Written questions by Shannon.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to regulate the sale of (a) magazines and (b) other offline pornography to under 21s in (i) shops and (ii) garages.

Physical (or ‘offline’) media with pornographic content is usually classified 18 or R18 rating by the British Board of Film Classification under the Video Recordings Act 1984. This Act is the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, rather than DSIT.DSIT is responsible for the Online Safety Act, which requires online services in scope of the Act to proactively tackle and remove illegal content, including illegal pornographic content. By summer 2025, all user-to-user services that allow sharing of pornographic content should also use highly effective age assurance if necessary to prevent children from accessing such content.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing tax breaks to employers who train apprentices.

Employers of those under the age of 21 and apprentices under the age of 25 already receive 100% employer National Insurance relief on salaries up to £50,270.

What steps his Department is taking to help increase public preparedness for out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest.

To improve patients' survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the Government has committed to improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces, and to reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.As part of the application process, the Department has selected the Smarter Society as its independent partner to manage grant applications against requirements specified by the Department to ensure that resources are allocated to where there is the greatest need, for instance remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.NHS England is working with St John’s Ambulance on increasing the number of people in our communities who are confident in the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillators. This includes a national network of Community Advocates to champion the importance of first aid, training 60,000 people that will help save up to 4,000 lives each year by 2028.

What estimate he has made of the number of drug deaths in the last 12 months.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 17th March is attached.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the backlog of settled status applications.

As of the end of December 2024, 98% of all applications for status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) have been concluded by the Home Office. Information on average processing times can be found on GOV.UK at EU Settlement Scheme: current estimated processing times for applications - GOV.UK. The majority of applications are decided very quickly. However, in some instances, where a case is less straightforward, the overall processing time will vary as caseworkers endeavor to engage with applicants to help them provide the evidence needed to support their application. At present, most applications to the EUSS are from people who already hold an initial grant of pre-settled status and who are applying to upgrade to settled status. Earlier this year, the Home Office has introduced a new process to automatically convert eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status, without the need for them to make a further EUSS application.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of misuse of prescription drugs.

The Department has made no such assessment. We are unable to assess trends in this area because there is no universal definition of prescription only medicine misuse, and data is not routinely collected, particularly for patients using medication without a prescription, or outside recommended prescribing parameters.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of racial attacks in football game settings in the last 12 months.

The Government is determined to tackle hate crime across England and Wales, including offences that occur at football matches, and we are clear there is no place for racism in sport or society.We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to all forms of hate crime, including racial attacks. There is an expectation in law that anyone convicted of a hate crime offence linked to a football match will receive a football banning order, preventing them from attending all regulated football matches in England and Wales for a period of three to five years, or six to ten years if a custodial sentence is imposed.We back the police in taking strong action against perpetrators of these appalling offences and we are continuing to fund the UK Football Policing Unit, which works in conjunction with the Government and the National Police Chiefs’ Council Football Lead (NPCC) to reduce all forms of violence, anti-social behaviour and disorder at football events involving UK football teams.The Home Office publishes annual statistics on football-related disorder in England and Wales. This includes information on the number of matches with reported incidents of hate crimes relating to race. The latest available data, which covers the 2023 to 2024 season, can be found in table 11 of the supporting data tables to the Football-related arrests and banning orders publication on GOV.UK: 'Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2023 to 2024 data tables'.The Government also works with sports bodies, including Sport England, UK Sport, and national governing bodies, to tackle racism and discrimination in sport, and we expect them to take robust action whenever it occurs.Policing is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What assessment he has made of trends in levels of footfall on high streets since 1 January 2025.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes weekly reports retail footfall traffic across the UK. This data can fluctuate due to factors such as seasonal trends, economic conditions and consumer confidence. Due to the highly volatile nature of the high-street footfall data the department does not estimate footfall trends on high streets. All ONS reports on real-time UK wide retail footfall for each week in 2025 can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/output/bulletins/economicactivityandsocialchangeintheukrealtimeindicators/previousreleases

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve the mental health of farmers.

This Government is committed to supporting the mental health of those working in farming and agriculture. Following engagement with agricultural mental health charities, Defra established a team dedicated to addressing the particular set of issues driving poorer mental health outcomes in the agricultural industry. We are also continuing to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This funds four charities to deliver projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. As promised in our manifesto, the Government is building a national network of Young Futures hubs which will be present in every community and will deliver support for young people facing mental health challenges. Finally, the Government is giving mental health the same attention and focus as physical health through measures such as employing 8,500 new mental health support workers. This will reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the humanitarian situation in Kashmir.

I recognise there are human rights issues in both India Administered Kashmir and Pakistan Administered Kashmir. We raise issues, where we have them, directly with the governments of India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan are important friends of the UK, and we have strong and deep bilateral relationships with both. It is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution on Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of homes that are uninhabitable due to excessive mould and damp.

The English Housing Survey (EHS) provides findings on housing quality and condition in England, including damp and mould. The EHS found that, in 2022-23, 4% of dwellings had a problem with damp. The EHS does not report on whether damp has made a property uninhabitable or not, but relevant government guidance clearly sets out the health risks associated with damp and mould in the home and how to reduce these risks. The guidance in question can be found on gov.uk here.

