Written questions by Ribeiro-Addy.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of mechanisms for sharing police misconduct data between forces.

The British tradition of policing by consent relies on mutual bonds of trust between the public and the police, and where police officers fall below the high standards the public rightly expects of them, it is crucial they are held to account.Since 2015, there has been a presumption that all police misconduct hearings are made public, bar in exceptional circumstances. There is a statutory requirement for forces to publish the outcomes of misconduct hearings, unless preventing disclosure is considered necessary (e.g. in the interests of national security), for a period of at least 28 days. Members of the public can access published police misconduct outcomes via the website of the relevant police force.There are processes in place for the collection and publication of police misconduct data. The Home Office publishes data on the number of police officers subject to misconduct investigations, including breakdowns by outcome and misconduct finding level, as part of the annual Police Misconduct, England and Wales statistical series, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statisticsOfficers and staff moving from one force to another must obtain a new vetting clearance from the force they are transferring to before they are confirmed. In accordance with the College of Policing’s vetting authorised professional practice (APP), the parent force’s professional standards department (PSD) must provide a full complaint and misconduct history and any counter corruption intelligence relating to the officer concerned to the receiving force.In addition, the Police Barred List prevents those dismissed for gross misconduct and gross incompetence from re-joining policing. Forces must check whether a proposed employee or appointee is on the barred list before hiring them.

If she will take steps to prevent police officers under investigation from (a) resigning and (b) retiring before disciplinary proceedings are completed.

It’s crucial that police officers are held to the high standards rightly expected of them, and we’re committed to ensuring that the right mechanisms are in place to create an open and transparent police discipline system which delivers fair results for all.There are provisions in place that enable disciplinary proceedings to proceed if an officer resigns or retires, In addition, where the former officers and those who resign or retire whilst under investigation are taken through formal misconduct proceedings and it is determined they would have been dismissed, they are placed on the Barred List, which prevents those dismissed from re-joining policing.In May, we strengthened the system for holding former officers to account by introducing a statutory presumption of fast-track hearings for former officers, ensuring swifter proceedings for those who resign or retire before misconduct proceedings. Former officers who would have been dismissed had they still been serving will continue to be barred from future service.The Home Office publishes data on the number of allegations of misconduct involving police staff officers and staff, including breakdowns by outcome and misconduct finding level, as a part of its annual Police Misconduct, England and Wales statistical series, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statisticsInformation is not currently available on the total number of officers who resign or retire whilst under investigation for misconduct.Where an officer leaves the service during the course of an investigation of gross misconduct, it is in the public interest that investigations and proceedings that would have led to dismissal are taken to their conclusion. Data on the number of former officers who received an outcome of “would have been dismissed” at a misconduct hearing or accelerated hearing can be found in table MP4 of the data tables accompanying the latest statistical release:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-misconduct-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2024This data is designated ‘Official Statistics in Development’ to acknowledge ongoing work to develop both the scope and data quality of these statistics. The Home Office is working with data providers to explore the availability of further data on officers who leave the service whilst under investigation.

Whether she plans to introduce a statutory right for members of the public to access substantiated police misconduct findings.

The British tradition of policing by consent relies on mutual bonds of trust between the public and the police, and where police officers fall below the high standards the public rightly expects of them, it is crucial they are held to account.Since 2015, there has been a presumption that all police misconduct hearings are made public, bar in exceptional circumstances. There is a statutory requirement for forces to publish the outcomes of misconduct hearings, unless preventing disclosure is considered necessary (e.g. in the interests of national security), for a period of at least 28 days. Members of the public can access published police misconduct outcomes via the website of the relevant police force.There are processes in place for the collection and publication of police misconduct data. The Home Office publishes data on the number of police officers subject to misconduct investigations, including breakdowns by outcome and misconduct finding level, as part of the annual Police Misconduct, England and Wales statistical series, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statisticsOfficers and staff moving from one force to another must obtain a new vetting clearance from the force they are transferring to before they are confirmed. In accordance with the College of Policing’s vetting authorised professional practice (APP), the parent force’s professional standards department (PSD) must provide a full complaint and misconduct history and any counter corruption intelligence relating to the officer concerned to the receiving force.In addition, the Police Barred List prevents those dismissed for gross misconduct and gross incompetence from re-joining policing. Forces must check whether a proposed employee or appointee is on the barred list before hiring them.

What steps she is taking to improve transparency around police misconduct records.

