Written questions by Jarvis.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the reduction in VisitBritain's budget.

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign has played and continues to play an important role in promoting the UK as a top global destination and supporting growth in the visitor economy. While decisions around the overall GREAT programme budget sit with the Cabinet Office, DCMS continues to work closely with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments to ensure that tourism remains a core focus of the campaign. Discussions are ongoing on how to maximise impact within available resources. We remain committed to working with VisitBritain and the wider sector to support the UK’s international tourism recovery, grow the visitor economy, and deliver on our ambition to attract 50 million inbound visitors by 2030.

What steps he is taking to ensure that integrated care boards provide gluten free bread prescriptions for patients with coeliac disease.

The Department has undertaken two national consultations in recent years on the prescribing of gluten-free foods in primary care. The rationale for this was the increased availability of these products in supermarkets and other food outlets at a time when the annual cost to the National Health Service of prescribing such items was £15.7 million. The first of these proposed changes to prescribing arrangements resulted in the Government’s decision to restrict such foods to bread and mixes.NHS England’s guidance, Prescribing Gluten-Free Foods in Primary Care, was developed to communicate to local commissioners, now integrated care boards (ICBs), the changes in legislation. Wording is included in the guidance which states that commissioners may further restrict the prescribing of gluten-free foods by selecting bread only, mixes only, or may choose to end the prescribing of gluten-free foods altogether, if they feel this is appropriate for their population, and whilst taking account of their legal duties to advance equality and have regard to reducing health inequalities. In NHS England’s guidance, there are no limits on the amount of bread or mixes that can be prescribed.Decisions about the commissioning and funding of local health services are the responsibility of local ICBs. NHS England’s guidance should be taken into account when ICBs formulate local policies, and prescribers are expected to reflect local policies in their prescribing practice. The guidance does not remove the clinical discretion of prescribers in accordance with their professional duties.

Whether his Department plans to review the (a) licensing and (b) prescribing guidelines for the anti-malarial drug Lariam.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses the available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, the MHRA’s independent advisory committee, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions, including amending the product information.Mefloquine, commercially known as Lariam, is effective in the prevention and treatment of malaria and is licensed for use by the MHRA in the United Kingdom. The current product information for mefloquine states that neuropsychiatric adverse reactions may occur during treatment and includes warnings and precautions to minimise these risks. It also states that such adverse reactions may persist for months, or longer, even after discontinuation of the drug. It has not been established, however, that such adverse reactions may be permanent.Patient safety is our top priority, and no medicine would be approved unless it met our expected standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness. Our role is to continually monitor the safety of medicines during their use, including Larium. We have robust, safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products.  When a safety issue is confirmed, we always act promptly to inform patients and healthcare professionals and take appropriate steps to mitigate any identified risk.As with any medicine, clinicians are responsible for making prescribing decisions for their patients, taking into account best prescribing practice and the local commissioning decisions of their respective integrated care board.Clinicians are also expected to take account of appropriate national guidance on clinical effectiveness and safety, and are accountable for their prescribing decisions, both professionally and to their service commissioners. The national guidance for mefloquine is available at the following link:https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/malaria-prophylaxis/prescribing-information/mefloquine/Prescribers are responsible for ensuring that any side effects experienced by their patients are addressed promptly, they should work with their patient to decide on the most suitable management plan, with the provision of the most clinically appropriate care for the individual always being the primary consideration.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to monitor the safety and well-being of family members of individuals who worked with the UK Government in Afghanistan prior to Taliban rule.

We are continuing to support eligible Afghans who worked with us to resettle in UK. His Majesty's Government has welcomed over 31,000 eligible individuals, including family members, to the UK and continue to support relocation of the remaining eligible Afghans through our schemes.

Whether he plans to increase the provision of pacemakers and implanted defibrillators.

The volume of implantable devices purchased by cardiac providers has increased by 22% in 2024/25, when compared with the same period in 2023/24. Commissioned providers determine the need for cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) implantation using a multi-disciplinary team approach, which considers the needs of the individual patient and clinical guidelines.In 2023/24, approximately 60,000 CIEDs, which includes implantable cardioverter defibrillators and pacemakers, were implanted by National Health Service providers, as per the National Audit of Cardiac Rhythm Management report 2025.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to Personal Independence Payments on blind and partially sighted people.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is assessed on needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability rather than the health condition or disability itself. Individuals can be impacted by their health conditions in different ways and the assessment considers the effect on a person’s day to day life.Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Whether the Trade Strategy will establish animal welfare standards that imports will be required to meet.

