Written questions by McMurdock.

What recent estimate his Department has made of the (a) number of gas jobs conducted annually by unqualified workers and (b) the proportion assessed as unsafe; and what proportion of unsafe gas works are linked to carbon monoxide leaks.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) which address the safe installation, maintenance, and use of gas systems, in commercial and domestic premises.  Under GSIUR, gas engineering businesses must be registered with the Gas Safe Register (GSR) to carry out work covered by the Regulations legally. GSR runs the approved registration scheme for gas engineers on behalf of HSE and, as part of its remit, it ensures that all registered engineers have the appropriate qualifications to conduct gas work, and it conducts investigations into illegal gas work. HSE has not made an estimate of the number of gas jobs conducted annually by unqualified workers, but it does have statistics for HSE enforcement notices for work carried out by unregistered gas fitters and GSR investigations into unregistered gas work. In 2024/2025, 522 site investigations were carried out into unregistered gas work and those investigations identified 4548 immediately dangerous, at risk or not to current standard defects which were attributed to unregistered fitters. HSE issued 44 prohibition notices in relation to unregistered gas work against 42 businesses. HSE is unable to provide figures for the proportion of unsafe gas works that were linked to carbon monoxide.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has had discussions with social media companies on (a) adverts by unqualified operatives offering gas work and (b) the potential merits of implementing (i) pre‑advertising checks for Gas Safe accreditation and (ii) proactive takedowns of unsafe listings.

The Secretary of State has had no discussions with social media companies on this matter.The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 make it a criminal offence for anyone who is not on the Gas Safe Register to carry out gas work in domestic properties.The Advertising Standards Authority requires all advertising to be legal and socially responsible. It is working with online platforms which have signed up to its Intermediary and Platform Principles to encourage compliance with the advertising codes online.The Online Advertising Taskforce, chaired by the Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts, is also working to improve transparency and accountability in the online advertising supply chain.

If he will take steps with the Health and Safety Executive to review the level of criminal penalties and enforcement mechanisms for illegal gas work; and if the Health and Safety Executive will issue guidance to police on prioritising such cases.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) which address the safe installation, maintenance, and use of gas systems, in commercial and domestic premises. These regulations require that no employer or self-employed person shall carry out gas work without Gas Safe Registration. HSE and Local Authorities regulate this through enforcement powers set under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.  Enforcement powers available to regulators include prosecution, prohibition notices and improvement notices. HSE will apply the principles laid down in the Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS), Enforcement Management Model (EMM) and internal gas procedures to ensure that enforcement action is proportional to the health and safety risks and the seriousness of the breach. HSE cannot review the level of criminal penalties for illegal gas cases. The Health and Safety Sentencing Guidelines are set by the Sentencing Council.  HSE and Local Authorities are the enforcing authorities under GSIUR and the police investigate homicide cases. Where a person dies because of illegal and/or poor-quality gas work; the police must decide whether a manslaughter offence has been committed, the priority given to the case is a matter for the investigating police force. Guidance is in place to support the HSE and police in the event of a fatal gas incident though the Work-Related Death Protocol.

If he will publish HSE enforcement data on illegal gas work, including (a) investigations, (b) prosecutions, (c) convictions, and (d) penalties imposed since 2020.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) which address the safe installation, maintenance, and use of gas systems, in commercial and domestic premises. These regulations require that no employer or self-employed person shall carry out gas work without Gas Safe Registration. HSE and Local Authorities regulate this through enforcement powers set under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.  Enforcement powers available to regulators include prosecution, prohibition notices and improvement notices. HSE will apply the principles laid down in the Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS), Enforcement Management Model (EMM) and internal gas procedures to ensure that enforcement action is proportional to the health and safety risks and the seriousness of the breach. HSE cannot review the level of criminal penalties for illegal gas cases. The Health and Safety Sentencing Guidelines are set by the Sentencing Council.  HSE and Local Authorities are the enforcing authorities under GSIUR and the police investigate homicide cases. Where a person dies because of illegal and/or poor-quality gas work; the police must decide whether a manslaughter offence has been committed, the priority given to the case is a matter for the investigating police force. Guidance is in place to support the HSE and Police in the event of a fatal gas incident though the Work-Related Death Protocol.

Whether he has had discussions with Ofcom on the application of online advertising regulations for illegal gas work promotions.

