Written questions by Wilkinson.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of a children not in school register in preventing abuse of home schooled children.

Home education is not an inherent safeguarding risk. However, some children who have been withdrawn from school under the guise of home education have been seriously harmed or died due to abuse or neglect, and action is needed.Compulsory ‘children not in school’ registers, and accompanying duties on parents and out-of-school education providers, will be crucial tools that local authorities can use to identify children not in school in their areas who are not receiving a suitable education, or who need to be protected from harm.However, registers are only part of the solution. That is why the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill contains other measures aimed at ensuring all children are safe. For example, parents of children who are subject to child protection enquiries or plans, or whose children attend a special school, will be required to get local authority consent before they can educate their children at home. Where these children are already being home educated, we are strengthening the school attendance order process so the local authority can require them to attend school. The Bill also includes measures to strengthen multi-agency working and information sharing, which will benefit all children.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the prescription of weight loss drugs on the NHS without associated prescriptions of exercise and physical activity on muscle mass.

Weight loss drugs, including semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide, are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as clinically and cost-effective treatment options on the National Health Service for obesity. The guidance from NICE states that these drugs should be prescribed alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, and that healthcare professionals should arrange information, support, and counselling on additional diet, physical activity, and behavioural strategies when these drugs are prescribed. As such, healthcare professionals in the NHS should not be prescribing weight loss drugs without arranging information and support on physical activity and exercise. The Government has therefore not made an assessment of the potential impact of the prescription of weight loss drugs on the NHS without ‘associated prescriptions’ of exercise and physical activity on muscle mass.

What plans he has to ensure healthcare practitioners prescribe exercise when weight loss injections are prescribed for anti-obesity treatment.

Weight loss drugs, including semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide, are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as clinically and cost-effective treatment options on the National Health Service for obesity. The guidance from NICE states that these drugs should be prescribed alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, and that healthcare professionals should arrange information, support, and counselling on additional diet, physical activity, and behavioural strategies when these drugs are prescribed. As such, healthcare professionals in the NHS should not be prescribing weight loss drugs without arranging information and support on physical activity and exercise. The Government has therefore not made an assessment of the potential impact of the prescription of weight loss drugs on the NHS without ‘associated prescriptions’ of exercise and physical activity on muscle mass.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has had discussions with Ofcom on the adequacy of levels of news bulletins in the BBC’s proposals for new DAB radio stations targeted at younger audiences.

The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the government. It is for Ofcom, as the BBC’s independent regulator, to hold the BBC to account in meeting its obligations to provide duly accurate and impartial news to audiences across its services.Ofcom is also responsible for assessing changes to BBC services that may have a significant impact on fair and effective competition. Ofcom is currently considering the BBC’s proposals for the new DAB+ stations and published their provisional findings on their website in April this year. Their final decision on the BBC’s proposal is expected to be issued by 4 July 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for unitarisation in areas where local elections were not postponed from May 2025.

The government will work with these areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible as is the usual arrangement in the process of local government reorganisation. The exact timings and detail will depend on the proposals received and the decision taken on which proposal, if any, to implement. We anticipate that, subject to many external factors, there could be elections to ‘shadow’ unitary councils in May 2027, ahead of “go live” of new councils on 1 April 2028.

Innovation and Technology, when he plans to publish a response to the Copyright and Artificial Intelligence consultation, which closed on 25 February 2025.

The Government’s consultation on copyright and AI received over 11,500 responses. Our priority now is to review these thoroughly to help inform its approach to copyright and AI, and a response will be published when this work has been completed.Meanwhile, the Government will continue to engage extensively as it considers next steps.

Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with R&A on the hosting of the Open Championship in 2028.

Sporting bodies operate independently of the Government. Decisions on tournament hosting venues are rightly a matter for the relevant sporting bodies, in this case the R&A and its operational team.

What steps his Department is taking to increase capacity for training new GPs.

We are committed to training thousands more general practitioners and will ensure that there is sufficient capacity in the National Health Service to deliver this.To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.

What assessment his Department made of the potential impact of the use of Chinese-made drones to survey critical national infrastructure sites on cybersecurity.

The Ministry of Defence takes the security of all its assets very seriously, but we do not comment on details as these could be useful to potential adversaries.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has made representations in favour of The Open golf championship being held at Turnberry.

Sporting bodies operate independently of the Government, and decisions on tournament hosting venues are rightly a matter for the relevant sporting bodies.This would be a matter entirely for The R&A and its operational team.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of funding for a statue of Dame Vera Lynn.

There has been no assessment. Organisations – public and private – are able to freely propose, fund, develop and deliver memorials; marking a variety of incidents and historical figures in a way that they are best-placed to deem appropriate and sensitive to their local area.It is for those groups to work with the relevant local planning authority and other organisations to identify a suitable site and obtain the necessary planning permissions.

Media and Sport, whether she has received representations from (a) President Trump and (b) the US government on the potential hosting of The Open at Turnberry.

Sporting bodies operate independently of the Government, and decisions on tournament hosting venues are rightly a matter for the relevant sporting bodies.This would be a matter entirely for The R&A and its operational team.

