Written questions by Taylor.

What plans she has to provide training for (a) police officers and (b) legal professionals on implementation of new legislation on stalking.

Stalking is an insidious crime that can leave victims living in fear just going about their daily lives. That is why this Government is fully committed to tackling it.On 3 December the Government announced six new measures to tackle stalking. This included legislating to introduce multi-agency statutory guidance on stalking and providing for the courts to impose Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) on conviction and acquittal of their own volition. We will bring forward legislation to introduce measures at the earliest opportunity.The College of Policing provides an Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and e-learning on stalking to support the police. This includes guidance on identifying and investigating stalking and applying for and managing SPOs. The guidance and e-learning are being updated to reflect the findings from a recent super-complaint on stalking and will be kept under regular review. The CPS provides guidance for prosecutors with the general principles to be applied when making decisions about prosecutions involving stalking.We know there is a gap between the prevalence of stalking and stalking offences reported to the police. For example, the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates 3.1% of adults over 16 experienced stalking in the year ending June 2024 while police recorded 131,912 stalking offences. This is why we are committed to playing a more active role in policing to ensure officers have the right support, to significantly improve standards across the board and to ensure justice is delivered for victims.Raising awareness of stalking is an important part of this and there are existing examples of local initiatives funded by police forces, Police and Crime Commissioners or local authorities. We are considering how raising awareness of VAWG crimes including stalking could form part of the upcoming new VAWG strategy.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on trends in the level of growth of small and medium-sized businesses.

The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500 meaning, that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next ye...

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of comments made by Sir Mark Rowley to the London Policing Board on 10 December 2024 in relation to (a) funding and (b) po

The Provisional Police Funding Settlement was published on 17 December. This settlement provides £19.5 billion of funding for 2025-26 which is an increase of up to £1 billion. For the Metropolitan Police, this means funding of up to £3.8 billion in fundin...

Whether he plans to take steps with local councils to help increase footfall on the high street.

Revitalising our high streets is a priority for this government. Improving footfall on the high street is essential to create strong high streets. The Secretary of State and I are working with MHCLG to consider how we can deliver a cross-government approa...

Whether his Department is taking steps to help support small and medium-sized businesses to compete with online retailers.

SMEs remain a key part of the high street, and a thriving high street will need a strong retail offering.This is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunit...

If he will take steps to increase diagnosis levels for genetic haemochromatosis.

Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) and delivered by seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs. Genomic testing for genetic haemochromatosis is available through the NHS GMS for all ...

What steps his Department is taking to help small and medium high street businesses manage energy costs in Sutton and Cheam constituency.

Wholesale energy costs have decreased for non-domestic consumers since the global energy crisis, but we recognise that some businesses may be struggling to pay their bills. The Government believes that the only way to protect billpayers permanently, inclu...

How many eligible pensioners have applied for Pension Credit in Sutton and Cheam constituency since 1 August 2024.

National statistics published on 28 November, show that 150,000 Pension Credit claims were received between 29 July 2024 and 17 November 2024 - Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK. Please note, this information is published week...

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support small and medium sized high street businesses with (a) rising rents, (b) business rates and (c) rises in employer National Insuranc

The Government is fully committed to rejuvenating our high streets. We want to support the businesses and communities that make our town centres successful. To deliver our manifesto pledge on business rates, we intend to introduce permanently tax rates fo...

What steps her Department is taking to reduce youth-related gang violence in London.

To deliver our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade, it is crucial that we tackle the gangs that lure children and young people into crime and run county lines through violence and exploitation.An estimated 14,000 children are identified as at r...

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of vacant shops on high streets in London.

The government is fully committed to tackling the issue of persistent vacancy in town centres and high streets.High Street Rental Auctions (HSRAs) came into effect on 2 December 2024 and are a new permissive power for local authorities in England to aucti...

Whether teachers in post-16 education will be included in the teacher pay award.

As confirmed in July, schools delivering post-16 education would be included in the teacher pay award for the 2024/25 academic year, in line with the independent School Teachers’ Pay Review Body (STRB) recommendations. The department confirmed that an add...

What steps she is taking with the Metropolitan Police to deploy educational awareness campaigns aimed at reducing youth-related knife crime in London.

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission. We are taking a range of steps to realise this ambition. For example, we have banned Zombie style knives and zombie style machetes and are currently consulti...

What steps her Department is taking to tackle car thefts in Sutton and Cheam constituency.

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and law enforcement to ensure our response is as strong as it can be.We continue to work closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for ve...

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to criminalise the practice of bots reselling driving tests at inflated prices.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests, often at significant profit. The agency encourages all ...

If she will provide extra funding to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to help tackle backlogs in driving tests.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.Measures in place to reduce waiting times include the recruitment of new driving exami...

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the quality of the service provided to passengers on South Western Railway.

The Secretary of State is committed to improving operational performance across the industry including at South Western Railway. The Government is also committed to bringing Operators into Public Ownership to deliver a better performing railway with South...

If she will make it her policy to reverse fare increases introduced in 2024 on South Western Railway when it is brought into public ownership in 2025.

Whilst it is our ambition through public ownership to deliver a more affordable railway, any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway. Through futur...

What steps she is taking to improve road safety for people (a) walking, (b) wheeling and (c) cycling.

The safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government. The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve road safety for cyclists and pedestrians, by strengthening pedestrian priority on pavements and at crossings and introducing the Hierarchy...

What funding is available to local councils to support the retrofitting of local authority homes in London to achieve an EPC grade C by 2030.

As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. The Government will partner with combined authorities and local council...