Written questions by Blackman.

What steps he is taking to help prevent North Sea oil and gas workers leaving the UK.

The Government’s priority is a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives towards our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good, long-term jobs, with no community left behind. The Office for Clean Energy Jobs is supporting the delivery of an industry-led Energy Skills Passport as part of this transition. It is an important step to help workers transition from carbon-intensive industries to new clean energy sectors as part of the Government's Clean Power 2030 mission.Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, recognising the expertise, skilled workforce, and diversity of projects already in place.

With reference to the transparency data entitled Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers in 2023, published on 23 May 2024, how his Department obtained the raw data on correspondence received from MPs by Government (a) Department and (b) agency.

The Cabinet Office commissions each Government department and agency individually to request data to be included in the reports titled ‘Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers’ that are published on GOV.UK.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2025 to Question 22905 on State Retirement Pensions: Women and with reference to page 11 of his Department's guidance entitled Guide to Handling Correspondence, updated on 6 September 2024, whether the Department for Work and Pensions complies with reporting and data requests from his Department.

The Department for Work and Pensions complies with correspondence reporting and data requests from the Cabinet Office. The data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers 2023 includes performance when responding to correspondence from members of devolved Parliaments and Assemblies. This information has not been separated out in this or previous reports. Correspondence performance data for 2024 will be published in due course.

With reference to his Department's guidance entitled Guide to Handling Correspondence, updated on 6 September 2024, and with reference to his Department's transparency data entitled Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and peers, 2023, updated on 23 May 2024, whether his Department (a) produces and (b) publishes correspondence performance data on responses to correspondence from Members of devolved (i) Parliaments and (ii) Assemblies.

The Department for Work and Pensions complies with correspondence reporting and data requests from the Cabinet Office. The data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers 2023 includes performance when responding to correspondence from members of devolved Parliaments and Assemblies. This information has not been separated out in this or previous reports. Correspondence performance data for 2024 will be published in due course.

With reference to his Department's guidance entitled Guide to Handling Correspondence, updated on 6 September 2024, and with reference to his Department's transparency data entitled Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and peers, 2023, updated on 23 May 2024, when correspondence performance data will be published for 2024.

The Department for Work and Pensions complies with correspondence reporting and data requests from the Cabinet Office. The data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers 2023 includes performance when responding to correspondence from members of devolved Parliaments and Assemblies. This information has not been separated out in this or previous reports. Correspondence performance data for 2024 will be published in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21320 on written representations to the Department of Work and Pensions, whether there have been changes to the directions to Government departments on the logging of enquiries from (a) MPs and (b) Members of the devolved Parliaments and Assemblies.

The Guide to Handling Correspondence, owned by the Cabinet Office and published on GOV.UK, sets out the guidance for Government departments to follow when handling correspondence from MPs and Members of the devolved Parliaments and Assemblies. The guidance was last updated in 2021.

Whether her Department records the number of enquiries received from (a) hon. Members and (b) Members of Devolved (i) Parliaments and (ii) Assemblies on a quarterly basis.

The department receives and responds to enquiries from Members of Parliament and Members of devolved Parliaments or Assemblies but does not collate, report or produce statistics on this.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating socioeconomic background reporting for all employers with over 250 employees.

The Department has not undertaken any such assessment. Companies are already required to disclose employee matters and can choose to include socioeconomic aspects where relevant to their business. For example, all large companies in the UK must include information on employees as part of their Annual Report’s Section 172(1) Statement. This should detail how employees are consulted, and their views considered, in decision making, ensuring employees of all backgrounds feel involved in how the company is run. It is a matter of good practice to collect data on employee background that the company can choose to communicate its workforce inclusivity.

Whether her Department has a strategy for tackling violence against women and girls on trains after the passage of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill.

Tackling violence against women and girls is a priority for the Government. We have set the ambitious target to halve this figure in the next decade using every lever available to us. The Department is working closely with the central mission delivery unit in the Cabinet Office to achieve the aims set out in the Government’s Safer Streets mission. The British Transport Police will continue to police the rail network following the transition of passenger services into public ownership to prevent and investigate crime, and in particular to tackle violence against women and girls.

Whether her Department will have responsibility for safety on trains following passage of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership Bill).

The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 makes no changes to existing roles and responsibilities regarding safety or tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. Tackling crime is the responsibility of the British Transport Police, who will continue to police the rail network following the transition of passenger services into public ownership. Safety regulation will remain the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of lighting on trains on the levels of violence against women and girls travelling on the network.

The National Travel Attitudes Survey on perceptions of safety when walking, cycling and using public transport, found that a ‘poorly lit vehicle or carriage’ was the joint seventh most popular reason for feeling unsafe when travelling on a public transport vehicle. The Rail Safety and Standards Board sets requirements around lighting for new rolling stock. We continue to work with the rail industry including the Rail Delivery Group and the British Transport Police to ensure the rail network remains a safe environment for the travelling public.

Whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill on safety on trains.

The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 makes no changes to existing roles and responsibilities regarding safety or tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. As such, there is no reason to expect any adverse impacts. The Government expects publicly owned train operators to focus relentlessly on the interests of passengers rather than shareholders, resulting in better outcomes for passengers across a range of areas, which will include personal security on trains.

What steps her Department is taking to measure links between differences in pay and the socioeconomic background of employees.

