Written questions by Sewards.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is taking steps to hold online platforms accountable for fraudulent advertising on their services prior to the full implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023.

While the OSA continues to be implemented, fraud is a ‘priority offence’ under the Act, with platforms already required to mitigate against criminals using their services and to remove scam content if it appears. Ofcom has existing robust powers to act where services do not fulfil their regulatory obligations. In the Summer, Ofcom is to go further, publishing its register of Category 1 and 2A services and consult on additional duties for these platforms to tackle paid-for fraudulent advertising. The Home Office’s Fraud Strategy was published on 9 March and so Government has not yet conducted a review of its impact.

What steps his Department is taking to increase public awareness of the health risks associated with inhaling nitrous oxide.

The Department has worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Association to develop lesson plans on drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, which include specific references to the dangers of nitrous oxide. The lesson plans target primary and secondary students, teaching them how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. They are available at the following link:https://pshe-association.org.uk/drugeducationThe Government also has a drug and information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce drug and alcohol misuse and its harms by providing awareness to young people, parents, and concerned others. Information on nitrous oxide and the danger of its misuse is available at the following link:https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/nitrous-oxide

Whether his Department has considered the potential merits of establishing a compensation scheme for women who have experienced harm associated with pelvic mesh implants.

The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out recommendations for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, including options for financial compensation.The Government has deep sympathy for all those affected and recognises the profound impact that these harms have had on individuals and their families.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been clear that he wants to make meaningful progress during this Parliament, although a decision to provide compensation has not yet been made. We recognise how difficult and disappointing this uncertainty is for those affected, and we will ensure that the public is kept informed as soon as any decision on redress is made.I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes since I have been in post, and had a very fruitful discussion about the ongoing health initiatives led by the Department regarding sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. Details of the Government’s work to date are set out in recent letters to the Dr Hughes, which are published on her website.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle the unlawful (a) sale and (b) supply of nitrous oxide.

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2023 came into force on 8 November 2023, classifying nitrous oxide as a Class C drug. It is illegal to produce, supply, import or export nitrous oxide where a person knows, or is reckless as to whether, it will be consumed for its psychoactive effects. The Home Office is responsible for drug policy and legislation. Schedule 20 to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024 includes a provision prohibiting advertisements directly encouraging children to buy, or persuade their parents or other adults to buy, products for them. This prohibits retailers from advertising nitrous oxide to those under the age of 18 across any medium, including online.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Legal Aid Agency in ensuring solicitors use qualified and security‑vetted interpreters in legally‑aided family proceedings.

Interpreters play a crucial role in family court proceedings, ensuring that individuals who do not speak English or have hearing impairments can fully participate and understand the legal process. For most family court proceedings, His Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Services is responsible for securing interpreters for use during hearings. Neither legal aid providers nor the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) are involved in this process. A legal aid solicitor may instruct an interpreter for use outside of hearings. All providers who undertake legal aid work are independent providers of legal aid services and are subject to oversight and regulation by relevant professional bodies rather than the LAA. When instructing interpreters in legal aid cases, legal aid providers must ensure that they adhere to the requirements set out under paragraphs 2.48-2.51 of the 2024 Standard Civil Contract: Specification. This includes provisions regarding the level of qualification that the interpreter must hold and the evidence which must be obtained and retained on file regarding this and the circumstances in which it is permissible to instruct a non-qualified interpreter. The LAA undertakes a range of audit and assurance activity to ensure legal aid providers are complying with their contractual obligations. Clause 24 of the 2024 Standard Civil Contract: Standard Terms empowers the LAA to apply a sanction where breaches of contract are identified. These contractual provisions act as an effective safeguard to ensure the most appropriate interpreter is used having regard to the specific circumstances of the case.

What steps his Department is taking to address regulatory gaps where rooftop solar installation companies and asset owners (a) cease trading and (b) withdraw support.

We are overhauling the system of standards and protections for energy efficiency and solar and battery installations. Measures announced in the Warm Homes Plan will ensure that consumers can have confidence in measures they take to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses and seek clear routes to redress where necessary.

What guidance his Department has issued on (a) access and (b) ownership of (i) performance and (ii) operational data from rooftop solar systems.

No guidance has been issued, and we are not aware that any such data exists on a national scale. The Microgeneration Certification Scheme holds data on every MCS certified installation since 2010 in the MCS Installations Database. However, it does not include operational data of every system, and access is limited in line with GDPR best practice.

What steps his Department is taking to support families who travel long distances for NHS‑commissioned inpatient mental health care.

