Written questions by Campbell.

What recent estimate he has made of when the Northern Ireland Veterans’ Commissioner will be appointed.

The Government recognises the dedicated service of all our veterans and is committed to supporting the veteran community across the whole of the UK.I have previously made clear my intention to confirm the appointment of a new Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner before the end of the year and expect to make an announcement shortly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 17079 on Pension Credit: Social Security Benefits, what the average weekly cash total equivalent is of the additional qualifying benefits to which Pension Credit claimants are entitled.

No estimate has been made as the department is unable to quantify the value of all passported benefits.

If she will hold discussions with train operating companies on the adequacy of rail fare structures for passengers.

While it is our ambition through public ownership to deliver a more affordable railway, any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway. Through legislation, we will set out the role GBR will have in fares, ticketing, and other operational aspects of the railway. Fares and ticketing will continue to be the responsibility of train operators until Great British Railways is established.

Whether her Department plans to review the implementation of the clean maritime plan in 2025.

Maritime has a key role to play in supporting the Governments missions, from clean energy, to growth, and supporting public health through tackling air pollution. We will shortly set out our next steps for reducing shipping emissions in a forthcoming maritime decarbonisation plan, which will include a package of policy and regulatory measures.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK Rare Diseases Framework, published on 9 January 2021, on reducing the time it takes to diagnose rare diseases.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community, including helping patients get a final diagnosis faster. We remain committed to delivering under the framework and will publish an England action plan in 2025.People living with rare diseases often face long diagnostic odysseys, the time between symptoms first presenting and people receiving a definitive diagnosis. This can seriously affect patients’ mental and physical health, and has significant cost implications for the National Health Service. Under action 17, in 2023 we worked with National Institute for Health and Care Research to commission research to measure the diagnostic odyssey. The research project is expected run for two years, concluding in 2026. This research is a crucial step in establishing a baseline time to diagnosis. This baseline will enable us to better understand the impact of interventions designed to help patients get a final diagnosis faster.Additionally, Genomics England has been allocated Department funding to explore the feasibility of using whole genome sequencing to screen for a defined set of genetic conditions in newborns, through an ethically approved research study. The Generation Study is evaluating the feasibility of using whole genome sequencing to screen up to 100,000 babies for over 200 rare conditions. The Generation Study will explore whether whole genome sequencing can diagnose rare diseases earlier and improve outcomes for newborn babies.

If he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the National Security and Investment Act 2021 to enhance the scrutiny of acquisition of entities that may pose national security risks.

The National Security & Investment Act 2021: Annual Report 2023-2024- published in September shows that the National Security and Investment system is continuing to operate well to protect sensitive sectors whilst continuing to support investment. The Government is taking a number of steps to ensure the continued effectiveness of the NSI Act.The previous government published a Call for Evidence in November 2023 and a response in April 2024. The Call for Evidence sought feedback from a wide range of stakeholders on the scope of the regime, the notification process and government guidance and comms. The Government is currently considering its next steps, drawing on responses received.The Government will also review and produce a report on the Notifiable Acquisition Regulations 2021, which set out the areas of the economy in scope of the National Security and Investment Act’s mandatory notification requirements, as required by section 4 of the Notifiable Acquisitions Regulations.The Government will complete a Post-Implementation Review, as committed to in the NSI Act Impact Assessment, evaluating the effectiveness of the NSI Act. This is expected to be published in 2026.

What changes have been made to prisoner recalls following the review of Probation Recall Culture and Practice, published in December 2020.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation published a report on 10 November 2020 entitled: ‘A thematic review of probation recall culture and practice’. In this report, the Chief Inspector found that the Probation Service was taking proportionate and necessary decisions to recall offenders on licence for public protection.HMPPS published its Action Plan responding to the thematic review on 7 December 2020, and subsequently updated on its progress the following year.This contains details on the actions completed and can be found at GOV.UK here: Action_Plan_Update_December_2021_Final.pdf.

What steps he is taking to ensure that vaginal mesh implant procedures do not result in removal surgery.

A national pause was introduced in 2018 for the use of vaginally inserted mesh to treat prolapse and the use of a retropubic sub-urethral mesh sling to treat stress urinary incontinence. Conditions were put in place for this pause, and NHS England continues to monitor the progress on meeting these conditions. In response to the recommendations from the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety review, the Department and the National Health Service have taken steps to improve the collection and monitoring of outcome data. The Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Stress Urinary Incontinence registry will be launched in early 2025. NHS England is extending the registry to be United Kingdom-wide and improving the recording of patient outcomes and experience. The Department has also commissioned, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, a £1.56 million study to develop a patient reported outcome measures for prolapse, incontinence, and mesh complication surgery. This will improve collection of short- and long-term data on patient outcomes. To provide support for women who have experienced complications from pelvic mesh implants, NHS England has established nine specialist mesh centres across England. These ensure that women in every region of England with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support. As health is a devolved matter, these centres do not cover Northern Ireland.

Whether he plans to publish guidance on the introduction of the EU General Product Safety Regulations.

Guidance for businesses on the new General Product Safety Regulation was published last week on 3rd December and has been shared with the business community in Great Britain and Northern Ireland through existing channels. My officials will keep the guidance under review to ensure we are supporting businesses to trade freely across the UK.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2024 to Question 17511 on Living Wage: Part-time Employment, when he plans to publish that Impact Assessment.

