Written questions by Wilkinson.

How many working-age people are on the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract through the National Referral Mechanism.

The Home Office does not publish data on the method of entry to the UK, where relevant, for individuals referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). However, there is published data on small boat arrivals who have been referred into the NRM, including a snapshot of the NRM decision outcome at the time of data extraction. This information is available in the irregular migration statistics data tables, which can be accessed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#irregular-migrationThis dataset only covers small boat arrivals and does not include other methods of entry. The published figures currently cover arrivals up to the end of September 2025.The Home Office does not publish age-related statistics for individuals supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC).

What data her Department collects on how migrant survivors of trafficking in the National Referral Mechanism entered the UK.

The Home Office does not publish data on the method of entry to the UK, where relevant, for individuals referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). However, there is published data on small boat arrivals who have been referred into the NRM, including a snapshot of the NRM decision outcome at the time of data extraction. This information is available in the irregular migration statistics data tables, which can be accessed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#irregular-migrationThis dataset only covers small boat arrivals and does not include other methods of entry. The published figures currently cover arrivals up to the end of September 2025.The Home Office does not publish age-related statistics for individuals supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC).

What information his Department holds on the number of overseas domestic workers who have been able to enforce their rights to fair pay and working conditions through an employment tribunal over the last decade.

The Department publishes regular statistics on Employment Tribunals claims, which includes claims relating to pay and working conditions (such as unauthorised deductions, minimum wage, working time, and equal pay) which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2025/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2025.The published data does not break down claims by claimant characteristics (such as nationality or visa status), or the type of work conducted by claimant.

What meetings she has had with expert stakeholders on reviewing the Overseas Domestic Worker visa.

The Home Office keeps all policies and immigration routes under review. Ministers regularly meet with internal and external stakeholders, to discuss a wide range of issues, including the Overseas Domestic Worker route.The Overseas Domestic Worker visa only grants permission for up to six months and cannot be extended. The Home Office publishes statistics relating to individuals who extend their stay here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables. The number of people extending their stay on the Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa is available from Table Exe_D01 of the Extension data tables (listed as “Overseas Domestic Worker”).

How the Fair Work Agency will assist migrant domestic workers experiencing abuse in private households.

The Fair Work Agency will enhance the UK's ability to respond to exploitation of migrant domestic workers. It will bring together labour market enforcement functions and include new powers to investigate and take action against offences under the Fraud Act 2006. These powers, when operational, will allow the FWA to pursue certain cases of deception, abuse of position or withholding pay, where conduct does not meet the higher modern slavery threshold.

What estimate she has made of the number of domestic workers who renew their visas each year.

The Home Office keeps all policies and immigration routes under review. Ministers regularly meet with internal and external stakeholders, to discuss a wide range of issues, including the Overseas Domestic Worker route.The Overseas Domestic Worker visa only grants permission for up to six months and cannot be extended. The Home Office publishes statistics relating to individuals who extend their stay here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables. The number of people extending their stay on the Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa is available from Table Exe_D01 of the Extension data tables (listed as “Overseas Domestic Worker”).

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Kalaayan’s entitled 12 Years of Modern Slavery, published on 14 June 2024.

The Home Office keeps all policies and immigration routes under review. Ministers regularly meet with internal and external stakeholders, including Kalaayan, to discuss a wide range of issues, including the Overseas Domestic Worker route.The Overseas Domestic Worker visa only grants permission for up to six months and cannot be extended. The Home Office publishes statistics relating to individuals who extend their stay here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables. The number of people extending their stay on the Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa is available from Table Exe_D01 of the Extension data tables (listed as “Overseas Domestic Worker”).

If he will publish a schedule of differences between the trade deal with South Korea announced on 15 December 2025 and the previous trade deal with South Korea which applied when the UK was a Member State of the EU.

As part of this negotiation the UK and the Republic of Korea have agreed a range of improvements to the existing agreement. These cover goods and services trade, in addition to underpinning broader cooperation between the UK and Republic of Korea on a variety of topics. A summary of the key changes is included in the “UK-Republic of Korea trade deal: conclusion summary” published on Gov.uk at conclusion. We will publish further documentation and the full legal text, alongside a full assessment of the economic impact of the UK-Korea FTA, when the agreement is formally signed.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential cumulative impact of the UK's trade agreements with South Korea, India and the United States on GDP in the next ten years.

