Written questions by Snowden.

What steps he is taking to increase mobile phone signal in barracks.

The Strategic Defence Review sets out this Government’s commitment to enhancing the standard of Service Family Accommodation and Single Living Accommodation, which is essential for the morale and retention of Service personnel. The Ministry of Defence (Defence Digital) has recently signed a new Mobile Device and Airtime Contract with BT. The main service provider under this contract is EE, with the option to use Vodafone as an alternative provider should mobile coverage prove poor with EE.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 May 2025 to Question 49682 on Deportation, what estimate she has made of the number of those 24,000 people that entered the UK illegally.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.More detailed published data on returns activity is published in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’. Data on the number of foreign national offender returns from the UK can be found in Ret_D03 of the ‘Returns detailed datasets’ and enforced and voluntary returns of small boat arrivals can be found in Ret_06 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. This data goes up to March 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the cleanliness of beaches in Lancashire.

Responsibility for keeping beaches clear of litter and refuse rests with the landowner or the local council in the case of amenity beaches. The Code of practice on litter and refuse sets out the cleaning standards expected on amenity beaches. Councils have enforcement powers to deter littering including the ability to issue fixed penalty notices (on-the-spot fines) of up to £500. They can also ban items like disposable barbecues from their beaches. We welcome all beach litter collection efforts, such as the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean including in Lancashire this week. The UK Government funds the Marine Conservation Society to record litter from sections of our coast which helps us monitor the levels and trends of plastic pollution across several years. This data is used in combination with other monitoring data to inform our decisions about how to tackle marine litter.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of fiscal policy on levels of food inflation in Fylde constituency since 4 July 2025.

HM Treasury does not produce forecasts of the UK economy. Forecasting the economy, including the impact of Government policy decisions, is the responsibility of independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published its latest forecast on 26 March 2025. The OBR does not publish estimates of the impact of policy decisions on levels of food inflation, nor on inflation at a constituency level. The Office for National Statistics publishes food inflation data based on observed price movements at a national level, which is not disaggregated to constituency level.

Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department has issued to the public on rights of access to (a) coastal paths and (b) beaches.

a) Local highway authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of public rights of way and may issue information locally on these. Defra provides information on National Trails including the King Charles III England Coast Path, including which stretches are open to the public. This information can be found on gov.uk. b) Access to beaches can vary depending on who owns the land and how it is managed. Many beaches are open to the public, but some may have restrictions. The Countryside Code also provides guidance for both visitors and landowners when accessing the countryside.

What steps she is taking to reduce violence against women and girls in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

The scale of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is. We are going further than ever before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach, which will be underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy later this year.In May 2025, we announced a £19.9m investment to provide vital support to victims of VAWG and increase awareness to prevent these horrific crimes. This includes over £6 million for national helplines supporting victims of domestic abuse, 'honour'-based abuse, revenge porn and stalking, and £2.5m on prevention and early intervention.Specifically in Lancashire, we have allocated £442,000 to Lancashire PCC for perpetrator funding. PCCs are best placed to understand their local communities and providers, and to commission appropriate support to meet that need.Lancashire PCC currently receives funding from the Home Office’s Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund. Using this funding, they deliver the Drive Project, which works with high-risk, serial domestic abuse perpetrators who are deemed to cause the most harm, in a few local authority areas.At the national level, we have embedded domestic abuse specialists and dedicated domestic abuse teams in the first five 999 control rooms under Raneem’s Law, launched the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in selected police forces and courts and announced a new package of measures to tackle spiking, including committing to introducing a new criminal offence for spiking and piloting new spiking training for bar staff.Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a range of legislative measures to improve the response to sex offender management and stalking. Under the Bill, the police will be given new powers to issue a notice prohibiting registered sex offenders who pose a risk from changing their name without prior authorisation. Other measures include requiring registered sex offenders to provide advance notice before entering premises where children are present, and improving the management of stalkers. This includes statutory guidance for the police in releasing identifying information about online stalking perpetrators to victims as part of the “right to know”.

What steps she is taking to support people who were ineligible for government financial support measures during the Covid pandemic.

Decisions on eligibility for Covid-19 financial support were taken by the previous government.The previous Government provided support through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The support was based on two principles: a) targeting support at those who needed it most; and b) guarding against error, fraud, and abuse, whilst reaching as many individuals as possible. Those ineligible for the schemes may have been eligible for other elements of financial support provided by the previous Government. The current Government is working to improve living standards for everyone across the country. We are taking immediate action to support individuals, such as committing to no increases in employee National Insurance, Income Tax or VAT as we want to keep taxes low for working people. Driving growth is the Government’s number one mission, which will help individuals by boosting wages and putting more money in people’s pockets.

Whether her Department funds educational programmes on coastal conservation for schools visiting beaches.

The department does not fund specific educational programmes on coastal conservation, but free resources on coastal topics are provided by Oak National Academy. Bodies such as the Geographical Association and Royal Geographical Society, and others with an interest in coastal conservation, also provide resources.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the number of working days lost to strike action in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

In October 2024 the government published impact assessments on the trade union-related measures within the Employment Rights Bill and these are available here: Employment Rights Bill: impact assessments - GOV.UK

Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of miles of public beaches that were inaccessible due to (a) private ownership and (b) development on 7 July 2025.

Defra does not hold information on the number of miles of public beaches that were inaccessible due to (a) private ownership and (b) development on 7 July 2025.

What steps his Department is taking to increase safety measures at beaches during (a) summer months and (b) other periods of increased activity.

The provision of lifeguards, beach patrols and safety information is part of the risk assessment undertaken by the local authority or beach owner. In conjunction with other services HM Coastguard provides safety advice and guidance about the coastal environment with the aim to reduce incident numbers, this guidance includes how to call for help in an emergency.

What steps she is taking to encourage more students to study languages in schools.

The study of languages is compulsory under the national curriculum at key stages 2 and 3 for all maintained schools, and will become compulsory in academies, subject to the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.The most important factor in encouraging students to continue studying languages beyond key stage 3 is the quality of teaching. The government continues to fund the National Consortium for Languages Education, which is developing a new model of language support for schools and online continuing professional development for teachers that will support high quality language teaching. This programme is designed to have national reach, ensuring that all schools can benefit regardless of their location.To further support languages education, the department is offering a £26,000 tax-free bursary for trainee language teachers starting courses in 2025, or alternatively, a £28,000 tax-free scholarship for those training to teach French, German, or Spanish. Additionally, Oak National Academy is developing modern foreign languages lesson resources for key stages 2 to 4, to be fully released by autumn 2025, helping teachers deliver high quality lessons and reduce planning time.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025, to Question 62738 on Undocumented Workers: Sharing Economy, whether spot checks are carried out in suspected hot spots of illegal migrants working in the gig economy.

All enforcement activity is intelligence-led, to ensure the most efficient and productive use of resources.

What steps he is taking to increase access to the drug tofersen for people with SOD1 MND.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.NICE has selected tofersen for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by SOD1 gene mutations as a topic for guidance development through its Highly Specialised Technology (HST) programme. The HST programme appraises medicines for the treatment of very rare, and often very severe diseases and evaluates whether they can be considered a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. NICE is working with the company to confirm timelines for this evaluation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025, to Question 62738 on Undocumented Workers: Sharing Economy, how the public can report suspected asylum seekers and irregular migrants working in the gig economy.

We encourage members of the public to report suspected immigration crime and location where they believe illegal working is taking place They can report this to the Home Office directly by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime. The public can also call any of the following numbers to report an immigration crime or illegal working anonymously. Immigration Enforcement hotline 0300 123 7000 Crimestoppers www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555111

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of Tofersen across NHS trusts in England; and what steps he is taking to ensure equitable geographic access.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.NICE has selected tofersen for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by SOD1 gene mutations as a topic for guidance development through its Highly Specialised Technology (HST) programme. The HST programme appraises medicines for the treatment of very rare, and often very severe diseases and evaluates whether they can be considered a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. NICE is working with the company to confirm timelines for this evaluation.

Whether her Department takes fingerprints from people arriving into the UK illegally.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 18 June to Question 58584.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the severity modifier introduced by NICE in 2022 on access to new treatments for secondary breast cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its recommendations. The severity modifier was introduced in January 2022 as part of a number of changes intended to make NICE’s methods fairer, faster, and more consistent.NICE carried out a review of the implementation of the severity modifier in September 2024 and found that it is operating as intended. Since the introduction of the severity modifier in December 2022, the proportion of positive cancer recommendations is higher, at 84.8%, than with the end-of-life modifier it replaced, at 75%, and the proportion of positive recommendations for advanced cancer treatments is also higher, at 81.1% compared to 69%.Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. These treatments are now available to eligible National Health Service patients.NICE has commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future method reviews.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025 to Question 63093 on Nurseries: Fylde, what steps her Department took to advertise the opportunity to participate in the programme to schools in Fylde at the last round of allocations; and if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the advertisement process.

To promote the School-Based Nursery Capital Grant 2024/25, the department published detailed information on GOV.UK and the Education Hub, supported by social media posts. We held two webinars for schools and one for local authorities to explain the programme and answer questions. Additional communications were shared in a variety of ways with local authorities and stakeholders to help cascade information to schools.The programme received 642 applications, which was more than double the number of available grants. The North West, where Fylde is located, submitted 115 applications (18% of the total), the highest of any region and above its 15% share of primary schools nationally.The government has committed nearly £370 million to further expand school-based nursery places, with next steps to be announced shortly. Schools in Fylde are encouraged to stay in touch with their local authority about upcoming opportunities to create or expand school-based nursery provision.The department is reviewing its communications to inform future rounds.

If he will make an estimate of the number of businesses that have ceased trading in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire each day since 1 July 2024.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th July is attached.