Written questions by McMahon.

What plans the Government has to conduct an inquiry, investigation or review into foreign interference at elections and with elected members at all levels.

It is, and always will be, an absolute priority for this Government to protect our democratic and electoral processes. This is why on 18 November, I set out a Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan to disrupt and deter foreign influence and spying from foreign states. We recognise that elected representatives are potential targets for foreign influence and interference. In October 2025, the National Protective Security Agency published its guidance on how members of Parliament and their Parliamentary staff can protect themselves from foreign states and its proxies in relation to espionage and foreign interference.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of future road and rail freight capacity in the North of England following the cancellation of HS2.

Following the previous government’s cancellation of Phase 2, HS2 is now being delivered between Euston in central London and the West Midlands. The dedicated HS2 infrastructure from London to Birmingham and the West Midlands will release capacity on the West Coast Main Line which can be used to support additional rail freight services. The use of the released capacity is not yet developed, and decisions will be made closer to the opening of HS2 and be subject to consultation. We recognise concerns about rail capacity and connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester and we are reviewing our plans for future connectivity in the Midlands and the North. The government is committed to supporting rail freight growth with the Rail Freight growth target to increase it by 75% by 2050.

Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to being forward legislation to (a) ban and (b) limit mobile phone and broadband above inflation contract increases.

We have no current plans to legislate to ban or limit above inflation contract price increases for mobile and broadband. Ofcom, the independent telecoms regulator, introduced rules in January 2025 which required that any in-contract price rises must be set out prominently and transparently in pounds and pence so that consumers can make better informed choices. These rules banned in-contract price rises being linked to inflation. On 25 November, the Chancellor and Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom to request an interim review of the new rules by spring 2026 and a full review in 2027.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for canal maintenance.

Canal maintenance, and ensuring funding for it, is the responsibility of navigation authorities. The Government provides the largest navigation authority, the Canal and River Trust, with an annual grant of £52.6 million to support the Trust’s network maintenance programme. This represented 22% of the Trust’s total income of £232 million last year.

What financial support she has provided to areas affected by HS2 cancellation for inherited liabilities and costs incurred.

We are mindful that the previous Government’s decision to cancel Phases 2a and 2b had a significant impact on local communities. The Department has been working with HS2 Ltd to minimise as far as is possible the disruption caused by this decision for local authorities and affected landowners.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of modern slavery adherence by employers who have published Modern Slavery statements.

The government is committed to tackling modern slavery, ensuring that victims are provided with the support they need to begin rebuilding their lives and that those responsible are prosecuted. All businesses should monitor their supply chains with rigour to uncover, report where appropriate, and remedy any instances of modern slavery they may find in their operations and supply chains. Under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, commercial businesses who operate in the UK and have a turnover of £36m or more must produce annual modern slavery statements setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. The Home Office does not routinely review the quality or accuracy of individual modern slavery statements or assess compliance with the section 54 requirements. Section 54 was designed to increase transparency, allowing scrutiny by consumers, investors, and civil society. Section 54 has helped bring greater awareness of modern slavery in boardrooms across the country, but it is clear a decade after the Act, the UK’s approach needs to evolve. The government is considering how it can strengthen the section 54 regime, including penalties for non-compliance. Significant long-term reform will take time, and in the interim, the Home Office published new section 54 statutory guidance in March. This new guidance is more comprehensive, practical and ambitious – calling on businesses to go further and faster.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of plans to reduce vehicle generated air pollution in Greater Manchester as an alternative to the now cancelled charging Clean Air Zone proposal.

We agreed in January 2025 an £86m plan for Greater Manchester to help reduce pollution from vehicles and clean up the region’s air. The plan includes support for cleaner buses, local traffic measures and moving Greater Manchester’s taxi fleet to cleaner vehicles. The plan was agreed by Government following assessment of evidence provided by Greater Manchester authorities that it was likely to achieve compliance with legal nitrogen dioxide limits in the shortest possible time, including in comparison to the alternative of a Clean Air Zone.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of financial restrictions on the ability of victims of civil online defamation and harassment to take action.

Individuals who believe they have been defamed online can bring a claim under the tort of defamation, provided it meets the statutory requirements in the Defamation Act 2013, including demonstrating that the statement has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to their reputation.Victims of harassment can seek civil remedies under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, which allows applications for injunctions to prevent further harassment and, in some cases, claims for damages.As with any civil claim there are costs involved which may involve seeking professional advice. The general principle in England and Wales is, however, that legal costs are recoverable; usually the losing party pays the costs, as well as their own, following the event.To help manage the costs of litigation, individuals may wish to consider a range of funding options, including conditional fee agreements, damages-based agreements, and insurance products such as after-the-event cover. Third-party litigation funding may also be available in some circumstances.Civil legal aid may be available for injunctions to protect people against harassment. Eligibility depends on both the nature and merits of the case and the applicant’s financial circumstances.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of fuel poverty amongst home owning pensioners in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Oldham.

The latest national and regional fuel poverty statistics for England were published in March 2025 and include data for 2024. These provide breakdowns of fuel poverty separately by tenure, age and employment status, but do not include specific figures for home owning pensioners. The latest sub-regional fuel poverty statistics were published in April 2025 and include data for 2023. These provide estimates of fuel poverty levels in Greater Manchester and Oldham. However, since these are modelled estimates based on a national survey, they are not available by household characteristics at the local level.

What progress he has made on rolling out gas and electric smart meters to properties in England.

