Written questions by Midgley.

If he will consider extending NHS provision of the (a) Meningitis ACWY and (b) Bexsero vaccines to those who are currently ineligible under the national immunisation programme.

The Government relies on expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) when making decisions about which vaccines are offered through the NHS.The JCVI has advised that extending the Meningitis ACWY vaccine to infants or toddlers is unlikely to be cost-effective, as very few cases would be prevented thanks to the success of the current adolescent programme.For the Bexsero (MenB) vaccine, the JCVI has found that while it has reduced disease in infants, it does not stop the spread of the bacteria among teenagers. As a result, offering it to adolescents is also unlikely to be cost-effective at this time.

What support her Department offers to retail businesses to mitigate risks associated with lone working.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has the policy lead for regulation of workplace health and safety in Great Britain. The primary responsibility for managing risk to health and safety lies with employers. An employer is the person or organisation that is legally responsible, under health and safety law, for managing and controlling risks created by their work activities. It is for the employer to determine the best way to manage those risks taking account of the circumstances of their business and work activity. There may be greater risks for lone workers without direct supervision or someone to help them if things go wrong, and an employer must identify the risks to lone workers and put control measures in place to protect them. HSE provides guidance on lone working: Lone working: Protect those working alone - HSE which includes advice on violence in the workplace. HSE has not made an assessment of the Co-op’s Project Lunar.

If she will take legislative steps to improve protections for lone workers in retail environments.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has the policy lead for regulation of workplace health and safety in Great Britain. The primary responsibility for managing risk to health and safety lies with employers. An employer is the person or organisation that is legally responsible, under health and safety law, for managing and controlling risks created by their work activities. It is for the employer to determine the best way to manage those risks taking account of the circumstances of their business and work activity. There may be greater risks for lone workers without direct supervision or someone to help them if things go wrong, and an employer must identify the risks to lone workers and put control measures in place to protect them. HSE provides guidance on lone working: Lone working: Protect those working alone - HSE which includes advice on violence in the workplace. HSE has not made an assessment of the Co-op’s Project Lunar.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the level of risk of identity theft in connection with the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023.

The Online Safety Act requires providers to protect users’ right to privacy when implementing age assurance. UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act requires data to be processed fairly, lawfully, and transparently. Where Ofcom is concerned that a provider has not complied it may refer the matter to the ICO.Under the Act, regulated services that are likely to be accessed by children must implement highly effective age assurance to prevent exposure to harmful content. There are cost-effective compliant methods available.Highly effective age assurance must be robust, and services must take appropriate steps to mitigate against circumvention.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to reform the (a) primary and (b) secondary ticketing markets.

This government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of live events. We have committed to introducing new protections for consumers on ticket resales, and launched a consultation on 10th January to seek views on potential options for resale platforms as well as primary sellers. The consultation closed on 4th April and the responses are being considered. The Government will respond later in the summer to set out next steps. The consultation was published alongside a call for evidence on pricing practices in the live events sector, including the use of dynamic pricing by the primary market.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of banning dynamic pricing in the primary ticketing market.

This government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of live events. We have committed to introducing new protections for consumers on ticket resales, and launched a consultation on 10th January to seek views on potential options for resale platforms as well as primary sellers. The consultation closed on 4th April and the responses are being considered. The Government will respond later in the summer to set out next steps. The consultation was published alongside a call for evidence on pricing practices in the live events sector, including the use of dynamic pricing by the primary market.

Media and Sport, when her Department plans to respond to the consultation on the resale of live events tickets.

This government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of live events. We have committed to introducing new protections for consumers on ticket resales, and launched a consultation on 10th January to seek views on potential options for resale platforms as well as primary sellers. The consultation closed on 4th April and the responses are being considered. The Government will respond later in the summer to set out next steps. The consultation was published alongside a call for evidence on pricing practices in the live events sector, including the use of dynamic pricing by the primary market.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made as part of the consultation on the resale of live events tickets of the potential merits of increasing (a) scrutiny and (b) regulation of the primary ticketing market to avoid knock-on negative impacts on the secondary market.

This government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of live events. We have committed to introducing new protections for consumers on ticket resales, and launched a consultation on 10th January to seek views on potential options for resale platforms as well as primary sellers. The consultation closed on 4th April and the responses are being considered. The Government will respond later in the summer to set out next steps. The consultation was published alongside a call for evidence on pricing practices in the live events sector, including the use of dynamic pricing by the primary market.