The British tradition of policing by consent relies on mutual bonds of trust between the public and the police, and where police officers fall below the high standards the public rightly expects of them, it is crucial they are held to account.Since 2015, there has been a presumption that all police misconduct hearings are made public, bar in exceptional circumstances. There is a statutory requirement for forces to publish the outcomes of misconduct hearings, unless preventing disclosure is considered necessary (e.g. in the interests of national security), for a period of at least 28 days. Members of the public can access published police misconduct outcomes via the website of the relevant police force.There are processes in place for the collection and publication of police misconduct data. The Home Office publishes data on the number of police officers subject to misconduct investigations, including breakdowns by outcome and misconduct finding level, as part of the annual Police Misconduct, England and Wales statistical series, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statisticsOfficers and staff moving from one force to another must obtain a new vetting clearance from the force they are transferring to before they are confirmed. In accordance with the College of Policing’s vetting authorised professional practice (APP), the parent force’s professional standards department (PSD) must provide a full complaint and misconduct history and any counter corruption intelligence relating to the officer concerned to the receiving force.In addition, the Police Barred List prevents those dismissed for gross misconduct and gross incompetence from re-joining policing. Forces must check whether a proposed employee or appointee is on the barred list before hiring them.

How many police (a) officers and (b) staff have (i) resigned and (ii) retired while under investigation for (A) misconduct and (B) gross misconduct in each of the last five years.

It’s crucial that police officers are held to the high standards rightly expected of them, and we’re committed to ensuring that the right mechanisms are in place to create an open and transparent police discipline system which delivers fair results for all.There are provisions in place that enable disciplinary proceedings to proceed if an officer resigns or retires, In addition, where the former officers and those who resign or retire whilst under investigation are taken through formal misconduct proceedings and it is determined they would have been dismissed, they are placed on the Barred List, which prevents those dismissed from re-joining policing.In May, we strengthened the system for holding former officers to account by introducing a statutory presumption of fast-track hearings for former officers, ensuring swifter proceedings for those who resign or retire before misconduct proceedings. Former officers who would have been dismissed had they still been serving will continue to be barred from future service.The Home Office publishes data on the number of allegations of misconduct involving police staff officers and staff, including breakdowns by outcome and misconduct finding level, as a part of its annual Police Misconduct, England and Wales statistical series, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statisticsInformation is not currently available on the total number of officers who resign or retire whilst under investigation for misconduct.Where an officer leaves the service during the course of an investigation of gross misconduct, it is in the public interest that investigations and proceedings that would have led to dismissal are taken to their conclusion. Data on the number of former officers who received an outcome of “would have been dismissed” at a misconduct hearing or accelerated hearing can be found in table MP4 of the data tables accompanying the latest statistical release:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-misconduct-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2024This data is designated ‘Official Statistics in Development’ to acknowledge ongoing work to develop both the scope and data quality of these statistics. The Home Office is working with data providers to explore the availability of further data on officers who leave the service whilst under investigation.

What recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of public confidence in police handling of complaints; and whether she plans to strengthen accountability mechanisms to improve that trust.

The Government is committed to strengthening the public’s confidence in the police. This includes ensuring that when officers fall seriously short of the high standards expected of them, they are swiftly identified and robustly dealt with.The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has a statutory duty to secure and maintain public confidence in the police complaints system, and as part of this role carries out regular surveys on public confidence. This data is published on the IOPC’s website: www.policeconduct.gov.uk/our-work/research-and-statistics/public-confidence. The most recent survey (2024/25) showed that the majority of the public say that they would complain if unhappy about an officer’s behaviour towards them. The percentage of respondents reporting they feel confident that police deal fairly with complaints is increasing; from 36% last year to 41% this year.The Government is taking action to improve public confidence. This includes introducing measures via the Crime and Policing Bill to put the victims’ right to review on a statutory footing for complainants who want to challenge a decision by the IOPC not to refer a case to the Crown Prosecution Service, and committing to an independent review into timeliness in the police misconduct system looking at what changes can be made to improve timeliness and effectiveness.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with female reproductive systems are informed about symptoms of (a) ovarian and (b) other gynaecological cancers through NHS cervical screening programmes.

NHS England works to ensure that core public information on screening is easily accessible and understandable to the public, and it regularly and systematically reviews this information.Earlier this year, NHS England updated its cervical screening guidance to include that cervical screening is not a check for other cancers of the reproductive system, such as ovary, womb, vulval, or vaginal cancer. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-description-in-brief/cervical-screening-helping-you-decide--2The guidance advises that you should not wait to contact a general practitioner if you have any concerns.

What steps she is taking to make EV charging at home more (a) widely accessible and (b) affordable.

A range of Government grants are available to support the installation of charging devices for people living in flats and rented accommodation and for those with accessible on-street parking. The Government is also working with local authorities to encourage the use of cross-pavement solutions. Our £25 million Electric Vehicle Pavement Channel Grant, announced on 13 July, will support thousands of residents without off-street parking to conveniently charge their vehicles at home, accessing cheaper tariffs through their domestic energy supplies.

