Written questions by McMahon.

What estimate she has made of (a) the number of pupils suspended or sent home for not wearing the required school uniform and (b) lost school days as a result for the most recent year the data is available.

The department does not hold the requested information. While statistics on suspension are collected by reason category, ‘not wearing the required school uniform’ is not included as a separate category. The department publishes data on suspensions and permanent exclusions in state-funded schools in England. The most recent full academic year release, covering 2023/24, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24. This has been available since 10 July 2025. The department’s position is clear that it is for the headteacher to determine how to address breaches of the school’s uniform and appearance, in line with the school’s behaviour policy. We expect schools to respond to non-compliance, such as uniform breaches in a proportionate and fair way. Where a school imposes a sanction such as a suspension the formal exclusion process must be followed.

What estimate her Department has made of the level of illegal doorstep lending in England for which the latest data is available.

Illegal money lenders — more commonly known as loan sharks — are dangerous criminals capable of inflicting terrible harm on their victims. To combat this, the Government funds specialist Illegal Money Lending Teams (IMLTs) operating across the UK. These teams investigate and prosecute illegal money lenders and offer support to their victims. Because of the underground nature of illegal money lending, HM Treasury does not have data on the number of victims of illegal money lending each year. However, HM Treasury officials regularly engage with the IMLTs to receive updates on their work, including on prosecutions, support provided to victims, and any key trends. To learn more about the work of the IMLTs, visit the Stop Loan Sharks website: https://www.stoploansharks.co.uk/.

What plans her Department has to tackle unauthorised advertising adjacent to motorways in England.

The Department does not permit advertising within the boundary of the Strategic Road Network, and National Highways removes any unauthorised signage from its land. For adverts on private land adjacent to motorways, enforcement is carried out by local planning authorities under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007. National Highways will continue to notify the relevant authority and raise concerns where an advert poses a road safety risk.

What assessment her Department has made of the level of (a) heavy goods vehicle and (b) large goods vehicle driver vacancies; and what steps her Department is taking to help (i) train and (ii) retain drivers.

The Department for Transport publishes data on heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver vacancies which is collected as part of the domestic road haulage survey, sent to businesses which operate an HGV. The data releases can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/road-freight-statistics-2024/heavy-goods-vehicle-driver-vacancies-in-the-united-kingdom-2024 In addition, the Department meets regularly with the road haulage sector through the Freight Workforce Group and Road Freight Industry meetings to discuss industry concerns, including skills shortages. The Government has confirmed £136 million for Skills Bootcamps in 2025-26 to support more than 40,000 learners, including in HGV driving. Skills Bootcamps are now funded through Mayoral Strategic Authorities and local areas directly, empowering local leaders with greater control over skills development. Local leaders are considering what occupations to prioritise. The Government also continues to support the sector with skills training through the Urban Driver and Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) driver apprenticeships, and through Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) via Jobcentre Plus.

How many reports of (a) antisocial behaviour towards, (b) sexual harassment of, (c) sexual assault of and (d) physical assault of train staff were made in each of the past three years.

The British Transport Police are responsible for policing the railway in England, Scotland and Wales and have provided the following figures. Offence/Incident Type2022/232023/242024/25Antisocial Behaviour Not available as a breakdown for incidents against rail staffUnwanted Sexual BehaviourNot available7183Sex offences95111121Violence 276134153727

How many FTE civil servants there were across Government in England by region in each year since 2010.

Information on the number of FTE civil servants by region is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found at Table 10 of each of the annual publications data tables available at the link below. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics#annual-statistics

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to implement policies to help build community cohesion in areas with segregated communities.

The Ministry for Communities, Housing and Local Government is leading cross-Government efforts to consider a longer-term, more strategic approach to social cohesion - working in partnership with communities and local stakeholders to rebuild, renew and address the deep-seated issues. This Government wants to ensure that all places are further supported to build cohesion and resilience, and that support is in place rapidly, as and when tensions occur. The Common Ground Resilience Fund will provide £2.87m funding to local communities to insulate them against threats to social cohesion. We also recently announced the expansion of the Pride in Place Programme – this will provide up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade to 244 places across the UK. It focuses on three overarching objectives: building stronger communities; creating thriving places; and helping communities to take back control of their own lives and areas. As part of this, funding will be made available to improve community cohesion.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with BBC on the potential impact of its proposed budget savings on its (a) television, (b) radio, (c) streamed content and (d) website content.

