Written questions by Blundell.

What steps she is taking to help tackle (a) violence and (b) abuse against retail delivery drivers.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work.Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, sending a strong message to offenders and would-be offenders that violence against retail workers will not be tolerated. The Bill is making its way through Parliament and had its Second Reading on 10 March.As introduced, the definition of a 'retail worker' does not include delivery drivers. Keeping a tight definition provides legal clarity and ensures there is less ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker and impacted during their job. Workers whose roles are not included are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, such as actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH).That said, the whole purpose of the parliamentary process is to scrutinise the provisions in the Bill and we will, of course, consider carefully any amendments and supporting evidence.

What steps she plans to take to support the use of shore power technology to aid maritime decarbonisation.

The Government has published its Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy and a core policy within this is taking action to reduce emissions from vessels whilst at berth. Whilst the Government remains technology neutral, we recognise that shore power will play a role in reducing emissions from vessels whilst at berth, supporting our mission to make Britain a Clean Energy Superpower. The UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions programme has previously allocated over £33m to five shore power demonstrator projects at Aberdeen, Atlantic and Peninsula Falmouth, Cammel Laird shipyard, Leith and Portsmouth. The Government has also published a call for evidence on Net Zero Ports which will explore the opportunities and barriers to reducing emissions at berth, with a focus on the role ports can play in enabling the shipping sector to decarbonise.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to help promote maritime tourism for both (a) ferry and (b) cruise markets.

The UK is a leading hub for the global cruise industry, with ports such as Southampton, Dover, Greenock and Liverpool welcoming more than 3 million passengers annually.The Department regularly engages with a range of stakeholders across the tourism sector, including the cruise industry, to understand their perspectives and challenges. As an example, the Cruise Lines International Association is a member of the Government’s Visitor Economy Advisory Council to ensure that we maximise the potential of maritime tourism to deliver growth. DCMS remains committed to maximising the benefits of cruise and ferry tourism for the UK, noting the sector’s significant contribution to the UK economy.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the creative industries in Heywood and Middleton North constituency.

The creative industries are one of the government’s eight priority Industrial Strategy (IS) sectors. In 2023, the sector employed 2.4m people, and contributed £124bn in UK GVA – more than 5% of total UK GVA.The Industrial Strategy is being designed and implemented in lockstep with local and regional leaders. We have selected Greater Manchester as a priority region for the Creative Industries: as a result, Greater Manchester will receive additional funding, to be agreed as part of the Spending Review, to encourage sustainable investment in the creative industries.Greater Manchester has also received funding from the Create Growth Programme, which supports high-growth creative businesses in 12 English regions outside of London. Government has awarded a further £16.3 million for the programme for the next financial year – part of the £60 million package of support for the sector announced at January’s Creative Industries Growth Summit.We also set out new commitments from the British Business Bank, the UK’s economic development bank, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in January to strengthen their support for the creative industries, in addition to making shorter apprenticeships available from August 2025, building towards a more flexible growth and skills levy. These are the first steps we have taken in delivering on our ambitions for the creative industries, with more to be set out with the publication of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, alongside the Industrial Strategy, in late Spring.

What steps he is taking to improve mental health services for (a) young men, (b) young women and (c) vulnerable people in Heywood and Middleton North constituency.

We know that waits for children and young people's mental health services are lengthy and that some vulnerable groups are less likely to access support. That is why the National Health Service’s planning guidance for 2025/26 makes it clear that one of the priorities for children's mental health services is to reduce local inequalities in access to children and young people’s mental health services between disadvantaged groups, including in Heywood and Middleton North constituency, and the wider population.The Government will also recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across child and adult mental health services and provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school through expanding Mental Health Support Teams, so that every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.Early intervention and prevention support in the community is vital. That is why we are providing £7 million of funding to extend support for 24 early support hubs that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on appointing a special envoy for complex detention cases.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to strengthening support for British Nationals overseas, including through the appointment of an Envoy for complex detention cases. Further details will be announced in due course.

Whether her Department plans to introduce an independent organisation to (a) monitor and (b) control parking fees at airports.

As commercial businesses it is for airport operators to manage and justify the amount and advertising of parking charges. Parking arrangements are subject to contractual agreements between airport operators, car parking companies and covered by consumer laws. While there are no plans to introduce an independent organisation to monitor or control parking fees at airports, the Department for Transport expects car parking at airports to be managed appropriately.

Whether she has considered establishing an independent national oversight mechanism for deaths involving (a) state and (b) law enforcement bodies.