What steps he is taking with local (a) authorities and (b) transport authorities to help increase EV uptake in cities.

The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund has allocated capital and resource funding across all higher tier local authorities (LAs) in England, to ensure chargepoint rollout improves significantly, including in cities. In total, the LEVI Fund will support the installation of at least 100,000 chargepoints across England giving drivers, especially those without access to off-street parking, the confidence to switch to an EV. To further address gaps in infrastructure and make it easier for those without a driveway to charge at home, the Government has also announced a new £25 million grant for local authorities in England to install electric vehicle pavement channels. Support is also available to LAs through one-to-one guidance, masterclasses and an online knowledge repository.

If she will hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of (a) increasing the level of funding and (b) introducing a multi-year settlement for the Music and Dance Scheme in the Autumn Budget.

The government fully supports the arts and the development of a skills pipeline into the creative industries.The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year. Funding beyond the current academic year, including any introduction of multi-year funding agreements, will be considered in due course. This follows the department’s Spending Review in June, where my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer allocated funding to the 2028/2029 financial year for revenue spending.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the forthcoming changes to Universal Credit Health element for new applicants from 2026 on costs to local government.

The Department set out its plans to monitor and evaluate the changes in the published Impact Assessment. Around 4 million households will benefit overall from Government’s decision to increase the Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance – estimated to be worth £725 annually by 2029/30 in cash terms based on Spring Statement 2025 economic assumptions - £250 annually above inflation for a single household aged 25 or over. For existing UC Health Element recipients and customers with severe, lifelong conditions the combined rate of the UC standard allowance and the UC Health Element will rise at least in line with inflation every year for the next four years.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis showing that over 17 million people in Yemen are currently facing IPC Phase 3+ (Crisis) food insecurity or worse, projected to rise to 18.1 million, representing around 52 per cent of the population, including 41,000 at risk of IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe), by February 2026.

Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with 19.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. At the UN Security Council Monthly Briefing on Yemen, the UK continues to call for quick and collaborative action from the international community to respond to the rapidly deteriorating levels of food security and ensure the most vulnerable Yemenis are receiving the support they need.The UK is currently the largest donor to the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for this financial year, and provided £144 million in humanitarian aid in financial year 2024/2025 . Since 2015, the UK has committed over £1 billion in aid to Yemen to alleviate suffering and support the most vulnerable. The UK focuses our programming on integrating health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and food security responses in areas of significant need. This year, in response to increased food insecurity, we are providing cash transfers which help to feed up to 864,000 people and support 500 health facilities with the medicines, vaccines, and nutritional supplements they need to treat 700,000 severely malnourished children.This year, the UK's Food Security Safety Nets programme in Yemen will provide £58 million to reduce the risk of severe food insecurity, and support the Government of Yemen economic reform to facilitate a more coherent and coordinated response. In response to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis, the UK mobilised an additional £13 million to support nearly one million people with emergency cash transfers. Moreover, the UK's Affordability of Food and Finance in Yemen (AFFY) programme delivers in Government of Yemen controlled areas boosting short-term macro-economic stabilisation and encouraging economic de-escalation to combat drivers of food insecurity.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to (a) increase UK humanitarian assistance and (b) support macro-economic measures to mitigate drivers of food insecurity in Yemen; and what her planned timetable is for this.

Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with 19.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. At the UN Security Council Monthly Briefing on Yemen, the UK continues to call for quick and collaborative action from the international community to respond to the rapidly deteriorating levels of food security and ensure the most vulnerable Yemenis are receiving the support they need.The UK is currently the largest donor to the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for this financial year, and provided £144 million in humanitarian aid in financial year 2024/2025. Since 2015, the UK has committed over £1 billion in aid to Yemen to alleviate suffering and support the most vulnerable. The UK focuses our programming on integrating health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and food security responses in areas of significant need. This year, in response to increased food insecurity, we are providing cash transfers which help to feed up to 864,000 people and support 500 health facilities with the medicines, vaccines, and nutritional supplements they need to treat 700,000 severely malnourished children.This year, the UK's Food Security Safety Nets programme in Yemen will provide £58 million to reduce the risk of severe food insecurity, and support the Government of Yemen economic reform to facilitate a more coherent and coordinated response. In response to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis, the UK mobilised an additional £13 million to support nearly one million people with emergency cash transfers. Moreover, the UK's Affordability of Food and Finance in Yemen (AFFY) programme delivers in Government of Yemen controlled areas boosting short-term macro-economic stabilisation and encouraging economic de-escalation to combat drivers of food insecurity.

Whether his Department plans to make further savings after the implementation of the Universal Credit Act in April 2026.

This Government is committed to a social security system which raises employment and living standards by supporting and incentivising people into work and to work more, supports those who can never work to live with dignity, reduces poverty, promotes fairness and controls overall spending to ensure the long-term sustainability of the system for future generations.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 21% underfunding of the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2025 led by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with 19.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. At the UN Security Council Monthly Briefing on Yemen, the UK continues to call for quick and collaborative action from the international community to respond to the rapidly deteriorating levels of food security and ensure the most vulnerable Yemenis are receiving the support they need.The UK is currently the largest donor to the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for this financial year, and provided £144 million in humanitarian aid in financial year 2024/2025 . Since 2015, the UK has committed over £1 billion in aid to Yemen to alleviate suffering and support the most vulnerable. The UK focuses our programming on integrating health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and food security responses in areas of significant need. This year, in response to increased food insecurity, we are providing cash transfers which help to feed up to 864,000 people and support 500 health facilities with the medicines, vaccines, and nutritional supplements they need to treat 700,000 severely malnourished children.This year, the UK's Food Security Safety Nets programme in Yemen will provide £58 million to reduce the risk of severe food insecurity, and support the Government of Yemen economic reform to facilitate a more coherent and coordinated response. In response to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis, the UK mobilised an additional £13 million to support nearly one million people with emergency cash transfers. Moreover, the UK's Affordability of Food and Finance in Yemen (AFFY) programme delivers in Government of Yemen controlled areas boosting short-term macro-economic stabilisation and encouraging economic de-escalation to combat drivers of food insecurity.

What discussions her Department has had with the Metropolitan Police Service on the level of its compliance with its statutory obligations (a) under the Data Protection Act 2018 and (b) with GDPR in relation to Subject Access Requests from members of the public.

Compliance with data protection obligations, including the handling of Subject Access Requests (SARs), is the responsibility of individual police forces. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) produces guidance for organisations on how to comply with data protection law.The Data (Use and Access) Act received Royal Assent in June 2025 and includes some changes to data protection obligations while maintaining high standards of protection for personal data.

What steps her Department has taken to ensure (a) GPs and (b) mental health professionals are trained in (i) identifying and (ii) responding to the (A) traumatic physical and emotional impacts of violence and abuse and (B) the specific consequences of abuse for Black and minoritised victims.

All National Health Service staff are required to complete mandatory safeguarding training which includes how to identify and respond to domestic abuse and sexual violence. This training is being revised and is due to be re-launched in early 2026. The training update will strengthen the importance of intersectional considerations, including helping staff to understand the impact of trauma and cultural barriers to discussing abuse.General practitioners, along with other clinicians in the NHS, support victims and survivors of abuse in a range of ways depending on diagnosis and individual needs. This may include treating abuse-related injuries, referral to mental health treatment, or referral to a psychological support service such as peer support.All mental health service providers are expected to embed the Patient and carer race equality framework. This mandatory framework supports trusts and providers to implement actions to reduce racial inequalities within their services. It will become part of Care Quality Commission inspections. The Framework is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/patient-and-carer-race-equality-framework/Most integrated care boards and NHS trusts have appointed domestic abuse and sexual violence leads. They comprise a national network of leaders who share good practice, identify issues and develop solutions to support victim and survivors, including those from Black and minority groups.

With reference to the Imkaan report entitled Why should our rage be tidy, published in November 2024, what steps his Department is taking to increase the diversity of the NHS therapeutic workforce.

The National Health Service has an incredibly diverse workforce with over 75% of roles filled by women and over 25% of roles filled by people from an ethnic minority background. We expect NHS organisations to work to address inequalities that exist in the workplace to ensure the best outcomes for patients. As part of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Improvement Plan, employers across the NHS must embed fair and inclusive recruitment processes and talent management strategies that target under representation and lack of diversity in the workforce. Local NHS leaders remain best placed to take an evidence-based approach to recruitment and resourcing decisions.

Whether barracks sites used to house people seeking asylum will be run by private contractors.

We have committed to close all asylum hotels and to achieve this, we will look at a range of more appropriate sites like disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so that we can reduce the impact on communities. We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery and more detail will be set out in due course. This will include available routes to market for Onsite Support Services.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of barracks sites on the health of people seeking asylum.

The Home Office remains firmly committed to ensuring that destitute asylum seekers are provided with safe, secure, and appropriate accommodation, and that they are treated with dignity throughout the asylum process.To support this commitment, mechanisms are in place—managed by Migrant Help—to enable asylum seekers to request assistance or report any issues. This support is available 24/7 via telephone, webchat, or email.Migrant Help actively seeks feedback from service users to help identify areas for improvement.