Innovation and Technology, if he will publish a summary of responses to the consultation on copyright and AI.

The Government is currently reviewing over 11,500 responses to the consultation on copyright and AI and will publish its response in due course. This will include a summary of consultation responses.

Media and Sport, what her Department’s planned timeline is for reviewing the responses to the consultation entitled Putting Fans First: consultation on the resale of live events tickets, published on 10 January 2025.

We will publish a Government response later in the summer.

Innovation and Technology, what his planned timeline is for publishing proposals in relation to his Department's recent consultation entitled Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, which closed on 25 February 2025.

The Government is currently reviewing over 11,500 responses to the consultation on copyright and AI and will publish its proposals in due course.In addition, as set out in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, the Government has committed to providing a progress report to Parliament by 18 December, and publishing an economic impact assessment, and report on the use of copyright works in the development of AI systems, by 18 March 2026.

Media and Sport, when her Department plans to publish stakeholder responses to its consultation entitled Putting Fans First: consultation on the resale of live events tickets, published on 10 January 2025.

We will publish a Government response later in the summer.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure that copyright exceptions are not expanded by default through AI practices without adequate parliamentary scrutiny.

The Government has stated that copying protected material in the UK will infringe copyright unless it is licensed, or an existing exception to copyright applies.The Government recently consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI), including seeking views on potential legislative changes to copyright law in this area. This consultation closed on 25th February.The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its next steps. The Government will continue to engage extensively on this issue and its proposals will be set out in due course.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report entitled Detecting Deep Fakes: Artificial Intelligence and Anti-Jewish hate: A Case for regulating Generative AI published by INACH, Decoding Antisemitism, the German Federal Foreign Office, and the Antisemitism Policy Trust.

Antisemitic content can have a chilling effect on Jewish users online. The government is working to ensure that all users feel confident engaging online without fear of harassment or abuse. The Online Safety Act regulates AI-generated content in the same way as ‘real’ content - where it is shared on an in-scope service and is either illegal content or harmful to children. The Act also gives online platforms duties where there are risks of their services being used to carry out certain priority offences – this includes illegal antisemitic content which stirs up hatred.

Innovation and Technology, how many times he has met with organisations working to tackle antisemitism since taking office.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings about tackling racism, prejudice and discrimination online. For example, we have engaged a range of stakeholders and held roundtables to understand the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act in tackling antisemitism. Ministerial meetings and engagements are published through quarterly transparency reports on GOV.UK.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on exempting Category 1 services from their associated obligations under the Online Safety Act.

It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to determine which services fall into Category 1. Ofcom’s current roadmap estimates publishing the register of categorised services this summer, with the additional duties for Category 1 services becoming enforceable once the relevant codes of practice are in force.

If he will take steps to increase the number of specialist rheumatology nurses in the workforce.

The training of nurses is the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). It has the general function of promoting high standards of education and coordinating all stages of education to ensure that nursing students and newly qualified nurses are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for professional practice.The training curricula for postgraduate training for nurses to specialise as a specialist rheumatology nurse is set by the Royal College of Nursing, and has to meet the standards set by the NMC.We will publish a new workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and to ensure the National Health Service has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.

What steps his Department is taking to help support people living with rheumatoid arthritis.

Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making. As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. Launched in December 2024, with 17 ICBs selected in the first cohort, GIRFT teams have deployed their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services. The GIRFT programme is continuing to develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high-quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and into the future. To support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published expert guidance for rheumatoid arthritis, which is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100

What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) diagnosis times and (b) access to care for people with inflammatory arthritis.

Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making. As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. Launched in December 2024, with 17 ICBs selected in the first cohort, GIRFT teams have deployed their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services. The GIRFT programme is continuing to develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high-quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and into the future. To support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published expert guidance for rheumatoid arthritis, which is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the differential economic impact of the proposed copyright exceptions for AI training in each creative sector.

The Government published a summary assessment of options alongside the consultation on copyright and AI.The Government recognises that this is a complex area and welcomes further evidence on the economic impacts of its proposals on creative sectors as part of the consultation.The Government’s priority now is to review the evidence from the consultation which will inform its response.