Written questions by Maguire.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to expand the designation of vessels considered part of Russia’s shadow fleet to align with (a) the US, (b) Europe and (c) Canada.

This Government has sanctioned 229 oil tankers in Putin's shadow fleet, more than any other partner. On 9 May, we sanctioned 100 oil tankers - our largest single action to date. We work closely with our G7 partners to maximise the impact of our sanctions.We do not comment on future designations as to do so could reduce their impact.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the research paper entitled Occupational Incidence of Bladder Cancer Amongst Veteran Ammunition Technicians of the British Army, published on 22 March 2025.

As the hon. Member will know from my recent answer to Question 47566, Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials reviewed with interest the recent British Journal of Urology International research letter on a potentially increased risk of bladder cancer in military personnel exposed to explosive ordnance. This is a complex scientific area, and the MOD has referred this matter to the Independent Medical Expert Group (IMEG) for their independent medical advice. The possible link between exposure to explosives and an increased risk of bladder cancer among military personnel will be discussed by the IMEG at their June 2025 meeting and their advice will inform decisions on next steps. I can confirm that no discussions have taken place with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. I am advised there is currently a lack of medical evidence to support screening this population for bladder cancer.

If he will make an estimate of the number of qualified medical professionals unable to progress in their training pathways in the most recent period for which figures are available.

We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. It is not possible, from the data held, to consistently and accurately identify unique applicants, as many applicants will apply to more than one specialty training pathway We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.Post graduate medical training consists of several different phases of training courses, depending on the speciality choices a doctor makes. After graduating, doctors will typically do a two year foundation programme, followed by speciality training. Speciality training can be a single “run through” programme or can be core training followed by competitive entry into higher speciality training. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/training-doctorIn 2024, there were 59,698 total applications across all medical specialty training pathways in the United Kingdom, for the 12,743 speciality training posts that were available. This data covers all round one and round two specialty training pathway programmes. The Department does not hold information on the number of individual, or unique, applicants that this comprises of in order to make and estimate on the specific progression of medical professionals. The timing of progression, from foundation years training to medical specialty training, will depend on a wide variety of factors, including personal preferences for future specialty training programmes, development of current strengths and skills, personal factors influencing the timing of progression, and the NHS’s demand for specialty training roles.Once medical professionals have entered a training pathway, progress outcomes within that pathway are collected and reported by the General Medical Council in its Annual Review of Competency Progression reports. This information is available at the following link:https://edt.gmc-uk.org/progression-reports/arcp

If her Department will add young carers to the Daily Attendance reporting programme.

​​​​This government is committed to breaking down barriers of opportunity for all young people, including young carers who provide a critical role caring for their loved ones.Young carers were added to the school census in the 2022/23 academic year. This change has raised both awareness and the profile of young carers in schools by, for the first time, providing hard data on both the numbers of young carers in schools and their education. The number of schools returning data on young carers as part of the census has been low. The last annual spring census showed that 72% of schools did not record any young carers in 2024, which is an improvement on the 79% of schools with zero returns in 2023. The department recognises that this is not good enough, and we hope to see an improvement in coverage and quality in the next spring census, due in June. We will monitor the quality of school census data on young carers for consideration for future inclusion in the daily collection. In the meantime, we are continuing to work closely with the sector to encourage better identification, recording and support for young carers in schools.​Absence from school is almost always a symptom of wider needs and barriers that a family are facing, including where pupils may have caring responsibilities at home. The department’s statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ takes a ‘support first’ approach where pupils and families, including young carers, should receive holistic, whole-family support to help them overcome the barriers to attendance they are facing.

What steps she is taking to (a) improve work coach support and (b) provide tailored employment support for jobseekers.

As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work. In England, these reforms will include bringing together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service to create a greater awareness and focus on skills and careers as well as better join-up between employability and careers provision.Our new service will move away from the current one size fits all approach, recognising people are individuals with different support needs and will provide better tailored support. Providing high-quality personalised support that helps people get into work, support training, and get on at work is a central tenet to the new service.We will provide an update on our plans to Get Britain Working and the steps we are taking in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what her timeline is for (a) consultation and (b) implementation of the updated Decent Homes Standard.

The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.

What steps his Department is is taking to help tackle delays in the transfer of care.

