Written questions by Myer.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department issues on whether bereaved families are liable for (a) rent and (b) other costs following the death of a Universal Credit claimant during an assessment period.

The liability of bereaved families of someone who may have been in receipt of Universal Credit will depend on whether they have entered into any legal agreements as a part of their relative's tenancy.If individuals are unclear on whether they, or another family member, is liable for outstanding debts, they may wish to seek independent advice from organisations such as Citizens Advice.The Renters’ Rights Bill will limit the liability of a guarantor of a tenancy agreement for rent in the tragic circumstance where a tenant related to them has died.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the Bathing Water Regulations on (a) fish spawning sites, (b) riparian rights and (c) the rights of (i) angling clubs and (ii) fishery owners; and if he will undertake a full consultation before making changes.

The consultation on the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 closed on 23 December 2024. Many organisations have called for the Regulations to be updated to reflect the modern ways in which the public uses bathing waters so that they continue to support public health outcomes. This Government published our formal response on 12 March 2025. The consultation results show a large majority in favour of the two wider reforms to expand the definition of a ‘bather’ and introducing the use of multiple monitoring points at designated bathing sites. We are now progressing policy development and research to determine how best to implement the wider reforms. We will consider any potential environmental, societal, and access Impacts. We will work closely with local and national stakeholders, seeking their views on these reforms.

Whether he plans to bring forward a revised regulatory framework for the nuclear sector.

As the Prime Minister announced, the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce will be undertaking a review of nuclear regulation, and it would be inappropriate to comment further until that review has concluded.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure jurors are adequately compensated for loss of earnings; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of jury service on jurors that receive compensation less than their usual income.

This Government has not made any specific assessment of the impact of jury service on jurors who receive compensation less than their usual income. However pursuant to my answer to PQ 36911, the Government will keep under review all support provided to jurors throughout their service. People who are not paid by their employer whilst they are on jury service can claim a loss of earnings allowance from the court. Self-employed people who lose earnings whilst doing jury service are also able to claim loss of earnings.

What steps his Department is taking to support the growth of the (a) electric vehicle and (b) lithium salts supply chains.

We support the Automotive sector via the Automotive Transformation Fund to build a globally competitive electric vehicle supply chain, including gigafactories and their supply chains. The Budget committed over £2 billion of capital and R&D funding to 2030 for zero emission vehicle manufacturing and supply chains. We will set out more information on this in due course as part of the Industrial Strategy.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to protect the (a) creative, (b) video game and (c) animation industries from the potential impact of AI-generated content on jobs and educational programs.

Our consultation on the impact of AI on the copyright regime, which was published on 17 December and closed on 25 February, received over 10,000 responses. We will now consider the full range of responses we have received and will continue to develop our policy approach in partnership with creative industries, media and AI stakeholders. Addressing this is an urgent priority for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, but no decisions will be taken until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers for the creative industries.The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) also works closely with the Department for Education (DfE) on skills policy affecting the creative sector. This includes DfE’s work on the reformed growth and skills levy, which will help more people learn new high-quality skills at work, including digital skills, and create routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries.Many video games studios already use AI tools to streamline development processes and enhance game-play experience.

What steps her Department is taking to support kinship carers in (a) financial and (b) other ways.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland to the answer of 25 February 2025 to Question 31239.

If she will take steps to (a) review the adequacy of juror compensation for loss of earnings, (b) ensure compensation reflects wages, (c) require employers to cover shortfalls and (d) provide additional support for self-employed jurors.

Jury service is an important civic duty, and we want to help jurors feel supported as they undertake this important job. The Government will keep under review all support provided to jurors throughout their service. People who are not paid by their employer whilst they are on jury service can claim a loss of earnings allowance from the court. Self-employed people who lose earnings whilst doing jury service are also able to claim loss of earnings.

What steps his Department is taking to help prevent NHS clinical staff from experiencing (a) verbal and (b) physical abuse at work.

The Government takes a zero-tolerance approach to any kind of abusive behaviour. All National Health Service staff, including those in clinical roles, should be able to care for patients without fear of verbal or physical abuse.Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff and put in place many measures to do this including appropriate security, training and emotional support.To support them, NHS England is leading work on violence prevention and reduction to provide better training and support for employers and their staff. In December 2024, NHS England published a refreshed Violence Prevention and Reduction Standard. The standard sets out guidance for trusts to help them identify risks, training requirements and crucially, what support must be made available to those staff affected.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure cleanliness in NHS hospitals to prevent infections and (b) address instances where contractors responsible for cleanliness fail to meet their obligations.

Hospitals are responsible for ensuring that third-party service providers (e.g., cleaning, catering, maintenance staff) adhere to infection prevention and control (IPC) standards. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) evaluates whether hospitals have effective oversight of subcontractors and whether their services meet regulatory cleanliness and safety standards. More information on these CQC inspections is available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/how-we-do-our-job/our-infection-prevention-control-inspectionsGuidance for the cleaning of healthcare environments is contained in the NHS England national IPC manual. The manual is mandatory for all healthcare staff delivering services within the National Health Service in England. This includes the safe management of the care environment, linen and blood and body fluid spillages, and more information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/national-infection-prevention-and-control-manual-nipcm-for-england/chapter-1-standard-infection-control-precautions-sicps/#1-6

Whether her Department has had recent discussions with the (a) Football Association and (b) Football Association of Wales on increasing the level of football clubs' contributions to policing costs at matches; and what steps she is taking to reduce the cost to the police of policing football matches.