The Government publishes an Impact Assessment each year alongside the legislation that implements the increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates. The legislation for the 2025 rates is expected to be laid in Parliament early in the new year, with debates in both Houses expected in February or March, subject to Parliamentary timetable.

What plans she has to help increase investment in the UK by UK-based pension funds.

The Government published the Interim Report of its Pensions Investment Review at the Mansion House event on 14 November. This Report puts forward ambitious proposals to reform the UK pension system which could unlock around £80 billion of productive investment while boosting savers’ pension pots. The consultations on the proposed measures will close on 16 January. The review will use its next stage to consider whether further interventions may be needed by the government to ensure that these reforms are benefiting UK growth. The final Pensions Investment Review report, including the final proposals to be legislated for, will be published in the Spring ahead of the introduction of the Pension Schemes Bill.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the impact of Innovate UK’s Small Business Research Initiative on Northern Ireland in the last two years.

Innovate UK’s Small Business Research Initiative (now renamed to Contracts for Innovation) has published an evaluation demonstrating its impact, including:£788m awarded through SBRI competitions between 2008 and 2022Business applicants from NI made up approximately 3% of applicantsThe benefits to the businesses awarded the funding amount to 1.5 to 4 times the cost of public sector investment

Whether he plans to reduce the minimum age for bowel screening to 50 by the end of 2025.

NHS England is responsible for delivering the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening programme, including planning for the age extension in the programme from 60 down to 50 years old.The age extension for bowel screening is already underway. NHS England started in April 2021 with the 56-year-old cohort and, based on modelling and clinical advice, has planned to gradually reduce to the age of 50 years old by 2025. This has been done to ensure that screening centres could manage any required increase in colonoscopy capacity.

With reference to the Answer of 10 January 2024 to Question 7797 on Prisons: Research, what (a) conclusions she has drawn and (b) changes she has made as a result of the Ipsos MORI research project on the retributive benefit of prison.

Ministry of Justice officials received research findings from Ipsos MORI in November this year and are currently considering the implications of the work. Officials will advise Ministers soon.Therefore, no conclusions have yet been drawn from these findings and we have not made any changes on the basis of the research project.

What guidance her Department has issued on the circumstances in which registered sex offenders can apply to change their name.

Registered sex offenders are required to notify their personal details to the police as an automatic consequence to a conviction or caution for a Schedule 3 offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. They must provide a record of (among other things) their name, address, date of birth, and national insurance number. They must do this annually or whenever their details change. Registered sex offenders must notify the police within three days of their using a new name. This includes names used online. The Home Secretary publishes guidance on Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act, which is the legislative framework for the police’s management of registered sex offenders: Guidance on part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). As part of the King's Speech, the Government has committed to placing restrictions on registered sex offender's ability to change their names.

What changes to procedures she has made following the investigation by law enforcement agencies into fraudulent transactions made on the Royal Mint website since 2022.

As outlined in The Royal Mint Trading Fund’s Annual Reports and Accounts for 2022-23, an external fraud incident occurred impacting The Royal Mint. A small number of fraudulent transactions were made on the Royal Mint’s website. The incident did not impact Royal Mint customers details and there was no risk to customer data. The Royal Mint continually make changes to their anti-fraud procedures, reflecting the dynamic nature of the external fraud landscape. As shareholder of The Royal Mint, HM Treasury are regularly updated on risk controls and have been supporting the strengthening of these processes and procedures.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to raise the (a) declaration of martial law in South Korea and (b) potential implications of that decision at the UN.

I issued a statement on 3 December expressing deep concern about the events in Seoul of 3 December. We welcome the decision made following a vote in the National Assembly to withdraw the martial law decree. South Korea is a proud democracy, and events have shown that their systems and processes seem able to resolve situations like this one. Our Embassy team in Seoul are monitoring developments. The UN has not made a statement regarding the situation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2024 to question 16452 Living Wage Living Wage, what the average number of hours worked by those in part-time employment and who paid the National Living Wage was in 2024 to date.

This will be included in the Impact Assessment that we plan to publish alongside the legislation that implements the increase to the National Living Wage in 2025.

If she will make an estimate of the number of electric vehicle charging points there will be in each year from 2025 to 2030.

The 2022 EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy (UK electric vehicle infrastructure strategy - GOV.UK) set out forecasts of consumer demand for public chargepoints. These projections indicated that between 280,000 and 720,000 might be needed by 2030. As of the 1 November there were over 71,000 public charging devices in the UK (Developing faster indicators of transport activity - GOV.UK). Between October 2023 and October 2024 the number of public charging devices grew by 42%.

With reference to paragraph 2.40 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) the increase in the rate of employers' National Insurance Contributions and (b) the VAT rate on the viability of businesses in the hospitality sector.

The Government recognises that the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth. At Autumn Budget 2024, the government took tough decisions on tax, spending and welfare to restore economic stability and invest in public services. A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the employer NICs changes was published by HMRC on 13 November, outlining the impact on business, that can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-secondary-threshold-the-secondary-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-rate-and-the-empl/changes-to-the-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-secondary-threshold-the-secondary-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-rate-and-the-empl.VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. The Government currently has no plans to introduce a different VAT rate for the hospitality sector.However, the Government keeps all taxes under review, including consideration of impacts.