Written questions by Bhatti.

What discussions she has had with Chiltern Railways on increasing its capacity.

My officials and I continue to work with Chiltern Railways to improve passenger experience. Chiltern periodically adjusts its timetable in response to passenger demand.We are closely engaged with Chiltern’s fleet renewal programme. The option to procure additional trains to increase capacity is being investigated, whilst considering value for money.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the proposal by the Welsh government to enable local authorities to charge a visitor levy.

Tourism is a devolved policy matter and we work closely with the Devolved Administrations. My department will carefully monitor the proposal by the Welsh government. Tax policy is a matter for HM Treasury and there are currently no plans to introduce a similar tax in England.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with (a) the Guardian Media Group and (b) Tortoise Media on the proposed buyout of the Observer newspaper.

It would be inappropriate to comment on any live merger case. As is clear under the Enterprise Act, this is a quasi-judicial process for the DCMS Secretary of State alone to exercise the statutory powers based on the evidence and following the established regulatory process. If there are any updates to report, Parliament will be informed in the usual way.

Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the National Youth Strategy.

We plan to publish the National Youth Strategy in the summer, with an interim report to come out in the spring.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has carried out an impact assessment on plans to redistribute council tax.

The Government has no plans to redistribute council tax.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of plans to redistribute council tax on councils with lower rates of tax.

The Government has no plans to redistribute council tax.

If she will take steps to ensure that the risks of (a) cold water, (b) open water and (c) drowning are covered in the national curriculum.

Swimming and water safety is a vital life skill and that is why pupils are taught to swim and how to be safe in and around water at primary school. Swimming and water safety are compulsory elements of the primary physical education (PE) curriculum at key stages 1 and 2. It includes teaching on how to perform safe-self rescue in different water-based situations. The department also supports schools to provide swimming and water safety lessons through teacher training and resources and the PE and Sport Premium for top-up lessons. Schools also have the flexibility to include content on water safety as part of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) or personal, social, health and economic education, to equip pupils with an understanding of the risks and enable them to make informed decisions. The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum, including looking at whether additional content on water safety should be added.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of higher bond yields on mortgage repayments.

The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the price and yields of gilts to vary when there are wider movements in global financial markets. The Chancellor has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility for an updated economic and fiscal forecast for the 26th of March, which will incorporate the latest data. The pricing of mortgages, which is influenced by a number of factors, is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. It is worth noting that, at present, average mortgage rates are well below the recent peaks seen in Summer 2023 and Autumn 2022.

Whether she plans to take steps with the Valuation Office Agency to introduce new valuation methods for business rates for grassroots music venues.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. In the interim period, for 2025-26, we have prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40% up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. Music venues are valued in the same way as any other class of non-domestic property; through applying the statutory and common law principles that apply across non-domestic rating. The valuation approach adopted by the Valuation Office Agency follows one of the established three methods of valuation for rating - rentals, receipts and expenditure, or contractors (cost based). In most cases, the method adopted will be derived from rental evidence directly from the property, or from similar properties that share comparable physical characteristics.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of increased borrowing costs on the UK's debt repayments.

The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the price and yields of gilts to vary when there are wider movements in global financial markets. The Chancellor has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility for an updated economic and fiscal forecast for the 26th of March, which will incorporate the latest data.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of increased borrowing costs on the UK's debt repayments.

The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the price and yields of gilts to vary when there are wider movements in global financial markets. The Chancellor has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility for an updated economic and fiscal forecast for the 26th of March, which will incorporate the latest data.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of permanently reducing business rates for grassroots music venues.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties from 2026-27 for properties with rateable values below £500,00. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. In the interim period, for 2025-26, we have prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40% up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. The Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee’s report on grassroots music venues recommended that RHL relief should not be wholly withdrawn in April 2025. The Committee’s report also highlighted the sector's desire for certainty and long-term stability. That is why the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street RHL properties from 2026-27. The Government’s full response to the CMS Committee’s report was published on 14 November 2024 and is available online: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8227/grassroots-music-venues/publications/.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the (a) sports and (b) cultural sector on the repayment of Covid-19 loans by September 2025.

