Written questions by Snowden.

How many of the 3,000 (a) new and (b) expanded school-based nurseries will be in Fylde.

At the Spending Review, the department announced almost £370 million of further funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to ensure more children can access the high-quality early education they deserve and get the best start in life.The department is currently planning the next phases of the programme, and we will be announcing the next steps shortly. We encourage eligible schools in Fylde to engage with their local authority and explore opportunities to participate in future rounds of funding.

How many prosecutions for hate crimes have the CPS commenced in each of the last 12 months; and how many and what proportion of these prosecutions resulted in conviction.

In the year to December 2024 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised the charging of a total of 11,777 suspects in hate crime flagged cases with 87.4% of legal decisions resulting in a suspect being charged.The below table provides a breakdown of the monthly charge volumes and rate for 2024. 24-0124-0224-0324-0424-0524-0624-0724-0824-0924-1024-1124-12Suspects Charged8528888919379118591,0101,4299741,0391,005982Charge Rate (% of all legal decisions)85.5%86.4%85.8%88.1%87.6%86.5%85.8%91.7%86.7%85.1%88.3%88.9% Over the same period the CPS has prosecuted 14,657 defendants of which 12,614 were convicted, giving a conviction rate of 86.1% for the 2024 calendar year.The below table provides a breakdown of the monthly completed prosecutions and convictions for 2024. 24-0124-0224-0324-0424-0524-0624-0724-0824-0924-1024-1124-12Completed Prosecutions1,1831,1121,0921,1161,2551,1021,2221,4191,2831,4621,3251,086Convictions1,0159769199701,0699311,0391,2571,1081,2591,140931Conviction Rate (%)85.8%87.8%84.2%86.9%85.2%84.5%85.0%88.6%86.4%86.1%86.0%85.7% The volume of prosecution outcomes for a period differs from the volume of pre charge decisions for the same period. Where the pre charge decision is to bring charges many cases will only reach a conclusion in a later period. This will vary according to the outcome type: for example, the legal process is longer where a case is contested or sent to the Crown Court and tried by jury.Further information can be found in quarterly data published on the CPS website: CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's policies on maintaining the defibrillator network.

The Department does not maintain the automated external defibrillator (AED) network.The Circuit is the independently operated national AED database, developed by a partnership of the British Heart Foundation, the National Health Service, the Resuscitation Council UK, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives. The Circuit provides a national database of where defibrillators can be found so that ambulance services can quickly identify the nearest defibrillator. There are now over 100,000 defibrillators in the United Kingdom registered on The Circuit.

Which Department is responsible for ensuring that (a) Deliveroo and (b) gig economy platforms monitor users to ensure compliance with usage policies.

Regulatory oversight of gig economy platforms spans multiple departments and agencies depending on the specific aspect being regulated. For example, the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology is responsible for data protection policy and legislation as it relates to personal data, and the Department for Business and Trade has responsibility for the legislative framework on employment rights. Platform usage policies are contractual matters between the companies and their users, with companies responsible for enforcing their own terms of service within the bounds of applicable laws.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of illegally working while awaiting an asylum claim have on the outcome of that claim.

Illegal working is a criminal offence, and it is important for asylum seekers to adhere to the rules on the right to work in the UK. Evidence of illegal working will routinely be taken into account when assessing an asylum seeker's claim.

If he will meet with representatives from the Lobular Moonshot Project campaign.

The Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser recently met with the Lobular Moon-Shot Project to discuss opportunities, and will convene a follow up meeting with my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June to Question 61581 on Undocumented Migrants: Lancashire, which stakeholders in Lancashire have been consulted in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months.

Our engagement is undertaken through a number of regular local and regional forums that local authority partners, including officials within Lancashire, are invited to attend.

What steps she is taking to support people on universal credit into work in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

As announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice.We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access good, meaningful work, and support them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. The new service will be available for anyone who wants to look for work, to increase their earnings or to change their career or retrain. It will be responsive to local employers, inclusive for all customers and will work closely in partnership with local services to tackle the challenges associated with local labour markets. In Fylde, our Jobcentre teams work closely with the Local Authority as well as local employers and partners to offer a range of employment opportunities for our customers. Tailored support is available for different customer groups to offer the right support needed. An example is referring our younger customers to Fylde Focus which gives 16-24 year olds a bespoke one to one service to improve their employability skills. Across Lancashire, including Fylde, our Work Coaches utilise their appointments to identify the right provision for our customers. Employer Advisers and Disability Employment Advisers engage with employers and partners to bring our Jobcentres Sector-based Work Academy Programmes, 50+ MOT’s, Job Fairs, employability building courses and more. An example is a recent employability event which took place in St Annes, which helped individuals look at taking the first or next step in their career and employment journey. The event offered tailored careers advice, CV/interview support and access to local training and job opportunities.