The Government is committed to improving transparency and accountability in the state’s response to learning from investigations involving state-related deaths and more widely. To this end, we are actively considering how we can most effectively address concerns about the lack of oversight and monitoring of recommendations and findings from public inquiries, inquests and other investigation processes.For example, in the context of the recent response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report (Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report: Government response (HTML) - GOV.UK), we have undertaken to establish a publicly accessible record of all recommendations made by public inquiries since 2024; we will ensure that this becomes standard practice for all future public inquiry reports; and will consider putting the requirement to maintain such a record on a statutory footing.In addition, the Ministry of Justice is undertaking a programme of work in light of the Justice Committee’s recent recommendations for the coroner service, including those aimed at better learning from death investigation and other fact-finding processes. This will include further work to improve accessibility to information from coroners’ Prevention of Future Death reports; and to ensure, particularly across government, that lessons from these reports are learned; that learning is disseminated as quickly and widely as possible; and that it is effectively monitored and evaluated. We are also working with the Chief Coroner to identify ways to further improve the transparency and availability of the published reports and accountability for responses to them.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will advocate for a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against (a) President Putin and (b) the political leadership of the Russian Federation.

The UK continues to support work towards establishing a Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, and is playing an active role in the Core Group established by Ukraine to progress this work. Senior UK legal and policy experts attended the most recent Core Group meeting in February in Brussels, and will attend further meetings this month in Strasbourg. Our focus within the Core Group is to ensure that any legal instruments agreed for the establishment of a Special Tribunal are legally sound and able to attract broad international support.

What steps she is taking to help retain skilled and experienced foster carers.

Currently, there are ten fostering regional programmes active across England, collaborating with 64% of all local authorities to recruit and retain foster carers who will provide loving homes, local to the children who need them. An additional £15 million was announced to support this programme in the budget, and the department intends to move towards full national roll-out in the next financial year.As part of this model, the department is supporting foster carers, and the children they care for, by expanding ‘The Mockingbird Family Model’. This innovative evidence-based approach, where relationships are central to the design of the programme, involves six to ten satellite families grouped into a constellation around a hub home carer. Research shows that carers who participate in Mockingbird are 82% less likely to de-register than households that do not participate.In addition, the department funds ‘Fosterlink’, a diagnostic support service for local authority fostering services, which will review current processes to identify areas for service and practice improvements, as well as creating a national network in which to share best practice. Finally, the department is continuing to fund ‘Fosterline’, a free helpline service for current and prospective foster carers.

If she will (a) extend legal protections for and (b) improve financial security available to foster carers.

The Children’s Act 1989 and subsequent statutory guidance sets out strong safeguards to protect foster carers from unfair treatment, including the requirement for fostering services to have a complaints procedure and whistle-blowing policy. The department does not plan any changes to foster carers’ legal position, but we are committed to reviewing our guidance and working with the sector to improve the support that foster carers receive.No foster carer should be financially disadvantaged because of their fostering role. We expect all foster carers to receive at least the weekly National Minimum Allowance (NMA), in addition to any agreed expenses to cover the full cost of caring for each child placed with them, as per the National Minimum Standards (NMS, standard 28). In the 2025/26 financial year, this is being uplifted by 3.55%.The department is concerned by reports that a minority of foster carers are not receiving the allowance in full, and the effect this can have on carer retention. Foster carers should report any underpayment to their fostering service in the first instance. If underpayment continues, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman will investigate any reports they receive on this issue.Foster carers also benefit from reformed tax and benefit allowances which ensure they receive the best support for their individual financial circumstances, in recognition of their role.

What guidance her Department issues on timings schools will be expected to run free breakfast clubs to and from on a given day.

From the start of the summer term, early adopter schools will be expected to deliver a free, universal breakfast club providing childcare and food for at least 30 minutes, immediately before the start of the compulsory school day. This will also be a requirement for all schools with primary aged children under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breakfast-clubs-early-adopter-guidance-for-schools-and-trusts-in-england/breakfast-clubs-early-adopter-guidance-for-schools-and-trusts-in-england.

For how long will the Government fund free breakfast clubs.

The department has introduced the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which will mean every state-funded school with primary aged children will offer a free breakfast club. This will ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, can have a supportive start to the school day. The Bill will also mean that breakfast clubs will be enshrined in law, ensuring the longevity of the breakfast clubs policy.From April 2025, up to 750 participating schools in the early adopter programme will be funded to provide access to a free, universal breakfast club lasting at least 30 minutes and including food.

Whether he is taking steps to increase his Department's support for (a) Commonwealth veterans and (b) British army veterans born outside of the UK.