Loan financing was provided to organisations on favourable terms, tailored to meet the unique legal and financial circumstances of sporting and cultural organisations. The Government is clear that these loans must be repaid and, where necessary, steps will be taken to ensure the protection of taxpayer’s money.DCMS remains in close contact with our loan agents, Sport England and Arts Council England, to ensure loans are repaid and borrowers comply with the terms of their loans. DCMS ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, and where appropriate we discuss loan repayments.

Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that Covid-19 loans to the (a) culture and (b) sports sectors are repaid in full.

Yes.

Whether the £264 million additional core grant funding for police will support police stations to remain open.

The 2025-26 provisional police funding settlement provides funding of up to £19.5 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement, and equates to a 5.5% cash increase, and 3% real terms increase in funding.Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.4 billion, an increase of up to £987 million compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement.The Government recognises the importance of accessibility to the police, and police stations remain one of many important methods where incidents can be reported by members of the public. It is the responsibility of locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to take decisions around their resourcing and estates including police stations, based on their local knowledge and experience.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by (a) Baroness Cumberlege entitled Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, published 8 July 2020 and (b) Dr Henrietta Hughes entitled Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024; and whether he plans to establish a taskforce to improve patient advocacy services for those affected by vaginal mesh implants.

The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review’s overarching conclusion was that the system failed to listen to patients or put patients at the centre of their care. Subsequent work has focussed on improving how the system listens to and responds to concerns raised by patients, strengthening the evidence base on which decisions are made, including through making sure the right data is collected and used, and improving the safety of medicines and devices.The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which builds on some of the issues identified by Baroness Cumberlege in the IMMDS Review. The Hughes Report sets out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, including a proposal on advocacy services. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity.

Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with representatives of the British Museum on the Elgin Marbles.

As the British Museum is a DCMS Arm’s Length Body, both the Secretary of State and I have recently met its Chair and Director. The sculptures were one of a number of issuesdiscussed.Decisions relating to the care and management of its collection are a matter for the British Museum Trustees, acting within the law.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of recent pay rises for police officers on trends in the level of police numbers.

The independent Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) and Senior Salaries Review Body (PRRB) make recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers. In reaching their recommendations, the Review Bodies consider the need to recruit and retain officers.On 29 July, the Government announced it had accepted the PRRB’s and SSRB’s recommendations to award officers a consolidated pay award of 4.75% with effect from 1 September. The Home Office has provided £175 million of additional funding in 2024-25 towards policing to help with the cost of this pay increase.The Government is committed to working with policing to improve public confidence and prioritise frontline services. This includes ensuring there are 13,000 more police officers, police community support officers and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles by the end of this parliament.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the Greek Government on (a) loaning and (b) donating the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

I met Greece’s Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni on 4 November for a meeting regarding tourism, when she raised the Parthenon Sculptures among many other matters.Decisions relating to the care and management of the Parthenon Sculptures are a matter for the British Museum Trustees, acting within the law.We have no plans to change the law that would permit a permanent move of the Parthenon Sculptures.

Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled New ambition for 50 million annual visits to UK announced by Tourism Minister, published on 27 November 2024, what steps she plans to take to meet this target.

The new Visitor Economy Advisory Council will work closely with industry and government to develop a national strategy for growth in the sector to achieve this target. We believe it is important to set this ambitious target, because although the UK attracted 41 million visitors in 2019, it only managed 38 million last year under the previous government. We are clear that growth in the tourism industry beyond London will be at the heart of this strategy, and that will require VisitBritain/VisitEngland to champion visits to the British countryside and rural areas to a worldwide audience and expanding the number of Local Visitor Economy Partnerships —including in rural and coastal areas. This is part of our commitment to spreading tourism’s benefits and creating an inclusive, regional growth model.