The latest statistics on smart meters in operation across GB are available here: Smart meters in Great Britain, Smart meters in Great Britain, quarterly update September 2025 - GOV.UK. Government recognises the vital role that smart metering plays in the operation of a flexible and decarbonised power system, whilst helping households to manage their energy use and reduce bills. The Department continues to drive the rollout and work closely with industry to ensure all households and small businesses can access a smart meter.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of profit per placement for private children’s homes in England.

The Competition and Markets Authority’s 2022 report on the children’s social care market found that the 15 largest providers of placements for looked-after children were making an average profit of 22.6% on children’s homes. In addition, reports from Revolution Consulting found that aggregate profits among the top 20 children’s homes providers, measured using the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) method, increased from 18.8% to 19.8% between 2021 and 2022. In 2023, the average EBITDA margin was 19%, although this figure excludes Caretech, the largest provider. The department’s work to improve the data that both we and local authorities have access to on the children’s social care placement market, and the financial oversight scheme we are legislating for through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, will enable greater central government oversight. This work will help us to keep the market under close review.

How many children were referred to Prevent in each year from 2015 to date by age.

Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities are protected against radicalising influences.The number of referrals to the Prevent programme that concern children, grouped by age for the financial year 2024/25 has been published in the latest annual Prevent statistics publication: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK. Data can be found on Table 4 within the annual data tables accompanying the publication.The number of referrals to the Prevent programme that concern children, grouped by age and financial year since 2016/17 has been published in the annual 2023/24 Prevent statistics publication: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2023 to March 2024 - GOV.UK. Data can be found on Table 4 within the annual data tables accompanying the publication.For the year 2015/16, the official statistics publication reports that there were 4274 referrals for individuals under 20 years old (56% of all referrals). A break down specifically of referrals for children is not available for this year. The statistics can be found here: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2015 to March 2016.The number of referrals reported includes individuals who had been referred more than once during the year. The number of individuals referred is not routinely reported in the official statistics.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to implement remote electronic voting for (a) UK and (b) local elections.

There are no plans to introduce remote electronic voting for UK or local elections.

Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to bring forward proposals to require VPN providers to undertake age verification checks on UK users.

The government continues to monitor the impact of circumvention techniques such as VPNs on the Act and will ensure that any future interventions are proportionate and evidence based.There is limited evidence on how many children use VPNs and why they use them. The government is addressing this gap.The Online Safety Act requires Ofcom to publish a report by July 2026 assessing how effective the use of age assurance has been and whether there are factors, including circumvention techniques, that have prevented or hindered its use.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with local government on improving community cohesion and building stronger local relationships between people from different backgrounds.

Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. As is precedent, details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly on gov.uk here. The department also continues to work in partnership with local government, communities and stakeholders on improving community cohesion.

What discussions she has had with car manufacturers on reducing the risk of stolen catalytic converters through design and technology.

We are working with the police and the automotive industry, to ensure the strongest response possible to all types of vehicle crime.The Home Office meets regularly with the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and with industry to discuss how government can help tackle the serious problem of vehicle crime. We also support the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group which focusses on prevention and deterrence of theft of, and from, vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles including the theft of catalytic converters.Additionally in the Crime and Policing Bill we are banning the electronic devices used to steal vehicles, providing a valuable tool to prevent the theft of vehicles.The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 was introduced to reverse an upward trend in the level of metal theft through better regulation of the metal recycling sector, making it more difficult to dispose of stolen metal including catalytic converters.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of train services between Manchester and London in 2025; and how much has been spent on delay repay compensation to customers on those services in 2025.

Avanti West Coast is beginning to see consistent and steady performance improvements on the network. However, there is still more to do with punctuality behind the industry average and poor Network Rail infrastructure reliability continuing to be a leading cause of disruption, including on the Manchester route. In 2025, service levels to Manchester increased with two additional weekday services added to the timetable from September. The Government produces annual figures relating to the amount of compensation that is paid out by train operating companies. The data for 2024/25 has been collected and will be published shortly. The data for 2025/26 will be collected at the end of the financial year and subsequently published.

What estimate he has made of the number of vulnerable users of telecare alarms who have (a) successfully transferred and (b) not yet transferred from analogue to digital systems.

There is limited data available on the number of telecare users in England and/or the United Kingdom. Our best available estimate comes from the TEC Services Association, who estimate that there are upwards of two million telecare users in the UK.To improve our evidence base, the Department has commissioned an independent technical advisor, FarrPoint, to carry out surveys of telecare services providers and call handling services. This research is currently live and aims to identify the number of analogue and digital telecare devices in use.The Department also works closely with the Telecare Action Board and Partners in Care and Health to monitor the progress of the digital phone switchover.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the adherence of private children’s homes to notifying the receiving local authority of vulnerable young people being placed in their area.

The department does not collect data on this activity. Ofsted conduct checks on compliance with notification processes as part of a home’s inspection, and if issues are found, this may impact their inspection rating.The decision to place a child away from their local community should not be taken lightly, which is why it can only be made by those at director of children’s services level. The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review regulations and corresponding statutory guidance makes clear that both the local authority placing a child out of their area and those caring for looked-after children (including children’s homes) must inform the receiving local authority and all relevant safeguarding partners when a child has been placed within and/or leaves their boundaries.

What estimate she has made of the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools without libraries in England.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton to the answer of 22 October 2025 to question ​​81502​.