 and 2024 to improve the safety of England's most high risk 'A' roads. To date, it has funded 445.3 miles of safety improvements on rural roads, making up 62.4% of all funded routes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to end badger culling.

On 30 August, the Government announced the start of work on a comprehensive new strategy to drive down bovine TB rates to save cattle and farmers’ livelihoods and end the badger cull by the end of this parliament. The Government will work with farmers, vets, scientists and conservationists to rapidly strengthen and deploy a range of disease control measures. A key part of the strategy is the ongoing development of a cattle vaccine, which is at the forefront of innovative solutions to help eradicate this disease. Planning is advanced on the next stage of field trials which will assess cattleBCG vaccination and the companion DIVA skin test on a broader cohort of herds to further inform our collective planning for delivery. We are continuing to work at pace but will only deploy the vaccine and companion DIVA skin test when we have all the right steps in place. The new strategy will mark a significant step-change in approach to tackling this devastating disease. It will consider a range of further measures including boosting cattle testing, reducing the spread of disease through cattle movements, and deploying badger vaccination on a wider, landscape scale. This will build on Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s 2018 independent strategy review. Work to underpin the policy with robust science has begun immediately and includes a survey of the badger population for the first time in a decade, a wildlife surveillance programme, the launch of a Badger Vaccinator Field Force and a badger vaccination study to increase badger vaccination at pace to drive down TB rates and protect badgers.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to tackle rough sleeping in (a) Stoke-on-Trent South constituency and (b) the rest of England.

Rough Sleeping levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected. We will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness, and have announced at the Spending Review that funding for homelessness and rough sleeping is increasing by £233 million next year compared to 2024/25.From April 2022 to March 2025 Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been allocated over £3.5 million as part of £547 million Rough Sleeping Initiative funding to tackle rough sleeping across England.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to introduce legislation to ban trail hunting.

This is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and Northern Ireland; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales only. The Government made a manifesto commitment to ban Trail Hunting as part of a set of measures to improve animal welfare. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on preparing legislation to ban trail hunting.

This is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and Northern Ireland; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales only. The Government made a manifesto commitment to ban Trail Hunting as part of a set of measures to improve animal welfare. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing. Further announcements will be made in due course.