Written questions by Robertson.

Media and Sport, how much funding her Department plans to provide to (a) tennis and (b) padel in each year until 2028.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this. The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2025, to Question 77644, on THINK! Campaign, what is the budgeted spending on publicity on drug driving in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26, and whether such expenditure has been revised following the July 2024 savings.

The budgeted spend on publicity on drug driving is below: Total spend to dateTotal budgeted spendFY 2024/25£35,000£35,000FY 2025/26£486,724.76£1,830,000 The increased expenditure for 2025/26 reflects the launch of a new THINK! marketing campaign to raise awareness on drug driving, in response to the increasing trend of collisions involving a driver impaired by drugs. Following the reduction in overall budget, the decision has been made to prioritise budget to focus on issues and audiences where we can have the greatest impact.

What timetable has been set for the transfer of assets, staff and responsibilities from Network Rail to Great British Railways.

Network Rail and its functions will become a foundational part of Great British Railways (GBR) as it is stood up. The detailed GBR design process is underway, considering how all functions in Network Rail, DfT Operator, publicly-owned train operating companies (TOC) and parts of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) should transfer to GBR.

Further to the press release, Red tape slashed to revamp high streets with new cafes and bars, of 26 July 2025, whether the Department for Transport has conducted or is planning to conduct a review of changes to the alcohol drink drive limit and potential mitigations.

The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink driving.

Whether the Electric Car Grant criteria will change when the new science based targets come into place.

All vehicle grants are regularly reviewed to ensure they continue to achieve their objectives and deliver value for taxpayer's money. This includes the eligibility criteria for the Electric Car Grant.

What estimate she has made of changes to staffing levels resulting from the establishment of Great British Railways.

Details on exact roles are subject to further design work. GBR will need colleagues from across the railway to continue the hard work that they do delivering for passengers. We will continue to engage with the industry on our plans for GBR.

Whether changes are being made to the eligibility for central government funding for Kent County Council, in the context of plans not to switch its fleet of vehicles to electric vehicles.

Local authorities have access to a range of central Government funding to support residents to transition to zero emission vehicles. Kent County Council remains eligible for their allocated £13.2 million capital and resource funding through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to increase the number of local public chargepoints across Kent. Their LEVI funding application has been approved to go to delivery.

What support his department is making available for trusts to help reduce bed occupancy to the RCEM recommended level of 85% occupancy.

As part of our winter preparations, we are asking trusts to place a special focus on reducing bed occupancy ahead of Christmas, creating additional capacity and improving patient flow.The Urgent and Emergency Care plan, published in July, focuses on those improvements that will see the biggest impact on urgent and emergency care (UEC) performance this winter and on making UEC better every day. The plan is backed by almost £450 million of capital investment for Same Day Emergency Care, Mental Health Crisis Assessment Centres, and new ambulances, avoiding unnecessary admissions to hospital and supporting the diagnosis, treatment, and discharge on the same day for patients. The plan supports a permanent shift in how we manage demand and patient flow.

Pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2025, to Question 77642, on Driving under Influence: Scotland, whether research has been commissioned or produced on the effect of drink driving limits on the economic viability of pubs and other hospitality venues which serve alcohol.

The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for 10 years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink driving.  We intend to publish this by the end of the year. Research was conducted by the University of Bath in 2021, Dr Jonathan James and Professor Marco Francesconi, looking at the effect of the introduction of the lower drink drive limit in Scotland. The authors found that the “alcohol industry remained unscathed, with no changes in production, prices, or employment”:www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/s0167629621000722#sec0014 On 5 December 2014 Scotland lowered the drink drive limit to that of the majority of European countries. In 2023 Transport Scotland published casualty estimates show that the “numbers of drink-drive collisions and casualties fell by 55% and 47% respectively between 2012 and 2022 (the latest year for which estimates are available)”:www.transport.gov.scot/publication/reported-road-casualties-scotland-2023/.

What estimate she has made of the cost to SME hauliers of prices set by major lorry manufacturers.

Ensuring that consumers and SMEs are only required to pay fair prices is of the utmost importance and is a key feature of truly competitive markets. The UK has a robust competition enforcement landscape to ensure that this is achieved, both through public enforcement by the Competition and Markets Authority and private enforcement routes through litigation.

Whether his department will put in place constitutional standards for hospital discharges.

There are no immediate plans to introduce additional constitutional standards at this time, including for the timeliness of discharge from hospital.However, the Urgent and Emergency Care plan for 2025/26 set as a priority that hospitals should tackle the delays in patients waiting to be discharged. They should profile discharges by pathway to support local planning, eliminate discharge delays of more than 48 hours caused by in-hospital issues, and work with local authorities to tackle the longest delays, starting with those over 21 days.

Pursuant to the answer of 27 October 2025, to Question 82997, on Restoring Your Railway Fund, how much central government money was written off as a consequence of the decision to cancel the fund.

The Chancellor’s 29 July 2024 announcement confirmed that the Restoring Your Railway programme would be brought to a close, as one of the steps she was taking to address the pressures on the public finances created by unfunded policy announcements made by the previous government. No funding was "written off" as part of this process.