I refer the member for Eastleigh to the answer I provided to UIN 20696 on 20th December 2024.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the administrative review backlog.

Caseworking resource for administrative reviews has doubled since 2021/22, which was the first of consecutive years of significantly increased demand. 2023/24 saw a 50% increase in AR applications compared to the previous year, and intake through 2024/25 continued at those same increased levels.The Home Office continues to work hard to meet the timescales set out in public guidance for the processing of administrative review applications.

What the average waiting time was for an administrative review of a visa decision between July 2024 and March 2025.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost. Current timescales for processing administrative review applications are set out at Ask for a visa administrative review: If you're in the UK - GOV.UK, which states: “Currently, it can take 12 months or more to receive the result of the administrative review. If you do not get a decision on your application within 6 months, the Home Office will contact you with an update.” For EUSS administrative review applications the current timescales are set out at: EU Settlement Scheme: administrative review - GOV.UK, which states: “We will continue to consider valid applications for an administrative review made before 4 April 2024. We have experienced unprecedented levels of applications which are causing a delay to our service. It can take 30 months or more to receive a result. If we have not made a decision within 6 months, we’ll contact you to update you on the situation”.

With reference to the National Audit Office report entitled Supporting people to work through jobcentres, published on 31 March 2025, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of jobcentre work coaches in the next 12 months; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the number of work coaches on jobcentres’ ability to provide the intended level of support.

We are reforming both the welfare and employment support systems to make best use of our work coaches’ time, ensuring a system that is fit for purpose. We are targeting support where it is needed most to tackle ill-health and disability-related economic inactivity. This includes £1 billion per year of new funding across the United Kingdom by the end of the decade to establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work. We are also reforming our Jobcentres, bringing together Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service to meet the needs of local labour markets, people and employers whilst embracing technology to improve customer service and free up work coach time. Through reforming how we deliver our support, we can ensure people get the level of support they need and that we can get Britain Working. We will have further updates to this change programme in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to provide bespoke protections for (a) the River Itchen and (b) other chalk streams; whether he plans to use planning reforms to support the protection of chalk streams; whether he plans to designate chalk streams and their surrounding habitats as irreplaceable; and what funding his Department plans to provide (i) for sustainable drainage systems in chalk catchments and (ii) to support higher water efficiency standards.

The River Itchen is already designated as a Special Area of Conservation and many of our chalk streams benefit from some form of designation. Chalk streams can be considered when setting the outcomes for a future system of environmental assessment. This Government is committed to securing better environmental outcomes alongside securing the development we need and is considering how best to reform environmental assessment processes with this objective in mind. This includes whether to take forward the powers in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act to introduce Environmental Outcomes Reports Lastly, the National Planning Policy Framework recognises the role that well-designed SuDS schemes have in managing surface water while the National Framework for Water Resources sets out expectations for water efficiency including reducing leakage and long-term water usage.

What steps his Department is taking to support integrated care boards to offer ear wax removal services for patients when the ear wax is contributing to (a) hearing loss and (b) other symptoms.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local population. This includes the arrangement of services for ear wax removal.Manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection, so general practitioners (GPs) will often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up.However, in line with the NICE’s guidance, a person may require ear wax removal treatment if the build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss. A GP could then consider referring the patient into audiology services, which ICBs are responsible for commissioning.ICBs should therefore arrange for the provision of ear wax removal services when a patient has a clinical need for ear wax removal beyond home treatments.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to (a) compression treatment and (b) other follow-up care for women with arm lymphoedema after breast cancer treatment.

No assessment has been made on the adequacy of access to compression treatment or follow-up care for women with arm lymphoedema after breast cancer treatment.Local health service commissioners – through Integrated Care Boards - determine what lymphoedema services are needed locally, based on the needs of their local population.The NHS’ roll-out of personalised care ensures people with cancer have a holistic needs assessment, covering both their physical and psychosocial needs, and are referred to services where appropriate. Lymphoedema support is in the NHS’ Personalised Stratified Follow-Up (PSFU) handbook as a required part of PSFU pathways, however it does not cover the specifics of treatment.We know that more should be done to support people living with and beyond cancer. The National Cancer Plan, coming later this year, will set out how we will seek to improve the experience and outcomes for people at every stage of the cancer pathway. It will look at how we can improve communication and coordination for patients, so that they feel informed and in control of their care.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to increase online safety for children and young people.

The government is implementing the Online Safety Act as quickly and effectively as possible, so children can be protected from criminal behaviour and harmful content online.The illegal content duties are now in force, so platforms already need to act to protect their users.The child safety duties will be in force from the Summer, at which point companies will need to further protect children from harmful content such as pornography, suicide and self-harm material.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the 1.7% increase in benefits that are linked to inflation from April 2025 for disabled people receiving a state pension.

