Written questions by Harris.

What estimate her Department has made of the value of the UK spirits sector to the economy in (a) employment, (b) exports and (c) tax revenue.

(a) The Office for National Statistics' Business Register and Employment Survey (2023 edition) estimates total (part-time and full-time) employment in Great Britain for the Distilling; rectifying and blending of spirits industry is 13,700 workers. (b) HMRC’s overseas trade data estimates that the value of UK spirits exports (excluding undenatured ethyl alcohol) in the 2024 calendar year was £6.6 billion. (c) HMRC’s tax receipt statistics indicate that the value of alcohol duty paid on spirits for 2024 to 2025 is £4.2 billion.

What the annual value is of UK spirits exports; and what proportion of overall exports those exports were in the last five years.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK which includes data on exports of spirits. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria. To build a table, you will need the commodity codes for spirits. These codes are publicly available from the UK Trade Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. Commodity codes for spirits would come under Chapter 22. The annual trade figures for total exports can be found at uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/overseas/. The last available figures are for July 2025. If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.

What comparative assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of excise duty rates on the competitiveness of (a) UK and (b) European distillers; and what fiscal steps she is taking to help support the domestic distilling industry.

The UK spirits industry makes a vital contribution to our economy and society, with Scotch Whisky remaining the UK’s most successful food and drink export enjoyed by consumers across the globe. UK alcohol duty is not charged on exports. There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries. The World Health Organization recently published a comparison of alcohol taxes across the WHO European Region, which can be found here: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289061940 . The UK’s alcohol taxes are generally lower than Sweden and Norway’s, and comparable to the Republic of Ireland and Finland. Regarding support for the spirits industry, I refer the hon member to the answer that I gave to PQ UIN 80562

What data his Department holds on the number of UK-based distilleries that have (a) opened and (b) closed in each of the last five years.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 10th October is attached.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the value of gin produced in Wales to the economy.

The UK has a vibrant and successful Gin industry, with exports in excess of £530 million in 2024. The department has not made a formal estimate of the value of gin produced in Wales, but industry reports that the number of active gin distilleries in Wales has grown rapidly from 5 distilleries in 2017 to over 30 in 2024. Office for National Statistics data published in 2024 also shows that distilling supports over 250 jobs in Wales. Earlier this year we were pleased to grant protected status to Dovey Native Botanical Gin, produced in Machynlleth.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of excise duty levels on the export competitiveness of UK-produced spirits; and what spirit exports were by (a) value and (b) volume in the last period for which data is available.

DBT helps distillers access global markets and increase competitiveness through free trade agreements such as the UK-India FTA, breaking down market access barriers and providing targeted support via business.gov.uk. Excise duty does not apply to spirits produced and exported from the UK. In the 12 months to August 2025, UK spirit exports were provisionally valued at £6.7 billion, with a total volume of around 500 million litres.

What steps he is taking to support (a) small and (b) independent distillers wishing to export.

DBT negotiates new free trade agreements, such as the UK-India FTA, and seeks to remove market access barriers for UK distillers. We recently agreed a Geographic Indicator for Scotch Whisky in Argentina. DBT provides direct export support via business.gov.uk, including access to the Business Academy and international market teams. This November, DBT will lead a landmark Spirits trade mission to New Delhi and Mumbai, offering UK distillers a strategic gateway into India’s fast-growing alcoholic drinks market. Distillers of all sizes can access UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, which offers a wide range of products to support exporters and export-ready businesses.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle the exploitation of people working illegally.

As already announced, through the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, the Government is introducing tough new laws to clamp down on illegal working.We have expanded our work across government and with law enforcement partners to target, investigate and enforce penalties on unscrupulous employers who illegally employ those with no right to work here.We are stopping exploitation by criminal gangs, ensuring vulnerable people receive the correct support and making sure that those who break the law face serious consequences.

With reference to the recommendations of the Thirty-Seventh Report of the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 2024-25 on Immigration: Skilled worker visas, HC 819, and the white paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, CP 1326, what steps her Department is taking to facilitate migrant care workers to move to new sponsors.

The standard cancellation activity for care workers impacted by revocation of the sponsor’s licence has been temporarily paused to enable the workers to find alternative employment. When an Adult Social Care sponsor is revoked, UKVI write to all the impacted workers individually to signpost them to direct support provided by the relevant regional partnerships when in England and to a specified mailbox in Scotland.In addition to this, UKVI have agreed a process with the Regional Partnerships to expedite the associated applications for displaced workers, waiving the usual premium service fees that would be associated with either sponsor licence applications, certificate of sponsorship applications and visa applications.The Regional Partnerships have a nominated official within UKVI who they are able to contact directly to seek support relating to care workers impacted by a revocation.

With reference to the recommendations of the Thirty-Seventh Report of the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 2024-25 on Immigration: Skilled worker visas, HC 819, what arrangements are in place to safeguard international social care workers when sponsors’ licences are revoked beyond regional partnerships funded by the Department for Health and Social Care; and whether she is taking steps to strengthen those arrangements.