Our impact assessments, published on gov.uk, set out the potential long-run impacts of new FTAs on the United Kingdom’s GDP. It would not make sense to agglomerate the estimates published in individual impact assessments for these deals as the analyses are not directly comparable due to differences in model structure, data, and scenarios.Our assessments of trade agreements with India and South Korea suggest the deals are expected to have significant benefits for the UK economy. Negotiations with the US are ongoing, and we will publish our analysis of that as soon as practicable after signature.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the Carnegie UK report entitled Life in the UK 2025.

This government is already strongly committed to ensuring that everyone, no matter their background, can thrive. Our mission-led government is delivering on our Plan for Change to secure opportunity for all, economic stability, and improved living standards. We are progressing our mission on opportunity for all to break the link between background and success. We are fixing the foundations of our education and care systems, hiring more teachers, social workers and nursery staff. We have also launched our Best Start in Life strategy and are rolling out Best Start Family Hubs investing £1.5 billion. More widely, this government is investing £820 million creating 350,000 workplace opportunities to support young people not in education or training under the Youth Guarantee; and £5bn in the Pride of Place programme to empower local people to shape the future of their neighbourhoods. Work is also underway to deliver our manifesto commitment to commence the socio-economic duty in England. The duty will require specified public bodies to actively consider how their strategic decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage.

What assessment her Department has made of the police's ability to meet current levels of demand from crime.

The Government is committed to giving the police the resources it needs to tackle crime. In 2025-26, the police funding settlement provided £19.6bn of funding for the policing system, an increase of £1.2bn compared to 24-25. At the spending review the chancellor announced a real terms increase in police funding.In addition, a Police Reform White Paper is being developed in partnership with policing. This is a comprehensive package of reform to policing in England and Wales that will strip out duplication and waste and ensure policing can keep up with the fast-changing nature of crime. This will be published early 2026.

Whether future police force boundaries will be aligned with regional mayoral boundaries.

The Government has committed in its English Devolution White Paper to transfer policing functions to Mayors of Strategic Authorities wherever boundaries of the mayoral and policing areas align, by default, subject to Royal Assent to provisions in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.This Government will abolish PCCs across England and Wales at the end of their term in 2028 and police governance functions will be transferred to mayors wherever possible, or to elected council leaders where it is not.The Home Secretary has an ambitious police reform agenda, which will include measures to drive down waste and cut bureaucracy so that the police can focus on issues that matter to the public and cut crime in our communities. Further detail will be set out in the Police Reform White Paper, which is due to be published in early 2026.

Whether he plans to review the adequacy of the GP Contract at reflecting (a) increases in demand, (b) inflation and (c) additional responsibilities.

General practices (GPs) are valued independent contractors who provide over £13 billion worth of National Health Services. Every year we consult with the profession about what services GPs provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract, taking into account demand and the cost of delivering services. We have started the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, and we look forward to listening to a range of stakeholders to help strengthen policy making, ensuring that GPs work for staff and patients.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that smaller systems, such as Gloucestershire, do not lose visibility or influence within larger merged ICBs which include urban centres.

Across larger integrated care board (ICB) footprints there will be a renewed focus on the local level as part of our commitment to deliver care closer to home. As outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health plans will be created, including for Gloucestershire, and will be brought together as part of the ICBs’ plans to improve population health locally.

What steps are his department taking to ensure the that upcoming GP Connect requirements support confidentiality and data integrity.

GP Connect helps clinicians to gain access to general practice (GP) patient records during interactions away from a patient’s registered practice and makes their medical information available to appropriate health and social care professionals when and where they need it, to support the patient’s direct care. From a privacy, confidentiality, and data protection perspective, GP Connect provides a method of secure information transfer and reduces the need to use less secure or less efficient methods of transferring information, such as email or telephone. Access to GP Connect is governed by role-based access and organisational controls, and only people who need to see the GP patient record for a patient’s direct care should be able to see it. Data integrity is ensured by the GP Connect Application Programming Interface sharing an accurate, consistent, and real time complete copy of specific data held in the source GP record. All systems that allow the use of GP Connect must undergo a robust compliance process. All organisations applying to use GP Connect must comply with the National Data Sharing Arrangement (NDSA) and end-user agreement that sets out their responsibilities and confidentiality obligations. Further information is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/services/gp-connect/national-data-sharing-arrangement-for-gp-connectThe NDSA and its terms and conditions stipulate that any information received or accessed about a patient for direct care purposes must remain confidential.NHS England has published a Privacy Notice and a Data Protection Impact Assessment for GP Connect, which can be found, respectively, at the following two links:https://digital.nhs.uk/services/gp-connect/gp-connect-in-your-organisation/gp-connect-privacy-notice/impact-assessmenthttps://digital.nhs.uk/services/gp-connect/gp-connect-in-your-organisation/gp-connect-privacy-notice