It is a priority for the Department to tackle delays in the transfer of care, and to ensure that people receive the care that they need.On 30 January 2025, the Government published a revised policy framework for the £9 billion Better Care Fund. The new BCF Policy Framework for the 2025-2026 financial year supports local areas to use pooled funding in way that delivers greater impact for those receiving integrated health and social care.Under the new framework, local authorities and National Health Service integrated care boards are accountable for providing timely and joined-up support for people with more complex health and care needs, and for achieving more timely and effective discharge from acute, community, and mental health hospital settings.

What steps she is taking to ensure that people receiving Universal Credit have adequate support for accessing (a) employment opportunities and (b) training in Epsom and Ewell constituency.

Jobcentre teams work closely with Epsom and Ewell Council, Employers, local colleges and providers to promote employment and training opportunities. The Employment and Partnership Team recently facilitated the Annual Epsom & Ewell Employment Fair with Nescot College, Epsom & Ewell Council and Surrey Lifelong Learning Partnership. The Jobcentre offers Sector Based Work Academy Programmes and Mentoring Circles to give customers the skills to enter employment. Often, customers engage directly with an employer to find out role requirements. For example, working with the Jobcentre, Macro will facilitate a series of Mentoring Circle sessions to help people with mental health impairments move closer to employment.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with anti-poverty campaigners on strengthening the Decent Homes Standard for social housing.

My Department engages a wide range of external stakeholders, including campaigners, on issues facing social housing tenants.The government intends to consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.

Whether her Department has detected any ship-to-ship transfers in British waters that have enabled Russia to evade the price cap on exported oil since December 2022.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in HM Treasury is responsible for the implementation of the Oil Price Cap (OPC). Whilst I cannot comment on individual instances of evasion of the OPC due to the sensitivity of that information, British territorial waters are not typically the site of ship-to-ship transfers of this kind. The UK Government closely monitors these kinds of transfers for OPC evasion and continues to directly target shadow fleet vessels and entities that seek to undermine UK sanctions and facilitate the trade and transportation of Russian oil and oil products.In October last year, the Department for Transport operationalised a mechanism to challenge suspected shadow fleet vessels with unknown insurance to provide proof of insurance as they transit the English Channel. OFSI works closely with industry to aid compliance – as evidenced by the February 2024 updates to the OPC compliance regime and the OPC industry advisory on falsified certificates of origin, published in November 2024.

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on ensuring that veterans with service-related (a) injuries and (b) mental health conditions are not disadvantaged by changes to PIP eligibility criteria.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are the lead Department regarding welfare reform. DWP and Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials continue to work closely to ensure that where DWP benefits interface with the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pension Scheme, they are taken into consideration as work on welfare reform continues. The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper was published on 18 March 2025. This consultation sets out our vision, strategy, and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. It builds upon the foundations laid by the Get Britain Working White Paper in November 2024 and marks an important staging post in our journey of reform. The Government is committed to ensuring that the views and voices of disabled people, people with health conditions, and veterans are at the heart of everything we do. The Government recognises that service-related mental health conditions can differ significantly in presentation and impact from civilian experiences. It is essential that any future processes for assessment and support reflect that distinction and provide compassionate, informed, and appropriate care for veterans. We strongly encourage veterans and support organisations to engage with the consultation, so their voices are clearly heard. Veterans who are resident in England can access specialist care for physical and mental health conditions via Op RESTORE and Op COURAGE respectively. Alternative provision is available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as responsibility for health is devolved. Veterans UK, which is part of the Ministry of Defence, provides free support for veterans and their families, including a helpline, Veterans Welfare Service, Defence Transition Services and injury/bereavement compensation scheme payments. I am committed to working together with colleagues in the DWP to ensure that our reforms result in a system that is fair, supportive, and responsive to the real needs of veterans.

What guidance her Department provides to people seeking to complain about private security companies hired by local authorities.

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is a Home Office arm’s length body established by the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (PSIA) as the regulator of the private security industry.The SIA publishes guidance for buyers of private security which is available at: Do you buy security?.Complaints or concerns about the SIA, or about private security companies, or people working in the private security industry, can be raised at: Complaints procedure - Security Industry Authority - GOV.UK, Report a Crime or Concern.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of polluted rivers on public health.

The Department is currently undertaking work to assess the human health impacts associated with recreational activities in inland waterways such as rivers.

