Written questions by Smith.

Whether she has had discussions with the Metropolitan Police on the cost of (a) overtime payments, (b) equipment, (c) special measures and (d) mutual aid from the policing of protests outside the Royal Mint court on (i) 8 February and (ii) 5 March 2025.

The Home Secretary has regular meetings with all policing leaders, including the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), covering a range of matters.The police are operationally independent from the government. This means that the Home Office is unable to direct the police to take any particular operational decision, including those around the management of protests. How the police resource such events, including the management of overtime and other logistical considerations, is a matter for the police to decide. However, the Government expects the police to enforce the law as is necessary to maintain public safety.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of enforcement action against unlicensed online gambling operators.

We are committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed.In the past year, the Commission has significantly increased its disruption activity and has a renewed focus on finding innovative ways to tackle the illegal market. Since April 2024, they have issued over 1,150 cease and desist, and disruption notices. In the same period, over 118,000 URLs relating to illegal gambling have been referred to search engines, Google and Bing, with over 81,000 URLs removed by those search engines.The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will grant the Gambling Commission with new powers to more quickly and effectively take down illegal gambling websites.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve enforcement against unlicensed gambling operators.

We are committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed.In the past year, the Commission has significantly increased its disruption activity and has a renewed focus on finding innovative ways to tackle the illegal market. Since April 2024, they have issued over 1,150 cease and desist, and disruption notices. In the same period, over 118,000 URLs relating to illegal gambling have been referred to search engines, Google and Bing, with over 81,000 URLs removed by those search engines.The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will grant the Gambling Commission with new powers to more quickly and effectively take down illegal gambling websites.

What steps he is taking to ensure that community-based glaucoma (a) monitoring, (b) referral and (c) refinement services are made available to patients in (i) Chingford and Woodford Green constituency and (ii) England.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services in their local areas to meet patient need, and this will include services to meet the needs of patients with glaucoma.The North East London ICB has confirmed that residents living in Chingford and Woodford Green already have access to glaucoma referral refinement and glaucoma monitoring services in the community.

What steps he is taking to move toward patient self-referral for community audiology services as a default pathway in (a) Chingford and Woodford Green constituency and (b) England.

Community audiology services are commissioned by integrated care boards. The priorities and operational planning guidance states that systems are expected to put in place self-referral routes to community audiology services. This was reiterated in the Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care, which specified audiology for older people including hearing aid provision as a service for which self-referral should be available.Self-referral is not offered for community audiology in north east London, and we have no reported issues with patient access or backlogs in adult audiology services. In Chingford and Woodford Green, residents have access to several community audiology providers in Waltham Forest, such as Audiological Science, Scrivens, Specsavers and The Outside Clinic, and also audiology services at Whipps Cross Hospital.As part of the National Health Service primary care access recovery plan in England, approximately 380,000 people per year have been able to self-refer for services such as incontinence support, community nursing, podiatry, audiology, and physiotherapy without seeing their general practitioner.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the recent $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft by North Korea; what steps he has taken to trace the assets and prevent further illicit transactions; what steps have been discussed to strengthen security protocols; and whether this has included the imposition of sanctions on cryptocurrency and related entities linked to North Korea.

The UK Government is aware of reporting relating to the recent cyber activity linked to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, involving the cryptocurrency exchange ByBit. The UK has been consistent in challenging malicious cyber activity carried out by North Korean groups. This has included exposing and sanctioning North Korean actors for disruptive attacks that impacted the NHS. The National Cyber Security Centre has also issued multiple Cyber Security Advisories specifically on threats from North Korean groups, informing UK technical audience on the way these groups operate and ways to defend against them. We do not comment on future sanctions as this could affect their impact.

What steps her Department plans to take to improve training across all levels of the justice system on gambling-related harm.

The Ministry of Justice takes a person-centric approach to workplace wellbeing. Our support offer to individuals is delivered though the employee assistance programme, occupational health, staff networks and related policies. There have been a range of events and operational guidance made available to staff on gambling-related harms. In previous Mental Health Awareness Weeks, specific events on ‘gambling addiction and mental health’ were available to all staff.Within His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), National Debt Awareness week was observed in 2024, with several live events concerning gambling-related harms. Further materials such as the "Reach Out Save Lives" initiative, and bite-sized learning modules like the ‘HMPPS Problem Gambling: Prevalence and Practice’ course, are available to all staff. There is also the ‘Addiction to Gambling long-read’ which collates peer-reviewed literature on the matter and serves as operational guidance on working with those in prison and probation who experience gambling-related harms.As an organisation, we take an evidence-based approach to ensure the Ministry of Justice is able to provide targeted support to respond to environmental factors. At this time, we are not planning any specific events training for the workforce related to gambling-related harm.

What steps her Department is taking to improve (a) awareness and (b) understanding of (i) gambling-related suicide and (ii) other gambling-related harm at all levels of the justice system.