The Secretary of State has had no discussions with Ofcom on this matter. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 make it a criminal offence for anyone who is not on the Gas Safe Register to carry out gas work in domestic properties. The Advertising Standards Authority requires all advertising to be legal and socially responsible. It is working with online platforms which have signed up to its Intermediary and Platform Principles to encourage compliance with the advertising codes online. The Online Advertising Taskforce, chaired by the Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts, is also working to improve transparency and accountability in the online advertising supply chain.

What assessment he has made of East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s Category 2 response times.

The Government recognises that in recent years ambulance response times have not met the high standards patients should expect.We are determined to turn things around. Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, commits to reducing ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes on average this year.  We are also tackling unacceptable ambulance handover delays by introducing a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting ambulances to be released more quickly and get back on the road to treat patients.We have already seen improvements in ambulance response times for the East of England NHS Trust (EEAST). The latest NHS performance figures for EEAST show that Category 2 incidents were responded to in 37 minutes 27 seconds on average, over 14 minutes faster than the same period last year.

What assessment she has made of whether sentencing outcomes for immigration-related offences under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 reflect the seriousness of those offences.

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 introduced new and tougher criminal offences for those attempting to enter the UK illegally. Specifically, it raised the maximum penalty for illegal entry from 6 months to 4 years’ imprisonment, increased the maximum penalty for entering in breach of a deportation order to 5 years and introduced life sentences for those facilitating a breach of immigration law. Individual sentences handed down by the courts are a matter for the judiciary, having regard to the Sentencing Council’s General Guideline.We will continue to keep these offences under review in light of feedback on their operation and evidence as to their impact.

What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of staff sickness levels within East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust; and what support is being provided to reduce sickness absence.

As of July 2025, East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) had an average annual sickness absence rate of 7.6%. This has remained at the same rate as the average for the 12 months to July 2024. The EEAST average annual sickness absence rate is 0.9 percentage points higher than the average annual sickness absence rate for all ambulance trusts in England, which is 6.7%. This difference has been consistent across the past five years.NHS England publishes monthly information on the sickness absence rates of staff in National Health Service bodies, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-sickness-absence-ratesThe primary cause for sickness absence amongst professionally qualified ambulance staff remains, anxiety, depression and mental health conditions.The EEAST recognises that its sickness levels remain high and is committed to reducing these while ensuring its staff are properly supported.The EEAST continues to work with system partners on effective measures to ensure its staff can handover patients safely as soon as possible and has taken actions to address its sickness levels. These include training for line managers on how to best support staff, a wide-ranging health and wellbeing offer, and temporary and permanent redeployment.Local employers across the NHS have in place arrangements for supporting staff including occupational health provision, employee support programmes and a focus on healthy working environments.As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will roll out staff treatment hubs to ensure all staff have access to high quality occupational health support, including for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, the two main causes of sickness absence in the NHS.To further support this ambition, we are working with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism and sexual harassment in the workplace.

What recent assessment his Department has made of (a) adequacy of the (i) performance and (ii) outcomes of Royal Mail’s Optimised Delivery Model trials and (b) whether these trials demonstrate that the model can meet the requirements of the Universal Service Obligation.

Operational implementation of the reforms to the Universal Service Obligation are a matter for Royal Mail’s management working with its workers and unions. The government does not have a role in the operational decisions of the business. Ofcom is responsible for monitoring Royal Mail’s delivery of its universal service obligations and has committed to monitoring the implementation process closely, to identify any issues with the roll-out of changes, whether the cost savings have been realised, and any impacts on the consumer experience.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that Royal Mail meets its statutory service standards and provides accurate reporting on delivery performance.

Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.Ofcom has a primary duty to secure the provision of a universal postal service, having regard to its financial sustainability and efficiency. On 10 July this year, Ofcom announced changes to the universal postal service obligation intended to have a significant positive impact on the financial sustainability of the universal service and support its continued provision. It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to monitor Royal Mail’s service standards with powers to take enforcement action where failures are identified without sufficient justification. Ofcom requires Royal Mail to publish its quality of service performance data on a quarterly basis.

Whether Royal Mail has provided his Department with evidence to substantiate any projected cost savings in relation to the Optimised Delivery Model.