What discussions he has had with SMEs on the development of the Defence Industrial Strategy.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) hold a crucial place in UK defence. They are the backbone of the UK economy and are vital to delivering the innovation, expertise and agility that we need now and in the future. The Defence Industrial Strategy will set the conditions to unlock the full potential of SMEs. To expediate this, in March the Government unveiled substantial additional support for defence SMEs, including a support hub offering guidance on accessing the defence supply chain and the upcoming publication of a new SME spending target for defence. These measures are being developed in collaboration with industry including SMEs.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of levels of access to medication by neurodivergent people who have been diagnosed (a) by the NHS and (b) privately.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, related to how the brain develops, rather than an illness. Although some approaches are particularly helpful for autistic people, and medication may be prescribed for co-existing issues, autism is not treated directly, including through medication.It is the responsibility of integrated care boards in England to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to medication services for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.It is for the responsible clinician to decide on the most appropriate treatment plan to manage ADHD in discussion with their patient. This decision is based on the clinician’s expertise regarding treatment options, evidence, risk and benefits and the patient’s personal circumstances as part of a shared decision-making process. The NICE guidelines on ADHD set out the considerations that healthcare professionals should account for when considering treatment options.Shared care within the National Health Service refers to an arrangement whereby a specialist doctor formally transfers responsibility for all or some aspects of their patient’s care, such as prescription of medication, over to the patient’s general practitioner (GP). The General Medical Council (GMC) has issued guidance on prescribing and managing medicines, which helps GPs decide whether to accept shared care responsibilities. The GMC has made it clear that GPs cannot be compelled to enter into a shared care agreement. GP practices may decline such requests on clinical or capacity grounds. If a shared care arrangement cannot be put in place after the treatment has been initiated, the responsibility for continued prescribing falls upon the specialist clinician; this applies to both NHS and private medical care.We have taken swift action to improve the supply of ADHD medications and, as a result, many issues have been resolved. However, some issues remain, and we are working with the relevant manufacturers to help resolve them, as soon as possible.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Chinese-made drones used by police forces on cyber security.

Decisions on operational equipment are made independently by police forces, who are best placed to assess their own operational needs while ensuring they have the tools necessary to protect the public.The Government takes national and cyber security extremely seriously and regularly reviews risks, including from Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS). The National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) have issued guidance for security professionals across public and private sector organisations on the appropriate security measures which should be taken to manage potential security risks via UAS technologies, including drones.

Media and Sport, what support is available from her Department to independent film production companies.

The Government has introduced the 53% Independent Film Tax Credit, which came into effect on 1 April, and is now seeing its first applications. This will incentivise British independent film production, and will create jobs, growth and investment across the country.We also fund the British Film Institute (BFI)’s UK Global Screen Fund, with £7 million for 2025-26, to distribute and promote independent British screen content internationally.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making legal aid available to people working in creative industries to enable them to pursue technology firms suspected of breaching copyright laws through artificial intelligence.

The Government has no plans to make such an assessment. We are working to ensure that copyright and intellectual property frameworks remain robust and fit for purpose in the age of AI. We have received over 11,500 responses to our consultation, principally from creators, and are analysing those responses to shape our approach. We have been clear that AI developers must be more transparent about the content they use to train their models and that rights holders should have effective control of their works. We encourage rights holders who believe their work has been used unlawfully to seek independent legal advice and we continue to assess how best we might support the creative sector to harness the opportunities this technology provides.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of joining Creative Europe.

The UK is not part of Creative Europe, and has not been since the UK left the European Union. This government has not proposed any plans to rejoin Creative Europe, though we are committed to finding constructive ways to work with the EU and deliver for the British people on shared priorities and global challenges. We recognise the UK’s creative and cultural sectors provide a unique and valuable contribution to Europe’s diverse cultural landscape. We are working with our world-leading sectors to ensure that they can continue to promote growth and enrich lives, at home and abroad, including through initiatives such as the £7 million UK Global Screen Fund, and the £1.6 million Music Export Growth Scheme.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK's departure from Creative Europe on its creative industries.

The UK is not part of Creative Europe, and has not been since the UK left the European Union. This government has not proposed any plans to rejoin Creative Europe, though we are committed to finding constructive ways to work with the EU and deliver for the British people on shared priorities and global challenges. We recognise the UK’s creative and cultural sectors provide a unique and valuable contribution to Europe’s diverse cultural landscape. We are working with our world-leading sectors to ensure that they can continue to promote growth and enrich lives, at home and abroad, including through initiatives such as the £7 million UK Global Screen Fund, and the £1.6 million Music Export Growth Scheme.

Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with the creative industries on joining Creative Europe.

The UK is not part of Creative Europe, and has not been since the UK left the European Union. This government has not proposed any plans to rejoin Creative Europe, though we are committed to finding constructive ways to work with the EU and deliver for the British people on shared priorities and global challenges. We recognise the UK’s creative and cultural sectors provide a unique and valuable contribution to Europe’s diverse cultural landscape. We are working with our world-leading sectors to ensure that they can continue to promote growth and enrich lives, at home and abroad, including through initiatives such as the £7 million UK Global Screen Fund, and the £1.6 million Music Export Growth Scheme.