Written questions by Lamb.

Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the loss of revenue to good causes resulting from the time taken for the National Lottery licence transition caused by litigation.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support the transformation of the National Lottery.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what her planned timeline is for appointing a permanent Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission.

Awaiting answer.

With reference to the Licensing Reform Programme's call for evidence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on society of rapid alcohol delivery services.

The Licensing Act 2003 regulates the sale and supply of alcohol for consumption within licensed venues (on-trade) and outside of licensed venues (off-trade), which is the responsibility of the Home Office.The Licensing Reform Programme’s call for evidence focused on the operation of the on‑trade, and the National Licensing Policy Framework applies exclusively to premises authorised under the Licensing Act 2003 for the sale and consumption of alcohol on-site, regulated entertainment or late‑night refreshment.Under the Licensing Act 2003, it is already an offence to sell alcohol to someone who is intoxicated. The Home Office is looking at how current licensing rules apply to home alcohol delivery services and speaking to experts and stakeholders to ensure these are effective.Although the evidence base is still emerging, the Government is aware there are some concerns that rapid online alcohol delivery may be contributing to increased alcohol harm by significantly expanding availability and ease of access. Faster delivery times can reduce the natural friction that moderates consumption, potentially enabling higher risk and more impulsive drinking, including among vulnerable groups. The Government is committed to ensuring that the licencing regime remains fit for purpose and able to meet emerging challenges.

If she will ensure that future people that attend university will not have the repayment thresholds for their student loans altered after taking them out.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether criminal investigations have been undertaken on reports that British nationals paid money to kill civilians during the Siege of Sarajevo.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 26 November 2025 in response to Question HL11857.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with international counterparts on reports that British nationals paid money to kill civilians during the Siege of Sarajevo.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 26 November 2025 in response to Question HL11857.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Warm Homes Plan on levels of fuel poverty in Crawley constituency.

For too long, British families have paid the price for our nation’s energy insecurity and energy bills remain too high. The Warm Homes Plan will tackle fuel poverty, helping lift up to one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030 through public investment and new minimum energy efficiency standards for private and social landlords. Benefiting households up and down the country, including in Crawley constituency.

What discussions his Department has had with Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust on the potential impact of the reduction in Crawley Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre's opening hours on patients.

The Trust’s evaluation found that revised opening hours at Crawley Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre reduced the average time patients spend in the UTC by 17 minutes, with no significant impact on nearby emergency departments. Decisions on local service configuration are the responsibility of NHS commissioners. The Government has committed £250 million in the UEC Plan 25/26 to expand co-located urgent treatment centres alongside same day emergency care.

Whether her Department plans to regulate drop-off charges at airports.

The provision and charging of car parking at airports, including drop-off charges is a matter for the airport operator as a commercial business to manage and justify. Government expects fees to be set in a way that is both fair and transparent.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish his Department's financial assessment and underlying data of the costs and savings of Local Government Reform.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77631 on 13 October 2025.

Whether she plans to expand eligibility for the HAF programme to include children from low-income families not currently in receipt of free school meals.

The government remains committed to the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, ensuring children eligible for free school meals (FSM) can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays. Over £600 million has been confirmed for the programme for the next three financial years from 2026/27. This multi-year commitment provides local authorities with stability and certainty, enabling longer term planning, procurement and investment to drive more effective and efficient delivery.For the 2026/27 financial year, eligibility for HAF will remain at the existing FSM threshold, targeting support to those who need it most. Future eligibility will be kept under review and any changes communicated in due course.An external evaluation commissioned by the department in 2021 found HAF successfully provided children with nutritious food whilst supporting parents to work and bringing financial relief. In a recent external survey of 20,000 parents and carers, over nine in ten reported that HAF reduced money worries during holidays and made it easier to work, alongside positive findings on the nutritional value and enjoyment of the food.The department is committed to the continued assessment of HAF’s impact and will be conducting an evaluation during the three year funding period.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure sustainable, inflation-linked funding for the holiday activities and food programme.

The government remains committed to the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, ensuring children eligible for free school meals (FSM) can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays. Over £600 million has been confirmed for the programme for the next three financial years from 2026/27. This multi-year commitment provides local authorities with stability and certainty, enabling longer term planning, procurement and investment to drive more effective and efficient delivery.For the 2026/27 financial year, eligibility for HAF will remain at the existing FSM threshold, targeting support to those who need it most. Future eligibility will be kept under review and any changes communicated in due course.An external evaluation commissioned by the department in 2021 found HAF successfully provided children with nutritious food whilst supporting parents to work and bringing financial relief. In a recent external survey of 20,000 parents and carers, over nine in ten reported that HAF reduced money worries during holidays and made it easier to work, alongside positive findings on the nutritional value and enjoyment of the food.The department is committed to the continued assessment of HAF’s impact and will be conducting an evaluation during the three year funding period.

