Written questions by MacDonald.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of Strategic Priorities Grant funding from journalism courses on the future sustainability of the journalism sector.

The Government has had to make tough prioritisation decisions driven by the challenging fiscal context that we inherited. For the Department of Education, this has meant prioritising support for high-cost subjects that are essential to delivery of our industrial strategy and core funding to support access to higher education for disadvantaged groups. It is important that the targeted funding allocated through the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) supports courses that have higher costs of delivery and our Plan for Growth.The Government remains committed to supporting the invaluable role which journalism plays in the fabric of our society. We acknowledge journalism as an important and valued subject in higher education, alongside numerous other subjects that do not attract SPG high-cost subject funding, such as history, languages, economics, maths and law.DCMS officials are engaging with the Department for Education, as well as the press sector and the key journalism professional bodies, to better understand the impact this will have on the journalism industry, as part of the wider creative industries.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of journalism courses on levels of graduate employment.

Graduate employment rates by higher education subject studied are published annually by the department as part of the Longitudinal Education Outcomes Graduate and Postgraduate Outcomes publication, accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/leo-graduate-and-postgraduate-outcomes/2022-23.The most recent release shows that in 2022/23, at five years after graduation, 81.9% of UK domiciled first degree students of ‘Media, Journalism and Communications’ are in sustained employment, with 5.3% in further study. This compares to an average across all subjects of 76.5% in sustained employment and 12.1% in further study.

Whether he plans to ensure that the Universal Service Obligation applies to rural areas.

The government is committed to a sustainable universal postal service for users throughout the UK, including maintaining the one-price-goes anywhere principle including for those in remote and rural areas. It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of journalism education on (a) countering misinformation and (b) levels of democratic participation.

A free, sustainable, and diverse media landscape is the best way to maintain a shared understanding of facts, and we are committed to supporting the invaluable role which journalism plays in the fabric of our society. Trustworthy journalism plays a vital role in countering the effects of mis- and disinformation, and local journalism in particular plays a crucial role in fostering civic engagement, with evidence showing a positive and significant correlation between daily circulation of local newspapers and local election turnout.It is important therefore to maintain a healthy and diverse pipeline of talent into the industry through the provision of journalism education opportunities. With this in mind, we are exploring through the DCMS Local Media Strategy whether more can be done to promote journalism as a career amongst young people, including through the DCMS-funded Creative Careers Programme which is intended to promote careers in the creative industries among young people and recently added the National Council for the Training of Journalists to its steering group.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing the £250 fee for making claims to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) provides a free service for consumers and small businesses to resolve disputes with their financial services providers.The FOS is independent from the government and is funded entirely through a combination of levies and case fees paid by financial services firms within the FOS’s jurisdiction and by professional representatives. Financial services firms are charged a fee of £650 per case. As of 1 April 2025, professional representatives who bring a case to the FOS on behalf of complainants may bring 10 cases a year for free, after which they are charged a fee of £250 per case and receive a £175 refund if the case is found in favour of the consumer they represent. No fee is charged to the consumer.The FOS is responsible for determining exactly who it charges and the level of any fees, within its legislative framework which is set by Parliament. The FOS consults annually on its proposed Plans and Budget for the following year, including the level of its case fees.On 25 November 2024, Parliament approved a Statutory Instrument allowing the FOS to charge fees to professional representatives bringing complaints on behalf of consumers. The government considers that introducing a fee for professional representatives when they bring cases to the FOS will help to ensure that the FOS can focus on promptly resolving consumer complaints and reduce the impact of spurious complaints on financial services firms. The new charges were introduced by the FOS following extensive consultation.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support pathways into professional journalism.

A free, sustainable, and diverse media landscape is the best way to maintain a shared understanding of facts, and we are committed to supporting the invaluable role which journalism plays in the fabric of our society. Trustworthy journalism plays a vital role in countering the effects of mis- and disinformation, and local journalism in particular plays a crucial role in fostering civic engagement, with evidence showing a positive and significant correlation between daily circulation of local newspapers and local election turnout.It is important therefore to maintain a healthy and diverse pipeline of talent into the industry through the provision of journalism education opportunities. With this in mind, we are exploring through the DCMS Local Media Strategy whether more can be done to promote journalism as a career amongst young people, including through the DCMS-funded Creative Careers Programme which is intended to promote careers in the creative industries among young people and recently added the National Council for the Training of Journalists to its steering group.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the withdrawal of Strategic Priorities Grant funding for journalism courses on the creative industries.

The Government has had to make tough prioritisation decisions driven by the challenging fiscal context that we inherited. For the Department of Education, this has meant prioritising support for high-cost subjects that are essential to delivery of our industrial strategy and core funding to support access to higher education for disadvantaged groups. It is important that the targeted funding allocated through the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) supports courses that have higher costs of delivery and our Plan for Growth.The Government remains committed to supporting the invaluable role which journalism plays in the fabric of our society. We acknowledge journalism as an important and valued subject in higher education, alongside numerous other subjects that do not attract SPG high-cost subject funding, such as history, languages, economics, maths and law.DCMS officials are engaging with the Department for Education, as well as the press sector and the key journalism professional bodies, to better understand the impact this will have on the journalism industry, as part of the wider creative industries.