The Prime Minister and Secretary of State believe public service broadcasting, and the BBC in particular, are vital British assets that contribute to our national life, and help to shape and define our nation. The Secretary State meets with the BBC leadership regularly to discuss a range of issues.It is important that the licence fee is used efficiently and the BBC must ensure it is delivering value for audiences. However, as an independent organisation, the BBC’s spending decisions are a matter for the BBC. The Government recognises the BBC faces funding pressures, and we will consider how we fund the BBC sustainably as part of the Charter Review.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure the provision of non-partisan political and democratic education in schools prior to the introduction of the forthcoming Elections Bill.

Teaching about democracy and elections already forms a central part of the secondary national curriculum for citizenship and can be taught as a non-statutory topic in primary schools.Education is a vital part of implementing the government's commitment to extend the right to vote to 16 and 17 years olds. The government takes empowering and equipping young people with the knowledge and skills they need seriously, and wants to break down barriers and drive participation in our democracy.Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review recommendations, the department has committed to make citizenship compulsory in primary schools and to publish revised programmes of study to ensure that all pupils receive an essential grounding in a range of topics including democracy, government and law. We will consult on programmes of study next year and the new national curriculum will be published in 2027 for first teaching in 2028.The department’s guidance on political impartiality supports schools with teaching about political issues in line with their statutory duties.

What estimate she has made of the transition costs to the public purse of the proposed abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners.

There will be a small programme team in the Home Office to oversee the transition of police governance functions from Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to Strategic Authority Mayors or, where that is not possible, new Policing and Crime Boards. This will be resourced through the reprioritisation of existing resources.The Home Office will work with Offices of PCCs and local authorities to assess local transition costs ahead of implementation in 2028. Following the approach taken for previous transfers of police governance in mayoral areas, costs are expected to be met locally through existing budgets.

Media and Sport, what comparative assessment her Department of made of the (a) social class (b) regional breakdown of National Lottery customers and the beneficiaries of lottery-funded grant programmes.

The Gambling Commission, the regulator for the National Lottery and an arm’s-length body of DCMS, publishes annual data on National Lottery participation rates, including a breakdown by sex, age and region. A regional breakdown of lottery grant recipients can be found on the National lottery grant database: https://nationallottery.dcms.gov.uk/data. Further analysis on funding is carried out by the twelve lottery distributing bodies, who are independent of Government.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 90780 on Prisoners' Release: Housing, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) saturation and (b) clustering of housing facilities for people supervised by the Probation Service on communities.

Statutory responsibility for housing and homelessness provision in both England and Wales lies with local authorities. To supplement this, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) offers a three-tier structure of temporary accommodation, known as the Community Accommodation Service (CAS), for a small proportion of prison leavers and persons on bail. Many offenders leaving custody will have their own accommodation to return to. CAS properties are sourced according to a demand analysis undertaken by HMPPS, with as wide a geographical spread as possible. They are normally in areas close to local amenities, to assist with effective rehabilitation and sentence management planning. Services have been expanded across the country in recent years to meet demand for places. This serves both to help prison leavers at risk of homelessness and to protect the public. Other individuals under probation supervision who are in need of assistance on release from custody may be accommodated by the local authority or in accordance with private arrangements. When deciding whether to approve a proposed address, the probation practitioner will make a risk assessment and will also have regard to the offender’s sentence planning objectives

Communities and Local Government, if she will take legislative steps to require the promotion of party political content on social media platforms during the regulated period as third party campaign activity that has to be (a) valued and (b) declared in election expense returns.