The standard cancellation activity for care workers impacted by revocation of the sponsor’s licence has been temporarily paused to enable the workers to find alternative employment. When an Adult Social Care sponsor is revoked, UKVI write to all the impacted workers individually to signpost them to direct support provided by the relevant regional partnerships when in England and to a specified mailbox in Scotland.In addition to this, UKVI have agreed a process with the Regional Partnerships to expedite the associated applications for displaced workers, waiving the usual premium service fees that would be associated with either sponsor licence applications, certificate of sponsorship applications and visa applications.The Regional Partnerships have a nominated official within UKVI who they are able to contact directly to seek support relating to care workers impacted by a revocation.

With reference to the recommendations of the Thirty-Seventh Report of the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 2024-25 on Immigration: Skilled worker visas, HC 819 and pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question 39615 on Care Workers: Migrant Workers, what steps he is taking to expedite publication of an evaluation of the effectiveness of regional partnerships to support (a) displaced and (b) exploited care workers into new employment.

The Government welcomes the Committee of Public Accounts’ report on skilled worker visas and will respond fully in due course.The Department is providing up to £12.5 million this financial year to 15 regional partnerships to help support international care workers affected by sponsor non-compliance into alternative, ethical employment.We have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce to undertake an independent evaluation of the 2024/25 international recruitment regional fund. We currently expect the final report of this evaluation to be published by King's College London in January 2026.Regional partnerships provide the Department with monthly and quarterly monitoring data regarding progress, including on the number of displaced workers who have secured new sponsored employment.

How many babies and children under the age of two are (a) in Mother and Baby Units in prisons in England and (b) have been in Mother and Baby Units in prisons in England in the last twelve months.

Data on the number of babies accommodated in Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) in England is published at Table 10.1 of the HMPPS Annual Digest 2023-2024:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2023-to-march-2024/hmpps-annual-digest-2023-to-2024#mother-and-baby-units-mbus-pregnant-prisoners-and-births.The Annual Digest 2024 - 2025 is scheduled for publication at the end of July. Owing to our obligations under the Code of Practice for Statistics, we are unable to provide the latest data as this time, as they are intended for future publication.Women who are pregnant, or who have children up to and around the age of 18 months, can apply for a place in an MBU. MBUs normally accommodate babies up until the age of 18 months, though in exceptional circumstances a child may remain beyond 18 months.Data is not held on the number of mothers in prison who are separated from children under the age of two, or on the care arrangements for those children. While applications for MBU placements are recorded, there is no central record of children who are not placed in MBUs or the reasons for separation.Care decisions are made by local authorities in accordance with their safeguarding responsibilities under the Children Act 1989 and the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023.We recognise that parental imprisonment is an adverse childhood experience. We are working closely with the Department for Education to determine how we identify these children effectively, and the best way to provide support for affected children and their parent in prison.

In the context of children under the age of two who are separated from their mothers in prison, if she will publish (a) a list of types of setting in which those children are looked after and (b) the (i) number and (ii) proportion of children looked after by setting type.

Data on the number of babies accommodated in Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) in England is published at Table 10.1 of the HMPPS Annual Digest 2023-2024:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2023-to-march-2024/hmpps-annual-digest-2023-to-2024#mother-and-baby-units-mbus-pregnant-prisoners-and-births.The Annual Digest 2024 - 2025 is scheduled for publication at the end of July. Owing to our obligations under the Code of Practice for Statistics, we are unable to provide the latest data as this time, as they are intended for future publication.Women who are pregnant, or who have children up to and around the age of 18 months, can apply for a place in an MBU. MBUs normally accommodate babies up until the age of 18 months, though in exceptional circumstances a child may remain beyond 18 months.Data is not held on the number of mothers in prison who are separated from children under the age of two, or on the care arrangements for those children. While applications for MBU placements are recorded, there is no central record of children who are not placed in MBUs or the reasons for separation.Care decisions are made by local authorities in accordance with their safeguarding responsibilities under the Children Act 1989 and the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023.We recognise that parental imprisonment is an adverse childhood experience. We are working closely with the Department for Education to determine how we identify these children effectively, and the best way to provide support for affected children and their parent in prison.

How many mothers in prison (a) are currently separated from their children under the age of two and (b) have been separated from their babies and children under the age of two in the last 12 months.

Data on the number of babies accommodated in Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) in England is published at Table 10.1 of the HMPPS Annual Digest 2023-2024:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2023-to-march-2024/hmpps-annual-digest-2023-to-2024#mother-and-baby-units-mbus-pregnant-prisoners-and-births.The Annual Digest 2024 - 2025 is scheduled for publication at the end of July. Owing to our obligations under the Code of Practice for Statistics, we are unable to provide the latest data as this time, as they are intended for future publication.Women who are pregnant, or who have children up to and around the age of 18 months, can apply for a place in an MBU. MBUs normally accommodate babies up until the age of 18 months, though in exceptional circumstances a child may remain beyond 18 months.Data is not held on the number of mothers in prison who are separated from children under the age of two, or on the care arrangements for those children. While applications for MBU placements are recorded, there is no central record of children who are not placed in MBUs or the reasons for separation.Care decisions are made by local authorities in accordance with their safeguarding responsibilities under the Children Act 1989 and the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023.We recognise that parental imprisonment is an adverse childhood experience. We are working closely with the Department for Education to determine how we identify these children effectively, and the best way to provide support for affected children and their parent in prison.