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential fiscal implications of ending Strategic Priorities Grant funding for journalism courses.

My department regularly discusses Strategic Priorities Grant funding and its fiscal implications with the Department for Education. As a result of the challenging fiscal context that we inherited, we are prioritising support for high-cost subjects that are essential to delivery of our industrial strategy – such as science, engineering and medicine – and core funding to support access to higher education for disadvantaged groups. It is important that the targeted funding allocated through the Strategic Priorities Grant supports provision of subjects that have higher costs of delivery and the key sectors set out in the Industrial Strategy.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of withdrawing Strategic Priorities Grant funding from journalism courses on the labour market for journalists.

I refer the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire to the answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 63373.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the removal of Strategic Priorities Grant funding from journalism courses on levels of access to journalism courses.

I refer the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire to the answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 63373.

Whether her Department plans to introduce alternative funding mechanisms for journalism training, in the context of the removal of Strategic Priorities Grant funding from 2025–26.

I refer the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire to the answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 63373.

Whether her Department has undertaken an equality impact assessment in relation to its decision to withdraw Strategic Priorities Grant funding from journalism courses.

I refer the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire to the answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 63373.

What steps he is taking to tackle the high rates of premature mortality in men due to mental health issues.

It is vital that we put more emphasis on early intervention and recovery to support men and boys experiencing poor mental health to live well and thrive. We will fulfil our commitments to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of the Parliament, to help cut waiting times and to expand mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30. We will also continue the expansion of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes so more men can access the support they need.The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. We are transforming mental health services into neighbourhood mental health centres that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, improving assertive outreach and increasing access to evidence based digital interventions. Men will also get better access to mental health support and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week directly through the NHS App, including self-referral for talking therapies, without needing a general practice appointment.We have also committed to tackling suicide, as one of the biggest killers, through the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. This identifies middle-aged men as one of several groups for tailored or targeted action at a national level.We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England and will be informed by a call for evidence. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving their engagement with healthcare services.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legitimate interest access filters for beneficial ownership registers.

Please refer to my Written Ministerial Statement of 3 July which provides an update and details of next steps.It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories (OTs) and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers. Where OTs are implementing registers of beneficial ownership accessible to those with legitimate interest, we have set out that we expect access to be granted to a wide range of legitimate users, that registers should enable proactive investigations and should act as a deterrent to those seeking to conceal illicit gains.

What steps he is taking to tackle men's low rates of engagement with mental health services.

It is vital that we put more emphasis on early intervention and recovery to support men and boys experiencing poor mental health to live well and thrive. We will fulfil our commitments to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of the Parliament, to help cut waiting times and to expand mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30. We will also continue the expansion of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes so more men can access the support they need.The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. We are transforming mental health services into neighbourhood mental health centres that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, improving assertive outreach and increasing access to evidence based digital interventions. Men will also get better access to mental health support and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week directly through the NHS App, including self-referral for talking therapies, without needing a general practice appointment.We have also committed to tackling suicide, as one of the biggest killers, through the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. This identifies middle-aged men as one of several groups for tailored or targeted action at a national level.We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England and will be informed by a call for evidence. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving their engagement with healthcare services.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s ban on importing ivory on (a) historically and (b) artistically significant ivory.

The Ivory Act 2018 bans dealing in ivory, including imports to and exports from the UK for the purposes of dealing. The Act includes an exemption to the ban for pre-1918 items of outstandingly high artistic, cultural or historical value. An exemption certificate must be issued before an item can be legally dealt under this exemption. Since the Act came into force in 2022, 346 applications for exemption certificates have been submitted and 284 exemption certificates have been issued.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of using community benefit funds from renewable energy projects to provide fuel vouchers to low-income households on levels of energy affordability.

On 21 May, the government published a working paper on community benefits and shared ownership of low carbon energy infrastructure. The government recognises that community benefit funding from renewable energy infrastructure creates opportunities for long term investment into host communities, and the government believes that funding packages will have the most impact if they can be tailored to the community’s preferences and priorities. The working paper intends to gather insight on how prescriptive the government should be on how funds can be used, and any other factors that should be considered in order to maximise their impact.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the levels of protection for species-rich meadows in devolved Administrations on UK-wide nature recovery objectives.

As responsibility for the conservation of habitats is a devolved matter Defra continues to be guided by co-ordination and expert advice from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the UK wide Statutory adviser on Nature. The primary mechanism for assessing the state of change to species rich grasslands across the UK is through reporting obligations under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and related regulations covering Scotland and NI. The next round of reporting under this legislation is currently being undertaken by each country due for publication in 2026. JNCC are providing the co-ordination to maintain sufficient consistency in each country report to facilitate cross UK integration and comparison, enabling the countries to gain insight on effectiveness of country level policies. The previous report (2019) is available through the JNCC website.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is funding UK-wide research into mountain hare conservation.

Nature conservation in the UK is mainly a devolved responsibility. We are therefore not currently funding any UK-wide research into mountain hare conservation.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on the conservation of mountain hare in Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency.

We have not held discussions with the Scottish Government regarding the conservation of mountain hare specifically in the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency. Nature conservation is mainly a devolved responsibility and the conservation of mountain hare in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government.