Written questions by Smith.

When the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency plans to open its Early Access Service for innovative technologies in areas of unmet clinical need.

In July of this year the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency published a statement of policy intent for the development and implementation of an Early Access Service for innovative medical devices. This statement is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-policy-intent-early-access-to-innovative-medical-devices/statement-of-policy-intent-early-access-to-innovative-medical-devices#next-steps The service aims to speed up safe access to innovative medical devices for patients, supporting the Government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan. The statement set out our intention to work with stakeholders across the life science ecosystem to further develop the policy and to build the internal capability required to deliver the service throughout 2025. Further information on our plans will be provided in early 2026.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 80709 on Churches: Aerials, what estimate she has made of the average change in rents paid to (a) churches, (b) local authorities, (c) other public authorities and (d) private landowners for hosting telecommunications masts since the amendment of the Electronic Communications Code under the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022.

Measures included in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 will extend the statutory valuation framework contained in the Electronic Communications Code to certain cases regulated by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 and the Business Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. These measures have not yet come into force and therefore no assessment has been made of their impact on rents.Following the 2017 reforms to the Electronic Communications Code, government representatives engaged regularly with stakeholders about their impact. The changes made by the 2022 Act were consulted on and received Parliamentary scrutiny during passage of the Act.

What criteria her Department will use to determine the locations of new Defence Technical Colleges of Excellence.

A £182 million defence skills package was announced at the start of September in the Defence Industrial Strategy. This aims to make defence an engine for national renewal and economic growth, harnessing the skills needed for the future, from submarine engineers to specialist welders. The package centres on establishing five Defence Technical Excellence Colleges (DTECs), training people in the skills needed to secure new defence jobs in this growing industry.Exact locations are yet to be determined, and colleges will be appointed through a fair and transparent application process. The selection process for these DTECs will start by the end of 2025, with delivery planned to begin from April 2026. Further details will be published in due course.

Whether the updated Violence Against Women and Girls strategy will include policies on tackling harms against (a) young boys vulnerable to child sexual abuse and (b) all children.

This Government has been clear that the level of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable, and we are treating it as the national emergency that it is.The new VAWG Strategy will set the direction for the next decade, driving forward the Government’s bold ambition to halve VAWG within ten years. This is a landmark commitment that demands a truly transformational approach.Tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation of both boys and girls will be clearly reflected in the VAWG strategy. But we also recognise that tackling child sexual abuse requires a tailored and child-centred approach. Which is why we are taking forward a separate and ambitious programme of work across Government, including through our response to the Baroness Casey Audit and IICSA recommendations.The new VAWG Strategy is being finalised, and we will be publishing as soon as possible.

When her Department plans to publish its updated violence against women and girls strategy.

This Government has been clear that the level of violence against women andgirls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable, and we are treating it as the national emergency that it is.The new VAWG Strategy will set the direction for the next decade, driving forward the Government’s bold ambition to halve VAWG within ten years. Thisis a landmark commitment that demands a truly transformational approach.We are working tirelessly across government to deliver a Strategy that will setout bold, concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetratorsand bring them to justice, and protect victims and survivors. It’s vital we get itright.We’re working towards publication of the Strategy as soon as possibleand I will continue to keep the House updated on its development andforthcoming publication.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of funding for (a) research into and (b) the treatment of low-grade glioma; and whether he plans to increase that funding.

The Department invests over £1.6 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).The NIHR is continuing to invest in brain tumour research. Working with stakeholders from across the research community, in September 2024 the NIHR launched a package of support to stimulate high-quality research applications through: establishing a national Brain Tumour Research Consortium to bring together researchers from different disciplines to drive scientific advancements in how to prevent, detect, manage, and treat brain tumours; a dedicated funding call for research into wraparound care and rehabilitation for people living with brain tumours; and a partnership with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission to fund the next generation of researchers through the Allied Health Professionals Brain Tumour Research Fellowship programme.The NIHR continues to welcome high quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including low-grade glioma.

Whether she plans to extend the temporary five pence fuel duty reduction.

The Government carefully considers the impact of fuel duty on households and businesses and the public finances, with decisions on rates made at fiscal events.

Whether she plans to take steps to help support independent fostering agencies to improve their co-commissioning practices.

The department’s priority is to recruit and retain more foster carers so there is a choice of stable, loving foster homes for children in care.We encourage local authorities and independent fostering agencies to collaborate and offer the best possible homes for children in care. We welcome sector efforts such as the National Fostering Model Contract, which was co-produced by local authorities and Independent Fostering Agencies, which aim to improve commissioning processes.The department is establishing Regional Care Cooperatives to improve the overarching approach to commissioning placements to best meet the needs of children. There are currently two Regional Care Cooperatives, one in Greater Manchester, and one in the South East, and we will continue to work with these regions to strengthen their commissioning approaches, which will include working closely with the relevant independent fostering agencies.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 2017 Electronic Communications Code reform on rent revenues earned by church properties hosting mobile communications infrastructure.