We recognise that being sent to a hospital far away from home, family, and support networks means a poorer experience of care for patients and increased safety risks, which is why we are working to end this practice. We have invested £75 million of capital funding in 2025/26 to improve inpatient care and help stop mental health patients being sent far from home for treatment. A national quality improvement programme is in place across England to improve the culture of care in all mental health hospitals.Through the 10-Year Health Plan we will move care closer to home by reducing ‘out of area placements’ for mental health patients by March 2027. The NHS England Capital Guidance for 2026/27 to 2029/30, published in November 2025, makes £473 million of capital funding available for systems and encourages them to establish community based mental health centres, alongside other capital priorities. These include eliminating inappropriate out of area placements.Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to a family life. All patients have the right to maintain contact with, and be visited by, anyone they wish to see, subject to carefully limited exceptions. The value of visits in maintaining links with family and community networks is recognised as a key element in a patient’s care, treatment, and recovery. Every effort should be made to assist patients to maintain contact with friends and family, including considering the need to travel for visits when the patient is placed out of area.Where the patient is detained under the Mental Health Act, the Code of Practice sets out that commissioners should consider whether they can provide any assistance where there are difficulties visiting because of distance. Local authorities should also consider whether it would be appropriate to provide financial support to enable families to visit children and young people placed in hospital, taking into account their duties to promote contact between children and young people and their families. Such duties arise when children and young people are being looked after by local authorities as well as when they are accommodated in hospital for three months or more. Consideration of any transfer to another hospital must include whether the transfer would give the patient greater access to carers or have the opposite effect.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the support available to small businesses for unsolicited sales approaches from third‑party intermediaries.

The government’s plan is to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, with a culture that supports entrepreneurship in every community and high street. There is a range of support offers available to businesses and entrepreneurs including the new Business Growth Service, a network of Growth Hubs across England including the West Yorkshire Business Growth Hub and the Business Support Service, all providing free, impartial advice, information and guidance on starting up and running a business, including statutory rights and obligations for business owners.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the sale of (a) knives, (b) swords, and (c) battle axes on third-party online selling platforms.

The Government has been strengthening controls on the online sales of bladed articles, including knives, swords and axes. We commissioned Commander Stephen Clayman, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime, to conduct a review into the online sale and delivery of knives. The review was published on 19 February 2025 and made a number of recommendations.We are taking forward the most pressing recommendations in the report under “Ronan’s Law” a range of measures in the Crime and Policing Bill which will include stricter rules for online sellers of knives, including third party platforms, incorporating strengthening age verification controls and checks through a two-stage checks at the point of purchase and on delivery.We have introduced new legislation in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide the police with the power to require social media, marketplace, and search services to take down illegal knife and offensive weapon content. Failure to remove this material could result in both the company and a designated senior executive facing significant penalties. Further measures in the Bill, include increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives and introduce a duty on sellers to report online bulk sales of knives.We are also looking to go further, In December last year we launched a consultation on plans to introduce a licensing scheme for those who sell knives or other bladed articles, including importers, retailers and private sellers, making them subject to strict regulations and conditions. The consultation closed on 24 February, and we are currently analysing the responses and will provide a response in due course.Effective law enforcement is also very important. We are therefore supporting the creation of a new police unit, the National Knife Crime Centre to provide a national capability tackling the unlawful sale and marketing of knives and weapons online and links to wider criminality. In 2026/27 we are providing the Centre with £1.75m of funding for its activities.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4th March to Question 116233, if he will clarify (a) the timeline for introducing secondary legislation and (b) whether it will apply to all Common High Priority List items.

We expect to lay secondary legislation to deliver the sanctions end-use control this Spring, subject to the Parliamentary timetable.The sanctions end-use control is intended to apply to exports which are not already subject to strategic export controls, where a risk of circumvention to a sanctioned destination is identified. The full scope of this measure and details on its application and implementation will be set out in guidance upon laying the legislation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 73095, whether her Department has complemented a New Burden Assessment regarding the potential financial impact of extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty on its Departmental responsibilities.

New burdens assessments are required when a department’s actions meet the government definition of a new burden, ensuring that the financial impact on local authorities is estimated for at least the first three years and fully funded by the relevant department.The Ministry of Defence will lead on developing a new burdens assessment in relation to the new Legal Duty extending the Armed Forces Covenant.

Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of (a) current funding models in the context of high mobility and separation on Service pupils and (b) targeted support for those with special and additional education needs, and disabilities.

Over £26 million of targeted funding was allocated in 2025/26 to help schools in England support their Service pupils, through the Service Pupil Premium. The rate increased to £350 per eligible pupil in 2025, reflecting the department’s commitment to recognising the unique challenges faced by Armed Forces families. This funding enables schools to provide targeted pastoral and academic support to mitigate the effects of mobility and parental separation on pupil progress and wellbeing. The department reviews the Service Pupil Premium annually.Service children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) might experience delays in identifying needs and inconsistent services and support between local authorities when their parents are redeployed and they move to a new area. The SEND reforms we are proposing respond directly to long-standing concerns about the outcomes for children with SEND and the inconsistency and inefficiencies in support. For example, National Inclusion Standards will set out support that should be available in every mainstream setting so that children can receive more consistent support. Education, health and care plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, to support smoother transitions when children move between schools or local authorities.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the portability of (a) special and (b) additional needs, and (c) disability provision for children in Armed Forces families.

