Written questions by Kyrke-Smith.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support peacebuilding efforts by Israeli and Palestinian civil society.

This government has been clear; we are committed to pursuing a lasting solution to the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, including through achieving a two-state solution. We continue to support efforts to this end through our aid programmes, which assist civil society in Israel and Palestine on a range of issues, including peacebuilding and conflict resolution. We further support grassroots local peacebuilding efforts between Israeli and Palestinian civil society, for example on more inclusive and conflict-sensitive journalism.

What steps she is taking to ensure that Hinduism is taught in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Aylesbury constituency.

Religious education (RE) is an important subject that should provide pupils with an opportunity to learn about a wide range of religious and non-religious beliefs. RE should help pupils to better understand the values and traditions of different religious communities, which is why it remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18. To support high-quality teaching, the department offers a £10,000 bursary for those undertaking RE postgraduate initial teacher training in the 2024/25 academic year.The government does not specify of what a local RE curriculum should consist. These considerations, in relation to mainstream state funded schools, are a matter for individual schools or for Agreed Syllabus Conferences (ASCs), which review and recommend a locally agreed syllabus to their local authority for approval.Academies and most maintained schools with a religious designation are permitted to develop their own RE syllabus. In the case of schools with a religious designation these may be in accordance with their trust deeds or tenets of their faith. For other schools, and in locally agreed syllabuses, schools must reflect: “the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain”.Legislation requires each locally agreed syllabus for religious education to be reviewed at least once every five years by an ASC established by the local authority. Membership of the ASC must be drawn from Christian denominations and such other religions and religious denominations as, in the opinion of the local authority, will appropriately reflect the principal religious traditions in the area. Membership must also be drawn from the Church of England, teacher associations and the local authority. This ensures that all relevant faith groups can be consulted.

What steps her Department is taking to protect Hindu places of worship.

We are committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate anti-Hindu hatred in any form. Government and police routinely assess potential threats to ensure that protective measures are in place to protect Hindu communities and their places of worship against terrorism and hate crime.Additionally, Hindu communities can apply to the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme. The scheme provides physical protective security measures (such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing) to places of worship and associated faith community centres of all other faiths in England and Wales that are particularly vulnerable to religiously or racially motivated hate crime.

What steps she is taking to ensure faith groups are regularly consulted on locally agreed syllabuses for religious education.

Religious education (RE) is an important subject that should provide pupils with an opportunity to learn about a wide range of religious and non-religious beliefs. RE should help pupils to better understand the values and traditions of different religious communities, which is why it remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18. To support high-quality teaching, the department offers a £10,000 bursary for those undertaking RE postgraduate initial teacher training in the 2024/25 academic year.The government does not specify of what a local RE curriculum should consist. These considerations, in relation to mainstream state funded schools, are a matter for individual schools or for Agreed Syllabus Conferences (ASCs), which review and recommend a locally agreed syllabus to their local authority for approval.Academies and most maintained schools with a religious designation are permitted to develop their own RE syllabus. In the case of schools with a religious designation these may be in accordance with their trust deeds or tenets of their faith. For other schools, and in locally agreed syllabuses, schools must reflect: “the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain”.Legislation requires each locally agreed syllabus for religious education to be reviewed at least once every five years by an ASC established by the local authority. Membership of the ASC must be drawn from Christian denominations and such other religions and religious denominations as, in the opinion of the local authority, will appropriately reflect the principal religious traditions in the area. Membership must also be drawn from the Church of England, teacher associations and the local authority. This ensures that all relevant faith groups can be consulted.

What steps she is taking to ensure that (a) teachers are given training in and (b) schools have high-quality resources to support teaching on Hinduism in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Aylesbury constituency.

Religious education (RE) is an important subject that should provide pupils with an opportunity to learn about a wide range of religious and non-religious beliefs. RE should help pupils to better understand the values and traditions of different religious communities, which is why it remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18. To support high-quality teaching, the department offers a £10,000 bursary for those undertaking RE postgraduate initial teacher training in the 2024/25 academic year.The government does not specify of what a local RE curriculum should consist. These considerations, in relation to mainstream state funded schools, are a matter for individual schools or for Agreed Syllabus Conferences (ASCs), which review and recommend a locally agreed syllabus to their local authority for approval.Academies and most maintained schools with a religious designation are permitted to develop their own RE syllabus. In the case of schools with a religious designation these may be in accordance with their trust deeds or tenets of their faith. For other schools, and in locally agreed syllabuses, schools must reflect: “the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain”.Legislation requires each locally agreed syllabus for religious education to be reviewed at least once every five years by an ASC established by the local authority. Membership of the ASC must be drawn from Christian denominations and such other religions and religious denominations as, in the opinion of the local authority, will appropriately reflect the principal religious traditions in the area. Membership must also be drawn from the Church of England, teacher associations and the local authority. This ensures that all relevant faith groups can be consulted.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Canadian counterpart on reports of anti-Hindu hatred in that country.

The Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Joly engage regularly on a wide range of topics. They last spoke on 15 October. The UK will continue to work with its partners to tackle all forms of extremism to ensure the safety of our communities. We are clear that incitement of violence or hatred against individuals based on their religion or belief is unacceptable.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to tackle anti-Hindu hatred in Aylesbury constituency.

No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this. This Government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate anti-Hindu hatred in any form.From 2016/17 to 2022/23, under the Protective Security for Places of Worship Scheme, the Home Office has approved security measures at 523 places of worship across England and Wales, including Hindu temples. In 2024/25, £3.5 million will be available for the places of worship and associated faith community through the scheme.More broadly, we continue to look at tackling all forms of religious hatred and the government is actively exploring a more integrated and cohesive approach to this.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle violence against women and girls in the asylum system.

The health and safety of asylum seekers is of paramount importance to the Home Office. We are committed to delivering an asylum process that is gender sensitive – building on the wider Government strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. All decision-makers receive mandatory training on considering asylum claims and must follow published Home Office policy guidance, including specific guidance on gender issues, which covers specific forms of gender-based persecution. The Home Office works closely with partners on a range of initiatives, including those which are reflected in our gender asylum policy guidance, for example providing information about safeguarding and signposting to support services and provision of gender specific interviewers and interpreters. You can find this guidance here: Gender issues in asylum claims: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Our providers maintain high standards and follow established standard procedures to manage the safety, security and wellbeing of those we accommodate. The Home Office has published the Asylum Support Contracts Safeguarding Framework at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-support-contracts-safeguarding-framework(opens in a new tab).This framework sets out a joint, overarching approach, as well as the key controls and reporting mechanisms in place, across the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts, for safeguarding arrangements.A 24/7 helpline provided by Migrant Help is available to raise any concerns.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to process Community Ownership Fund round 4 applications.

This Government was elected on a manifesto that stressed its commitment to the communities' sector and community ownership through empowering communities to own and run those local assets which mean the most to them.Communities will rightly be seeking clarity. The Chancellor’s July ‘Public Spending: Inheritance’ speech set out the path to confirming plans for this year and next at the forthcoming Budget on 30 October 2024. Future plans for the next Spending Review period will conclude in Spring 2025.We understand that this may have caused uncertainty about Round 4 of the Community Ownership Fund. The Government recognises this is challenging and will seek to provide clarity in due course.

What recent assessment he has made of the quality of care available for Type 1 diabetics with diabulimia; and if he will take steps to improve such provision.

Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE), also referred to as diabulimia, is a relatively newly acknowledged condition. NHS England has provided funding for T1DE services across the National Health Services’ regions over the last five years, to help develop service specifications. The first nationally funded T1DE pilot services commenced in 2019 in London and the South Coast of England, latterly including Bournemouth and Portsmouth. A nationally commissioned evaluation was put in place to evidence the impact T1DE services had on patient outcomes and staff experience, and to provide analysis of the NHS costs and savings accrued in running the services.On the basis of the positive findings from the evaluation of these initial services, and to further build the evidence base, NHS England has provided funding for a further five pilot services in Cheshire and Mersey, Norfolk and Norwich, Coventry and Warwickshire, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, and Humber and North Yorkshire for two years, with each pilot running until 31 March 2025.The new services are delivering a national service specification, and the national team has partnered with the National Institute for Health and Care Research to evaluate delivery, with the intention that, subject to positive findings, integrated care systems can consider the evaluation outputs to determine future locally sustained approaches beyond the initial pump prime national support. NHS England has considered early learning from delivery of these services in the development of a proposal for a wider programme of support for patients nationally. However, our ability to take this forward will be subject to the outcome of the national spending review and confirmation of the NHS England diabetes programme budget.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure the clarity of guidance on what justifies a landlord refusing a pet request.

