Written questions by Thomas.

What number of settlement visas have been issued in total for Gurkha veterans who retired prior to 1 July 1997.

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.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment has she made of the effectiveness of the Arts Council England’s Incentivising Touring scheme.

The government welcomes the continued success of this fund, which expands domestic touring into new areas. This investment will enrich our cultural landscape and boost local economies by bringing popular productions to communities nationwide, allowing more people to enjoy the arts locally. The second round of this pilot makes £2.9 million available to enable more mid-to-large-scale theatre and dance productions to tour. The funding aims at giving venues and producers the capacity to create, tour, and programme a wider range of work, providing audiences with more opportunities to see a greater range of quality dance and theatre productions at scale. It’s great to see such excellent productions as Dear England, Fiddler on the Roof and Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of) being enjoyed across the country in part thanks to this fund. Arts Council England has commissioned AMION Consulting to undertake a process evaluation and an assessment of the impact of the scheme across the pilot rounds, including an assessment of the economic and social impact of the programme.

What steps she is taking to change cultural tax reliefs to account for the cost of touring.

The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, and supports the sector through a range of tax reliefs which are among the most generous in the world, providing over £2.4 billion of support in 2023–24. The reliefs support the sector with the cost of touring. Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) provides a generous rate of 45 per cent tax relief on orchestral production costs – including the cost of domestic touring, such as transport and accommodation – and provided £50 million of support in 2023-24. There is currently no other country in the world which offers such a tax relief for orchestras. Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR), provide a 40% rate of relief to non-touring productions but offer higher rates of relief (at 45%) for touring productions. The Government carefully considers the design of the creative sector tax reliefs to ensure they are well targeted, effective in achieving their policy objectives, and represent value for money for the taxpayer.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of Baroness Hodge’s independent review of Arts Council England; and whether she will implement the recommendations.

The government’s full response to Baroness Hodge’s independent review of Arts Council England was published on 26 March and deposited in the House Library.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rules on tax relief on touring costs in Europe.

The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, and supports the sector through a range of tax reliefs which are among the most generous in the world, providing over £2.4 billion of support in 2023–24. The reliefs support the sector with the cost of touring. Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) provides a generous rate of 45 per cent tax relief on orchestral production costs – including the cost of domestic touring, such as transport and accommodation – and provided £50 million of support in 2023-24. There is currently no other country in the world which offers such a tax relief for orchestras. Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR), provide a 40% rate of relief to non-touring productions but offer higher rates of relief (at 45%) for touring productions. The Government carefully considers the design of the creative sector tax reliefs to ensure they are well targeted, effective in achieving their policy objectives, and represent value for money for the taxpayer.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that touring in Europe is viable for UK artists.

We have reset our relationship with the European Union and are determined to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU and help our touring artists. This is in full recognition of the challenges that creative and cultural professionals, and their support staff, face when touring in Europe. On 19 May 2025, the first ever Summit between the UK and EU was held. At the Summit, the UK and European Commission recognised the value of cultural exchange, including the activities of touring artists. We continue to engage with the European Commission, Members of the European Parliament and the sector, both in the UK and across Europe, with a view to addressing the challenges that touring artists and their support staff face. This is mutually beneficial - it will help our artists to contribute to Europe’s rich cultural landscape and support shared growth. We are also working with the EU and Member States to promote wider cultural exchange to further the UK-EU strategic partnership.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure funding disbursed by Arts Council England is fairly distributed across the country.

The Secretary of State believes that while talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. As part of our Plan for Change, we are committed to ensuring that arts and culture thrives in every part of the country, with more opportunities for people to engage, benefit from and work in arts and culture where they live. It is why, at DCMS, we have adopted a place-based approach, putting local people, communities and places first in everything that we do. And it's why, over the course of this Parliament, the Government will invest £1.5 billion in capital funding for arts and culture - the largest investment of its kind for a generation. We believe that excellent culture belongs to everyone, everywhere, and not just in a handful of cities or institutions, but in every town, city and village in this country. ACE itself uses several mechanisms to ensure funding is distributed fairly across the country. Their funding strategy is a targeted, data-driven, and locally delivered model that prioritises underinvested areas, with an embedded, long-term approach to regional equity. This strategy includes: Geographic investment targets: ACE sets place-based priorities to direct more funding into historically underfunded areas.Regular portfolio balancing: Its National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) funding round is periodically reassessed to rebalance investment across regions.Data-led decision-making: Funding allocations are guided by regional data on deprivation, cultural access, and existing provision.Dedicated regional teams: Local officers assess applications with knowledge of regional needs and context.Strategic funds and programmes: Targeted schemes support touring, grassroots organisations, and underserved communities.Transparency and reporting: ACE publishes funding data and geographic breakdowns to monitor equity and accountability.Access and inclusion criteria: Applications are assessed partly on how they broaden access for diverse and geographically dispersed audiences. Together, these measures aim to reduce regional disparities and ensure public funding benefits communities across all parts of England.