This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am working across Government and with civil society to ensure veterans get access to the support they need. The Government is deeply grateful to all those who serve in our Armed Forces and recognises the huge contribution that Commonwealth veterans have made to our national security throughout our history. This gratitude is being converted into action with the Government’s manifesto commitment to scrap visa fees for non-UK veterans who have served more than four years and their families. The MOD is working with the Home Office to implement this commitment.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to take steps to help ensure private telecommunications infrastructure providers are unable to install hardware without consultation with local communities.

We deprecate the installation of unnecessarily intrusive telecommunications infrastructure, especially where operators have not cooperated in sharing infrastructure or followed guidelines such as consulting communities. Planning regulations aim to strike a balance between the economic and social benefits of investments in digital infrastructure and the needs and concerns of local communities. The deployment of telecoms infrastructure in England requires planning permission. Most telecommunications infrastructure, including new masts and poles, benefit from permitted development rights. Regulations and guidelines set out the requirements that communications providers must adhere to when exercising these rights, including any requirements to engage with or notify local planning authorities prior to deploying new infrastructure, and any expectations for engaging with communities. Local planning authorities have discretion on engaging communities about proposed applications.

What steps he is taking to increase the number of midwives.

We will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan which will deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, to ensure that the National Health Service has the right people, including midwives, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need, when they need it.Targeted retention work for midwives is being undertaken by NHS England, led by the Chief Nursing Officer. This work contains a range of measures, including the creation of a midwifery and nursing retention self-assessment tool, mentoring schemes, strengthened advice and support on pensions, and embedding flexible retirement options. NHS England has also invested in unit-based retention leads which, alongside investment in workforce capacity, has seen a reduction in vacancy, leaver, and turnover rates. NHS England is also boosting the midwifery workforce through undergraduate training, apprenticeships, postgraduate conversion, and return to midwifery programmes.

What discussions her Department has had with stakeholders in Greater Manchester on improving local public transport.

Officials in the Department have regular engagement with colleagues in Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and those across the districts. We work closely with the Mayor and GMCA to support their plans and strategies to improve public transport across Greater Manchester. In February, we held the second of a series of Roadshows across the country in Manchester. This provided the opportunity for stakeholders across GMCA and wider to attend to share ideas and help shape the delivery of the Integrated National Transport Strategy. We are providing substantial transport funding for the Greater Manchester region, including over £1bn from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) for 2022/23 – 2026/27 which is designed to significantly improve local public transport. TfGM is targeting delivery of this scheme in the early 2030s, with an outline business case due with the Department in early 2026. Additionally, an extra £200m for CRSTS was announced in October to provide further improvements to public transport in major city regions, including Greater Manchester. CRSTS funding for 25/26 and beyond is being considered as part of the multi-year spending review in late spring, aligned with the government’s new Integrated National Transport Strategy, ensuring we are taking decisions in the long-term interests of the country. Through the Greater Manchester Pathfinder Devolution Deal we are providing Greater Manchester with a single integrated funding settlement, which includes CRSTS, to ensure that funding is prioritised locally to meet local connectivity requirements. The Department has implemented a Task and Finish group to work closely with GMCA to gain further clarity of their transport devolution ambitions ahead of receipt of this settlement. The Department has strongly endorsed and supported the successful introduction of the Bee Network, with the Secretary of State visiting GMCA to mark the implementation of the final stage of Bus Franchising in January. The Department is providing £66.3m in bus funding to GMCA in 2025/26.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the modifications to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.

Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims are for under £5,000. We believe that the modifications were necessary and adequate within the tight fiscal circumstances and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has plans to provide support to (a) community and (b) social enterprises to help re purpose churches that are now closed.

Over 350 Grade I or II* closed listed churches have been saved by the Churches Conservation Trust. The Trust works with the public to ensure these churches once again stand at the heart of their communities, enjoyed as cultural, visitor, educational and social spaces.The new Heritage Revival Fund will provide £4.85m in 2025/26 to support community organisations to bring neglected heritage buildings into community ownership and back into good use. Further details will be set out in Spring.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) midwives and (b) maternity units across Greater Manchester have up-to-date equipment.

The responsibility for local funding decisions, including on equipment, ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner. To ensure midwives and maternity units across Greater Manchester have up-to-date equipment, the following steps are being taken locally:- maternity units are required to maintain an equipment maintenance register and to implement a rolling program for the renewal and purchase of equipment; and- midwives are required to adhere to provider policies that mandate checking equipment for suitability and that it is in good working order before use.