Written questions by Moore.

With reference to the National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published in June 2025, what progress her Department has made on implementing recommendation nine.

Baroness Casey’s Audit into Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse highlighted a decline in child sexual abuse and exploitation within the department’s children in need data, which is published annually. We are undertaking work to better understand how children who experience child sexual abuse and exploitation are represented in both child in need assessment data and child protection data and will publish analysis by the end of the year.This will include analysis of demographics, outcomes, trends, local area variation over time and analysis of serious incident notifications.

With reference to the National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published in June 2025, what progress she has made on implementing recommendation 11.

The Department for Transport will legislate to address the important issues raised in the report, tackling the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle driver licensing. We are considering all options – including out of area working, national standards and enforcement – seeking the best overall outcomes for passenger safety. Careful consideration of the options is needed as we do not want any change to decrease the availability of highly vetted licensed drivers and vehicles and inadvertently increase the use of those offering illegal services that evade these licensing checks.We intend to consult shortly on making all local transport authorities responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. Administering taxi and private hire vehicle licensing over larger areas could greatly increase consistency in standards across England, reduce out-of-area working and result in a better match between licensing revenue and compliance and enforcement burdens.We are also reviewing licensing authorities' compliance with existing DfT guidance and considering how the statutory guidance can be strengthened to further protect the public. As part of this work, all licensing authorities in England have reported that they require the highest level of criminal background checks for taxi and PHV driver licence applicants – an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with a check of the children’s and adults’ barred lists. Where other recommendations are not being followed, particularly those linked to safeguarding, we intend to hold authorities to account.

With reference to the National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published in June 2025, what progress she has made on implementing recommendation 5.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill introduces a new duty for statutory safeguarding partners and other bodies to share information for the purposes of safeguarding and protecting the welfare of children, including from child sexual abuse and exploitation. This new duty is designed to complement the mandatory reporting duty set out in the Crime and Policing Bill. Together, these measures ensure that once a disclosure is made, the relevant information is not only received but is shared swiftly and appropriately with the bodies best placed to protect the child. In the ‘Tackling child sexual abuse: progress update’, published in April, the department set out that we would consult on a roadmap to a Child Protection Authority by the end of this year.

With reference to the National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published in June 2025, what progress his Department has made on implementing recommendation 1.

The Government accepted recommendation 1 of the National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. We are committed to changing the law and we are aware of the need for urgency. This is a complex area of law and we are carefully considering how we change it to best meet the commitment. We will update Parliament soon about our proposed approach, including when we intend to legislate.

With reference to the National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published in June 2025, what progress she has made on implementing recommendation 4.

The government has committed to make it a requirement for the police to collect ethnicity and nationality data of perpetrators of group-based child sexual exploitation. This data is vital in enabling us to develop the most accurate and robust picture of the nature of this offending.In July this year, the former Home Secretary wrote to all Chief Constables to set out the clear expectation that ethnicity data on grooming gang suspects should be collected in every case, and to urge them to make sure they are fulfilling their obligation to collect suspect ethnicity data as part of the government's commitment to transparency and accountability. The Home Office is closely monitoring data collection and provision from forces, and continues to engage with individual forces on where improvements are required.If we do not see improvements, we will not hesitate to put this requirement into legislation.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects to receive the final report of the Farming Profitability Review from Baroness Batters; and what her planned timetable is for publishing (a) the report and (b) the Government's response.

As set out in the Terms of Reference, the recommendations of the Farming Profitability Review will inform Defra policy including the Farming Roadmap, Food Strategy and Land-use Framework.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to reopen the Sustainable Farming Incentive programme for new applications; and whether she will ensure that farmers do not go a full year without access to the programme.

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that will better target SFI in an orderly way towards our priorities for food, farming and nature. Further information about the reformed SFI will be provided shortly.

Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for opening the next application round for (a) Capital Grants, (b) the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, (c) the Farming Innovation Programme's Farming Futures R&D competition and (d) the Improving Farm Productivity Grant.