Following the announcement on the19 December 2025 on the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, when the additional announcements will be made on further funding into brain tumour treatment trials beyond the £13.7 million initial investment.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium was announced as part of the Government’s commitment to developing new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the Consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million. Payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to ten years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between NIHR and the consortium.We are expecting to be able to make further updates on the progress of the NIHR Brain Cancer Consortium in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible.In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

Whether his Department will commit to regularly publishing clear and transparent figures of Whole Genome Sequencing as described in the National Cancer Plan, broken down by trust, tumour type and outlining the percentages of patients receiving this against the number being diagnosed.

Since 2023, NHS England has published National Health Service genomic testing activity data on the NHS England website, at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/genomic-testing-activity/This standardised data is published at a national level and by NHS Genomic Medicine Service region. For whole genome sequencing, data is published by cancer and rare disease. Data is also published for a number of specific cancer clinical indications, including for example lymphoma, lung, colorectal, and others. NHS England will continue to develop this dataset and publish genomic testing activity data on a quarterly basis in line with other diagnostic NHS services.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the number of clinical trials running in the UK for people with brain cancer; and whether he has any specific targets on this to reduce the number of patients who travel overseas for treatment.

The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the United Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for brain cancers.The Department is supporting the delivery of brain cancer clinical trials through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) that funds research and research infrastructure to support patients and the public to participate in high-quality research. In January 2026, the NIHR announced total investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments across the UK. The consortium will develop and enhance innovative clinical trials.There are no specific targets around increasing the number of brain cancer clinical trials, although the Life Sciences Sector Plan aims to double all commercial interventional trial participants in the UK by 2026, and double again by 2029.As set out in our National Cancer Plan, the Government will implement the Rare Cancers Act, making it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the pace at which the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium is developing; and when the organisations that constitute the research consortium will have access to the funds.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium was announced as part of the Government’s commitment to developing new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the Consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million. Payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to ten years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between NIHR and the consortium.We are expecting to be able to make further updates on the progress of the NIHR Brain Cancer Consortium in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible.In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

Whether she plans to take steps to lower business rates on early years education settings.

Business rates are a broad-based tax on the value of non-domestic properties, including early years education settings. At the Budget, the Government announced a £4.3 billion support package to support ratepayers across all sectors seeing bill increases. As a result of the Budget package, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. More broadly, in 2026-27, DfE expect to provide over £9.5 billion for childcare entitlements for children aged from 9 months to 4 years. This is over £1 billion more compared to 2025-26, as it delivers a full year of the expanded 30 hours entitlements for working parents and an above inflation increase to funding rates.

What assessment she has made of the impact of business rates on early years education settings.

Business rates are a broad-based tax on the value of non-domestic properties, including early years education settings. At the Budget, the Government announced a £4.3 billion support package to support ratepayers across all sectors seeing bill increases. As a result of the Budget package, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. More broadly, in 2026-27, DfE expect to provide over £9.5 billion for childcare entitlements for children aged from 9 months to 4 years. This is over £1 billion more compared to 2025-26, as it delivers a full year of the expanded 30 hours entitlements for working parents and an above inflation increase to funding rates.

