Written questions by Holden.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the availability of ultrasound scans to pregnant women who (a) report reduced foetal movement before 28 weeks’ gestation and (b) present on more than one occasion after 24 weeks' gestation.

The Department has not made a recent assessment of the availability of ultrasound scans to pregnant women who report reduced foetal movement before 28 weeks’ gestation and present on more than one occasion after 24 weeks' gestation. Pregnant women are advised to seek professional help immediately if there is a reduction or change in the pattern of their baby’s movements at any gestation.At any point in the pregnancy, if there is a repeat episode of reduced or changed foetal movements, they should contact their maternity team immediately and a plan for care will be made based on personal circumstances and the number of weeks gestation. Whether further ultrasound scans are recommended will depend on clinical need and be determined on a case-by-case basis.

How many child deaths were recorded where parental consanguinity was (a) identified and (b) not identified in England in each year since 2019.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 2nd September is attached.

If she will take steps to improve transparency in the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s decision‑making process for over‑70s driving licence renewals; and what weightings are given to recent eyesight tests conducted by qualified opticians when assessing over-70s driving licence renewals.

Information about renewing a driving licence at the age of 70 and over and eyesight tests for driver licensing is available online at:https://www.gov.uk/driving-eyesight-ruleshttps://www.gov.uk/eye-conditions-and-drivingRenew your driving licence if you're 70 or over - GOV.UK.

If she could publish a breakdown of the Government's £4.5 billion spend on the transition to electric vehicles by (a) scheme and (b) year.

The Government is investing over £4.5 billion to help industry and consumers transition to zero emission vehicles. Following the Spending Review, the Government committed £1.8 billion in investment to decarbonise road transport from 2026-27 to 2029-30.  This includes £1.4 billion to support the continued uptake of zero emission vehicles, including vans and HGVs, and £400 million to support the rollout of charging infrastructure. The £400m includes funding for charging along the strategic road network in England, charging infrastructure to facilitate the deployment of zero emission vans and HGVs, and existing grants.In financial year 2025/26, £320m was made available at the Autumn Statement in 2024 to support investment in charging infrastructure and the uptake of zero emission vehicles. A further £2.5 billion has been made available to industry through the DRIVE35 programme.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK and Palestinian strategic cooperation: memorandum of understanding, published on 28 April 2025, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to non-violence.

We are clear that a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA) is essential to long-term stability in the region and making progress towards a two-state solution, which is why alongside our international partners, we welcomed the PA's commitment to deliver its ambitious and necessary 'National Program for Development and Reform'. In July the Foreign Secretary announced £7 million to strengthen the PA and Palestinian governance.We welcomed President Abbas' letter to President Macron, dated 9 June, in which he reaffirmed the Palestine Liberation Organization principles of non-violence, and committed to the organisation of elections, the development of a curriculum that is free from incitement, and revoking the law on prisoner payments by implementing a new social security system. We will continue to work closely with the PA to support it in delivering the important commitments it has made on reform.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK and Palestinian strategic cooperation: memorandum of understanding, published on 28 April 2025, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the Palestinian Authority’s compliance with its commitment in February 2025 to end payments to Palestinians convicted of terror offences by Israel.

We are clear that a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA) is essential to long-term stability in the region and making progress towards a two-state solution, which is why alongside our international partners, we welcomed the PA's commitment to deliver its ambitious and necessary 'National Program for Development and Reform'. In July the Foreign Secretary announced £7 million to strengthen the PA and Palestinian governance.We welcomed President Abbas' letter to President Macron, dated 9 June, in which he reaffirmed the Palestine Liberation Organization principles of non-violence, and committed to the organisation of elections, the development of a curriculum that is free from incitement, and revoking the law on prisoner payments by implementing a new social security system. We will continue to work closely with the PA to support it in delivering the important commitments it has made on reform.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025 to Question 63336 on Disaster Relief and Emergencies: Equality, for what reason sex and gender are collated as separate indicators.

Sex and gender reassignment are distinct protected characteristics and, as such, data relating to these characteristics may be collated separately.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025 to Question 64065 on National Security Adviser, for what reason the role of secretary to the National Security Council is fulfilled by the Deputy National Security Advisers; and what role the National Security Adviser has within the National Security Secretariat.

The NSA attends the National Security Council and provides advice to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on national security matters. The relevant Deputy NSA acts as Secretary to the National Security Council as this is a civil service function. The NSA oversees cross-government delivery of the National Security Strategy 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025 to Question 63336 on Disaster Relief and Emergencies: Equality, whether there is any other documentation with the Risk Vulnerability Tool.

