Written questions by Hamilton.

What discussions he has had with phone companies on rates charged to the NHS for sending text messages.

The Department does not set or negotiate the rates charged to National Health Service organisations for sending text messages. Telephony and messaging services are procured locally by NHS bodies through established commercial arrangements, including framework agreements. Rates are set by suppliers in accordance with agreed contractual terms and published rate cards, providing a transparent and standardised basis for pricing.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of a full review of statutory maternity pay, accrued annual leave flexibility for teachers and the gender equality implications of statutory maternity pay.

The Government is committed to making life better for families and has announced a review of the parental leave and pay system. All current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements are in scope of the Parental Leave and Pay Review, including Statutory Maternity Pay.Specific occupational maternity and contractual leave arrangements for teachers are the remit of the Department for Education, employers and unions.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of whether there are potential racial disparities in Arts Council England's Post Event Assurance withdrawal recommendations; and whether she will request that Arts Council England publish disaggregated data on these outcomes by demographic group and region.

DCMS has not carried out an assessment specifically of any racial disparities in Arts Council England’s (ACE) Post Event Assurance grant-withdrawal recommendations. Arts Council England publishes data on counter-fraud grant withdrawals in its annual report (see p. 108 in its 2025-26 Annual Report https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/arts-council-england-grant-aid-and-lottery-distribution-annual-report-and-accounts-202425 ). We will raise the possibility of this being published in a more granular breakdown with Arts Council England, but it is likely that due to small numbers of withdrawals (16 in 2024-25), this may not provide meaningful insights, or may prove disclosive.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Israeli counterpart regarding the closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The UK is concerned about recent restrictions on access to holy sites in Jerusalem. Israel must work with religious communities to facilitate access in line with the status quo, and the right to worship must be protected.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to prevent unapproved filming of children in public places.

The Government takes children’s safety and privacy very seriously. In most circumstances, filming people, including children, in public places is lawful and reflects rights to freedom of expression. However, these rights are not absolute and must be balanced against the right to privacy, with particular weight given where a child’s interests may be affected. Filming that is indecent or amounts to harassment or stalking is a criminal offence. Where data protection legislation applies, its requirements must be complied with (e.g. processing must be lawful, fair and transparent). The Information Commissioner’s Office enforces this legislation and must have regard to the specific protection afforded to children’s personal data.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of the implementation of fixed release dates by the Parole Board.

Prisoners serving a determinate sentence are usually released automatically at a point fixed by legislation relating to their sentence. In contrast, indeterminate sentenced prisoners can only be released by the Parole Board after the expiry of their tariff. They must serve a minimum term, in full, in prison, at the end of which they can only be released if the independent Parole Board is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public for the offender to be confined. Therefore, introducing release dates fixed by the Parole Board would primarily affect indeterminate sentences.In accordance with legislation, an indeterminate sentenced prisoner must have a parole review to consider whether the release test is met and if not, to confirm further detention. Reviews take place just prior to tariff expiry and then at least every two years thereafter. The setting of fixed release dates would not be compatible with the need for release to be based on the current risk posed by offenders and whether they could be managed safely if released into the community on licence.During the passage of the Sentencing Act 2026, the House of Lords voted against an amendment to legislate for the Parole Board to fix a future release date for IPP prisoners.

If he will make it his policy to review the 18-month duration period of the Bereavement Support Payment; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) uprating the payment in line with inflation and (b) aligning the payment more closely with child‑related benefits.

Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) provides support during the acute period following a bereavement. Unlike its predecessor Widowed Parents Allowance, which could be paid for as long as there was entitlement to Child Benefit, BSP is not an income replacement benefit. Where longer term support is needed, benefits such as Universal Credit have been designed to provide assistance with ongoing living costs. The rate of BSP is reviewed on a discretionary basis each year as part of the annual uprating process.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support she is providing to independent election monitoring of the 2027 Nigerian Presidential Election.

We are closely monitoring preparations for Nigeria's 2027 presidential elections. Our High Commission in Abuja will, as in previous elections, deploy observation teams across the country, working alongside international partners and Nigerian civil society organisations.We will continue to engage with the Independent National Electoral Commission and civil society partners to support initiatives that strengthen a credible, transparent and inclusive electoral process.

What steps she is taking to reduce knife crime on public transport.

The Government’s ambition to halve knife crime within a decade is integral to its Safer Streets Mission The Government are working to achieve this by investing in what we know works and will have the greatest impact - focusing relentlessly on where knife crime is most concentrated, with the interventions that work. My Department is working across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities, to contribute to the knife-crime reduction ambition and help everyone feel and be safe when travelling. The BTP, who are responsible for policing the railway, is a member of the Knife-Enabled Robbery Group which is successfully reducing knife robberies in the areas most affected by knife crime. BTP has played a key role in this work through joint deployments with other forces in knife crime hot spots, such as transport hubs.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of improving levels of public awareness of the potential risk of knife attacks whilst travelling on trains.

The Department have a range of security measures in place across the railway to keep the travelling public and staff safe. Thankfully, knife attacks on trains are very rare and therefore we do not believe a specific public awareness campaign would be proportionate to the risk- we continue to monitor closely. We do however run our very successful ‘See it. Say it. Sorted’ campaign to encourage all passengers to report any suspicious behaviour. The British Transport Police (BTP), which is responsible for policing the railway, are a member of the Home Office Knife-Enabled Robbery (KER) Group which is successfully reducing knife robberies in the areas most affected by knife crime. BTP have played a key role in this work through joint deployments with other forces in knife crime hot spots, such as transport hubs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings she has held with the (a) Chief Executive and (b) Chair of the British Council since 5 September 2025.

