Written questions by Snowden.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to protect people's data held by government departments.

All Departments must adhere to the UK Data Protection legislation to protect personal data held by their departments. All departments are controllers of the personal data they hold and are individually responsible for demonstrating compliance with the data protection principles, and take appropriate technical and organisational measures in line with the UK GDPR. Under the same legislation, all departments are required to appoint a data protection officer (DPO), who must be an adequately resourced expert in data protection to monitor internal compliance, inform and advise on the department’s data protection obligations, provide advice regarding Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and act as a contact point for data subjects and the Information Commissioner’s Office.The DPO must be independent and report to the highest management level. To reinforce cross government data sharing for consistent application of safeguards, the Government Digital Service runs the Data Sharing Network of Experts to bring together data protection and data governance professionals. There is also a cross government Data Protection Officers Network.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to consult with (a) farmers and (b) agricultural stakeholders from Fylde constituency in advance of the implementation of the new Higher Level Stewardship payment rates.

There are no live Higher Level Stewardship (HLS agreements in the Fylde constituency. HLS payment rates have stayed the same for more than 10 years. In that time, they have fallen behind the rates offered through other schemes, including Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). On that basis we have taken the opportunity to reduce the difference by investing £30 million to increase payment rates so farmers in HLS agreements can continue to restore habitats, support rare species, preserve historic features and maintain traditional landscape features in our iconic countryside. We consulted with national stakeholders including the NFU, CLA and TFA in advance of making these changes.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has set targets in relation to increasing (a) creative opportunities and (b) skills development for the Creative Foundations Fund.

The Creative Foundation Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work. Funding will be distributed to arts and cultural organisations across England following an open application process led by Arts Council England (ACE). All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their full application and funding committed by Arts Council England by 31 March 2026. The fund has been designed to address the varying scales of need being experienced by different organisations, with funding being distributed to ensure maximum impact across the country. We expect the fund to support a mix of projects of varying sizes across the English regions, subject to applications received. This fund is specifically designed to support not-for-profit arts organisations within the funding remit of Arts Council England. Eligible organisations must be not-for-profit and show that their primary aims are cultural and their activities fall within the remit of ACE. They must have delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months and be able to demonstrate that the investment is business-critical to delivering creative or cultural activity. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.We understand that there are varying needs across the music sector, and the Creative Foundations Fund is one of the ways that we are supporting music venues. We are continuing to support ACE’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26. This provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.

Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria were used to select the four charities providing health and wellbeing support under the Farmer Welfare Grant; and whether he plans to increase (a) the number of charities and (b) the geographic coverage.

Applicants for the Farmer Welfare Grant in 2024 were required to submit their proposals following a set pro-forma. Each applicant had to demonstrate the project’s suitability and feasibility, outline the key beneficiaries and outputs, explain their approach to monitoring and evaluation, outline their costs, and explain the projects’ value for money. Grant recipients operate in Lincolnshire (Lincolnshire Rural Support Network), and across Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, and Yorkshire (The Farmer Network, Field Nurse, UTASS, and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society). We will be evaluating the existing Welfare Grant.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2025 to Question 52734 on Night-time Economy, how much funding from the Creative Foundations Fund has been allocated to listed nightclubs.

The Creative Foundation Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work. Funding will be distributed to arts and cultural organisations across England following an open application process led by Arts Council England (ACE). All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their full application and funding committed by Arts Council England by 31 March 2026. The fund has been designed to address the varying scales of need being experienced by different organisations, with funding being distributed to ensure maximum impact across the country. We expect the fund to support a mix of projects of varying sizes across the English regions, subject to applications received. This fund is specifically designed to support not-for-profit arts organisations within the funding remit of Arts Council England. Eligible organisations must be not-for-profit and show that their primary aims are cultural and their activities fall within the remit of ACE. They must have delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months and be able to demonstrate that the investment is business-critical to delivering creative or cultural activity. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.We understand that there are varying needs across the music sector, and the Creative Foundations Fund is one of the ways that we are supporting music venues. We are continuing to support ACE’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26. This provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.

What support his Department provides to help small and micro food businesses to (a) understand and (b) comply with food hygiene certification requirements.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has developed and published many materials on the FSA website to support businesses to meet the requirements set out in food hygiene legislation. The website is available at the following link:http://www.food.gov.uk/We know that small and micro businesses can face additional challenges when trying to access and understand legal requirements, so there are several free tools which have been designed to guide small and micro businesses including Safer Food Better Business (SFBB), as well as Safe Catering Guidance for Northern Ireland.The practical and easy-to-use packs will help small businesses to:- comply with food hygiene regulations;- show what they need do to make and store food safely including how to clean effectively;- train staff and support them to use good hygiene practices;- protect business's reputation; and- improve food hygiene rating scores. There are also additional supplementary packs for SFBB available to support sectors such as childminders, residential care homes, retailers, and businesses serving Indian and Chinese cuisines.In addition, the FSA website has a dedicated Business Guidance section which provides information such as how to start a food business safely, starting a food business from home and selling food for delivery. It hosts free online food safety courses on allergen management and root cause analysis.The FSA regularly runs campaigns across various social media platforms to inform food businesses of the available materials to support their compliance with hygiene requirements.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) rural and (b) small arts venues will be able to apply to the Creative Foundations Fund.