What assessment his department has made of the potential merits of recognising humanist marriages using existing powers.

The Government announced on 2 October that it intends to reform weddings law when parliamentary time allows. The reforms reflect a commitment to making weddings law fairer, simpler and more modern, whilst also protecting the solemnity and dignity of marriage. We want to create a level playing field for all groups, including allowing Humanist weddings to be legally recognised for the first time. We will be consulting on the details early next year.The Government is of the view that using the existing order-making power under section 14 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 legally to recognise Humanist weddings would mean introducing new inequalities into existing law. This is because Humanists would gain more freedoms in relation to how they marry than those available to most religious groups. The Government has decided to enable Humanist weddings as part of comprehensive reform that ensures all groups are treated fairly.

Whether his department has plans to implement the recommendations in Turn2us's report entitled From stigma to support, published in October 2025.

We are testing changes to the Jobcentre Plus environment to make it more welcoming for customers. We are exploring how services can be delivered in community settings, including via vans, pop-ups and collaboration with partner services. We are introducing trauma-informed approaches across the DWP, and all frontline DWP colleagues are trained to identify and support vulnerable customers. As part of the new Jobs and Careers Service, we are shifting the focus of the customer-work coach relationship away from compliance and box-ticking to more personalised, and career-focused discussions. We are testing this in our first Pathfinder, based in Wakefield.We are building towards a guaranteed Pathways to Work offer of personalised employment, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We have also launched the Timms Review to ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future. We are co-producing the Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. Once in place, the Review’s steering group will agree the approach to considering evidence and gathering input.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure the number of serving police officers taking their own lives is recorded.

The Home Office does not currently collect information centrally on the number of police officer suicides. The Office for National Statistics publishes data on the number of suicides registered in England and Wales by occupation. The latest available data can be found here: Suicide by occupation in England and Wales: 2023 and 2024, provisional - Office for National StatisticsThis Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police workforce is a priority, and we are committed to making improvements in wellbeing support for officers and staff. This includes exploring options to improve the current monitoring and data recording processes for police officer suicides.The National Police Wellbeing Service has created a national suicide action plan which aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording. In addition, the Service has put in place a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support Line to provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most.

What assessment has his Department made of the potential impact of ICB mergers on continuity and access in rural and semi-rural areas.

Across larger integrated care board (ICB) footprints there will be a renewed focus on the local level as part of our commitment to delivering care closer to home, and this includes rural and semi rural areas. As outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health plans will be created and will be brought together as part of the ICBs’ plans to improve population health locally.

What steps his department is taking to ensure that members of the armed forces are not penalised in child maintenance claims where they are unable to meet contact night thresholds due to the obligations of active service.

The aim of shared care arrangements is to make an allowance for direct costs incurred by ‘non-resident parents’ when children are staying with them for part of the time. For shared care to be considered in child maintenance calculations, the paying parent must have the child or children stay overnight at the same address as them. This requirement is set out in Regulation 46 of the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012, which provides that: A night counts where the non-resident parent has care of the qualifying child overnight and the child stays at the same address as that parent.The non-resident parent is regarded as having care when they are looking after the child.If, on a particular night, the child is a boarder at a boarding school or an in-patient in hospital, the person who would normally have care of the child for that night is treated as having care. If a parent feels that a decision taken by the Child Maintenance Service is incorrect, they can ask it to look at the decision again. This is known as a mandatory reconsideration. This can include the CMS looking at variation decisions and decisions to refuse a variation. If a parent still feels that the decision taken is incorrect after they receive a mandatory reconsideration notice, they will be able to appeal to an independent tribunal. DWP is fully committed to the Armed Forces Covenant and CMS engages regularly with defence stakeholders to make sure its policies, caseworker training, and communications reflect Service specific constraints.