What steps she plans to take to engage with deaf and disabled people's organisations when preparing reforms to disability benefits.

This government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do. We have developed proposals for reform to the system of health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 18th March 2025. A full 12 week consultation will run from when all accessible versions are published on GOV.UK. We are keen to hear views from a wide group of people, in particular disabled people and people with health conditions and disability organisations, and encourage responses to the consultation through the online form, email and post. We also intend to run a number of accessible virtual and face to face events on the consultation, to hear from stakeholders, including deaf and disabled people and their representative organisations, directly. More information on these events and registration will be advertised on the consultation pages on GOV.UK in due course. In the Green Paper, we have also announced that we will set up collaboration committees to develop our reforms further, directly with disabled people and people with health conditions and experts. This will involve bringing together disabled people, experts and civil servants around specific issues to collaborate, provide ideas, challenge, and input into recommendations. We look forward to developing these initiatives over the coming months.

What information her Department holds on the number of fully-qualified SEND teachers in England on 12 March 2025.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.High quality teaching is the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education, which is why sufficient high quality teachers is key to delivering the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity.All teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and the Teachers’ Standards sets clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.As of November 2023, which is the latest date for which data is available, there were 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England. Of these, around 6% (28,200) were in special schools and state-funded alternative provision schools, including pupil referral units.​Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers entering and leaving service in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

What information her Department holds on the number of people charged with aggravated burglary over the last 12 months.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences, and their investigative outcomes, recorded by the police in England and Wales, on a quarterly basis. This information, including aggravated burglary offences, can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesCrime statistics for Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the devolved administration. These can be accessed here:https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-publications-and-reports/official-statistics/police-recorded-crime-statistics

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of Advice UK's report entitled Voices of Deaf and Disabled people, published on 10 December 2024.

We are grateful to Advice UK for sharing their insights and concerns from their ‘Advice Saves’ campaign and findings in their ‘Voices of Deaf and Disabled People’ report. Ensuring the views and voices of disabled people are at the heart of everything we do is a priority for this government and we are committed to listening and engaging closely with disabled people and their representative organisations as we develop policies that may impact them, including the reforms set out in the recent ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper and the Health and Disability Green Paper.

Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to support creative industries.

The creative industries are one of the government’s eight priority Industrial Strategy (IS) sectors. In 2023, the sector employed 2.4m people, and contributed £124bn in UK GVA – more than 5% of total UK GVA.Partnership with devolved governments will make the development of the Industrial Strategy a UK-wide effort, and will support the considerable sectoral strengths of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. A creative industries Sector Plan will be published in late Spring in conjunction with the Industrial Strategy. It will set out the biggest opportunities for growth in the creative industries at home and in new markets abroad.At the Creative Industries Growth Summit in January, we announced a £60 million package of support for the sector, providing a major boost to the wider economy. We also set out new commitments from the British Business Bank, the UK’s economic development bank, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in January to strengthen their support for the creative industries, in addition to making shorter apprenticeships available from August 2025, building towards a more flexible growth and skills levy. These are the first steps we have taken in delivering on our ambitions for the creative industries, with more to be set out with the publication of the Sector Plan.

What information his Department hold son the number of people who have been diagnosed with long covid in the last 12 months.

Whilst the requested data is not available in the format requested, the most recent data from the Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period between 6 February 2024 and 7 March 2024, an estimated two million people, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England and Scotland, self-reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection.

How many people have been diagnosed with prostate cancer in the last 12 months.

The latest available data show that prostate cancer was the most diagnosed cancer in England in 2022, with 54,732 new diagnoses. This is an increase of 11,354 more registrations than in 2021.

What steps she is taking to support pregnant women in prison.

There are now dedicated Pregnancy and Mother and Baby Liaison Officers in all women’s prisons, as well as mandatory multidisciplinary care planning for pregnant women. We have introduced additional training for prison staff on the care of pregnant women, and are piloting the introduction of social workers in women’s prisons to support pregnant women and mothers.The Lord Chancellor has launched the Women’s Justice Board to address the distinctive needs of women in the criminal justice system, with the aim of reducing the number of women in prison. While there will always be some women, including some who are pregnant, who need to be in custody, we must ensure they are given the best possible chance to address the causes of their offending, so that they are able to contribute positively to society.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

The Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme allows anyone to request that Law Officers consider referring certain serious sentences to the Court of Appeal if they believe the sentences are unduly lenient.Between 2019 and 2024, the number of sentences reviewed by the Law Officers have increased. In 2019, the Law Officers reviewed 577 requests, increasing to 831 in 2024, with a steady referral rate to the Court of Appeal. These increases are likely due to both greater awareness of the scheme and the expansion of offences covered by it.The Law Commission is currently undertaking a review of the laws governing criminal appeals. Last month, they launched a public consultation which invites views on a range of reforms to the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme. The consultation is open to all and runs until 30 May: Criminal Appeals Consultation Paper - Law Commission.The Government will carefully consider the recommendations made in the Law Commission final report in due course.