We are committed to delivering better life chances for all - breaking the link between background and success.At the Budget, the Chancellor announced increases to both the National Minimum Wage (16.3% for those aged 18-20) and the National Living Wage (6.7% for those 21 and over), as well as a £240 million Get Britain Working package to improve support for people who want to develop their careers (as well as for those who are economically inactive or unemployed).Through our Mission-driven Government, we will build the skills people need for opportunity and growth.The Government will continue to draw on the work of the Office for National Statistics and others, such as the independent Social Mobility Commission, to understand the links between pay and socio-economic background.

How many written representations on compensation for women affected by changes to the state pension age she has received from Labour (a) hon. Members representing Scottish constituencies and (b) Members of the Scottish Parliament since 5 July 2024.

The Department does not keep this information centrally and therefore it is not readily available. Providing the information that the Department does hold would incur disproportionate costs.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the sales Finasteride medications through telehealth companies on an increase in the level of cases of Post-Finasteride Syndrome in the past 12 months.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) role is to continually monitor the safety of medicines during their use. We have robust, safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products, including finasteride. As part of our monitoring and surveillance activities, we take into account any changes in the usage of a particular medicine.Finasteride containing medicines are prescription only medicines. This means they must be prescribed by a doctor or other authorised health professional, and must be dispensed from a pharmacy or from another specifically licensed premises.The MHRA has recently completed an extensive safety review into finasteride, with the subsequent updates to the product information having been implemented, and the development of a patient alert card is underway. We also published a Drug Safety Update to raise awareness amongst healthcare professionals of the adverse psychiatric and sexual side effects. We are aware that the European Medicines Agency has launched a review, and we are monitoring this closely. Further information on the Drug Safety Update is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/finasteride-reminder-of-the-risk-psychiatric-side-effects-and-of-sexual-side-effects-which-may-persist-after-discontinuation-of-treatmentPlease be reassured that the MHRA continuously monitors the safety of finasteride via information from various sources, including the published literature. Information from all sources is carefully screened and may identify unexpected side effects, indicate that certain side effects occur more commonly than previously believed, or that some patients are more susceptible to some effects than others. If a new side effect is identified, information is carefully considered in the context of the overall side effect profile for the medicine. When necessary, the MHRA may take action to ensure that a medicine is used in a way which minimises risk and maximises benefits to the patient.

If she will make an estimate of the number of women born in the 1950s affected by State Pension age changes in each constituency in (a) Scotland and (b) Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, as of the 2022 census there were the following numbers of 1950s-born women in each Scottish constituency: ConstituencyFemales aged 63 to 72 in 2022East Renfrewshire6,086Na h-Eileanan an Iar1,914Midlothian5,569North Ayrshire and Arran6,866Orkney and Shetland2,901Aberdeen North6,079Aberdeen South5,144Aberdeenshire North and Moray East6,279Airdrie and Shotts5,342Alloa and Grangemouth5,716Angus and Perthshire Glens7,146Arbroath and Broughty Ferry6,507Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber7,029Bathgate and Linlithgow5,286Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross6,977Coatbridge and Bellshill5,540Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy5,976Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch5,585Dumfries and Galloway7,212Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale6,432Dundee Central5,094Dunfermline and Dollar5,543East Kilbride and Strathaven5,921Edinburgh East and Musselburgh4,895Edinburgh North and Leith4,363Edinburgh South5,203Edinburgh South West4,699Edinburgh West5,847Falkirk5,732Glasgow East4,516Glasgow North3,995Glasgow North East4,823Glasgow South4,754Glasgow South West4,648Glasgow West4,880Glenrothes and Mid Fife5,958Gordon and Buchan5,696Hamilton and Clyde Valley5,982Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West6,209Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire6,686Livingston5,600Lothian East6,023Mid Dunbartonshire6,639Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey6,736Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke5,589North East Fife6,248Paisley and Renfrewshire North5,749Paisley and Renfrewshire South5,439Perth and Kinross-shire6,664Rutherglen6,004Stirling and Strathallan5,965West Dunbartonshire5,905Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock6,619Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk7,240Central Ayrshire6,245Kilmarnock and Loudoun6,100West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine6,004 The relevant Scottish census data is available here in table UV102a, broken down by United Kingdom Parliamentary Constituency 2024: SuperWEB2(tm) - Table View. In Northern Ireland, as of the 2021 census there were the following numbers of 1950s-born women in each Northern Irish constituency: ConstituencyFemales aged 62 to 71 in 2021Belfast East4,825Belfast North5,116Belfast South and Mid Down5,343Belfast West5,081East Antrim5,633East Londonderry5,771Fermanagh and South Tyrone5,701Foyle5,087Lagan Valley5,528Mid Ulster4,845Newry and Armagh5,439North Antrim5,656North Down6,181South Antrim5,286South Down5,441Strangford5,917Upper Bann5,796West Tyrone5,234 The relevant Northern Irish census data is available in this table: Get data for Single year of age and sex (MS-A09) | NISRA Flexible Table Builder

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to standardise the term alcohol-free at 0.5% ABV for no and low-alcohol alternatives.

A consultation published in 2023 considered options for updating labelling guidance for no and low alcohol alternative drinks.We will continue to consider how alcohol labelling can be improved to support consumers to make informed decisions about the products they are purchasing, whilst also promoting responsible consumption.

With reference to the consultation entitled Updating labelling guidance for no and low-alcohol alternatives, published on 28 September 2023, whether his Department plans to take steps to update labelling guidance for no and low-alcohol alternatives.

A consultation published in 2023 considered options for updating labelling guidance for no and low alcohol alternative drinks.We will continue to consider how alcohol labelling can be improved to support consumers to make informed decisions about the products they are purchasing, whilst also promoting responsible consumption.