What assessment has been made of the HAF programme’s impact on reducing child food insecurity and supporting families during school holidays.

The government remains committed to the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, ensuring children eligible for free school meals (FSM) can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays. Over £600 million has been confirmed for the programme for the next three financial years from 2026/27. This multi-year commitment provides local authorities with stability and certainty, enabling longer term planning, procurement and investment to drive more effective and efficient delivery.For the 2026/27 financial year, eligibility for HAF will remain at the existing FSM threshold, targeting support to those who need it most. Future eligibility will be kept under review and any changes communicated in due course.An external evaluation commissioned by the department in 2021 found HAF successfully provided children with nutritious food whilst supporting parents to work and bringing financial relief. In a recent external survey of 20,000 parents and carers, over nine in ten reported that HAF reduced money worries during holidays and made it easier to work, alongside positive findings on the nutritional value and enjoyment of the food.The department is committed to the continued assessment of HAF’s impact and will be conducting an evaluation during the three year funding period.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of protests in the Iranian cities of Tehran and Yasuj; and what steps she has taken to help promote the safety of the protestors.

I refer the Hon Member to my statement to the House on 5 January and to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 13 January.

Within Crawley constituency in the most recent 12 months for which data is available, what is the total amount resulting from (a) deductions and (b) sanctions applied to Universal Credit claims.

a) Universal Credit deductions statistics are published quarterly with the latest figures available in table 6, row 365 in Universal Credit deductions statistics, September 2024 to August 2025, supplementary data tables, at Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 9 October 2025 - GOV.UK b) The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The Deductions policy in Universal Credit is to support customers by providing a repayment method for arrears of essential services, such as, housing, electricity, and gas and enable customers with a child maintenance liability meet their obligation to make child maintenance payments. The deductions policy also enables obligations, such as, paying Court Fines and Council Tax arrears to be enforced when other repayment methods have failed, or are not cost effective, and ensures that benefit debt is recovered in a cost-effective manner. From April 2025 the Government introduced the Fair Repayment Rate which reduced the level of deduction taken from Universal Credit from 25% to 15%, and meant that 1.2m households retained on average £420 per year enabling these UC households to have more of their award to meet their day-to-day needs.

Whether her Department uses wellbeing metrics in the context of policy development.

HM Treasury does use wellbeing metrics in policy development. HM Treasury is also responsible for the Green Book, which supports officials across government to apply wellbeing approaches to policy development.

Following the announcement made on 16 October 2025 regarding the extension of funding to Trailblazer areas under the Get Britain Working programme, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Trailblazer schemes to date on a) employment outcomes b) levels of economic inactivity, and c) associated health and wellbeing indicators.

The Department developed a Strategic Outline Business Case for the Get Britain Working Trailblazers in March 2025, which followed HM Treasury’s Green Book framework. Within this, an assessment was made of the potential impact of the programme upon employment and associated health outcomes, as well as increasing participation in education and training. An update to the Business Case is being conducted, which will take account of relevant information following the programme launch earlier this year. The Department will be commissioning an evaluation, starting in December 2025, which is expected to build evidence on the effectiveness of the programme at achieving employment outcomes, reducing levels of economic inactivity, associated health and well-being indicators, increasing participation in education and training, and effectiveness of systems integration. We expect to publish interim findings during the next two years and will develop the value for money assessment once longer term impacts have developed.

What plans her Department has to improve taxi licensing policy, in the context of the findings of the National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

We have committed to legislate to address the issues raised in Baroness Casey’s national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, to tackle the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle driver licensing. We want to achieve two outcomes; the first is ensuring we have consistently high safeguarding standards. The second is that there is no unintended reduction in the availability of licensed taxi and private hire vehicle services, which could disproportionately impact women and girls and disabled people, who rely on these services the most. We are considering all options – including out-of-area working, national standards, enforcement and transferring licensing to local transport authorities - seeking the best overall outcomes for passenger safety. We are currently reviewing licensing authorities’ compliance with existing guidance issued by the Department on actions they should take on licensing matters, including safety. All licensing authorities have reported that they require the highest level of criminal background checks for taxi and private hire vehicle driver licence applicants – an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check with a check of the children’s and adults’ barred lists. Where key safety recommendations from the guidance are not being followed, licensing authorities will be held to account.

What steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for the payment of refunds from her Department.

UK Visas and Immigration have a range of customer service teams and processes in place to support customers where they may require a refund.These teams ensure that refunds are made in a timely fashion and in line with the policies and procedures linked to the individual visa service that has been paid for.