Written questions by Voaden.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of requiring all communications providers to issue automatic compensation for service outages.

Consumers should expect high-quality, reliable services. Operators have statutory obligations to keep services available and take all appropriate and proportionate measures to prepare for and minimise any disruption or outages.In 2019, Ofcom - the independent regulator - worked with telecoms operators to introduce a voluntary, automatic compensation scheme for domestic broadband. 10 internet service providers are signatories to the scheme and collectively cover over 90% of home broadband consumers.We will continue to work with Ofcom to monitor the market to ensure that consumers are receiving reliable services and recourse for when things go wrong.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure children's wishes are considered by the Family Court during a hearing.

When deciding an issue relating to the upbringing of a child, the child’s welfare must be the court’s paramount consideration. When considering arrangements to be made for a child, the court must have particular regard to a list of factors, including the wishes and feelings of the child, considered in light of the child’s age and level of understanding. Depending on the type of proceedings, the child may automatically be a party to the case or may be made a party by the court if it is in their best interests to do so.In most proceedings relating to a child, it is part of the role of Cafcass, or Cafcass Cymru, to engage with children to establish their wishes and communicate these to the court. Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru officers can use various methods to ensure children can make their feelings and wishes clear to the court in their own words and will submit their own analysis of the evidence to the court.The Government is exploring how to enhance the voice of the child in private family law proceedings to ensure children’s wishes and views are central to proceedings concerning them via the Pathfinder pilot currently in place in Dorset, North Wales, Birmingham and South-East Wales. As part of the evaluation of the pilots we are working with partners and stakeholders to assess methods of child engagement and understand more about the voice of the child in the initial pilot sites of Dorset and North Wales. We expect the findings of this to be published in Spring 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that all cases of suspected wildlife crimes against birds are fully investigated, in the context of the prevalence of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Defra wants to see as many cases as possible of suspected wildlife crimes against birds fully investigated. The department supports the National Wildlife Crime Unit which helps prevent and detect wildlife crime and directly assists law enforcers in their investigations Highly pathogenic avian influenza findings in wild birds can bring challenges where the carcase tests positive but where the bird has died in suspicious circumstances. In some cases, further post-mortem examination may not be possible due to the need to handle carcases at high containment facilities to protect public health and prevent spread of the virus. The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) Diseases of Wildlife Scheme (DoWS) works closely with the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) which makes enquiries, where possible, into death or illness of wildlife that may have resulted from pesticide and rodenticide poisoning (including cases with suspected wildlife crime). When dead wild birds are submitted to APHA through the wild bird surveillance scheme and poisoning is suspected, where avian influenza has been negated, the case is subsequently investigated by DoWS in collaboration with WIIS, the police and other agencies as appropriate. In all other instances, further investigation is pursued where it is possible to handle carcases or samples at appropriate biocontainment levels.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the International Council of the Exploration of the Sea's publication entitled Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Celtic Seas and Greater North Sea ecoregions, published on 28 June 2024.

Defra routinely use the best available scientific advice, including that provided by the International Council of the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), within international fisheries negotiations, where catch limits are agreed on shared stocks, and in wider policy development The best available scientific advice is considered as part of our policy approach which seeks to balance obligations and objectives, as set out in the Fisheries Act 2020 and the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). In line with the JFS, making use of ICES advice, the UK seeks to achieve greater environmental sustainability and provide profitable outcomes for the industry including aiming to increase over the medium term the total number of stocks fished at Maximum Sustainable Yield. As part of the annual negotiation process, Defra officials provide Ministers with an assessment of how the UK negotiating position on fishing opportunities balances these objectives on a stock-by-stock basis.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential socio-economic impact of proposed quota adjustments on the (a) South West fishing industry and (b) English Channel fisheries.

Consultations with the EU to agree fishing opportunities for 2025 began in November and are expected to conclude in December 2024. A final assessment of quota changes, as a result of these consultations, will be published in spring next year. As per requirements of the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS), the UK uses the best available scientific advice in fisheries management and negotiations, this includes the annual advice from the International Council of the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) on fishing opportunities. Accepting the ICES advised headline advice in full, would lead to a reduction in UK quota in the South-West of England and English Channel compared to 2024. However, in seeking to appropriately balance all the fisheries objectives set out in the Fisheries Act 2020 and the JFS, the UK will in some cases seek to agree an allocation with the EU, above that advised by ICES, for example for a 0 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) stock where a bycatch-only TAC may be required to prevent adverse impacts on the fishing industry, within sustainable limits.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the proposed reduction in the sole fishery in the Western Channel.