No specific assessment has been made on the impact of the 2017 reforms on church properties. In the impact assessment produced in 2016 to accompany the 2017 reforms, it was anticipated that there would be a reduction in rents from operators to landowners but that it would be difficult to precisely predict the effect of the reforms on rental payments. The impact assessment referenced independent analysis conducted by the specialist telecommunications consultancy Nordicity, commissioned by DCMS, which estimated a potential 40% decrease in rents.

Representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Commissioners have made of the potential impact of the implementation of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 on revenue to churches.

In February 2018 the Church of England signed an Accord with HM Government to develop guidance for dioceses, parishes and Chancellors to enable digital connectivity. This was in response to concerns about the social consequences of uneven deployment of digital connectivity, particularly in rural areas. The Accord can be viewed online, here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a86eb9540f0b62305b9559c/2018_02_18_Church_of_England_-_HMG_Accord.docx__1_.pdf Following its obligations under the Accord, and acknowledging the difficulty for Code Operators in dealing separately with many thousands of self-governing parishes, the Church of England’s commercial arm then signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with all four Mobile Network OperatorsThese MoUs provide a single point of contact for the Operators, a company called NET CS, a managed process to navigate permissions under church and planning laws for heritage buildings, and a template licence for use by parishesThe Electronic Communications Code, as amended by this Act, requires valuing a property rent at market value, but importantly this must now exclude any value related to it being for the “use of an electronic communications network”. This means that comparable evidence of telecom and Church rental agreements established before the Code was introduced can no longer be used to determine a rent, so that Church rental yields are likely to suffer materially.In most cases this change to the valuation basis (in the case of churches, a relatively small space in a tower) means that for new agreements, or on renewal of agreements coming to term after perhaps 20 years, the revenue for landlords – churches, local and other public authorities, as well as private landowners - is much lower than it used to be before the changes to the Code, sometimes as much as 85% lessHowever, the consensual agreement with Operators under the Church of England MoUs is providing much better revenue for parishes than market value under the Electronic Communications Code, so long as parishes elect to use these MoU consensual agreements. This revenue is a useful addition for hard-pressed parochial church councils which are trustees of parishes charged with the costs of maintaining centuries-old listed heritage buildings.

What estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse for the (a) implementation, (b) administration, (c) staffing, (d) system development and (e) compliance in relation to the proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief.

I refer to the answer given on 5 September 2025 to PQ UIN 70546.https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-08-29/70546

How many claims relating to paternity leave were brought in the last year for which records are available.

Our latest published statistics for Employment Tribunals can be found using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.This data details the number of receipts by jurisdiction and the number of claims disposed. The Department does not collect the proportion of those claims brought by gender or the number of claims relating to paternity leave.This data is currently published up to March 2025 and only includes the cases received on digital systems and does not include those transitioned from paper-based systems.

What proportion of claims for (a) discrimination, (b) harassment and (c) unfair dismissal were brought by men in the last year for which records are available.

Our latest published statistics for Employment Tribunals can be found using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.This data details the number of receipts by jurisdiction and the number of claims disposed. The Department does not collect the proportion of those claims brought by gender or the number of claims relating to paternity leave.This data is currently published up to March 2025 and only includes the cases received on digital systems and does not include those transitioned from paper-based systems.

When he plans to publish the defence investment plan.

The Defence Investment Plan will be published this Autumn. For the very first time the Ministry of Defence’s Plan will cover the full scope of the defence programme, from people and operations to equipment and infrastructure, to ensure we can deliver the vision set out in the Strategic Defence Review.

Whether her Department has commissioned the use of (a) hotel accommodation and (b) private rented accommodation in South West Devon constituency for the purpose of housing asylum seekers since 4 July 2024.

Statistics are published on a quarterly basis detailing the number of asylum seekers in supported accommodation in each local authority area. The most recent publication can be found here: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

What steps his Department is taking to help increase the levels of cervical screening uptake in Devon.

NHS England has created a South West Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy committee, along with its associated pillars, covering cervical screening, human papillomavirus vaccination, and cervical cancer treatment, which is delivering numerous projects to improve uptake. For cervical screening, this includes: additional funding for primary care, for provision of out hours clinics and innovative ways to invite patients and increase uptake, across 47 Devon practices; extension of provision of cervical screening in sexual health service; and provision of drop-in clinics in acute trusts.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to answer Question 59537, tabled by the hon. Member for South West Devon on 12 June 2025.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 59537 on 20 June 2025.

Media and Sport, when she will publish the civil society covenant.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is working closely with civil society representatives to develop a Civil Society Covenant that will act as a foundation for resetting the relationship between government and civil society. We aim to publish the final Covenant in the summer.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to allow local councils to (a) adopt and (b) retain a mayoral executive model.

In the English Devolution White Paper, the Government made a commitment to consider the governance models available to local authorities across the sector. As part of wider reforms to the local government landscape, the department continues to review available governance models to ensure decision making is best supported at all levels of local government.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the ​​English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, whether new unitary councils will have the option of adopting council mayors as their executive governance.

In the English Devolution White Paper, the Government made a commitment to consider the governance models available to local authorities across the sector. As part of wider reforms to the local government landscape, the department continues to review available governance models to ensure decision making is best supported at all levels of local government.