Written questions by Harding.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of children who turn nine months old shortly after the term-time eligibility deadline for 30-hour free childcare on families; how many young children turned nine-months of age within one month after this deadline in March 2026; and whether she is considering the potential merits of reviewing this issue as part of the proposed reform to childcare.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of the impact of the continued freeze on Local Housing Allowance on (a) Elmbridge Borough Council and (b) other high-cost rental areas.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions reviewed Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates and confirmed in his written ministerial statement on 26th November 2025 that rates would be maintained at their current levels for 2026/27. Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for discretionary support through the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) Housing Payments from local authorities in England.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the difference in pet ownership rights of leaseholders and tenants in rental properties, specifically regarding the provisions in the Renter’s Rights Act that prevent landlords issuing blanket bans on pets on equality of treatment between different forms of property ownership; and whether the Government will introduce measures to ensure leaseholders have equivalent rights to keep pets in their properties.

The government recognises that pets can bring joy and comfort to their owners, as well as supporting their mental and physical wellbeing. At present, the ability of a leaseholder to keep a pet will depend on the terms of their lease. Where a given lease restricts the keeping of pets, variation of the lease to enable leaseholders to have a pet may only be made by agreement with the freeholder. The government is considering the rights of leaseholders to keep pets as part of its leasehold and commonhold reform agenda.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prevent leasehold agreements from imposing blanket bans on pet ownership where similar restrictions would not be permitted under the Renters’ Rights Act.

The government recognises that pets can bring joy and comfort to their owners, as well as supporting their mental and physical wellbeing. At present, the ability of a leaseholder to keep a pet will depend on the terms of their lease. Where a given lease restricts the keeping of pets, variation of the lease to enable leaseholders to have a pet may only be made by agreement with the freeholder. The government is considering the rights of leaseholders to keep pets as part of its leasehold and commonhold reform agenda.

What assessment she has made of the impact of the removal of the 10 per cent wear and tear allowance on self employed, Ofsted registered childminders; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) reinstating this allowance and (b) introducing an alternative mechanism to cover additional household costs for childminders who provide childcare from their own homes.

Childminders make a significant contribution to children’s development, learning, and wellbeing. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers. Only a small proportion of childminders with qualifying income over £50,000 have been mandated into Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax from April 2026. Childminders moving to MTD for income tax can continue to claim tax relief for household costs, wear and tear of household items and furniture, and food and drink, by deducting actual business costs. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business. The Government has recently published updated guidance for childminders to help them claim relief for these costs. The Government will monitor the impact of MTD for income tax on childminders and other home-based childcare providers in the same way as it will for all sole traders moving to MTD for income tax. We will also review the impacts of moving from the 10% deduction to actual costs for wear and tear claims.

Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to ensure that the voluntary measures agreed by the Creator Remuneration Working Group in July 2025 deliver improved remuneration for (a) session musicians and orchestral players and (b) other non-featured artists from music streaming platforms.

Ensuring that music creators are fairly compensated for their work is crucial to the ongoing success of our world-class music industry, as this is what allows them to invest their time, effort, and money into creating music. Through the Creator Remuneration Working Group, we collaborated on this matter with key industry stakeholders, including major and independent record labels and music creator representatives. In July 2025, we were delighted to welcome the new label-led principles as an output of these discussions. This includes targeted support for legacy artists, songwriters and session musicians, with the commitment from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Musicians’ Union to increase fees for session musicians by 40% for pop and 15% for classical sessions. The UK’s major labels have also launched bespoke packages to deliver benefits for UK creators. To track progress and measure success, the government has worked with industry to implement a robust process to monitor and review the impact of the Principles. The Government will then assess the need for further intervention to ensure this package delivers on its objective to bring about real change.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of allocating the majority of the UK’s pledge to the Eighth Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in 2028/29 on the ability of the Global Fund to scale up innovations.

The Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations announced by the Foreign Secretary on 19 March take a strategic, multi‑year approach, which will provide greater predictability and support effective planning by our partners, including multilateral organisations such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which the UK continues to back as a high‑impact institution delivering strong results. These allocations were considered in the round alongside other multilateral commitments and priorities, within a highly constrained overall ODA settlement.

What proportion of Chevening scholars from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan have claimed asylum in the United Kingdom following the completion of their scholarships.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum where the latest leave held prior to claim was a study visa is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The number of student entry clearance visas issued is published in table Vis_D02 of the 'Entry clearance visas datasets'.A full Impact Assessment has been published for the Visa Brake policy; see Table 1 for historic volumes of asylum claims linked to visa for the relevant nationalities and routes in scope of the Brake.The requested information on asylum claims from Chevening scholars is not available from published statistics.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the report by Christians Against Poverty entitled 'Barriers to work: Challenges, support and solutions, published on 25th February 2026; and what steps his Department is taking to help support people with (a) mental health conditions and (b) disabilities into employment.

Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. In our Pathways to Work Green Paper we set out our Pathways to Work offer, backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with mental health conditions, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants. Through Pathways to Work we are building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and people with health conditions on out of work benefits, building on and bringing together initiatives such as Connect to Work, WorkWell and Employment Advisers in Talking Therapies. The 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration, recognising good work is good for health. The Plan states our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.

What assessment his Department has made of the proportion of secondary school pupils in England completing CPR training as required under the Health Education curriculum; and what steps the Department for Education is taking to support schools in ensuring consistent delivery of CPR training and to promote participation in national initiatives such as Restart a Heart month.