The Creative Foundation Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work. Funding will be distributed to arts and cultural organisations across England following an open application process led by Arts Council England (ACE). All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their full application and funding committed by Arts Council England by 31 March 2026. The fund has been designed to address the varying scales of need being experienced by different organisations, with funding being distributed to ensure maximum impact across the country. We expect the fund to support a mix of projects of varying sizes across the English regions, subject to applications received. This fund is specifically designed to support not-for-profit arts organisations within the funding remit of Arts Council England. Eligible organisations must be not-for-profit and show that their primary aims are cultural and their activities fall within the remit of ACE. They must have delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months and be able to demonstrate that the investment is business-critical to delivering creative or cultural activity. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.We understand that there are varying needs across the music sector, and the Creative Foundations Fund is one of the ways that we are supporting music venues. We are continuing to support ACE’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26. This provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.

Media and Sport, what criteria her Department plans to use to determine the eligibility of arts and cultural organisations applying for funding through the Creative Foundations Fund.

The Creative Foundation Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work. Funding will be distributed to arts and cultural organisations across England following an open application process led by Arts Council England (ACE). All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their full application and funding committed by Arts Council England by 31 March 2026. The fund has been designed to address the varying scales of need being experienced by different organisations, with funding being distributed to ensure maximum impact across the country. We expect the fund to support a mix of projects of varying sizes across the English regions, subject to applications received. This fund is specifically designed to support not-for-profit arts organisations within the funding remit of Arts Council England. Eligible organisations must be not-for-profit and show that their primary aims are cultural and their activities fall within the remit of ACE. They must have delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months and be able to demonstrate that the investment is business-critical to delivering creative or cultural activity. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.We understand that there are varying needs across the music sector, and the Creative Foundations Fund is one of the ways that we are supporting music venues. We are continuing to support ACE’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26. This provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure the affordability of gigabit-capable broadband for (a) residents and (b) businesses in Fylde constituency.

The affordability of gigabit-capable broadband depends on access to fibre, the costs of connection and the price of suitable devices. The government works closely with industry and Ofcom, the independent regulator of telecommunications, to ensure the highly competitive market works in the interests of consumers. The government continues to subsidise the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband. In addition, the government published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February 2025, which sets out the first steps we are taking towards our ambition of delivering digital inclusion for everyone across the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on long-term strategies for mental health support in agriculture beyond the period that funding has been allocated for current policies.

The physical and mental wellbeing of farmers, farm workers and their families underpins our food system and food security. We will work to improve mental and physical health outcomes for the agricultural community to ensure Defra’s wider strategic plans for the farming sector are deliverable and sustainable.Defra’s is working in consultation with communities, farming support organisations and experts across government with the aim of improving mental and physical health outcomes for the agricultural community. Delivery of mental health interventions sits with the Department for Health and Social Care, who are investing in mental health to ensure it receives the same attention as physical health. This includes the hiring of 8,500 new mental health support workers, which will reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes – including in rural communities. The Government is also building a national network of Young Futures hubs, which will be present in every community and will deliver support for young people facing mental health challenges.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will commission research on the effectiveness of the Farmer Welfare Grant (a) overall and (b) in improving mental health outcomes for farmers.

Defra routinely assesses the effectiveness of all grants and funds it finances. Recipients of the Farmer Welfare Grant are required to submit interim reports in line with their funding agreements, as well as final reports upon completion of the grant. Defra undertakes a range of in-house evaluation and is researching the overall effectiveness of this grant by reviewing recipient’s interim reports. We use a range of mechanisms, including feedback from farming welfare charities, to monitor the mental health outcomes of farming communities.

Whether he is planning new trade (a) agreements and (b) partnerships with countries other than (i) the US and (ii) China to help UK SMEs offset tariffs on goods manufactured in those counties.

The UK's Trade Strategy will mark a reset in our approach to international trade and set out the future priorities for our trade policy. This strategy will also set out how trade can stimulate economic growth through delivery of targeted business benefits in a rapidly changing global landscape. We will continue to support SMEs through future agreements, including measures that will help offset tariffs and access global markets.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how he plans to align the ODA budget with the UK’s wider foreign policy objectives in (a) regions where development assistance and diplomatic priorities intersect and (b) other regions.