Over what period he expects the £13.7 million initial funding in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium to be disbursed.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium was announced as part of the Government’s commitment to developing new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the Consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million. Payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to ten years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between NIHR and the consortium.We are expecting to be able to make further updates on the progress of the NIHR Brain Cancer Consortium in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible.In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

What consideration her Department has given to paying national non-domestic rates on behalf of early years education settings.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.The small business rate relief scheme provides up to 100% relief for eligible businesses occupying one property with a rateable value of £12,000 or below and reduces bills up to £15,000. Furthermore, if a nursery is a charity, charitable rate relief provides 80% off rates bills, which can be topped up to 100% by the local authority.The government funds local authorities to deliver the early years entitlements through the early years national funding formula for the three and four-year-old entitlement and a separate formula for the two-year-old and below entitlement. The hourly funding rate paid to local authorities for these entitlements is designed to recognise the average costs across different provider types and is intended to reflect staff and non-staff costs, including business rates. The national average three and four-year-old hourly funding rate of local authorities is increasing by 4.1%, the two-year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.3%, and the nine months to two-year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.4%.There are no current plans to extend the centralised payment system to private, voluntary, or independent early years settings or to make these settings exempt.

When he expects the National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers to be appointed and whether a job specification has already been created.

The National Cancer Plan, published on 4 February 2026, sets out several commitments and ambitions, to be delivered within the next 10 years. We will implement the Rare Cancers Act, which received Royal Assent on 5 March 2026, including by designating a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers by summer 2026. This person will be based in the NIHR Research Delivery Network and will support research delivery for rare cancers research. A job specification for the role is under development.The role of the reformed National Cancer Board will be to support and monitor the delivery of the commitments and ambitions and provide regular updates to ministers. The board will be co-chaired by the Director General for Planned Care in the Department and an independent representative. In addition, several national leads will sit on the board, including a clinical lead for rare cancers. The national leads will oversee delivery of the plan and advise ministers directly and independently on what action should be taken to improve outcomes.It is important to choose the most suitable appointment process for selecting an independent representative to co-chair the board and to the national lead roles. Officials from NHS England and the Department are carefully following the required public appointments procedures including creating job specifications.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing the price of a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode to that of an Electronic Travel Authorisation.

The Home Office has not assessed in isolation the specific impact of the potential merits of reducing the price of a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode to that of an Electronic Travel Authorisation.Fees for immigration and nationality applications are set taking account of the charging powers provided by Section 68(9) of the Immigration Act 2014, which include the ability to set fees based on: the cost of processing the application, the benefits and entitlements provided by a successful application and the wider cost of the Migration and Borders system.Fees for immigration and nationality applications are kept under review and any reduction in fees would need to be considered in terms of its impact on the funding of the Migration & Borders system.The fee for the Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode is below the estimated cost to the Home Office of processing the application.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of the use of birth certificates and marriage certificates as proof of right to abode for British citizens living abroad.

The Immigration Act 1971 specifies that a British citizen must use a British citizen passport or a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode to enter the UK. There are no plans to change the law in this respect. Birth and marriage certificates on their own may not be sufficient to show that a person has the right of abode.

What insurance packages is he preparing to assist households with a potential energy price shock.

The Government recognises that families and businesses across the country will see the recent global events and once again be concerned about the impact on their energy bills. We continue to monitor the situation closely and we are looking at what further support may be needed. Changes announced at the Autumn Budget ensure that from April until the end of June, the energy price cap will fall by 7% or £117 per year. The price cap for that period is fixed and will not change. Households with bigger bills could save more, particularly those with electric heating, many of whom are on lower incomes. We are also ensuring that those on fixed tariffs are supported, with suppliers confirming they will be passing on the savings to customers who have chosen to fix their rates off the price cap. This action follows the decision to expand the Warm Home Discount this winter, which will see around six million households receive an additional £150 off their energy bills.

What steps he is taking to limit price increases for heating oil during the current conflict in the Middle East.

Unlike the gas and electricity markets, heating oil is bought on the spot market, making it more exposed to short‑term volatility in global oil prices, which we recognise is a significant concern for those reliant on it. The Secretary of State has written to the industry reminding heating oil distributors of their commitments under the UKIFDA Code of Practice, including the need for fair, transparent and justifiable pricing. Additionally, the CMA announced on 11 March they are probing further on two main issues consumers have raised with them on heating oil prices. The CMA will not hesitate to take action where there is evidence of breaches of consumer protections.