Written questions by Nichols.

If he will make it his policy that publicly-funded medical trials (a) must be balanced by sex and (b) results must be sex-disaggregated.

Medical trials, wherever possible, should always be balanced by sex, however, certain clinical trials are designed to investigate conditions that are only specific to one sex, so enforcing a balance would not make sense on those occasions.The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). As outlined in the Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-2027, the NIHR is committed to exploring an approach which enables and encourages the research community to integrate sex and gender into their research design, including in the disaggregation of research findings. The Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-2027 is available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/who-we-are/research-inclusion/strategy-2022-27On 10 March, the NIHR launched its sex and gender policy, which is expected to come into force later in 2025, with further information available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/integrating-sex-and-gender-health-and-care-researchImplementing such a policy will ensure that research accounts for sex and gender across every stage of the research cycle, thus facilitating both funding into topics that impact males and females, and a greater understanding of how they might be impacted differently by the same health condition.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with Artificial Intelligence developers to ensure they do not introduce gender bias in their algorithms.

It is crucial that AI systems are developed and deployed in a fair, inclusive and responsible way. That is why we have designated AI assurance as a key pillar of support for meeting the commitments made in government’s response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan.As part of our work on AI assurance, we recently concluded our Fairness Innovation Challenge, which provided over £465,000 to fund the development of novel solutions to address bias and discrimination – including gender bias – in AI systems across four different sectors.The Secretary of State and his department will continue to engage with AI developers on a range of matters related to model development and deployment.

If she will make it her policy to ensure that (a) all cars sold in the UK must have had safety tests undertaken on them that include specifically-female crash dummies in both the driver and passenger seats and (b) data from such tests is (i) recorded and (ii) published.

The latest international vehicle regulations covering frontal impact protection developed under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) currently use a crash test dummy representative of a female occupant in the front passenger seat. The Government is currently considering mandating this regulation in Great Britain as part of an extensive package of vehicle safety measures. The UNECE has also established a group of experts, in which the Department for Transport is an active member, which is reviewing its Regulations to ensure all vehicle occupants benefit from comparable levels of protection irrespective of their sex, age or stature. This is likely to require testing with a greater number of female occupant locations. The Department for Transport remains a member of the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP). This programme is complementary to regulation and includes impact tests using crash test dummies representative of a female occupant in the driver and opposite rear passenger seating positions. Data from regulatory testing is recorded by the Type Approval Authority responsible for approval, but the data is highly technical and not routinely published. Summarised data from Euro NCAP testing is translated into easily understood safety information and is always published on its website - www.euroncap.com

If she will require the Health and Safety Executive to collect data on asbestos-related ovarian cancer cases.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for collection of data of workplace injury and illness. Under Regulation 9 of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), it requires the responsible person to report a diagnosis of any cancer attributed to an occupational exposure to a known human carcinogen in their current job. When reporting, the responsible person must provide details on the affected person's occupation or job title and a description of the work that led to the disease. Estimated numbers of cases of certain kinds of cancer other than mesothelioma and lung cancer that are attributable to past exposure to asbestos are available from previous HSE sponsored research into the burden of occupational cancer in Great Britain. However, ovarian cancer in relation to asbestos was not considered at the time this research was carried out, and so estimates are not currently available and HSE has no plans to collect this data.

Whether she plans to add pharmacy to the list of degree courses that will be funded if an applicant already has a degree.

Under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, additional entitlement may be available for priority subjects or longer courses in addition to an individual’s core 4-year entitlement. Details of these additional entitlements will be announced in due course.

What recent progress her Department has made on the implementation of a GCSE in British Sign Language.

The new British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE is a key feature of our commitment to enhancing the status of BSL in education and society.The department published subject content for the BSL GCSE in December 2023.As is the usual process for introducing a qualification, the independent qualifications regulator, Ofqual, is currently running a public consultation on its proposed assessment arrangements and expects to confirm its decision on the qualification rules in autumn 2025. At this point, any exam board that chooses to offer the GCSE will be able to start developing specifications.

How many and what proportion of applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme were successful at (a) first application and (b) appeal since 2020.

Between 1 January 2020 and 6 June 2025, data from the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the scheme, shows that 205 claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme were successful at a first application. This equates to 1.5% of the claims that had received an initial outcome.In the same time period, 29 mandatory reversal requests were successful. This equates to 2.1% of the reversal outcomes that had been notified to claimants.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce traceable labels on nitrous oxide canisters to identify the point of sale.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given by the Home Office on 9 May 2025 to PQ 49048.

What steps he plans to take to help make it easier for (a) tenants and (b) leaseholders to install heat pumps.

