Written questions by Jones.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to review the adequacy of the Charities Act 2011.

The government has no plans to conduct a review of the adequacy of the Charities Act 2011.DCMS regularly considers the charity regulatory landscape to ensure that charities are sufficiently transparent and accountable, and to ensure that the Charity Commission for England and Wales has appropriate oversight of the sector.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made on helping to improve freedom of religion or belief of minority Buddhist communities in Southeast Asia.

The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We are championing the right to FoRB multilaterally, bilaterally and through programme funding. In Southeast Asia, for example, as a member of the International Contact Group on Freedom of Religion and Belief in Vietnam, the UK has often worked to raise cases of concern with Vietnamese authorities in this area. The appointment of David Smith MP as the Special Envoy for FoRB is a clear signal of the UK's ongoing commitment to these efforts in Southeast Asia and across the globe.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress he has made on supporting (a) Rakhine Muslim and (b) Christian communities in Myanmar.

We are committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all. Since 2017, the UK has provided over £48 million in aid including cash assistance and water, sanitation and hygiene services to the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Rakhine state. We continue to stress the need for de-escalation in Rakhine and for civilians to be protected. This was recently reiterated in a joint statement with international partners in January 2025. We continue to condemn the abuses taking place against Myanmar's religious minorities, including its Christian population. In response to the Myanmar military's worsening aerial attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including churches, we announced seven sanctions in October 2024, targeting suppliers of aviation fuel and equipment to the Myanmar military.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies on freedom of religion or belief of the imposition of legal restrictions on the Burqa in public spaces in Switzerland; and whether he plans to take steps to help promote freedom of religion or belief in Switzerland in the context of that legislation.

The UK continues to champion freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. We are working to uphold the right to FoRB through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora and in our important bilateral work. These are ultimately matters for the democratic Swiss authorities but we engage with Switzerland on a range of issues both bilaterally and multilaterally- including human rights and FoRB issues, this includes during the Swiss Chairing of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, as well as through our shared membership of the Council of Europe and OSCE.

Whether he plans to investigate the business practices of rent-a-roof companies under the (a) Feed-In-Tariff and (b) Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

The Department is aware of allegations that have been made about the business practices of some companies that operated rent-a-roof or leasing models in the Feed-in Tariff and Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive schemes. Ofgem is currently looking into these allegations. If Ofgem finds evidence of wrongdoing, then the Department will support Ofgem in using the full extent of its powers to address the issue.

What discussions she has had with the Welsh government on aviation objections to onshore wind in South Wales.

I have regular discussions with the Welsh Government on renewable energy projects in Wales. Wales will play an important role in increasing the UK's onshore wind capacity and meeting our Net Zero and energy security ambitions. The UK Government has set up an Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce to identify and address the barriers to increased onshore wind deployment, including in relation to airspace management and aviation. The government engages regularly with the Welsh Government, who are represented on the Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce. Welsh Government officials have been attending the Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce Working Group 4: Aviation and Defence. The group is discussing the challenges, opportunities and risks associated with accelerating onshore wind deployment to 2030, relevant to aviation and defence policy.

Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for introducing a new private parking code of practice.

The Government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector.The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the Government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities.At this time the Government is not able to share any further details but please be assured we will announce our plans for the new Code in due course.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of aviation objections on the deployment of new onshore wind in Wales.

Wales will play an important role in increasing the UK's onshore wind capacity and meeting our Net Zero Ambitions. The Government has set up an Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce to identify and address the barriers to increased onshore wind deployment, including in relation to airspace management and aviation. As a reserved matter, we recognise that this will have implications for onshore wind projects being built in the Devolved Administrations. We engage regularly with the Welsh Government, who are represented on the Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on aviation objections to onshore wind in Wales.