What steps she is taking to (a) protect SME hauliers from pricing by major lorry manufacturers and (b) ensure access to third-party litigation funding for those hauliers.

Ensuring that consumers and SMEs are only required to pay fair prices is of the utmost importance and is a key feature of truly competitive markets. The UK has a robust competition enforcement landscape to ensure that this is achieved, both through public enforcement by the Competition and Markets Authority and private enforcement routes through litigation.

What steps he is taking to ensure the effectiveness of private enforcement in competition cases in the courts.

The competition opt-out collective actions regime enables competition claims to be brought where many individuals have claims substantially similar in nature. This provides a route to litigation where it would otherwise be impractical or unaffordable. The Government launched a review of the operation of the competition opt-out collective actions regime in August 2025, commencing with a call for evidence that closed on 14 October 2025. Responses to the call for evidence are now being considered and a consultation on options for reform will be brought forward in due course.

With reference to the latest report on Corridor Care from the APPG on Emergency Care, what plans his department has to tackle delayed discharges.

The Government recognises that delayed discharges contribute to shortages of hospital beds and is committed to reducing delayed discharges to free up beds for those who need them.The 2025/26 Urgent and Emergency Care plan prioritises reducing hospital discharge delays. Hospitals must eliminate in-hospital delays of over 48 hours and work with local authorities to address the longest delays, starting with those exceeding 21 days.For 2025/26, approximately £9 billion is being provided through the Better Care Fund (BCF), which requires the National Health Service and local authorities to set joint goals for improving discharge performance and preventing unnecessary admissions. From 2026/27, the BCF will be reformed to provide consistent joint funding for key services such as discharge, rehabilitation, and reablement.

Whether he plans to introduce legislation to remedy the impact of the judgment in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) (Appellants) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others (Respondents) UKSC/2021/0078.

The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and is committed to ensuring it works fairly for all.The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding, which will help inform the approach to potential reforms. We are considering the report carefully and will outline next steps in due course.

What steps he is taking to support the funding of third-party litigation in London.

The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and is committed to ensuring it works fairly for all.The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding, which will help inform the approach to potential reforms. We are considering the report carefully and will outline next steps in due course.

What recent assessment she has made of recruitment and retention challenges in the driving instructor and driving examiner workforce; and what steps she plans to take to raise entry standards, including English proficiency, improve qualification outcomes, recognise driving instructors within safeguarding frameworks, and support alternative career pathways for trainees who do not qualify.

Since July last year, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has recruited and trained 344 driving examiners who are now in post and delivering driving tests. DVSA has had difficulty in retaining experienced driving examiners, some of whom retire or leave DVSA for other roles. To encourage existing driving examiners to stay, DVSA is making an exceptional payment of £5,000 to driving examiners and eligible roles (divided into two payments) over the next 12 months. By keeping more experienced driving examiners and bringing in new ones, DVSA will lose less testing capacity from the system, making more tests available for learner drivers. DVSA sets out the national standard for driver and rider training on GOV.UK. This is what people must be able to do, know, and understand, to provide training to drivers and riders. Details on the steps to becoming an instructor can also be found on GOV.UK. As part of the process of becoming an ADI, candidates must take and pass theory, driving ability and instructional ability tests. DVSA requires every prospective ADI in Great Britain to apply for an enhanced disclosure and barring (DBS) check before beginning the ADI qualification process. They are also required to repeat the disclosure process every four years when they renew their ADI registration. The ADI Registrar also has the power to remove an ADI who falls below the standard of fit and proper person. DVSA is not responsible for delivering training to those undertaking the ADI qualification process. The sponsor or training school of each trainee should ensure they include all elements of training. DVSA therefore cannot offer support in alternative career pathways for trainees who do not qualify to become an ADI.

Whether the UK delegation attending the fourth Meeting of Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control plans to (a) oppose the extension of the scope of application of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products beyond tobacco products to electronic nicotine delivery services and (b) help ensure that proposed amendments of the Treaty follow the proper procedures.

The procedures for amending the World Health Organization Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products are laid down in Articles 38 and 39 of that treaty. These stipulate that any proposals need to be communicated to parties at least six months before the session at which they are proposed to be adopted.As no such communication has been made in this case, if any proposals for extending the Treaty to electronic nicotine delivery services were to emerge, they would need to be considered at a future Meeting of Parties (MOP) rather than this MOP. The UK would always seek to ensure that any proposals to amend the Treaty follow the proper procedures.

With reference to the strategy Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025 and the target to replace animals used for eye irritation testing, how many procedures were carried out for this purpose in 2024.

The Home Office is committed to supporting the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods to animal testing, as outlined in the published strategy: Replacing animals in science’, published on 11 November 2025.The last licence authorising the use of the rabbit pyrogen test was granted in 2017. The most recent reported use of the test was in 2018. No pyrogen testing has been reported since this date.The latest published statistics show that no procedures were reported under the category of ‘skin irritation/corrosion’ tests.In 2024, three procedures were reported under the category of ‘eye irritation/corrosion’ tests.The Home Office publishes annual statistics on the use of animals in scientific procedures. The statistics can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-statistics