The Renters' Rights Bill requires landlords not to unreasonably withhold consent when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home, with the tenant able to challenge a decision. The government will issue detailed guidance in due course to help landlords and tenants understand the new rules.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bangladeshi counterpart on the right to freedom of religion in that country.

The UK is committed to Freedom of Religion or Belief for all, as guaranteed under international human rights law and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. In July, the Foreign Secretary and I expressed concern about the situation in Bangladesh and called for all sides to work together to end the violence. We support the independent fact-finding mission by the United Nations to identify human rights violations in Bangladesh.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that guide dog owners are not refused access to (a) businesses and (b) other services.

The Equality Act 2010 places a general duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people, including people with assistance dogs, access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. It has published guidance - ‘Assistance Dogs: a guide for businesses and service providers’ - to help businesses understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners.Duties and protections under the Equality Act are ultimately enforceable through the courts, and anybody who thinks that they have been discriminated against - including where access to an assistance dog has been refused - can take legal action to seek to resolve the issue. The EHRC will support people who have experienced discrimination through that process.Over the years, Ministers have held discussions with Guide Dogs UK about their ‘Open Doors’ campaign which aims to achieve the fullest possible access for owners of guide dogs and assistance dogs. I fully support that campaign and the principle that Guide Dogs and assistance dogs should always be allowed access, except in the most exceptional circumstances.

What steps she is taking to ensure HS2 Ltd delivers value for money.

We are carefully reviewing the position the government has inherited on rail infrastructure, including how to best support economic growth as well as addressing delivery and capacity challenges. We are looking at ways to improve HS2 Ltd's delivery and HMG oversight, whilst working with the incoming HS2 Ltd CEO to ensure HS2 is delivered to schedule and at the lowest reasonable cost, and we will set out detailed plans in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to prevent discrimination against prospective tenants with pets.

The Renters' Rights Bill requires landlords not to unreasonably withhold consent when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home, with the tenant able to challenge a decision. The government will issue detailed guidance in due course to help landlords and tenants understand the new rules.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to end the use of cages in farming.

We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages for farmed animals is an issue we will want to fully consider in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to improve dementia care in Aylesbury constituency.

Buckinghamshire Council have stood up a new Dementia Strategic Oversight Board to deliver on local priorities that span across the Well Pathway for Dementia. These priorities include raising awareness of dementia, building up the support available in the community and encouraging timely diagnoses.Buckinghamshire was selected as one of NHS England’s Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate pilot sites. This pilot was delivered over a 12-month period starting in May 2023. The aim was to reduce the waiting list for assessment and restore the dementia diagnosis rate to pre-Covid levels. Over the course of this project, the Dementia Diagnosis Rate (DDR) has increased by 3.1% (from 56.2% in May 2023 to 59.5% in July 2024).Buckinghamshire Council are re-commissioning the Dementia Support Service with the new provision due to start on 1st April 2025. This service offers advice, information, care and support for both those with memory concerns and a dementia diagnosis. It is being expanded to enable more residents to access the service and will provide an outreach service to engage clients that don’t usually access dementia support.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of disability-accessible housing in Aylesbury constituency; and what steps she is taking to increase the proportion of such housing in that constituency.

The data requested is not held centrally although the English Housing Survey does collect data on accessibility and adaptations within the home. Housing is one of this Government’s top priorities, everyone deserves to live in a decent home, in which they feel safe. We will set out our policies on accessible new build housing shortly.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of commissioning a review of horse rider safety standards; and whether he plans to legislate to strengthen those standards for solo riders.

Anyone in the business of hiring out horses is required to have a licence under the Licensing of Activities Involving Animals (LAIA) Regulations 2018. It is a condition, under schedule 5 of the 2018 regulations, that all equipment provided to riders is in good and safe condition. Such activities are licenced by local authorities. The statutory guidance for hiring out horses provides more details on safety standards, for example the requirement for assessments to be carried out for new riders.

Whether the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund will be extended beyond March 2025.

This Government is committed to ensuring that all victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse have the information and support they need. On 1 October 2024, I wrote to recipients of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund to confirm that HM Treasury have announced departmental budgets for financial year 2025/26 will be set out through a Budget on 30 October 2024. I understand the need to prioritise confirmation of their budgets as early as possible.