I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on renewable energy projects in Wales. Wales will play an important role in increasing the UK's onshore wind capacity and meeting our Net Zero and energy security ambitions. The UK Government has set up an Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce to identify and address the barriers to increased onshore wind deployment, including in relation to airspace management and aviation. The government engages regularly with the Welsh Government, who are represented on the Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce. Welsh Government officials have been attending the Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce Working Group 4: Aviation and Defence. The group is discussing the challenges, opportunities and risks associated with accelerating onshore wind deployment to 2030, relevant to aviation and defence policy.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to improve the regulation of car parking management companies.

The Government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector.The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the Government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities.At this time the Government is not able to share any further details but please be assured we will announce our plans for the new Code in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 in regulating the welfare of cats in England.

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, anyone in the business of breeding and selling cats as pets, boarding cats or using cats for exhibition purposes needs to have a valid licence issued by their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse, vary or revoke licences. Defra has been working on a post-implementation review (PIR) of the Regulations. This review considers whether the Regulations have met their objectives, and where there could be scope to further improve the protections they provide. The PIR will be published shortly.

Media and Sport, how many representations her Department has received from (a) organisations, (b) hon. Members and (c) individuals on the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.

Between the beginning of September 2024 and Friday 13th December, the department has received 323 items of correspondence on the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme: 119 from organisations; 119 from hon. and rt. hon. Members; and, 85 from individual members of the public.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has consulted (a) canine and feline behaviourists, (b) manufacturers of electronic shock collars and (c) farming bodies on the use of electronic shock collars on dogs and cats in England.

Defra has previously engaged with a wide range of stakeholders in relation to electric shock collars, including via a public consultation in 2018, direct engagement across the sector, and consideration of relevant academic research. We will be considering available evidence around the use of hand-controlled e-collars and their effects on the welfare of animals.

Media and Sport, how many (a) Buddhist, (b) Jewish, (c) Muslim, (d) Sikh and (e) other non-Christian places of worship are listed in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland for their architecture or historic interest.

Each devolved nation is responsible for its own listings regime. Details on listed buildings can be found on the public lists maintained by Historic England, Cadw, Historic Environment Scotland and the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland respectively. The list maintained by Historic England is searchable by key words which can include denomination.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the amount of electronic waste generated by the UK by (a) product type and (b) region in each year since 2013.

Currently we do not collect data on the amount of electronic waste generated by product type or by region. The Environment Agency publish data on waste electricals and electronic equipment (WEEE) collected by registered Producer Compliance Schemes (PCS) and treated by Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities (AATF) Independent research on mapping waste electrical flows in the UK carried out by Material Focus estimates waste electrical and electronic equipment arising across all potential collection routes across the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings in the report by Which? entitled How to make big savings on a second-hand phone, published in October 2023.

We have not made an assessment of the report by Which entitled 'How to make big savings on a second-hand phone', published in October 2023. In our manifesto, the government committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has set this as one of Defra’s top five priorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to review the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.

Defra is finalising its post-implementation review of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. The report into the review will be published shortly.

What progress his Department has made on including an ambitious intellectual property protection framework in the UK-Swiss free trade deal.

The fifth round of negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement with Switzerland took place in London in October 2024. As part of that, negotiations on intellectual property continued to advance across a number of rights areas. The UK aims to agree a comprehensive IP chapter which builds on the UK and Switzerland’s existing high mutual standards, balances interests across all UK industries and sectors, and reaches an outcome that delivers for the whole of the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of launching a (a) comprehensive and (b) holistic review of the causes of dog attacks.

Defra is working with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to help prevent attacks by encouraging responsible dog ownership, to ensure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate and to make sure the full force of the law is applied. As part of this work, we will continue to consider how we can improve data collection and recording on dog attacks so that we are in a better position to take action.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is to introduce legislation to end (a) puppy and (b) kitten smuggling.

As outlined in our manifesto, we are committed to ending puppy smuggling. The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by Dr Danny Chambers MP. The Bill will close loopholes in the non-commercial pet travel rules that are abused by unscrupulous traders and give the Government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.