Written questions by Jarvis.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current concessionary travel scheme in areas experiencing reductions in local bus services; and what steps she is taking to ensure that pensioners can access essential services where public transport provision is limited, including through travel tokens.

The Government is committed to delivering better bus services and ensuring that everyone in England, including concessionary pass holders, can access the services they need. Our Bus Services Act 2025 puts passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of local bus services by putting the power back in the hands of local leaders right across England. The Government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services in the Spending Review, confirming over £3 billion from 2026/27 to 2028/29 to support local leaders and bus operators to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead to improve services for local communities. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, this could include expanding current bus provision. The statutory English National Concessionary Travel Scheme provides eligible older and disabled people with free off‑peak local bus travel, and this entitlement is enshrined in law. In addition, local authorities have the power to provide alternative concessionary schemes. Where they choose to do so, an individual eligible for the statutory concession may surrender their free bus pass in return for concessions under an alternative local scheme, such as travel tokens. Decisions on whether to offer such schemes are a matter for individual local authorities, reflecting their local circumstances and priorities.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the Entry-Exit System on British tourists travelling to countries in the European Union, including on (a) families travelling with young children, (b) the travel and tourism industry, and (c) overall levels of outbound travel during peak holiday periods; and what steps she is taking to ensure that it works effectively for British holidaymakers and the travel industry.

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an EU system, and its implementation is a matter for the EU and its member states.The UK Government is engaging the European Commission and member states to encourage a pragmatic approach to EES that minimises disruption now that it is fully operational. We are also working with transport and travel operators to understand the potential impact of EES and supporting them with a communications package to help prepare passengers in advance of their journey.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to issue guidance to local authorities on maintaining non-digital access routes for services such as Home Waste Recycling Centres, for residents who are digitally excluded; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of how local authorities balance digital service delivery with the need to maintain non-digital access routes for digitally excluded residents.

Local councils have a legal obligation to ensure their services are accessible. This includes offering non-digital options for all vital services, such as applications for Council Tax reductions, Housing Benefit, and Blue Badges. This is set out in the Equality Act 2010. I also refer the hon Member to the Digital Inclusion Action Plan: First Steps.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the level of NHS provision of continence containment products for people with severe disabilities; and whether he plans to issue guidance to integrated care boards and NHS trusts to ensure that provision levels reflect individual clinical assessments, particularly in cases where current prescribing limits are considered insufficient to meet need.

The Department has not made a specific assessment as integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning continence services in their areas. These services include assessment, treatment, and, where clinically appropriate, the supply of continence products. Decisions on the type and quantity of products are made by clinicians following individual assessment, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on incontinence and professional standards.NHS Supply Chain supports trusts with the procurement of continence products through value-based procurement initiatives to ensure products are safe, effective, and cost-efficient. Further information on continence commissioning is available at:https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/continence/

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of defendants changing a plea from not guilty to guilty at a late stage in proceedings on victims of offences of controlling or coercive behaviour under the Serious Crime Act 2015; whether he has assessed the extent to which current sentencing arrangements might incentivise late changes of plea; and whether he plans to review sentencing guidance on reductions for late guilty pleas in such cases.

We recognise that guilty pleas made earlier in the process can save victims and witnesses from the concern of having to give evidence, particularly in cases involving controlling or coercive behaviour or domestic abuse. Even if an offender pleads later in the process, this can still save victims from giving potentially traumatic evidence, but the later plea is reflected by a lower reduction in the sentence, as set out in guidelines produced by the Sentencing Council.In Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of Criminal Courts, he made a number of recommendations relating to early guilty pleas, including a recommendation to increase the maximum reduction in sentence for a guilty plea from 33% to 40% with the aim of increasing the number of defendants pleading earlier in the process. We will set out our full response to Sir Brian’s remaining recommendations, alongside Part 2 of his review, in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to Official Development Assistance funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative on (a) global efforts to eradicate polio, (b) child health outcomes in endemic and at-risk countries and (c) the risk of resurgence of poliovirus.

I refer the Hon. Member to the response given to question 126356 on 20 April.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the supply of Ketotifen; and what steps he is taking to support primary care practitioners in the diagnosis and management of multi-system conditions requiring such treatments.

The supplier of ketotifen (Zaditen) one milligram tablets has confirmed there is currently no shortage of this product, and it is in stock and available to order.General practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.

Whether Mast Cell Activation Syndrome is recognised within NHS England; whether national diagnostic guidelines for MCAS are being developed, including in relation to its association with neurological, psychiatric and autonomic conditions such as dysautonomia and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken for diagnosis of patients presenting with multisystem inflammatory, allergic and autonomic symptoms.

NHS England recognises mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and that patients may experience a spectrum of clinical presentations and symptoms making diagnosis challenging.NHS England is considering publishing guidance to help integrated care commission services locally that meet the needs for people with MCAS.The Department has published the 10-Year Health Plan which will shift care out of hospitals and into virtual and neighbourhood services in the community. Planned care will be more efficient and patients will wait less time for their care.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of social media content moderation practices, including shadow banning, on the visibility of women’s health information online; and what steps she is taking alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that such practices do not restrict access to legitimate health information while maintaining protections against harmful content.

The Online Safety Act does not prevent adults or children from accessing legal content about women’s health. Safeguards for freedom of expression have been built in throughout the framework of the Act, which places duties on platforms to protect users’ rights to freedom of expression when introducing safety measures.The largest services regulated by the Act will have additional duties meaning they cannot arbitrarily remove content, and they will need to be clear what legal content is acceptable on their services and enforce the rules consistently for their adult users. Users will have access to effective complaints procedures to appeal when content is unduly taken down.

What assessment his Department has made of local variations in petrol and diesel prices between fuel retailers; and what steps he is taking to improve consistency and transparency.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recent annual report found that competition has not strengthened since 2023, which was consistent with significant price variations within and between local areas. Fuel Finder is now live, with all petrol filling stations in the UK required to publish their latest prices. Increasing price transparency will increase pressure on fuel retailers to compete strongly to attract consumers by lowering their prices, including at a local level. The CMA will continue to monitor the road fuel market using statutory information gathering powers and will use Fuel Finder data to further assess regional pricing.

What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of jet fuel availability and pricing; what discussions she has had with airlines and industry stakeholders on fuel costs; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those factors on passenger airfares.

The Government is monitoring the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on fuel supplies, including jet fuel. In coordination with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero we have worked with fuel suppliers, airlines and airports to understand levels of jet fuel and pricing. There is no immediate cause for concern relating to fuel stocks, and speculation will not help airlines or passengers. Many airlines lock in fuel prices in advance, to help protect tickets from spikes in price. We encourage all airlines to do what they can to ensure tickets remain fairly and appropriately priced for passengers.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she has taken with Cabinet colleagues to (a) reduce the sale of counterfeit fashion goods and (b) improve coordination between enforcement agencies to tackle such activity.

(a) The Government is reducing the sale of counterfeit fashion goods by supporting Police, Trading Standards and Border Force to take targeted enforcement action, disrupt online sales, seize counterfeit goods and use Proceeds of Crime Act powers to recover criminal profits, ensuring counterfeiting does not pay.(b) Coordination is being strengthened through the IPO’s Counter-Infringement Strategy, the IPO-funded Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) and the national network of IP Crime Coordinators. This is supported by further partnership working with Trading Standards and Border Force, alongside improved intelligence-sharing, training and multi-agency operations to tackle organised counterfeit supply chains.

What assessment her Department has made of the availability and accessibility of supported apprenticeships and supported internships for young people with Education, Health and Care Plans; whether a centrally held list of such apprenticeships and internships exists at a national or regional level; which Department or body is responsible for maintaining and communicating that information; and what steps are being taken to (a) improve transparency, (b) ensure such information is made publicly available and (c) ensure timely and coordinated responses between relevant Departments in supporting young people into suitable placements.

Since 2022, the department has invested around £33 million in supported internships to provide more opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to transition into sustained, paid employment.As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, local authorities must keep their educational and training provision under review, including the sufficiency of provision, and each local authority’s local offer must include information on supported internships.The availability of apprenticeships is determined by employers choosing to offer apprenticeship opportunities. The ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ service allows people to identify opportunities from Disability Confident employers.The government is working to ensure that a learning difficulty or disability is not a barrier to people who want to realise the benefits of an apprenticeship. Additional Learning Support funding is available to training providers to make reasonable adjustments to support apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities. The government also pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16 to 18 and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan, or have been, or are, in local authority care.

What timetable her Department has set for completing consideration of the proposals of the Independent Review of Fraud; how she will monitor the effectiveness of the Fraud Strategy 2026–2029 in reducing online fraud and scams; and what powers will be conferred on the proposed Online Crime Centre to tackle online fraud.

The Government has received the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offence’s second report, Fraud in the Digital Age, and will publish it this in due course, alongside a statement of proposals progressed.Effectiveness of the Fraud Strategy 2026-2028 will be tracked through a governance and metrics framework, refined with delivery partners through better data, a theory of change, and targeted evaluations. We will also work with industry to set metrics on the prevalence of fraud on online platforms and on platforms’ performance in removing or blocking such activity.Backed by over £30m, the Online Crime Centre will bring together government, law enforcement, the intelligence community and industry to tackle online fraud to disrupt at scale, it will draw on existing enforcement powers.

What assessment his Department has made of the structure and variability of commission fees charged by ride-hailing platforms to drivers in the UK; and what steps he is taking to ensure transparency and fairness in the relationship between platforms and drivers.

The Department recognises the importance of ride-hailing platforms to the UK transport industry and continues to monitor published research and correspondence on employment practices in the sector.Commission arrangements are a contractual arrangement between the driver and employer. Where a driver is classified as a worker or employee, the employer must comply with employment law, ensuring that drivers receive at least the National Minimum Wage and paid holiday.The Government encourages platforms to operate fairly and is taking steps through its Plan to Make Work Pay, including a consultation on employment status and the establishment of the Fair Work Agency.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of declining pupil numbers on school budgets in Eastleigh constituency; and what steps her Department is taking to support schools experiencing financial deficits linked to declining pupil numbers.

School funding is increasing nationally by £1.7 billion in 2026/27, meaning that the core school budget will total £67 billion compared to £65.3 billion in 2025/26.Southampton and Hampshire local authorities allocate school funding for the constituency of Eastleigh. Through the dedicated schools grant, Southampton is receiving £6,893 per pupil on average and Hampshire is receiving £6,354 per pupil on average in financial year 2026/27 (including premises and excluding growth). Total funding for mainstream schools is growing by £17 million in Hampshire in 2026/27, compared to 2025/26 (a 1.6% increase) and by £3.3 million in Southampton (a 1.5% increase).We recognise the pressures caused by demographic changes in some areas. The lagged funding system, where schools are funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census, helps to give schools more certainty over funding levels to aid their planning, and is particularly important in providing schools with falling pupil numbers, time to plan ahead with their budgets.

What discussions his Department has had with Integrated Care Boards in South East England on the suspension of funding for septoplasty, turbinate surgery and functional septorhinoplasty.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning National Health Services for their local populations and for deciding which treatments are routinely offered, based on clinical evidence, local need, and available resources. Decisions about individual services are taken locally, and the Department does not routinely intervene in these commissioning decisions.

Innovation and Technology, if she will review the findings of the Spanish Data Protection Agency regarding the handling of biometric and personal data by Yoti; what safeguards are in place to help ensure that the use of Yoti complies with UK data protection law and protects users’ privacy and online safety; and what assessment she has made of the potential implications of these issues for the development and public trust in any future Government-led digital identity scheme.

Yoti provides a range of digital identity and facial age estimation services, and its Digital ID app service is certified against the UK digital verification services trust framework. Services certified against the framework are entitled to be on a statutory register, providing the public and businesses with confidence that a service is safe, accurate and trustworthy. Continued presence of Yoti’s service on that register should assure users of its compliance with the trust framework’s robust rules. The department is aware of the findings of the Spanish Data Protection Agency regarding this app and has reported them to the independent conformity assessment body that certified Yoti’s service against the trust framework. If that body finds that the service isn’t following the framework, they will report the non-conformity to Yoti, which Yoti must either fix or lose their certification and registration.If the department isn’t satisfied with the conformity assessment body’s assessment and determines that the trust framework isn’t being followed, we can remove services from the register independent of the certification process. The Government’s digital ID scheme is currently under consultation, and any findings regarding Yoti’s service have no implications for its development.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of legal oversight and procedural safeguards in the enforcement processes used by the Child Maintenance Service; and if he will review (a) the process by which liability orders and summonses are issued, (b) the accuracy and treatment of historic arrears inherited from the Child Support Agency, and (c) the availability of data on outcomes for paying parents, including mortality rates.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) exists to ensure that children receive the financial support they are entitled to. When parents fail to financially support their children CMS have a range of enforcement powers that are provided for in the 1991 Child Support Act and the Collection and Enforcement regulations 1992. These include applying to the magistrates’ court for a Liability Order which gives formal recognition of debt a paying parent legally owes. Decisions surrounding which enforcement method to proceed with are carefully considered by caseworkers based on the case circumstances and the welfare of any qualifying children involved. Parents have a right to challenge the decisions taken by the CMS through established dispute and appeal routes. In 2018 an exercise to close all CSA cases with live liabilities was completed. As part of that, both parents were given the opportunity to challenge case information, including arrears balances, or decide whether the arrears should move to the CMS to be pursued. The annual Separated Families statistics, in particular section 6, report the estimated financial impact of child maintenance on non-resident parent households, including both Child Maintenance Service (statutory) arrangements and private (non-statutory) arrangements. The quarterly Child Maintenance Service statistics, particularly sections 6 to 9, contain information on the compliance and enforcement of arrangements made via the service. The Department has no plans to publish mortality data or other additional data relating to Paying Parents.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of parking fines on care workers providing in-home services; and if he will issue further (a) guidance and (b) introduce measures to support care workers who are required to park in close proximity to patients’ homes while carrying out their duties.

The Department has not made a formal assessment of the impact of parking fines on care workers providing in‑home services.Parking policy is devolved to local authorities, which already have the discretion to offer exemptions or dedicated permit schemes for health and social care workers where appropriate. At present, local authorities remain best placed to determine appropriate support and parking arrangements, taking account of local conditions and existing pressures.We are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care. The Fair Pay Agreement will bring together employers, worker representatives, and other to negotiate play and terms and conditions for the sector. This is intended to improve pay, support recruitment, and retention.