As part of the consultation on the government’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, I recently attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group. I met representatives from armed forces families and the charities that support them to hear first-hand about the problems they face. Children and young people from armed forces families might have to change nursery, school or college when their parents are redeployed. They can experience delays in identifying their needs, and inconsistent services and support between local authorities.To address the problems caused by delays, the department’s special educational needs and disabilities reforms will improve early identification of children’s needs so that provision can be put in place more quickly. We will invest in new training for all staff and increase the number of specialists. Education health and care plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support services children by facilitating smoother transitions when they move between schools or local authorities.In future, services children should receive more consistent services when they move. National Inclusion Standards will set out, for the first time, support that should be available in every mainstream setting. A nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages will provide comprehensive, evidence-based packages of support for children and young people with the most complex needs.Education is a devolved matter and the reforms will apply to England only.

What steps his Department is taking to enhance due diligence obligations on exporters of dual-use goods to help prevent diversion through Hong Kong.

The UK has introduced extensive trade sanctions to prevent Russia acquiring dual‑use items used in its military operations. Since March 2022, we have banned the export of all dual‑use goods and other high‑risk technologies, including products identified on the battlefield and items critical to Russia’s military‑industrial complex. Our comprehensive export sanctions have led Russia to pursue convoluted and costly routes to circumvent our measures via third-country intermediaries. Alongside extensive guidance and outreach to UK exporters on appropriate due diligence, we plan to bring forward secondary legislation to introduce new sanctions end-use controls. These new powers would require exporters to apply for a licence for specific exports identified to be at a high risk of diversion to a sanctioned destination.

What additional resources his Department has allocated to domestic enforcement bodies to (a) investigate and (b) prosecute sanctions evasion involving dual-use technologies exported to Russia through Hong Kong.

The Government has invested in strengthening trade sanctions enforcement capacity. The Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) was established in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) in October 2024. Alongside specialist investigative capacity, OTSI is equipped with powers to enforce sanctions breaches involving the movement of goods and technology via third countries. His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for enforcing export controls and trade sanctions at the UK border.HMRC has also strengthened its investigative capabilities in this area. DBT and HMRC work closely together to investigate potential sanctions evasion and enforce breaches.

What steps her Department is taking to increase rail carriage capacity in West Yorkshire.

The Department approved and funded the use of 12 additional trains (60 extra carriages) for the CrossCountry network. These additional trains were introduced in May 2025 and have increased the Inter-City train fleet substantially and enabled CrossCountry to add thousands of seats each week to its Inter-City network. West Yorkshire is likely to see a direct benefit from this, depending on the daily operational needs of the operator. Northern has begun discussions with train manufacturers to procure around 250 new train sets to replace the oldest trains in its fleet. Approximately two-thirds of its existing fleet is targeted to be replaced in the next 10 years. TransPennine Trains is currently in a live procurement, which is seeking to purchase a core order of 29 units. These trains will seek to realise benefits from the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme and support an increase in seats on journeys between York to Leeds; Leeds to Huddersfield; Huddersfield to Manchester Victoria and; Huddersfield to Manchester Piccadilly. London North Eastern Railway have added 60,000 extra seats across the route each week through their transformational timetable change in December 2025 and plan to add more capacity in the future by replacing its 7-car InterCity 225 trains with new 10-car 897 trains.

Whether her Department plans to introduce a new mechanism to restrict the activities of extreme criminal protest groups.

This government is committed to ensuring the police have the powers they need to proportionately manage extreme criminal protests while safeguarding the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.An independent review of public order and hate crime legislation is underway to assess whether current laws remain fit for purpose in light of evolving protest tactics, community impacts, and the need to protect democratic processes. The review is being led by Lord Ken Macdonald of River Glaven KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions and one of the UK’s most respected legal authorities. His independence and expertise will ensure a rigorous and impartial review.The review is expected to report in Spring 2026.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to help prevent anti-competitive practices in the live music and ticketing sectors.

Last year the government announced new consumer protection measures in the ticketing market. A strong consumer protection regime is essential for protecting consumers from harmful practices and stimulating competition to drive down prices. It is also good for businesses – helping to create a level playing field by penalising unscrupulous competitors and giving consumers greater confidence to engage in markets.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) already has powers to investigate and take action against businesses that breach competition law, including by abusing a dominant position in a market. The CMA is currently investigating two secondary ticketing sites for potential breaches of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, under which traders are prohibited from showing consumers an initial headline price for a product and then introducing additional mandatory charges as consumers proceed with a purchase or transaction.To drive the long-term growth of the UK music sector, the government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan announced a Music Growth Package of up to £30m over three years, launching this spring and designed to boost domestic and international activity in our music sector and encourage private investment. We have also encouraged widespread adoption of a voluntary industry ticket levy on arena and stadium gigs to reverse the decline in grassroots venues and enable more artists to tour internationally.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for her policies of Australia's Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026.

Tackling all forms of hatred is an issue of global significance. This government is committed to eradicating hated from our society, working to ensure that no individual should ever experience hatred or live in fear due to their race, religion, beliefs or the way they choose to live their lives. The government works closely with allies and international partners including Australia to achieve this. This exchanging of relevant and up-to-date policy information helps to inform and develop effective strategies for addressing the global rise of antisemitism both at home and abroad.