Written questions by Champion.

Pursuant to the answer of 24 October to Question 11004 on Cars: Digital Technology, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the misuse of digitally connected cars by domestic abusers.

This Government has set out our ambition to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, and that will include tackling domestic abuse in all its forms.Digitally connected cars could risk the safety of women and girls if perpetrators can use them to track and control their victims. Technology-facilitated domestic abuse is a particularly insidious form of domestic abuse, and the Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Statutory Guidance references such behaviours.We will go further than before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach to halve all forms of violence against women and girls, underpinned by a new VAWG strategy to be published next year. This will include our approach to tackling technology-facilitated domestic abuse.We are also clear that the industry must play their part in helping to prevent their technologies being used for harmful purposes through safer by design approaches. I would gladly meet with manufacturers to discuss these approaches further.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of the aid provided by his Department in response to the conflict in Sudan will be allocated to the UN in the 2024-25 financial year.

The UK is continuing to respond to the catastrophic situation in Sudan and assist those most in need, largely through funding key UN partners. The UK recently announced a further £113 million of aid to support over a million people affected by the violence in Sudan, and displaced across the region including to South Sudan, Chad and Uganda. With this announcement, the UK has doubled our aid to £226.5 million. A large majority of UK funding is allocated to key UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide assorted food commodities to those most in need, and UNICEF to provide life-saving food assistance particularly in hard-to reach areas in Sudan, including nutrition and water.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October to Question 6253 on Marine Protected Areas: Fisheries, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of continued bottom trawl fishing in parts of the North Norfolk Sandbanks and Saturn Reef marine protected area on the (a) ecological integrity of the site and (b) achievement of its conservation objectives.

The Marine Protected Areas Bottom Towed Fishing Gear Byelaw 2023, which came into force on 22 March 2024, prohibited the use of bottom-towed gear over the reef habitats of North Norfolk Sandbanks and Saturn Reef Marine Protected Area. The Marine Management Organisation has been making further assessments of the impact of fishing activities on other designated habitats throughout the site and, if needed, will consult on further fishing restrictions. As mentioned in my answers to PQ 4529 and PQ 11005, the Department is considering next steps for this and other sites.

Innovation and Technology, if he will amend the Online Safety Act 2023 to include a statutory code of practice on gendered violence.

It is a priority under the Online Safety Act for platforms to proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content, much of which disproportionately targets women and girls. This includes harassment, sexual exploitation, extreme pornography, and controlling or coercive behaviour.Ofcom’s codes of practice will set out how companies can comply with their duties, including how companies should tackle harms facing women and girls online.In February 2025, Ofcom will also publish draft guidance for consultation on protecting and empowering women and girls.

What the current average processing time is for a new claim for Pension Credit from initial application to determination.

The table below shows Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT) from the end of week commencing 2nd September to the end of week commencing 21st October, in working days. DWP currently works to a planned timescale of 50 working days to clear Pension Credit claims.    02/09/24  09/09/24  16/09/24  23/09/24  30/09/24  07/10/24  14/10/24 21/10/24 Pension Credit Claims AACT  26 26 26 25 33 37 44 52 Please note.The data shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.These figures will not align to previous PQ responses due to retrospective updates as the data is sourced from live systems. If a claim is made by 21 December, Pension Credit can be backdated for three months if the entitlement conditions have been met throughout that period, and if the claimant was eligible, they would also receive a Winter Fuel Payment.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report on the future of TV distribution, published by Ofcom on 10 May 2024.

The Government welcomes Ofcom's research and the report published earlier this year and intends to use this alongside our own research to ensure a robust evidence base to inform our ongoing project on the future of TV distribution.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the use of electronic shock collars in dog training.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation and will bring forward plans in due course. Ministers will be considering available evidence around the use of hand-controlled e-collars and their effects on the welfare of animals.

What support her Department is providing to help victims of sexual exploitation exit prostitution in Rotherham.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this ambition.The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators. This Government will also work closely with the voluntary and community sector to help sexually exploited people and ensure that those who want to exit prostitution are able to. We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Rotherham. However, between January and June 2024, there were 25 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or whole) sexual exploitation which was disclosed as occurring in South Yorkshire.To help support people at risk of being sexually exploited, Changing Lives has received £1.36m from the Home Office over three years (2022-2025) for their Net-Reach project, which provides online outreach, early intervention and intensive support for women and girls at high-risk of exploitation and abuse. The Net-Reach project operates in several locations in England, including South Yorkshire. In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales, including a support worker to help them access wider services, such as medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6247 on Animal Experiments: Cats, what funding is being provided to support human-specific research into relevant conditions.

UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) fund a variety of approaches to research on conditions affecting humans. One third of MRC (Medical Research Council) and BBSRC’s (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) research grants involve the use of animals licensed under ASPA (Animals Scientific Procedures Act) in some part of the research project. There are no active grants using cats.Although animal use is still considered important for many research areas, UKRI funds multiple approaches to the replacement of animals in research, including through core funding to the NC3Rs (National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research).

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6246 on Animal Experiments, what harms were experienced by dogs used in research on muscular dystrophy; and how much funding is being provided for human-specific research into that condition.

The Home Office assigns severity classification to protocols in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (as amended) which is published at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/14/contents. The classification takes account of the highest severity likely to be experienced by any animal used in the protocol and takes account of the pain, suffering, distress and lasting harm that an animal is likely to experience, after applying all the appropriate refinement techniques. Of the 21 dogs used for creation and breeding in research on muscular dystrophy, 15 were subject to ‘Mild’ severity and 6 ‘Moderate’ severity.The Home Office assures that, in every research proposal, animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible, the number of animals are reduced to the minimum necessary to achieve the result sought, and that, for those animals which must be used, procedures are refined as much as possible to minimise their suffering.The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is leading on plans to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing.