Food and Rural Affairs, when the Food and Drink Sector Council last met; and when they plan to meet next.

The Food and Drink Sector Council last met in October 2024. Since then we have set up the Food Strategy Advisory Board, Citizens Advisory Council, and continued our engagement with the F4 grouping of industry representative bodies as we develop the food strategy. We have engaged with over 400 individuals and organisations in the last four months culminating in the publication on 15 July 2025 in Towards a Good Food Cycle (link). We recognise the excellent work of the FDSC, and will make a further announcement on the future of our engagement in food strategy development in due course.

How many victims of modern slavery were granted temporary leave to remain under section 65 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 for (a) assisting a person in their recovery from any physical or psychological harm arising from the relevant exploitation, (b) enabling a person to seek compensation in respect of the relevant exploitation and (c) enabling a person to co-operate with a public authority in connection with an investigation or criminal proceedings in respect of the relevant exploitation in (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024.

The requested data is not currently available in a verified and published form. Other data on modern slavery can be found at National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK.

What assessment she has made of the impact of negative conclusive grounds decisions under the National Referral Mechanism on vulnerable individuals.

From January 2020 to September 2024, there were 70,790 referrals into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These have seen a continued increase.In the same period, there were 51,850 positive reasonable grounds decisions made, and 34,254 conclusive grounds decisions made. Of which 24,233 were positive and 10,021 were negative. These statistics may change as new information becomes available, or if decisions are reconsidered.With regards to the impact of recent legislation, the Illegal Migration Act 2023 has not been commenced in full, and the Government has made clear that the migration partnership with Rwanda will end. Any legislative plans resulting from this decision will be set out in due course.This Government has been clear that identifying and supporting victims effectively is a key priority – that is why we have invested in 200 new decision makers to clear the backlog of cases and reduce wait times for victims.The Home Office publishes modern slavery statistics on a quarterly basis and holds all policies and procedures under review to ensure they are effective in delivering the aims of the Government. As part of our New Plan for Immigration, we will take forward an evaluation workstream to understand the impact being achieved.

What assessment she has made of the impact of (a) the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and (b) the Illegal Migration Act 2023 on decisions made under the National Referral Mechanism.

From January 2020 to September 2024, there were 70,790 referrals into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These have seen a continued increase.In the same period, there were 51,850 positive reasonable grounds decisions made, and 34,254 conclusive grounds decisions made. Of which 24,233 were positive and 10,021 were negative. These statistics may change as new information becomes available, or if decisions are reconsidered.With regards to the impact of recent legislation, the Illegal Migration Act 2023 has not been commenced in full, and the Government has made clear that the migration partnership with Rwanda will end. Any legislative plans resulting from this decision will be set out in due course.This Government has been clear that identifying and supporting victims effectively is a key priority - that is why we have invested in 200 new decision makers to clear the backlog of cases and reduce wait times for victims.The Home Office publishes modern slavery statistics on a quarterly basis and holds all policies and procedures under review to ensure they are effective in delivering the aims of the Government. As part of our New Plan for Immigration, we will take forward an evaluation workstream to understand the impact being achieved.

What estimate she has made of the number of (a) positive reasonable grounds decisions and (b) conclusive grounds decisions which have been made under the National Referral Mechanism between 2020 and 2024.

From January 2020 to September 2024, there were 70,790 referrals into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These have seen a continued increase.In the same period, there were 51,850 positive reasonable grounds decisions made, and 34,254 conclusive grounds decisions made. Of which 24,233 were positive and 10,021 were negative. These statistics may change as new information becomes available, or if decisions are reconsidered.With regards to the impact of recent legislation, the Illegal Migration Act 2023 has not been commenced in full, and the Government has made clear that the migration partnership with Rwanda will end. Any legislative plans resulting from this decision will be set out in due course.This Government has been clear that identifying and supporting victims effectively is a key priority - that is why we have invested in 200 new decision makers to clear the backlog of cases and reduce wait times for victims.The Home Office publishes modern slavery statistics on a quarterly basis and holds all policies and procedures under review to ensure they are effective in delivering the aims of the Government. As part of our New Plan for Immigration, we will take forward an evaluation workstream to understand the impact being achieved.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of health services for women.

Women’s health is a priority for this government. We are considering how to take forward the Women’s Health Strategy and aligning our work on women’s health with the forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan.Work continues to improve health outcomes for women, including the £25 million women’s health hubs pilot, new NICE guidance on endometriosis and menopause and extending the Baby Loss Certificate service.