As the Minister responsible, I have had a number of meetings with the leadership team within the British Council, details of which are routinely disclosed in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's quarterly publications of ministerial transparency data. My office also deals with a large amount of correspondence relating to the British Council and my other areas of responsibility, all of which we seek to respond to as promptly as possible.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many letters to her Department relating to the British Council have received a substantive response since 5 July 2024; and what the average response time was.

As the Minister responsible, I have had a number of meetings with the leadership team within the British Council, details of which are routinely disclosed in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's quarterly publications of ministerial transparency data. My office also deals with a large amount of correspondence relating to the British Council and my other areas of responsibility, all of which we seek to respond to as promptly as possible.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support civilians in the West Bank, in the context of recent reports of an increase in violent attacks by settlers.

I refer my Hon Friend to the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on this issue during the recent session of departmental oral questions on 20 January.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to Question 100196, what steps her Department is taking to bring forward legislation to end the sale of peat for horticultural use; and whether she plans to accelerate the proposed implementation timeline.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Maidenhead, Joshua Reynolds, on 18 December 2025, PQ UIN 100196.

With reference to the report published by Breast Cancer Now, entitled Setting the Bar too High, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the opportunity cost‑neutrality requirement within NICE’s severity modifier on access to treatments for secondary breast cancer.

The severity modifier was introduced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in January 2022 as part of a number of changes intended to make its methods fairer, faster, and more consistent. The severity modifier was designed on the principle of opportunity cost neutrality to ensure that introducing additional weighting for severe conditions did not increase overall National Health Service spending or displace more care than the previous end-of-life modifier.NICE has been monitoring how the severity modifier is being applied and found that it has resulted in a greater proportion of medicines recommended than under NICE’s previous methods. The latest figures indicate 87.0% of decisions taken since the severity modifier was implemented have recommended use of the treatment, compared with 82.5% when the end-of-life modifier was being used. For advanced cancer treatments specifically, 84.8% of decisions have been positive since the introduction of the severity modifier, compared to 69.1% under NICE’s previous methods.

What steps are being taken to ensure consistent recording of e-bike collisions by police forces in England and Wales.

Data on reported road collisions in Great Britain are recorded by police forces using the STATS19 system. Guidance on recording is provided in the STATS20 document which is published on gov.uk:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/road-accident-and-safety-statistics-guidance#data-collectionCurrently the recording of e-bikes within STATS19 follows the relevant legislation, the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983, with officers encouraged to use an accompanying free text field to provide further details where possible.The Standing Committee on Road Injury Collision Statistics (SCRICS), which oversees the STATS19 collection, is currently reviewing the recording of vehicle and propulsion types within STATS19 with a view to providing better guidance to reporting police officers on the classification of e-bikes.

What role will organisations representing cyclists and pedestrians play in shaping the work of the Road Safety Board and Expert Advisory Panel.

On 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035. Delivery of the Strategy will be supported and monitored by a new Road Safety Board chaired by the Minister for Local Transport. This will be supported by an Expert Advisory Panel, which will provide insight from those working directly with road users and communities. The Board and Expert Advisory Panel are currently under development and decisions regarding membership and format will be made in due course.

When will the Department publish further guidance on how cycling and walking will be reflected in delivery of the Road Safety Strategy.

On 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. Roads aren’t just for motorists; it is vitally important that everyone using our roads is kept safe including cyclists and pedestrians. The strategy builds upon ongoing work in this area. On 12 December 2025 we announced that we are allocating £626 million for local authorities from 2026-27 to 2029-30 to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling schemes, enough for 500 miles of new walking and cycling routes and 170,000 more active trips per day. This is in addition to the almost £300 million funding for active travel in 2024/25 and 2025/26 which we announced in February 2025. This will help local authorities to provide high-quality and easily accessible active travel schemes across England and will enable more children to walk and cycle to school. In November 2025 the Government launched a consultation to develop the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS3). The consultation sought the views of stakeholders on a national vision, statutory objectives and underlying performance indicators. The consultation closed on the 15th of December, and the Government is now considering the responses to the consultation with the final strategy to be published in the spring.

How will linked health and police data be used under the Road Safety Strategy to improve understanding of cyclist and e-bike injuries.

While police data records injury type as assessed by the attending officer, health data provides far richer clinical detail on injury patterns, severity, and longer-term outcomes. This includes standardised measures, allowing injuries to be classified consistently and compared across collisions, locations, road users and vehicle types. Linking health and police records will also identify collisions resulting in cyclist and e-bike injuries that never appear in police data, addressing known under-reporting. For cyclists and e-bike users in particular, this enables new forms of analysis, including how injury severity varies by road type, collision circumstance, and vehicle involvement, as well as how outcomes differ between conventional cycles and e-bikes. This evidence will support more targeted and evidence-led interventions. Overall, the linked data underpins a shift toward evidence-led cycling policy based on real injury outcomes.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for ADHD assessments for children.

The Government has recognised that, nationally in England, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people of all ages, including children and young people, are experiencing delays accessing such assessments.NHS England established an ADHD taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. The final report was published on 6 November 2025, and we are carefully considering its recommendations.The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England will make the NHS fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support, including for children and young people, such as those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). In 2026, the Government will bring forward a Schools White Paper, which will detail our approach to SEND reform, ensuring joined-up support, including education and healthcare providers working together.In respect of ADHD, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline does not recommend a maximum waiting time for people to receive an assessment for ADHD or a diagnosis, however it sets out best practice on providing a diagnosis.Through the NHS Medium-term planning framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local integrated care boards and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.The Secretary of State announced on 4th December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.