Royal Mail produced its own modelling to estimate the net savings of key elements of its Optimised Delivery Model proposal to support its response to Ofcom’s Call for Input. Royal Mail’s submission is available on Ofcom’s website. Ofcom, as the independent regulator responsible for securing a financially sustainable and efficient universal postal service, has been clear that realising the benefits of reform is dependent on Royal Mail’s ability to implement them operationally.

What recent discussions he has had with the Royal Mail on the continued viability of the Universal Service Obligation.

Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.Ofcom has a primary duty to secure the provision of a universal postal service, having regard to its financial sustainability and efficiency. On 10 July this year, Ofcom announced changes to the universal postal service obligation intended to have a significant positive impact on the financial sustainability of the universal service and support its continued provision. It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to monitor Royal Mail’s service standards with powers to take enforcement action where failures are identified without sufficient justification. Ofcom requires Royal Mail to publish its quality of service performance data on a quarterly basis.

What assessment she has made of the relationship between enforcement activity and a) arrests, b) convictions and c) sentencing outcomes for immigration offences.

The Government has made a strategic shift in Border Security, focusing on long-term systemic improvements, smarter, intelligence-led interventions and stronger partnerships across agencies.The Border Security Command (BSC), established in July 2024, provides cross system leadership—bringing together the National Crime Agency, police, intelligence agencies, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force—to prioritise intelligence led operations that disrupt organised immigration crime, illegal working and associated harms. In May we launched a new Organised Immigration Crime Domestic taskforce to transform the way in which police respond to the threat of organised immigration crime.There is a clear relationship between enforcement activity and arrests. Published Home Office data shows that, from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, Immigration Enforcement teams carried out over 11,000 illegal working visits (up 51% year on year) which resulted in more than 8,000 arrests (up 63%). Detentions following those visits rose by 75% and returns recorded after a visit rose by 11%. These figures demonstrate that sustained, intelligence led operational activity leads to more arrests and case progression.Convictions and sentencing outcomes are a matter for the independent Crown Prosecution Service and the Courts.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2025 on the hospitality sector.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base. At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. Without our support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, this has fallen to just 4%. More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. We are doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including those on the high street. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.In addition to our business rates support, the Chancellor also announced the first National Licensing Policy Framework at Budget 2025, which sets a new strategic direction for licensing authorities to have more regard for growth when reviewing licensing applications and decisions. In addition, and responding to sector asks, the government committed to explore further planning reforms to make it easier for pubs and hospitality businesses to expand and grow. To help drive these reforms, we will appoint a new Retail and Hospitality Envoy to champion these sectors across government. This is on top of measures we have already announced, such as:A £1.5m Hospitality fund to support sector initiative like an innovation hub to improve business productivity and help rural pubs diversify to ensure they can continue as vital community hubs;Protection against upward only rent clauses, andThe introduction of strong new ‘Community Right to Buy’ to help communities safeguard valued community assets – such as pubs. The Government will continue to work closely with the pub and hospitality sector and are committed to help them succeed.

Whether she plans to publish sector-specific data on illegal working enforcement outcomes, including gig-economy sectors.

The Home Office takes the issue of illegal working seriously and continues to take robust enforcement action against those who breach immigration laws.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

What recent comparative assessment he has made of the effectiveness of digital ID scheme implementation in other countries.

Digital identity schemes differ around the world depending on sovereign decisions taken by other governments. The UK is keen to learn from international examples of where digital identity schemes are already delivering benefits for the public, and we are engaging actively with other countries for this purpose.

How many people his Department expects to be enrolled on the digital ID scheme (a) immediately and (b) after one year after it is launched.

The scope of the digital ID scheme is still in development and we are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop an inclusive, secure, and useful system.

Pursuant to Answer of 8th December 2025 to Question 95555, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of existing fines in deterring illegal working.

The Home Office continues to assess direct impacts of civil penalties for illegal working across all sectors of the labour market, through assessment of any changes in the composition and characteristics of those businesses receiving civil penalties, and their actions as a result.

How many civil penalties have been issued for illegal working in each of the last three years.

Information on illegal working civil penalty statistics has been published since 2016 as part of the Home Office Immigration Enforcement Transparency Data. This can be found at immigration-enforcement-data-jul-sep-2025 on tab CP02.This publication covers the period up to 30 September 2025.

What plans he has to publish data on convictions and sentencing outcomes for immigration offences.

The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool. This tool includes convictions and sentencing for immigration offences and can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.