The alleviation of poverty is the foundation of our development work and the primary focus of our Official Development Assistance spend is always to maximise each pound's impact on those living in poverty.Our development work is also a key part of the UK's foreign policy, delivering both for the UK and for our partners, including through tackling upstream migration, supporting resilience in the world's most vulnerable countries and communities, and mitigating the effects of climate change.The global challenges we face - a volatile global economy, more humanitarian crises, accelerating impacts of the climate and nature crises and global health risks - demand a new approach to development that reflects the international context and the relationship our partners want, as part of our modern partnership approach.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2025 to Question 51548 on Primary Care: Lancashire, whether the pilot programme to screen patients for cardiovascular disease within optometry practices will take place in Fylde constituency.

The optometry pilot is an NHS England programme. The pilot is not taking place in Fylde; in Lancashire and South Cumbria four areas are participating in the pilot which will run until September 2025 (Fleetwood in Wyre; Burnley in East Lancashire; Blackburn in Blackburn with Darwen; and Central Preston).Expressions of interest were open to all areas and the final pilot areas were chosen by NHS England based on prevalence of hypertension and deprivation (IMD 1&2).Further roll out will be dependent on the outcomes of the pilot and future funding.

What steps her Department is taking to help increase the accessibility of transport for people with disabilities in Fylde.

Accessibility and inclusivity are key considerations for the government, especially as we seek to deliver against our key missions, including removing barriers to opportunity and delivering safer streets. The government is committed to making transport safer, more inclusive and accessible to everyone including people who are disabled, to allow them to live healthy lives, making the journeys they want and need. The Department introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December 2024. The Bill will require relevant bus staff to complete both disability awareness and disability assistance training to give them the knowledge, skills and confidence to support every passenger appropriately. It will also require local authorities commissioning the provision of new bus stations and stops or the upgrading of existing ones to pay regard to new stopping place safety and accessibility guidance. The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six. Local buses are the most commonly used mode of public transport and the purpose of providing free local bus travel England-wide is to ensure that no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone. The Government wants disabled people to be able to travel easily, confidently, and with dignity, which is why we have worked quickly to put accessibility at the heart of our bus and rail reforms. It is important that government, local authorities and transport operators work together to support services that help people to live their lives the way they want to.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help protect small and medium enterprises from cybersecurity threats in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.

The cyber security of the UK is a priority for the Government. The Government offers free guidance, tools and training to help businesses improve their cyber resilience. This includes a new Cyber Governance Code of Practice to help boards and directors manage digital risks, and the Cyber Essentials scheme which is highly effective in protecting businesses against cyber attacks. This year the Government will introduce the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to improve UK cyber defences and better secure our essential services and the IT infrastructure they rely upon. The PSTI Act, along with codes of practice on cyber security of AI, software and apps are helping protect organisations at scale by making technology in the UK secure by design.In Lancashire, the Cyber Resilience Centre for the North West is part of a nationwide police-led collaboration helping strengthen cyber resilience in small and medium-sized businesses. The Government’s Stop! Think Fraud campaign provides the public and small businesses with advice on how to prevent fraud and cyber crime.

Whether her Department plans to provide additional funding for after-school activities in Fylde.

Any future decisions on departmental spending are subject to the spending review process.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers to transition to sustainable agricultural practices through the Environmental Land Management schemes in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

At February’s NFU Conference, the Secretary of State announced a raft of new policies to put money in the pockets of farmers in Fylde, Lancashire, and across the country. We remain committed to investing £5 billion of funding in the farming budget over two years and are on track to do so. We will be working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced following the spending review in summer 2025. We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome; and we are making £110 million available for new grant competitions to support research and innovation, technology and equipment for farmers.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to improve mobile connectivity in (a) rural and (b) semi-rural areas in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire.

We base our assessment of coverage in rural and urban areas on Ofcom's rurality definition. Ofcom reports that 5G (standalone and non-standalone) is available outside 92% of rural premises in the Fylde constituency from at least one operator. Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030, we continue to work with the mobile industry to achieve this.I have raised my concerns about the accuracy of their coverage reporting with Ofcom and I welcome the improvements they have made to their online coverage checker which will go live in the second half of June.We are working with the Mobile Network Operators to improve poor mobile signal in rural areas. The Shared Rural Network is delivering 4G coverage to places where there is either limited or no 4G coverage at all.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support local sports (a) clubs and (b) initiatives in (i) Fylde and (ii) Lancashire.

This Government recognises that grassroots sports clubs and initiatives are central to communities up and down the country.The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. In 2024/25, Sport England invested £11,750 in Fylde constituency and £2,765,589 was invested in Lancashire.The Government has committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities. £100 million will be invested into grassroots sport facilities across the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.