As of 1 August, strong demand for the Government’s £150 million Capital Grant offer means that all available funds for this round have now been allocated. We plan to make further improvements to the offer for future rounds. We expect to open a new round for farmers to secure more funding during 2026. Other Countryside Stewardship capital grants which remain open for applications now are Woodland Tree Health grants, Capital grant plans, woodland management plans, Protection and Infrastructure grants and Higher Tier capital grants. We continue to work to simplify and rationalise our wider capital grant funding from 2026 onwards. We want to ensure our grants are targeted towards those who need them most and where they can deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. We also welcome the announcement within the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy to allocate at least £200 million to the Farming Innovation Programme up to 2030 which will offer continued targeted funding to drive innovation in agriculture.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support young farmers.

Encouraging more young people into farming and land-based careers is vital to ensure a skilled workforce is in place and the longer-term viability of the sector. Defra works closely with The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) which is encouraging young people and new entrants into farming in its capacity as an industry led professional body for the farming industry. This includes leading a cross-industry initiative to address common negative misconceptions about the sector and providing free TIAH membership for students. Furthermore, the Government has launched Skills England to ensure there is a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training and technical qualifications for individuals and employers to access, which are aligned with skills gaps and what employers need. It will work with its partners to ensure that regional and national skills needs are met.

Food and Rural Affairs, to which organisations his Department has allocated discretionary grants for the 2026-27 financial year.

We have allocated discretionary grants to a wide range of organisations for 2026/27.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for implementing the proposed reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013.

The Government announced reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 on 12 March 2025 following a public consultation. In this, we outlined plans for three core reforms, nine technical amendments, and two wider reforms to the bathing water Regulations. A Statutory Instrument is being prepared to implement the core and technical reforms, including removing automatic de-designation, assessing feasibility of improving water quality to ‘sufficient’ for designation, and removing fixed bathing season dates from the Regulations. We have also begun policy development and research for the wider reforms: expanding the definition of ‘bathers’ and introducing multiple monitoring points to assess water quality. We will work closely with stakeholders to shape our approach, and a timetable for implementation will be planned for this next piece of work in due course.

Whether her Department plans to increase capacity for housing asylum seekers within the Bradford Council district.

When this Government came to office, we inherited a system where hotels had become one of the primary means of providing asylum accommodation – with more than 400 in use in Autumn 2023 at a cost of almost £9 million per day – and where a 70 per cent collapse in asylum decision-making in the last months of the previous administration had driven that pressure up further.We have taken rapid action to address that chaos, in particular by speeding up the volume of asylum decision-making so that fewer people are stuck in limbo, dependent on support from the state, and so that more failed asylum-seekers can be removed from the UK, along with foreign national offenders and others with no right to be in our country.The number of hotels in use is now around half the peak reached under the previous Government, and we will take further action over the rest of this Parliament to end the use of asylum hotels entirely.We are continuing to work with a range of stakeholders to pursue that goal, while fulfilling our statutory obligations in the interim. Where the Home Office needs to use dispersed accommodation, it does so in accordance with the principle of Full Dispersal, announced by the previous government in 2022 to ensure that asylum seekers were more fairly distributed across the UK.We also continue to consult with local authorities, the police, and other interested parties to ensure that – wherever there are concerns over the impact of particular asylum accommodation sites on the local community, public safety and public amenities – all necessary actions are taken to address those concerns, and protect the security of each local area.

What capacity her Department has to house asylum seekers within the Bradford Council district.

When this Government came to office, we inherited a system where hotels had become one of the primary means of providing asylum accommodation – with more than 400 in use in Autumn 2023 at a cost of almost £9 million per day – and where a 70 per cent collapse in asylum decision-making in the last months of the previous administration had driven that pressure up further.We have taken rapid action to address that chaos, in particular by speeding up the volume of asylum decision-making so that fewer people are stuck in limbo, dependent on support from the state, and so that more failed asylum-seekers can be removed from the UK, along with foreign national offenders and others with no right to be in our country.The number of hotels in use is now around half the peak reached under the previous Government, and we will take further action over the rest of this Parliament to end the use of asylum hotels entirely.We are continuing to work with a range of stakeholders to pursue that goal, while fulfilling our statutory obligations in the interim. Where the Home Office needs to use dispersed accommodation, it does so in accordance with the principle of Full Dispersal, announced by the previous government in 2022 to ensure that asylum seekers were more fairly distributed across the UK.We also continue to consult with local authorities, the police, and other interested parties to ensure that – wherever there are concerns over the impact of particular asylum accommodation sites on the local community, public safety and public amenities – all necessary actions are taken to address those concerns, and protect the security of each local area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assurance mechanisms his Department has implemented to help ensure the accuracy of AI-derived data that forms part of the new UK peat map.