What steps he is taking to prevent community pharmacies from operating at a financial loss when dispensing medicines for which the purchase price exceeds the NHS drug tariff reimbursement rate.

We have now concluded the consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.There are two arrangements in place to avoid pharmacy contractors dispensing at a loss and to ensure that overall, they are paid enough as part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) funding. These are the medicine margin and the concessionary price arrangements.The community pharmacy reimbursement arrangements include an amount of medicines margin, the difference between the reimbursement price and the price the pharmacy was charged by the supplier, that pharmacies are allowed to retain as part of the CPCF funding. The Department assesses the medicine margin through a quarterly medicine margin survey, which ensures that overall, pharmacies are paid more than what it cost them to purchase medicines.The concessionary prices are granted to ensure that pharmacy contractors are fairly reimbursed for any prescriptions dispensed during that given month, where they may suddenly face challenges in obtaining stock at the Drug Tariff reimbursement price. In addition, there is a ‘retrospective top-up payment for concessionary prices’, which provides an additional payment to contractors when the margin survey indicates that despite a concessionary price, there was an under payment.

How much has been paid in application fees for indefinite leave for members of the armed forces on discharge in each year since 2015.

This information is not held by the Ministry of Defence. Individuals who choose to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK on discharge, also known as Settlement, submit their application and any associated fee to the Home Office.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making employers of gamekeepers vicariously liable for their actions.

The introduction of new regulation, such as vicarious liability, requires evidence that it will be effective. Vicarious liability occurs where one person can be held liable for the actions of another person. With regards to gamekeepers, this could mean a manager or employer would be held criminally liable for an unlawful act perpetrated by their gamekeeper, for example the unlawful killing of birds of prey. Vicarious liability for such acts has been introduced in Scotland but so far there is no compelling evidence to show that its introduction has had a significant deterrent effect on those who persecute wildlife. We will continue to monitor the situation in Scotland to consider whether vicarious liability is a necessary and proportionate approach in tackling crime in England.

What his Department's timetable is for publishing the results of the consultation entitled Pharmacy supervision, which closed on 29 February 2024.

The Government is committed to publishing the response to the public consultation entitled Pharmacy Supervision, and to bringing forward the associated legislation later this year.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing the collection charge for receiving parents using the Child Maintenance Service’s Collect and Pay service.

A consultation on proposed reforms to the CMS was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. This included:removing Direct Pay and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster,exploring views on collection fees and the impact of proposals to maintain but reduce fees, andexploring how victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be better supported. This follows the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act receiving royal assent in July 2023.The consultation was extended by this Government at the end of July and ran until 30 September 2024. We are currently analysing the responses we have received, and the Government plan to publish the response in the summer.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to expand penalties for sanctions evasion by banning maritime services for vessels used to transport Russian crude oil without complying with the price cap.

With the implementation of the maritime transportation and associated services ban, the UK, along with G7 partners, banned the provision of services that facilitate the maritime transportation of Russian oil. The Oil Price Cap (OPC) exemption permits UK services to be available to third country importers and exporters only where the price paid for Russian oil is at or below the relevant price cap.Where Russia has sought to circumvent those sanctions, we have taken robust action; since July 2024 we have sanctioned 129 shadow fleet oil tankers. We continue to step up our efforts, working closely with partners, to ensure our sanctions' effectiveness.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent the Child Maintenance Service being used in coercive and controlling behaviour by abusive ex-partners (a) by malicious reporting to the (i) police and (ii) social services and (b) in general.

The Child Maintenance Service is committed to ensuring that it delivers a safe service that is sensitive to the needs of all the parents that use its service. We recognise that some parents may face difficult circumstances, particularly at a time of separation.All caseworkers receive extensive training and follow a well-managed process with clear steps to support vulnerable clients, including those facing domestic abuse. However, the department has no jurisdiction relating to Police or Social Services investigations.The CMS has access to a list of resources which helps caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations, which is regularly reviewed and strengthened on the basis of customer insight.A consultation on proposed reforms to the CMS was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. This included removing Direct Pay and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster and explore how victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be better supported. This goes further than the proposal in the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act which received royal assent in July 2023.This proposal would also reduce the ability for perpetrators of domestic abuse to inflict economic control and coercion through withholding child maintenance payments. The consultation closed on 30 September 2024, and the Government will publish a response in due course.