There is no reduction in the International Council of the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) advice for Western Channel (7e) sole, from 2024 to 2025. For the 2024 fishing year, the ICES advice was 1057t, for the 2025 fishing year it is 1151t. This is an 8.9% increase. In terms of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) which was set for 2024, although ICES advised a 24% cut, the UK and EU agreed a smaller (15%) reduction, in order to mitigate the short-term economic risks potentially consequent of a such a cut.

What steps he is taking to encourage Great British Energy to consult with local communities on the development of renewable energy projects.

Great British Energy will support the roll out of small and medium-scale renewable energy projects, using established technologies, to develop up to 8 GW of cleaner power. To ensure Great British Energy is set up to deliver its Local function effectively, my officials will continue to engage with local and community groups as GBE continues to be developed and implemented.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of case backlogs in (a) criminal and (b) civil courts.

Criminal CourtsThe Crown Court outstanding caseload remains one of the biggest challenges facing the Criminal Justice System. We have already shown we are committed to bearing down on the caseload and bringing waiting times down.This Government has increased the number of Crown Court sitting days to 106,500, more than in six out of the last seven years. We are also in the process of extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months, freeing up 2,000 days in the Crown Court to handle the most serious cases.Judges have been prioritising rape cases that have been waiting for over two years to go to trial. Despite this, there are some cases in the outstanding caseload which are taking far too long to progress through the system. We want to make sure every victim has the swift access to justice they deserve. This is why we have committed to fast-tracking rape cases through the courts, to deliver swift and effective justice to some of the most vulnerable victims in the criminal justice system and will say more on this in due course.We consistently invest in the recruitment of c.1,000 judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions annually alongside continuing to use 18 Nightingale courtrooms across eight venues to hear more cases.Civil CourtsThe civil courts play a crucial role in supporting the economy and growth as well as ensuring citizens have access to justice.Performance remains a challenge in the civil courts and the Government is committed to resolving cases quickly, as well as ensuring that claims are dealt with appropriately and proportionately according to their complexity and value.The Ministry of Justice is working closely with the senior judiciary to improve performance across the jurisdiction by reducing demand, increasing capacity and introducing efficiencies. For example, we continue to explore the expansion of integrated mediation in certain disputes, to enable the swift and cost-effective resolution of disputes. The county courts use a ‘national and virtual region pool’ which enables judges to hear cases outside their regional circuit, to ensure that available judicial resource can be deployed to areas of significant demand elsewhere when needed.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure people without Maths and English GCSEs can access appropriate apprenticeship schemes.

The department does not have entry requirements for apprenticeships, but we understand that employers may wish to set their own as apprentices are employees.The department does have specific English and mathematics exit requirements which apprentices must meet, and we recognise the concerns that have been raised by learners, employers and providers about the barriers these can pose to accessing or completing an apprenticeship.The department is considering how its English and mathematics exit requirements policy can be improved to make sure it recognises the benefits to upskilling in these subjects, while also being delivered in a way that supports people to achieve.The department continues to fully fund apprentices who do not hold the required English and mathematics qualifications to achieve these as part of their apprenticeship.

Whether she plans to negotiate reciprocal agreements with Commonwealth countries on uprating UK pensions.

The department has no plans to negotiate reciprocal agreements with Commonwealth countries on uprating UK pensions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2024 to Question 3550 on Probation, what access does the unified Probation Service have to information that was previously held by the Community Rehabilitation Companies; and whether current probation officers can access all relevant information about cases that were held by the CRCs.

Probation Service practitioners have a complete record of all cases that were managed by Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). National Delius and Offender Assessment System (OASys) records were preserved as the primary case record, as was the position before, during and after the structural changes to probation made by the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms.In addition to this, the Probation Reform Programme carried out extensive work to ensure that any information from local CRC recording systems was appropriately migrated at the point of reunification.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his expected timetable is for implementing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 to deliver standardised sustainable drainage systems in new developments.

The Government is currently assessing how best to implement its ambitions on sustainable drainage, while also being mindful of the cumulative impact of new regulatory burdens on the development sector.

With reference to his oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for South Devon during the Oral Statement of 7 October 2024 on Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage, Official Report, column 79, whether reviews of full-lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for carbon capture and storage scheme projects will be completed before final investment decisions are taken on such projects.