The England Peat Map, produced by Natural England as part of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment Programme, went through a rigorous science assurance process across Natural England, Defra and external peer reviewers. This science assurance covered the scientific design of the map’s production, the collection of the field data used to drive the model and testing the final modelled analysis which produced the map. The AI-derived data was reviewed and refined through checking in the field, using field survey data, and the methods by which this was done were reviewed by independent Defra group technical experts and external academics. This included reviewing the data inputted into the models, the models’ training and validation, the models’ application, the models’ outputs, and covered all the map layers produced including peat depth, extent and vegetation layers. Beta testing of outputs across Defra group users was initiated a year prior to release and feedback was used to refine the models. Limitations and precautions associated with the use of AI in the project are discussed in the England Peat Map final report, available on Natural England’s Access to Evidence website.

What information her Department holds on the (a) number and (b) proportion of people who abscond abroad before (i) trial and (ii) sentencing in the most recent period for which data is available; and how many and what proportion of these people were (A) dual and (B) foreign nationals.

The Ministry of Justice does not centrally hold information on the numbers of people who abscond abroad before trial and sentencing or absconding abroad by dual/foreign nationals. To obtain the data to answer this question would involve a manual interrogation of court records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the department.

How many and what proportion of (a) suspects were tried and (b) convicted people were sentenced in absentia in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on trials, convictions and sentencing outcomes at criminal courts in England and Wales (latest data to December 2024), available from the Criminal Justice Statistics page. However, it is not possible to provide the number of people sentenced in their absence, as this is not held. Nor is it possible to provide data on the nationality of convicted defendants who were sentenced in their absence, as this information is not collected. This information may be held in court records, but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

How many and what proportion of (a) foreign and (b) dual national offenders were (i) tried and (ii) sentenced in absentia in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on trials, convictions and sentencing outcomes at criminal courts in England and Wales (latest data to December 2024), available from the Criminal Justice Statistics page. However, it is not possible to provide the number of people sentenced in their absence, as this is not held. Nor is it possible to provide data on the nationality of convicted defendants who were sentenced in their absence, as this information is not collected. This information may be held in court records, but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the annual administrative cost has been of providing (a) delinked payments and (b) the Basic Payment Scheme since 2020.

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to tie the provision of UK aid to Pakistan to the Pakistani authorities' cooperation on the (a) deportation of Pakistani criminals in the UK and (b) return of criminal suspects charged in the UK who are residing in Pakistan.

The UK has transitioned from a traditional aid relationship with Pakistan to a mutually beneficial partnership which underpins UK national interests, and we have regular constructive discussions with Pakistani authorities on a range of topics of vital mutual interest, including criminal justice. None of the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) spent in Pakistan is dispersed through the Pakistani government, therefore the UK government rules out linking ODA and deportations. Despite significant and complex challenges when seeking to return foreign national offenders, this government is fully committed to making our communities safer by deporting those who break our laws. The Foreign Secretary raised this matter with Pakistan's Prime Minister in May.

What recent progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendations in the report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in February 2022.

In April, the Government published the ‘Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update’ which sets out the action this Government is taking in response to the recommendations in IICSA’s final report, alongside broader steps to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation.As set out in the Progress Update, the Government agrees with the importance of having a clear focus on children across Government, including at Cabinet level. The Secretary of State for Education is the Cabinet minister for children. A new Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will also drive and mainstream the strong collective cross Government focus on children’s wellbeing, safety and opportunity. This will bring together Ministers from the Government departments with a key role on issues affecting children.The Progress Update also sets out the Government’s commitment to create a Child Protection Authority for England to help make the child protection system clearer, more unified and to ensure there is ongoing improvement through effective evidence-based support. The Progress Update sets out the next steps the Government will take to establish a Child Protection Authority, which will build on the foundation of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.