We are aware of the pressures that football policing places on police force budgets. We agree that large, highly-profitable businesses should make a reasonable contribution to the costs of policing their events and we are considering options for how to manage this in a fair and proportionate way going forward.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of community pharmacy closures on patient access to NHS services in deprived areas.

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible front door to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.We are aware of the reduction in the number of pharmacies in recent years and recognise that pharmacy closures can impact on local communities. Despite closures in recent years, access to pharmacies continues to be better in the most deprived areas when compared with the least deprived. Local authorities are required to undertake a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served and must keep these assessments under review. Integrated care boards give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications from the new contractors. Contractors can also apply to open a new pharmacy to offer benefits to patients that were not foreseen by the PNA.The Pharmacy Access Scheme provides additional funding to further support pharmacies where another pharmacy is more than 0.8 miles in the most deprived areas and more than one mile in other areas. Additionally, in rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the nearly 400 NHS online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver prescription medicines free of charge to patients.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent the illegal use of off-road bikes.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.On 25 February 2025, the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced in Parliament. The Bill includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on off-road bikes and other vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing vehicles.This will allow the police to quickly remove anti-social vehicles and send a clear message to antisocial drivers that their behaviour will not be tolerated.

What steps his Department is taking to engage with independent pharmacy owners to (a) address financial pressures and (b) prevent pharmacy closures.

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists. To support these private contractors, NHS England is providing fully funded national training opportunities to help them deliver quality NHS services.The Department and NHS England are working at pace with Community Pharmacy England to ensure that the funding we have available is used to support community pharmacy in the best way possible. Community Pharmacy England is recognised by the Government as the body that we consult on the community pharmacy contract and is formulated to represent the views of all pharmacy contractors including independent pharmacies.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the role of social media platforms in facilitating (a) paid-to-party and (b) yachting modelling schemes; and what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to prevent the recruitment of young women for exploitative purposes through such schemes.

The Government continually assesses online service providers’ duties to tackle harmful content and activity on their services, including content relating to sexual exploitation. Under the Online Safety Act, social media platforms need to assess the risk of their services being used to facilitate several kinds of priority illegal harms. These include sexual exploitation. Where there is a risk, platforms need to take steps to mitigate it. Ofcom is the regulator for this regime. It sets out steps that providers can take in codes of practice. This includes steps relating to the design and operation of their services, as well as content moderation steps.

Innovation and Technology, what plans his Department has to reform regulations on social media advertising to prevent the promotion of products that breach UK product regulations.

UK product safety law is clear that all products placed on the market must be safe. However, the Government keeps regulatory frameworks under regular review. The Department for Business and Trade has recently introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill to update the UK’s regulatory framework on product safety. It will support business and economic growth whilst providing greater protection for consumers.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce (a) targets and (b) incentives to reduce the number of long-term vacant social housing properties in (i) Middlesbrough and Redcar, (ii) Cleveland and (iii) other areas with above-average vacancy rates.

Units are likely to be reported as temporarily unavailable when works are being carried out as part of Private Registered Providers’ stock condition remediation and energy efficiency works.This is set out in the Regulator of Social Housing’s “Private Registered Provider Social Housing Stock In England – Sector Characteristics and Stock Movement” report for 2023-24, available on gov.uk here.Those reported as permanently unavailable may be scheduled for significant work, restructure, or demolition.Variation in the number of permanently unavailable units will be driven by multiple factors such as re-development programmes and individual approaches by Private Registered Providers to asset management.The government encourages social housing providers to develop solutions that make best use of the social housing stock and minimise void periods where possible.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Regulator of Social Housing's statistics entitled Private registered provider social housing stock and rents in England 2023 to 2024, published on 29 October 2024, for what reason 544 private registered provider properties in Middlesbrough are not available to let; and what steps she is taking to ensure that those properties are let.

Units are likely to be reported as temporarily unavailable when works are being carried out as part of Private Registered Providers’ stock condition remediation and energy efficiency works.This is set out in the Regulator of Social Housing’s “Private Registered Provider Social Housing Stock In England – Sector Characteristics and Stock Movement” report for 2023-24, available on gov.uk here.Those reported as permanently unavailable may be scheduled for significant work, restructure, or demolition.Variation in the number of permanently unavailable units will be driven by multiple factors such as re-development programmes and individual approaches by Private Registered Providers to asset management.The government encourages social housing providers to develop solutions that make best use of the social housing stock and minimise void periods where possible.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure the revenue certainty mechanism equally prioritises greenhouse gas reductions and fuel production volume.

The Revenue Certainty Mechanism is intended to support both greenhouse gas reductions and UK production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) by providing revenue certainty to encourage investment in the construction of SAF plants. The SAF Mandate will need c1.2 million tonnes of SAF and reduce aviation emissions by 2.7MtCO2e annually in 2030. A UK supply of SAF will help fulfil the SAF Mandate, delivering carbon savings.

What plans his Department has for the construction of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in Teesside.

The Government has published a refreshed planning framework for new nuclear reactors (EN-7), including small and advanced modular reactors, for consultation. The proposed planning framework provides a robust set of siting criteria to enable the identification of potentially suitable sites. Government would welcome private developer interest in identifying potentially suitable sites once EN-7 is designated.