All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the Relationships, Sex and Health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.The RSHE guidance requires primary schools to teach basic first aid, such as dealing with common injuries. In secondary schools, pupils learn additional skills, including cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how and when to use a defibrillator.Schools have flexibility in how they deliver this content, including which resources they choose to use and whether to participate in initiatives such as Restart a Heart month.The department does not collect data on how many pupils have completed CPR training; schools are responsible for determining how best to meet curriculum requirements and ensure appropriate first aid education.The government has commissioned Oak Academy to make lesson materials freely available.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking through diplomatic channels to ensure accountability for attacks on civilian populations in North-East Syria.

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 28 January 2026. I can assure her that we continue to raise the protection of Kurdish civilians and other minority communities, as well as the importance of accountability and rule of law, as a constant subject of concern with the Syrian Government. On 27 February I spoke to Foreign Minister al-Shaibani and raised with him directly my concerns around the humanitarian situation in Kobane and the internally displaced persons camps. I also recently met with members of the UK Kurdish community to discuss their views on the 30 January agreement and their hopes for the future.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Syrian interim government on constitutional protections for the political, cultural and linguistic rights of Kurdish communities as part of the ongoing integration process between the Syrian interim government and the Syrian Democratic Forces.

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 28 January 2026. I can assure her that we continue to raise the protection of Kurdish civilians and other minority communities, as well as the importance of accountability and rule of law, as a constant subject of concern with the Syrian Government. On 27 February I spoke to Foreign Minister al-Shaibani and raised with him directly my concerns around the humanitarian situation in Kobane and the internally displaced persons camps. I also recently met with members of the UK Kurdish community to discuss their views on the 30 January agreement and their hopes for the future.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations her Department has made to the Government of Saudi Arabia regarding (a) the reported increase in executions in 2024 and 2025, (b) the execution of individuals convicted of offences committed when they were under 18, and (c) the cases of individuals facing execution for protest-related offences.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 December in response to Question 97116.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure unrestricted humanitarian access to civilian populations affected by recent military operations in North-East Syria.

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 28 January 2026. I can assure her that we continue to raise the protection of Kurdish civilians and other minority communities, as well as the importance of accountability and rule of law, as a constant subject of concern with the Syrian Government. On 27 February I spoke to Foreign Minister al-Shaibani and raised with him directly my concerns around the humanitarian situation in Kobane and the internally displaced persons camps. I also recently met with members of the UK Kurdish community to discuss their views on the 30 January agreement and their hopes for the future.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the gap between the introduction of increased tuition fees in 2026 and the reintroduction of maintenance grants in 2029 on students from lower-income households.

No assessment has been made. Tuition fees are covered by tuition fee loans, so students do not need to pay them while they study.Regarding students from lower-income backgrounds, we are acting to support them through future proofing our maintenance loan offer by increasing maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year from 2026/27.Additionally, from 2028/29, maintenance grants will support full-time students from low-income households studying courses aligned with the government’s missions. The grants will provide disadvantaged full-time students with up to £1,000 extra per year, on top of existing maintenance loans, increasing cash in students’ pockets without increasing their debt.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many letters relating to the British Council were received by her Department in each year from 2019 to 2024, and what proportion received a substantive response in each year.

Details of ministerial meetings with external individuals and organisations are routinely published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on a quarterly basis. The requested data on correspondence could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings her predecessors held with the Chief Executive or Chair of the British Council in each calendar year from 2019 to 2025.

Details of ministerial meetings with external individuals and organisations are routinely published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on a quarterly basis. The requested data on correspondence could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What plans his Department has to increase the number of specialist Parkinson's nurses serving residents of Esher and Walton constituency.

The Government will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including specialists across the full scope of National Health Service care. It will ensure that the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, including those with Parkinson’s disease, when they need it. This 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how we will deliver that change by making sure that staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.We have set up a United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, facilitating formal, twice-yearly meetings across the Department, NHS England, devolved administrations, and health services and Neurological Alliances of all four nations. The new forum brings key stakeholders together to share learnings across the system and discuss challenges, best practice examples, and potential solutions for improving the care of people with neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s. The forum has identified areas for initial focus, including the workforce, which featured as a key item on the agenda at the second meeting of the forum in September 2025.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of industry-led standards, including those of the London Bullion Market Association, to prevent conflict-linked gold from Sudan entering the United Kingdom market; and whether she plans to introduce statutory oversight of gold-supply-chain due diligence.

The trade of illicit gold funds undermines the rule of law and perpetuates human rights abuses. Gold extraction and smuggling operations represent a significant loss to Sudan and undermine effective resource governance. The UK has imposed sanctions on a number of individuals and businesses who are allegedly involved in the exploitation of gold resources in Sudan. Companies must conduct appropriate due diligence to ensure full compliance with these sanctions. The UK Government engages with the gold industry, in particular the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to support responsible sourcing and rigorous due diligence standards to enhance resilience to illicit gold and identify malign actors in the supply chain. As the UK is an OECD member, businesses in the UK apply the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk areas, including the LBMA. The UK is a global leader in tackling illicit gold flows, recently hosting a joint FCDO-HMRC Gold Conference and launching a public-private partnership with industry to clamp down on illicit flows. The Government recognises the importance of high regulatory standards in financial markets. For over-the-counter wholesale markets for precious metals like the London Bullion Market, the Financial Conduct Authority recognises the Global Precious Metals Code, which sets out the standards and best practice expected from market participants in these markets.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on the potential risk of gold imported into the United Kingdom via Switzerland originating from conflict-affected areas of Sudan, including gold transiting through and refined in the United Arab Emirates; whether her Department has assessed the adequacy of due-diligence requirements for transit and refining hubs such as the UAE; and what steps she is taking to improve enforcement and traceability to prevent conflict gold entering UK supply chains.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 4 December 2025 in response to Question 95190.