Attendance Allowance (which provides support for pensioners with care needs) has been consistently uprated in line with inflation since it was introduced and will be increased by 1.7% from April 2025. This means that the higher rate of Attendance Allowance will be £110.40 per week, and the lower rate £73.90 per week in 2025/26. Expenditure on Attendance Allowance was around £6.9 billion (real terms) in 2023/24 and is forecast to increase to £7.7 billion in 2024/25, before rising to £8.6 billion by 2029/30. Extra-costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance, which may also be paid to people over state pension age, will also be increased by 1.7% from 7 April 2025. In addition to this, over 12 million pensioners will see their basic or new State Pension increase by 4.1% in April 2025, worth up to £470 a year. Our commitment to protect the Triple Lock on the new and basic State Pensions means that, over the course of this Parliament (up to and including 2029/30), the OBR forecasts that Government spending on the State Pension will rise by over £31 billion. We are also increasing the standard minimum guarantee in Pension Credit by 4.1%. Pension Credit provides extra money to help with living costs for people over State Pension age and on a low income and includes additional amounts for those with a severe disability, caring responsibilities, responsibility for a child, or certain housing costs. Extra-costs disability benefits can also give rise to a disability addition in Pension Credit, meaning that disabled pensioners are more likely to be entitled to Pension Credit, and at a higher amount, than those without disabilities.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help women re-enter the workforce.

The Government is committed to tackling the challenges women face in the labour market, whether they want to find a job, return to work, or progress in-work. We are driving this forward through the support measures in the Employment Rights Bill, Make Work Pay and the Get Britain Working White Paper. We are making flexible learning a Day One right, opening up access to childcare with £8 billion investment to roll out further free hours, and tackling the gender pay gap to ensure women are paid fairly.

How many dental patients in Eastleigh constituency will benefit from the 700,000 extra urgent appointments.

We will deliver 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments per year, with integrated care boards (ICBs) asked to start making extra appointments available from April 2025. The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to ICBs across England. Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB, which includes Eastleigh constituency, is expected to deliver 30,032 additional urgent dental appointments. The urgent appointments will be available to NHS patients experiencing painful oral health issues, such as infections, abscesses, or cracked or broken teeth. Patients can contact their usual dental practice or call NHS 111 if they do not have a regular dentist or need help out-of-hours.

Whether she plans to remove barriers for families of non-UK Armed Forces personnel to stay in the UK.

HM Armed Forces personnel are exempt from immigration control in service. Those who do not naturalise as British during service, can apply for settlement under Appendix HM Armed Forces of the Immigration Rules on discharge when their exemption from immigration control ends, up to 18 weeks before their discharge, or for two years after.HM Armed Forces personnel can be accompanied by their family members, and there are special Immigration Rules in place to ensure that those who serve, have served, or their family members are not disadvantaged due to that service. This takes into account the unique nature of their service, the Armed Forces Covenant, and the recruitment and retention of HM Armed Forces personnel in order to maintain national security.A manifesto commitment was made to “strengthen support for our Armed Forces communities by putting Armed Forces Covenant fully into law”, and to “scrap visa fees for non-UK veterans who have served for four or more years, and their dependants.”.We continue to keep this policy under review in the context of our wider considerations of various aspects of the immigration system.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to allow heritage-appropriate alternative materials to be used for listed properties in instances where traditional materials are (a) unavailable and (b) prohibitively expensive.

It is for local planning authorities to determine applications for proposed works to listed buildings, including what materials should be used. Each case will be different and needs to be considered on its own merits. As such, the government does not intend to make changes to national policy in this area.

Which (a) legal authority and (b) procedural rules permit judges to withhold notes from employment tribunal hearings.

The provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 2018 do not apply to information gathered and personal data processed in proceedings before the courts and tribunals. Together these exemptions protect judicial independence and judicial proceedings, allowing the courts and tribunals to maintain judicial control over access to information in proceedings, ensuring that access to information is provided through existing access and discovery regimes.With respect to the Employment Tribunal, access to audio recordings and transcription of recordings is governed by the Practice Direction: Recording of Employment Tribunal hearings and the transcription of recordings. This includes details of how and the circumstances in which a party may be able to access audio-recordings, request a transcript of proceedings, or obtain a Judge’s notes of a hearing.The Practice Direction: Recording of Employment Tribunal hearings and the transcription of recordings, can be found at: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PD-recording-and-transcription-final.pdf.