The Warm Homes Plan will help upgrade homes across the country, including those occupied by tenants and leaseholders, by making them cleaner and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps. The Government is helping make heat pumps more efficient and easier to install, through increasing funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to £295 million for this financial year, ensuring more families can benefit from £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump. The Government has also allowed heat pumps to be installed within 1m of the property boundary without applying for planning permission.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making the adoption and special guardianship support fund permanent.

I refer my hon. Friend, the member for Warrington North, to my written statement of 22 April 2025, which is available here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-04-22/hcws589.

If she will meet with (a) Adoption UK and (b) other representative organisations to discuss the adoption and special guardianship support fund.

In my role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, I have recently met with Adoption UK and other representative organisations to discuss the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) and other issues during the adoption sector roundtable on 21 May 2025.I also met with adopters at the Adoption Reference Group meeting on 6 May 2025, which again discussed the ASGSF, as well as other adoption support issues.The department is intending further engagement with sector bodies on the approach to managing the ASGSF in future years.

What progress her Department is making on reducing the (a) cost and (b) time to taken to produce court transcripts for victims who request them.

Bereaved families of victims of murder, manslaughter and fatal road offences can request a free transcript of the judge’s sentencing remarks. On 22 May we announced that, following the conclusion of a one-year pilot at the end of May, we are continuing the scheme that enables victims of rape and other sexual offences to apply for a free copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks.More widely, we are actively considering how to make court transcripts more accessible, and we continue to explore the potential for using AI to produce transcripts more quickly and cost effectively.

How much income her Department has received from the sale of court transcripts to victims in each of the last five years.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service receives no income from the sale of court transcripts to victims. The service is provided under contract and suppliers provide court transcripts for a fee.

What the average price quoted was for court transcripts for victims in each of the last five years.

Management information held about transcript requests is limited, and the information requested is not held centrally.Victims usually request the judge’s sentencing remarks, which summarise the case against the defendant made at trial, the impact on victims and families and outline how the judge has come to a conclusion about the sentence handed down. This typically costs around £45 to £50.However, bereaved families of victims of murder, manslaughter and fatal road offences can request a free transcript of the judge’s sentencing remarks. On 22 May we announced that, following the conclusion of a one-year pilot at the end of May, we are continuing the scheme that enables victims of rape and other sexual offences to apply for a free copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks.

If she will make it her policy to require the introduction of traceable labels on nitrous oxide canisters to track the point of sale.

I refer the Hon Member to the updated response issued to PQ 49048.

If she will make it her policy to introduce traceable labels on nitrous oxide canisters to allow the authorities to know the point of sale.

With apologies for the previous answer, nitrous oxide is controlled as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and it is an offence to produce, supply, offer to supply, possess, possess with intent to supply, import and export nitrous oxide, where the intention is for it to be used for its psychoactive effects. The Home Office is not responsible for labelling or tracking nitrous oxide in the many contexts in which its use is legitimate. This would fall to government departments and regulators for the relevant sectors.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to encourage (a) the private sector and (b) other donors to increase funding for global HIV prevention and treatment.

As the co-host with South Africa of the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the UK is actively engaging with both international counterparts and private sector partners to advocate for maintaining or increasing funding for global health, including HIV prevention and treatment. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific attended an event in parliament on 2 April celebrating the contribution of the private sector where the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) made a landmark $150 million pledge to the 8th replenishment. The Minister welcomed this significant contribution from a British partner which demonstrates the key role of the private sector in the fight against HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria, and global health more broadly.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Lancet entitled Impact of an international HIV funding crisis on HIV infections and mortality in low income and middle income countries, a modelling study, published on 26 March 2025.

The UK takes note of the current context for international HIV funding. We remain committed to our long-standing support to global health organisations at the core of the response to HIV and AIDS, and we continue to support efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. We are excited to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria together with South Africa. In countries where the Global Fund invests, AIDS-related deaths have declined by 73 per cent since 2002.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to support the scale up of the provision of long-acting HIV prevention medicines now entering the market.

The UK remains committed to sustainable development goal 3.3 in ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030. Long-acting technologies have the potential to be game-changers in the global response to HIV, but only if they reach the countries and communities that need them most. The UK supports key partners to improve access to long-acting technologies, including Unitaid who recently committed £17 million in market-shaping grants with the Wits Institute in South Africa and Fiotec in Brazil to accelerate affordable access to Lenacapavir.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to help tackle the potential impact of aid cuts on (a) South Africa, (b) Kenya, (c) Nigeria and (d) other countries of strategic importance to the UK.

The Government remains fully committed to the UK playing a globally significant role on development; it is both in our national interest and in the interest of our partners.The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and official development assistance. Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including the likely impact on the UK's international partnerships with developing nations.