In the Ministry of Justice, general training on wellbeing and resilience is available to all Civil Servants and we provide guidance to employees on suicide and self-harm. In previous Mental Health Awareness Weeks, specific events on ‘gambling addiction and mental health’ were available to all staff.Within His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), National Debt Awareness week was observed in 2024, with several live events concerning gambling-related harms. Further materials such as the "Reach Out Save Lives" initiative, and bite-sized learning modules like the ‘HMPPS Problem Gambling: Prevalence and Practice’ course, are available to all staff. There is also the ‘Addiction to Gambling long-read’ which collates peer-reviewed literature on the matter and serves as operational guidance on working with those in prison and probation who experience gambling-related harms.Support for prisoners who are experiencing gambling-related harm is provided by the NHS.As an organisation, we take an evidence-based approach to ensure the Ministry of Justice is able to provide targeted support to respond to environmental factors. At this time, we are not planning any specific events training for the workforce related to gambling-related harm.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has for the funding of (a) the Global Fund and (b) other global HIV programmes, in the context of the planned reduction in Official Development Assistance spending.

The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. As part of this, we are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria with South Africa. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions to Official Development Assistance Spending on (a) Gavi, (b) the Global Fund and (c) other programmes.

The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. As part of this, we are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria with South Africa. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department plan to visit the official memorial in Girne in Northern Cyprus.

The Government reaffirms its highest respect for the memory and sacrifice of British and Cypriot service personnel and employees of the Crown who gave their lives, who lost family members or loved ones, and whose lives suffered permanent disruption as a result of the Cyprus Emergency. We recognise the significance of the British Cyprus memorial in Kyrenia to commemorate the sacrifices made by British soldiers in Cyprus. There are currently no plans for Ministers to visit the memorial but the British High Commission in Nicosia regularly honours those who bravely sacrificed their lives in Cyprus, including the annual laying of a wreath at the official Remembrance Day Service at the Nicosia War Cemetery where British soldiers are buried.

Whether (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department plan to visit the official memorial in Girne in Northern Cyprus.

While recognising the sacrifice of UK Service personnel who gave their lives during the ‘Cyprus Emergency’, Parliamentary and Ministerial commitments mean there are no plans to visit the memorial at The Old British Cemetery at Girne. However, when Parliamentary and Ministerial calendars allow, a Minister would be happy to visit.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 March to Question 38340 on Foreign Relations: China, how many meetings with Chinese government officials have taken place at her Department since September 2024, broken down by (a) month and (b) subject of meeting.

As stated in my Answers of 14 and 24 March, UK Officials regularly engage with Chinese counterparts in order to further UK interests, cooperating on areas of mutual interest and challenging on areas where we disagree. This government is taking a consistent, long-term and pragmatic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China. It is only right that we engage with China where there are clear UK and global interests, including on international stability, climate, health and bolstering our trade relationship.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to regulate unregulated legal gambling.

Gambling in Great Britain is regulated by the Gambling Commission, which operates a point of consumption licensing regime. Most legal gambling in Great Britain is regulated.

Media and Sport, if she will withdrawn Bet365's UK operating licence for openly operating in China.

As the independent regulator, it is the Gambling Commission’s duty to ensure that operators comply with the requirements set out in the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice and to take appropriate regulatory action against those operators which fail to comply. Any decision to withdraw an operator’s licence lies with the Gambling Commission.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 March to Question 36039 on Foreign Relations: China, on what dates these meetings were held.

As stated in my Answer of 14 March, UK Officials regularly engage with Chinese counterparts in order to further UK interests, cooperating on areas of mutual interest and challenging on areas where we disagree.This government is taking a consistent, long-term and pragmatic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China. It is only right that we engage with China where there are clear UK and global interests, including on international stability, climate, health and bolstering our trade relationship.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of impact of (a) indirect flights via Turkey and (b) other travel restrictions on UK nationals travelling to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

We recognise that the status quo in Cyprus creates serious challenges for the Turkish Cypriot community, including in relation to international travel. The Government believes a just and lasting settlement is the best way of resolving these challenges and improving the lives of all Cypriots. On 18 March, I attended talks in Geneva brokered by the UN Secretary General where I encouraged all sides to engage constructively towards a Cyprus Settlement.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the submission by Historic England on potential impact of the Royal Mint Court Development on the Tower of London.

An appointed Inspector held a public inquiry into the proposals in question, considering a range of evidence.As this case will come before ministers in MHCLG to determine, it would not be appropriate to comment

How many meetings between Chinese and UK officials took place between October 1 2024 and March 1 2025.

UK officials regularly engage with Chinese counterparts in order to further UK interests, cooperating on areas of mutual interest and challenging on areas where we disagree. This government is taking a consistent, long-term and pragmatic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China. It is only right that we engage with China where there are clear UK and global interests, including on international stability, climate, health and bolstering our trade relationship.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his polices of Taliban (a) restrictions on the practice of religion and (b) the targeting of (i) Shia Muslims, (ii) Sikhs, (ii) Hindus and (iv) other religious minorities in Afghanistan; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of his support for international efforts to help ensure that the right to freedom of religion or belief is upheld in that country.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials regularly press the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans. In October 2024, we co-sponsored a Human Rights Council resolution which extended the mandate of UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett to monitor and report on the human rights situation for another year, including on minority groups. Ministers and officials engage regularly with a range of Afghans, including religious and ethnic minorities, to ensure our policy and programming reflect the needs of the entire population. Without truly inclusive governance that reflects the religious, ethnic, gender and cultural diversity of Afghanistan, we will never see an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours.