Written questions by Roberts.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of routes available to people in Gaza to join families in the UK.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 13 March to Question 35970.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent inquiry into the death of Robbie Powell in 1990.

The Government offers its deepest sympathy to the parents of Robbie Powell for the tragic loss of their son in 1990.Robbie Powell’s death has been the subject of a number of investigative and judicial processes over the last 30 years. The intense scrutiny of Robbie’s case, provided through these reviews, suggests that it is unlikely that a further inquiry would reveal anything which has not been uncovered already, or would identify further significant lessons to be learned.Even though the events occurred prior to the devolution of the National Health Service, this should not prevent the National Assembly for Wales from considering this case.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of visa uncertainty on employment opportunities for Ukrainians in the UK.

We keep the Ukraine schemes under continuous review in line with the ongoing conflict and the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. This is why the Ukraine Schemes are temporary and do not lead to settlement in the UK. It is important our approach respects these wishes.The Ukraine Permission Extension scheme provides the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the current Ukraine schemes.The Home Office continues to engage with our stakeholders and partners to ensure employers are fully informed and can continue to support Ukrainians. We have also updated the online guidance for employers with details of the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, which is available on GOV.UK.

What plans her Department has for future visas for Ukrainian refugees once the 18-month Ukraine Permission Extension scheme expires.

We keep the Ukraine schemes under continuous review in line with the ongoing conflict and the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. This is why the Ukraine Schemes are temporary and do not lead to settlement in the UK. It is important our approach respects these wishes.The Ukraine Permission Extension scheme provides the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the current Ukraine schemes.The Home Office continues to engage with our stakeholders and partners to ensure employers are fully informed and can continue to support Ukrainians. We have also updated the online guidance for employers with details of the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, which is available on GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of continuing thank you payments following the end of the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme.

The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme allows existing Ukraine scheme visa holders to apply for further permission to remain in the UK for an additional 18-months. To support Ukrainians who are still in Homes for Ukraine sponsorship arrangements as they transition to living independently, the government has also extended thank you payments for 18-months under the UPE scheme only.The UPE visa period provides guests and sponsors with time to plan to live independently and, if needed, to secure independently funded accommodation.

How many probation service staff providing pre-sentencing report delivery were in employment for courts in (a) England and (b) Wales in each of the last 10 years.

The number of Probation Officers and Probation Services Officers (FTE) working in the Courts internal function as of December of each year since 2017: EnglandWalesTotal2017988.048.81,036.82018970.456.41026.92019885.754.3940.02020863.653.7917.32021894.752.4947.12022894.456.5950.92023956.164.01,020.120241,060.779.71,140.4The above table details, from internal management information, the FTE Probation Officers and Probation Services Officers who were recorded as working in the Courts internal function in December of each year. Data prior to 2017 is not easily obtainable or reliable as it would come from a different data source. It would not be reliable to provide a trend between the two data sources. Staff in this internal function would have spent some (but not necessarily all) of their time delivering Pre-Sentence Reports. Staff are also required to carry out other forms of work in court e.g. triaging court lists and producing other types of reports. There are some other staff who may carry out Pre-Sentence Reports in addition to those in the table (sessional staff and some staff from the Offender Management internal function). These staff would carry out Pre-Sentence Reports on an ad-hoc basis and their contribution would not be quantifiable. Any change year-on-year does not necessarily mean a change in funding for these staff and could reflect of how many staff were in post and available to carry out this work. Administrative or managerial staff are not included in these figures, although these staff play an important role in supporting PO and PSO colleagues with the delivery of Pre-Sentence Reports.

How many (a) standard delivery, (b) fast delivery, and (c) oral pre-sentence reports were produced in (i) Wales and (ii) England in 2024.

The Probation Service is responsible for producing pre-sentence reports (PSRs) where they have been requested by the Court. The PSR assesses the offender’s behaviour, the risk they pose, and recommend sentencing options tailored to the individual. The report can suggest community sentences and specific requirements like treatment programmes. Ultimately, the PSR provides recommendations to the Court, but the final decision rests with the judge.The following table shows the number of PSRs prepared by the Probation Service and presented to the criminal courts in England and Wales between January 2024 and December 2024.Magistrates' and Crown CourtsEnglandWalesTotalTotal pre-sentence court reports (PSR)91,8577,14999,006Standard PSR4,8387485,586Fast Delivery PSR written71,1574,37675,533Fast Delivery PSR oral15,8622,02517,887Note, PSR figures by region are published every April as part of the Offender Management Statistics quarterly bulletin. Please also note that the data pipeline used to compile the figures has been updated. This change was introduced for the 2024 figures. More details can be found in the 'Probation data process transition' section of Chapter 6 of the publication, available here: Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2024 - GOV.UK.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing an independent regulator for holiday parks.

Holiday parks are already subject to licensing and oversight by local authorities and we have no plans to establish a dedicated independent regulator although we continue to monitor the effectiveness of the existing regulatory framework.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the contribution of the UN Charter to the UK and (b) its future role in the UK; and what steps he is taking with international partners to help prevent the imposition of political settlements that potentially affect sovereignty without consulting the people affected.

The UK remains deeply committed to the United Nations and its founding principles, purposes and core values, as outlined in the UN Charter. The UN continues to play a critical role in preventing and ending conflicts, delivering lifesaving humanitarian assistance, protecting people from pandemics and disease, and supporting countries build stronger economies. Against the backdrop of an increasingly difficult global economic and geopolitical situation, multilateral cooperation is more important now than ever.The principles of the sovereign equality of States, and the need for parties to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State are clearly enshrined within the UN Charter. The UK works with international partners to call out any violations of these principles, including in the case of Ukraine, where we support a just and lasting peace in line with the UN Charter.

Media and Sport, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond March 2026.

The Department has no plans to reconsider the £25,000 cap in 2025/26. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by the change.Future Government spending is a matter for the 2026 Spending Review.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the names of deceased fathers can be included on birth certificates in instances where the parents were unmarried prior to his death.

Under Section 55A of the Family Law Act 1986, in situations where a child is born to unmarried parents, and the father dies prior to the birth, a Declaration of Parentage must be issued by the court in order for the paternity to be established. Once a declaration is issued, the birth can be re-registered to include the father’s details.We want to make the process as simple as is possible in these circumstances, whilst still ensuring the court has means to establish parentage if one parent is deceased and not able to convey their views. This is vitally important as, in some cases, this decision will have significant financial implications for others, such as children from previous relationships.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of pubs and breweries which pay costs associated with the management of packaging waste under the Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme who also manage their packaging waste through private waste contracts.

Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) obligates brands and packaging producers to pay the costs of managing household packaging waste. In most cases, this will not be individual pubs but the business supplying the pub with packaged goods where they have an annual turnover of £2 million or more and are responsible for supplying or importing more than 50 Tonnes of packaging. It is up to individual producers whether to pass these costs on to their customers. In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.

With reference to the correspondence from the First Minister of Wales to her on the impact of welfare reforms in Wales, dated 11 March 2025, if she will publish her Department's reply to that letter.

The Secretary of State responded to the First Minister of Wales on March 28. Her published response can be found here: Secretary of State letter to the First Minister of Wales - GOV.UK

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme on the financial sustainability of (a) pubs and (b) breweries in Wales.

In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector. The Government has worked closely with industry, including the brewing sector, throughout development of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR). Feedback from stakeholders was factored into finalising the regulations, including formally consulting stakeholders on a draft of the pEPR regulations in 2023. pEPR obligates brands and packaging producers to pay the costs of managing household packaging waste. In most cases, this will not be individual pubs but the business supplying the pub with packaged goods. My officials have recently attended a number of events organised by the brewing industry, to discuss pEPR and to listen and respond to concerns raised by their members. We have provided extensive guidance to all sectors on how to comply with their obligations under pEPR and continue to work with the brewing sector and others to further refine both the guidance and the wider scheme.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of including hospitality workers on the immigration salary list.

The Migration Advisory Committee last reviewed hospitality roles with respect of the Immigration Salary List in 2023 and did not recommend any for inclusion on the list.Any future changes to the ISL will be considered in the context of the Immigration White Paper which will be published in due course.

How many prisoners were recorded as Welsh speaking in every prison in (a) Wales and (b) England in (i) March, (ii) June, (iii) September and (iv) December 2024.

The Ministry of Justice holds the data for Welsh speaking prisoners in both Wales and England. Annex A outlines how many prisoners were recorded as Welsh speaking in every prison in (a) Wales and (b) England in (i) March, (ii) June, (iii) September and (iv) December 2024.

How many prison officers working in each prison in Wales were recorded as Welsh speaking in (a) March, (b) June, (c) September and (d) December 2024.

The table below represents the numbers of prison officers at the end of each calendar month specified who have self-declared that they are Welsh speaking on the organisation’s HR system. This includes Band 3-4 prison officers, including specialists, Band 4 Supervising Officers, and Band 5 Custodial Managers. ‘~’ denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 2018. Declaration rates vary between prisons, but are consistently low, which means true numbers are likely to be higher, and no conclusions should be drawn from the data. This question was introduced to Ministry of Justice systems in 2023, and ongoing campaigns across HMPPS Wales encourage staff to complete their Welsh language information, however, this is voluntary. 31/03/202430/06/202430/09/202431/12/2024Berwyn13131415Cardiff6666Swansea9101111Usk/Prescoed~~~~

How many women with a home address in Wales before entering custody were in prison for the offence type of (a) possession of weapons, (b) public order offences, (c) miscellaneous crimes against society, (d) fraud offences, (e) summary non-motoring offences and (f) summary motoring offences in (i) March, (ii) June, (iii) September and (iv) December 2024.

The requested information has been provided as an Excel file alongside this response. The dataset for December 2024 is a subset of data scheduled to be published as part of the Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK release and cannot be provided in advance of that publication. In addition, the numbers 1 and 2 have been replaced with the symbol ‘≤2’ to avoid any risk of individual identification.Around 99% of prisoners have an origin location - i.e. addresses that are recorded in our central IT system. If no address is given, an offender’s committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident.This information is included in the data provided in the tables attached. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 1% of all offenders; these figures are excluded from the tables attached.

How many women resident in Wales prior to entering custody were (a) serving an IPP sentence, (b) sentenced to life imprisonment, (c) on recall, (d) serving a non-criminal sentence and (e) serving an unknown sentence in (i) March 2024, (ii) June 2024, (iii) September 2024 and (iv) December 2024.

The requested information has been provided as an Excel file alongside this response. The dataset for December 2024 is a subset of data scheduled to be published as part of the Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK release and cannot be provided in advance of that publication. In addition, the numbers 1 and 2 have been replaced with the symbol ‘≤2’ to avoid any risk of individual identification.Around 99% of prisoners have an origin location - i.e. addresses that are recorded in our central IT system. If no address is given, an offender’s committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident.This information is included in the data provided in the tables attached. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 1% of all offenders; these figures are excluded from the tables attached.

How many people with a home address in England prior to entering custody were being held in prison across England and Wales and identified as (a) White, (b) Mixed Ethic Groups, (c) Asian or Asian British, (d) Black or Black British, (e) Chinese or Other Ethnic Group, (f) Not known/not stated, in (i) March 2024, (ii) June 2024, (iii) September 2024 and (iv) December 2024.

The requested information has been provided as an Excel file alongside this response. The dataset for December 2024 is a subset of data scheduled to be published as part of the Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK release and cannot be provided in advance of that publication. In addition, the numbers 1 and 2 have been replaced with the symbol ‘≤2’ to avoid any risk of individual identification.Around 99% of prisoners have an origin location - i.e. addresses that are recorded in our central IT system. If no address is given, an offender’s committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident.This information is included in the data provided in the tables attached. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 1% of all offenders; these figures are excluded from the tables attached.