Information about the Risk Vulnerability Tool (RVT), its purpose and availability to officials in UK and Devolved Governments was published as part of the Resilience Action Plan. Further information on the RVT methodology will be published as part of a Quality and Methodology Information report once the methodology has been finalised, as is usual for government statistics.

Whether the merger of the Payment Services Regulator in the Financial Conduct Authority will require (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation; and what her planned timetable is for completion of that merger.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has carried out important work to support the UK’s world leading payments sector. However, moving forward, the Government wishes to see a more streamlined regulatory environment with minimal overlap between regulators’ responsibilities. That is why the Government has announced its intentions to consolidate the PSR and its functions primarily within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Government will consult on the details of this measure shortly. The consolidation of the PSR into the FCA will require primary legislation, which will be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows. The PSR and FCA are already taking steps to realise the benefits of a more streamlined regulatory framework, including creating a new joint PSR/FCA payments executive director; updating the Memorandum of Understanding between the PSR, the FCA, the Bank of England and the PRA; jointly progressing Open Banking; and undertaking joint stakeholder engagement.

Whether the Public Appointments Commission has issued guidance on the declaration of significant political activity for regulated appointments.

The Commissioner for Public Appointments has not issued guidance on the publication of declarations of political activity. As set out in previous answers, rules on political activity by prospective or existing public appointees are already clearly set out within both the Governance Code on Public Appointments and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, and the process for declaring interests, including how they should be published by departments, is also set out in detail on Gov.uk.

What estimate he has made of the cost to the civil service of the requirement in the Employment Rights Bill to provide (a) additional facility time to trade unions and (b) facility time for equality representatives.

In October 2024 the government published impact assessments on the trade union-related measures within the Employment Rights Bill and these are available here: Employment Rights Bill: impact assessments - GOV.UK

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 62769 on Companies House: Databases, whether Companies House plans to remove entry 08881386 from the register.

Companies House will take appropriate action using the powers available whenever suspicious information is brought to its attention or identified by internal checks.The company in question was dissolved in 2018 and does not form part of the Register of Companies, though its records will remain available for 20 years.Companies House will act to remove inaccurate information relating to the company in question from the public records.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 63327 on Cabinet Office: Directors, if he has considered making the Government Lead Non Executive a member of his Department's board.

A model has been established whereby Baroness Casey, who was appointed as Government Lead Non-Executive on 3 January 2025, will not sit on the Cabinet Office Board. Instead, she will maintain a roving brief across government supporting ministerial priorities and non-executive board members.

How many staff work in the New Media Unit; and what the annual budget for that unit is.

The New Media Unit currently has 19 FTE, of which 17 are permanent and 2 are loanees. Assuming the NMU is fully staffed with a consistent grade mix, throughout the financial year the annual salary costs currently would be circa £1.28 million.

When he plans to respond to Question 43120, tabled on 1 April 2025, on Honours: Forfeiture.

The answer to question 43120 was published on 1 September 2025.

For what reason page 38 of the document entitled Government Function: People, Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework, updated on 30 June 2025, refers to gender rather than sex.

The document entitled Government Function: People, Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework uses the term gender on the basis that this refers to the legally required business publication of Gender Pay Gap reporting as per the Equality Act 2010.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 64566 on Arms Length Bodies, whether exempted expenditure will be published in one location; how it will be published; and when it will be published.

Expenditure which is exempted under the requirements of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Expenditure Guidance must be reported to the Cabinet Office by departments and ALBs who employ civil servants. Reported expenditure is published annually.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 62083 on House of Lords Appointments Commission, on what date the public appointments process opened; whether it has been extended; and whether any people who applied have been informed that they have not been appointed.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question 66291, which sets out when the campaign was launched and subsequently closed to applications. The Government announced on 19 August 2025 that, as a result of the campaign, Professor Adeeba Malik CBE DL had been appointed as an independent member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission with effect from 1 September 2025. All candidates who applied as part of this campaign have been notified of the outcome accordingly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 66291 on House of Lords Appointments Commission, for what reason members of the Commission have not been appointed.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question 66291, which sets out when the campaign was launched and subsequently closed to applications. The Government announced on 19 August 2025 that, as a result of the campaign, Professor Adeeba Malik CBE DL had been appointed as an independent member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission with effect from 1 September 2025. All candidates who applied as part of this campaign have been notified of the outcome accordingly.