Under existing legislation, spending above £20,000 in England or £10,000 in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland on promoting party political content during the regulated period, whether on social media or other platforms, must be treated as campaign expenditure. This means it must be valued and reported in the relevant spending return to the Electoral Commission.Both political parties and third-party campaigners are required to account for the costs of paid promotion, such as advertising on digital platforms, in their returns. These costs contribute to overall spending limits and transparency requirements designed to ensure fairness and accountability in elections.The Government will continue to keep electoral law under review and work closely with the Electoral Commission to ensure that the framework remains effective and proportionate in the context of evolving campaign practices, including digital campaigning.

What proportion of civil servants have working class backgrounds.

As committed in the Declaration on Government Reform and in order to better serve the public, the government must ensure it draws on the talent of people from the widest possible range of geographical, social and career backgrounds. We will make sure that citizens who have experienced disadvantages in their early lives are able to flourish in public service. According to the Civil Service People Survey 2024, 33% of civil servants responding to the survey come from a working class background. Specifically, based on the NS-SEC index for parental occupation, 30% of respondents to the survey were from a routine background and 3% from a never worked one. To note that these figures are based on the 60% of civil servants that completed the survey in 2024.

Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has been made of the value of artwork sold by local authorities in England since 2010.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not hold information on the value of artworks that may have been sold by local authorities since 2010, as local authorities are responsible for the management of their own assets, which are held and displayed in a variety of ways. The Museums Association provides clear guidance to the sector on responsible collections management and the acquisition and disposal of collections. These guidelines, endorsed by major sector organisations, prohibit financially motivated disposals of museum artefacts. The government is committed to working collaboratively with councils, as co-funders of culture. As the government’s recent Pride in Place strategy makes clear, communities deserve vibrant public spaces, and the government is investing new money in shared community assets, including through our £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, supporting regional museums to improve public access to Collections.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) misinformation (b) foreign influence in the 2026 elections.

The Government takes attempts by any country to intervene in our democratic processes very seriously. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic and electoral processes. The Government addresses these challenges through coordinated efforts led by the Defending Democracy Taskforce and Joint Election Security and Preparedness (JESP) Unit which bring together Whitehall departments, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies to monitor and mitigate election security risks, including mis – and disinformation and foreign interference. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit is currently leading on cross-government efforts in preparation for the 2026 elections, which are taking place across the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of pets by type that were placed with animal shelters as a result of (a) pet ownership affordability and (b) tenancy restrictions in each of the past three years.

The Department does not hold information on the number of pets placed with animal shelters as a result of the affordability of pet ownership or tenancy restrictions. This information may be collected by individual animal welfare organisations.

How many sub postmasters have had claims (a) settled and (b) not settled related to the Horizon issue.

As of 31 October 2025, around 9,300 claims have been settled across the Horizon redress schemes, with around 3,000 claims received not yet settled. The total number of settled claims includes 71 full and final settlements made under the former Overturned Convictions scheme prior to its closure on 2 June 2025. The 40 Overturned Convictions claims not fully settled are now being administered through the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS). The table below illustrates the progress to date across the schemes and is available on GOV.UK. The Department only reports on claims received, as there is not a fixed cohort of claims across these schemes. SchemeFull & Final Claims receivedFull & Final Offers madeFull & Final Offers acceptedFull & Final claims paidHorizon Shortfall Scheme: eligible claims before deadline2,4172,4172,1292,129Horizon Shortfall Scheme: eligible late claims8,8236,9196,2366,192Group Litigation Order Scheme476473400396Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme462460447445

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of self service check outs at supermarkets and convenience stores on the number of jobs in those sectors since 2015.

The Department for Business and Trade has no plans to assess the impact of self-service checkouts on employment levels in the retail sector since 2015. Decisions about in-store services in supermarkets, including provision of staffed and self-checkout tills are rightly a matter for individual retailers. The Government recognises that the retail sector continues to be an important employer in the UK economy and while technological changes may alter the nature of some roles within the sector, they can also create new opportunities and job types across the retail industry. The Government continues to engage with the industry, including through the Retail Sector Council, which brings together employers, unions and other stakeholders to address challenges and opportunities.

How many offenders awaiting (a) trial (b) sentencing were removed from the UK under a voluntary agreement prior to the completion of the legal process annually since 2015.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.The Home Office publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’. Data on returns by return type can be found in Ret_01 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. This data covers the period 2010 to September 2025.