The Value for Money assessments already undertaken by the Department follow HMT guidelines in the appraisal of carbon abatement, comparing the emissions of the capture projects with and without CCUS technology. Hydrogen projects seeking support from Government are assessed in respect of their compliance with the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard, developed to ensure hydrogen production contributes to our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets under the Climate Change Act.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the water industry invests in proven nature-based solutions for natural flood management.

Defra recognises that nature and catchment-based solutions in the water sector have an important role to play. The strategic policy statement in 2022 set out the governments priorities for Ofwat. This set out that water companies should significantly increase their use of nature and catchment-based solutions to achieve multiple benefits for the environment and the public including natural flood management. We expect companies and regulators to work towards delivering these solutions as a matter of preference. The Working with Natural Processes (NFM) Evidence Directory provides natural flood management information and case studies: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-with-natural-processes-to-reduce-flood-risk.The Environment Agency is producing new long-term investment scenarios to quantify the benefits of natural flood management for the next 50 to 100 years in England.

Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) economic, (b) social and (c) employment factors are taken into consideration in fisheries consultations between the UK and the EU.

As an independent coastal State the UK engages in annual fisheries consultations with the EU to set fishing opportunities for shared stock. In doing so the UK seeks to balance the fisheries objectives as laid out in the Fisheries Act 2020 in accordance with the policies of the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). In particular, in line with the JFS, the UK seeks to provide certainty and profitable outcomes for the industry.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to reintroduce the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill; and whether he plans to ban the use of snares.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.

Whether she has had discussions with the Church of England on its response to allegations of abuse by clergy.

Child sexual abuse is a despicable crime and this new government will be taking robust action to safeguard children, provide support and care to victims and survivors and ensure perpetrators face the full force of the law.I have not had any specific engagement with the Church of England on this matter to date. However, I am clear that safeguarding of children from abuse is everyone’s responsibility, including the Church.I have met with Professor Alexis Jay recently and recognise her significant contribution to these important issues, having chaired the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse as well as the more recent independent review into safeguarding in the Church of England.I will be working with the Home Secretary and ministerial colleagues across government to strengthen the cross-institutional response to identifying and responding to this horrific crime as a matter of urgency.

What steps she is taking to help ensure the (a) rehabilitation and (b) education of offenders who took part in violent disorder during summer 2024.

This Government is committed to reducing reoffending by giving offenders leaving prison the tools to rehabilitate and move away from crime.Offenders involved in this summer’s violent disorder and given prison sentences will receive an education assessment on reception to prison. Prison staff and probation practitioners will work to create a sentence plan to ensure the right support is on offer during their time in prison and on release.As well as the opportunity to improve English and mathematics (if needed) and to undertake vocational training, HMPPS offer a range of behavioural programmes and other interventions that may be considered for offenders convicted of violent offences as part of this summer's disorder. These include programmes to improve relationships, thinking skills and healthy identities. Eligibility is determined based on assessed risk and need.Where individuals involved in this summer’s disorder have substance misuse issues we will work to tackle these To achieve this, 80 prisons have an Incentivised Substance-Free Living unit, where prisoners are regularly tested and receive incentives, and we have dedicated staff to tackle drugs in custody and support continuity of care. In the community we are diverting offenders into treatment at the earliest opportunity. This includes more offenders sentenced to Drug Rehabilitation Requirements, a form of community sentence which includes a requirement to engage in treatment

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring Companies House to carry out checks on the validity of companies addresses when they first register.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduced greater powers to remove false and misappropriated company addresses from the register and more stringent requirements around what constitutes an appropriate address.It will also introduce compulsory identify verification for company officers. The automated nature of these processes means that they can manage a large amount of data at speed. Verifying an address and a company's link to it, however, would rely on different evidence, requiring much more manual processing. Given Companies House registers over 800,000 companies per year, the vast majority of which are entirely legitimate, the resource demands are likely to be disproportionate and such checks are not currently part of government plans.

Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with Ofcom on further regulating (a) gambling advertising and (b) gambling advertising associated with sports to help prevent (i) children and (ii) vulnerable people from gambling.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body responsible for regulating advertising in the UK and co-regulates broadcast advertising under contract with Ofcom. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the ASA, are responsible for codifying the standards for advertising to the marketing industry as part of their CAP and BCAP Codes.We are considering the best available evidence from a wide range of sources and working closely with the relevant organisations to inform decisions on how best to fulfil our manifesto commitment to reducing gambling-related harm. We will provide further updates to the House soon.