Whether the (a) selling and (b) renting of user profiles to gig economy platforms is a criminal offence.

If such actions are done to facilitate illegal working, yes.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June to Question 61301 on Alzheimer's Disease: Drugs, if he will publish a (a) summary and (b) redacted version of the economic models used in the NICE appraisals of (i) lecanemab and (ii) donanemab.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) single technology appraisal process relies on information provided by companies to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of new treatments. Some of this information, including the economic model, is considered commercially sensitive by the companies and is submitted to NICE in confidence. As a result, this material cannot be made publicly available. However, versions of the models with the commercially sensitive information redacted are available from NICE upon request, to registered stakeholders who have signed a confidentiality agreement, to inform their understanding of the evaluation.NICE is committed to being as transparent as possible. While the economic models for lecanemab and donanemab cannot be published, the full committee papers, with confidential information redacted, are published. These contain a written description of the model design, inputs, and results. The appraisal committee’s consideration of the cost-effectiveness evidence is also documented in the published guidance. This ensures that stakeholders can understand the basis for NICE’s recommendations, even when certain technical details must remain confidential. The papers for lecanemab are available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11220/documentsIn addition, the papers for donanemab are also available, at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11221/documents

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the child poverty taskforce on levels of child poverty in Fylde constituency.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child, including those in Fylde constituency. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments. As a significant downpayment ahead of strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through the Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year (including Barnett impact), investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. These commitments come on top of the existing action we have taken which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, capping the number of branded school uniform items children are expected to wear, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of delivery drivers using e-bikes on other road users.

Only e-bikes that are fully compliant with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 are legal to use on the roads. I have previously written to the Chief Executives of food delivery companies, making clear that riders should be fully aware of the relevant legal requirements and that they should only be using safe and road legal e-bikes. This is in addition to guidance on safe use of e-bikes that has been published by the Government, most recently by the Department and Business Trade in their “Buy Safe, Be Safe” campaign. Furthermore, the Government has tabled amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce new cycling offences. These new offices will tackle instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cycle behaviour. These new offences will also ensure parity across the “motoring” offences framework. This is so that all road users, whether they are drivers or cyclists, whose behaviour results in the death or serious injury of another road user, will face the same penalties.

If he will consider funding the Lobular Moonshot Project for invasive lobular breast cancer.

The Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser recently met with the Lobular Moon-Shot Project to discuss opportunities, and will convene a follow up meeting with my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June to Question 61301 on Alzheimer's Disease: Drugs, whether NICE has made an assessment of the potential impact of not publishing the economic models for (a) lecanemab and (b) donanemab due to commercial confidentiality on patient access.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) single technology appraisal process relies on information provided by companies to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of new treatments. Some of this information, including the economic model, is considered commercially sensitive by the companies and is submitted to NICE in confidence. As a result, this material cannot be made publicly available. However, versions of the models with the commercially sensitive information redacted are available from NICE upon request, to registered stakeholders who have signed a confidentiality agreement, to inform their understanding of the evaluation.NICE is committed to being as transparent as possible. While the economic models for lecanemab and donanemab cannot be published, the full committee papers, with confidential information redacted, are published. These contain a written description of the model design, inputs, and results. The appraisal committee’s consideration of the cost-effectiveness evidence is also documented in the published guidance. This ensures that stakeholders can understand the basis for NICE’s recommendations, even when certain technical details must remain confidential. The papers for lecanemab are available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11220/documentsIn addition, the papers for donanemab are also available, at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11221/documents

What steps she is taking to ensure that (a) retail staff and (b) police officers are aware of the new offence of assaulting a retail worker.

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UKWork being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) asylum seekers and (b) irregular migrants without the right to work in the UK working in the gig economy.

The Home Office does not hold an estimate of the number of people working illegally in the gig economy. The recent joint work between the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office explains the complexities - Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office for National Statistics.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60629 on Undocumented Migrants: Lancashire, if she will make an estimate of the cost of answering that Question.

The Guide to Parliamentary Work, which is published online and available here, sets out that there is an advisory cost limit known as the disproportionate cost threshold. The current disproportionate cost threshold is £850; the limit does not apply to oral questions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60645 on Shoplifting: Lancashire, what steps she is taking to (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of Opal in tackling serious organised acquisitive crime.

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UKWork being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60645 on Shoplifting: Lancashire, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Safer Streets Mission in (a) reducing crime and (b) improving public perceptions of safety.

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UKWork being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60645 on Shoplifting: Lancashire, how the £5 million allocated to fund Opal will be distributed annually; and what specific metrics will be used to assess its impact on serious organised acquisitive crime.

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UKWork being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.