Whether his Department has had recent discussions with car manufacturers on the potential impact of digitally connected cars on the safety of domestic abuse survivors.

Responsibility for domestic abuse policy rests with the Home Office. The Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. The Department for Transport has not carried out discussions with car manufacturers on this issue.

Innovation and Technology, whether he is taking steps to (a) collaborate with international partners on best practices and (b) align regulatory frameworks for animal testing; and what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on reducing reliance on animal testing.

Many of the regulations on animal testing are backed by international agreements and the government is keen to ensure regulatory alignment where appropriate. We are engaging with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), who represent the UK at the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, on how to accelerate the acceptance of data generated using non-animal methods for drug safety decision making. Government officials and representatives of the NC3Rs regularly attend international meetings to collaborate on best practice and to consider approaches to reducing reliance on animal testing.

What progress his Department has made on the implementation of the recommendations of his Department's report entitled Good for you, good for us, good for everybody: A plan to reduce overprescribing to make patient care better and safer, support the NHS, and reduce carbon emissions, published on 22 September 2021.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 September 2024 to Question 2902.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to consult (a) civil society, (b) animal protection organisations and (c) the public on policy decisions on animal testing.

The Labour Manifesto included a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. The government will be consulting civil society and animal protection organisations as this process unfolds.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6253 on Marine Protected Areas: Fisheries, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to allow bottom trawl fishing in parts of the Farnes East marine protected area on (a) the ecological integrity of the site and (b) meeting its conservation objectives.

The Marine Protected Areas Bottom Towed Fishing Gear Byelaw 2023, which came into force on 22 March 2024, prohibited the use of bottom-towed gear over the rock and reef habitats of Farnes East Marine Protected Area. The Marine Management Organisation has been making further assessments of the impact of fishing activities on other designated habitats throughout the site and, if needed, will consult on further fishing restrictions. As mentioned in my answer to PQ 4529, the Department is considering next steps for this and other sites.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6251 on Sudan: Development Aid, if he will break down the £97 million allocated to Sudan by funding to (a) multilaterals, (b) NGOs and (c) national and local organisations.

In addition to the £97 million of UK ODA to Sudan so far this year, and £16.5 million to support neighbouring countries hosting people displaced by the conflict, on 17 November, the UK announced a further £113 million of aid to support over a million people affected by the violence in Sudan, and displaced across the region including to South Sudan, Chad and Uganda. With this announcement, the UK has doubled our aid in response to the conflict in Sudan this year to £226.5 million. Our funding supports UN and NGO partners, providing food, cash, shelter, medical assistance, water and sanitation. Education Cannot Wait will also receive £10 million of this funding to provide safe learning spaces and psychosocial for 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Uganda. UK ODA continues to support the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) which is supporting local and national responders, including Emergency Response Rooms and a consortium of INGOs.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 October to Question 6252 on Forced Labour, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of potential steps he can take to help prevent goods from entering the UK market where there is evidence of forced labour in particular supply chains.

The Government will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK’s existing measures, alongside the impacts of other policy tools. As set out in my response of 10 October 2024, this Government is committed to working with businesses and international partners to ensure global supply chains are free from human and labour rights abuses and to understand the impact of measures used to combat forced labour.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential (a) impact of inflation on thresholds for qualification as a large business under Extended Producer Responsibility and (b) merits of staggered thresholds.

The thresholds for qualification under Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility remain in line with those set out in the Packaging Waste Regulations 2007 which sets the threshold for businesses handling at least 50 tonnes of packaging materials and with a turnover of £2 million a year. This decision was made following extensive consultation, which also considered reduction or removal of the threshold, to encourage all producers to use less packaging and ensure the packaging they do use is easy to recycle. To support this aim, the Government is also introducing a new distributor approach which places a new obligation on large packaging manufacturers and importers that sell unfilled packaging to small, unobligated producers, ensuring all packaging is subject to extended producer responsibility. Once the scheme is fully operational, we will review these thresholds to ensure they continue to meet the aims of the scheme. This will include the impact of inflation, and the effectiveness of the new distributor obligations, to ensure that we are obligating as much packaging as possible whilst still protecting the smallest businesses from the burden of complying with the regulations.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many culled badger carcasses have tested positive for TB since 2013; what plans his Department has for the number of badgers to be culled up to January 2026; and of those how many and what proportion will be tested for TB.

On 30 August, the Government announced the start of work on a comprehensive new strategy for England, to drive down bovine TB rates to save cattle and farmers’ livelihoods and end the badger cull by the end of this parliament. This will be undertaken in co-design with farmers, vets, scientists and conservationists, ensuring the new strategy marks a significant step-change in approach to tackling this devastating disease. The published policy guidance as introduced by the previous Government does not require routine post-mortem examinations on badgers removed under culling licences issued in the High Risk and Edge Areas of England. There are no plans to change this guidance, with existing cull processes agreed by the previous Government being honoured to ensure clarity for farmers, while new measures can be rolled out through the work on a new bovine TB eradication strategy. Information on the number of culled badgers that have been previously tested under licences in the High Risk and Edge Area can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-surveillance-in-wildlife-in-england. Information on the number of culled badgers that have been tested (including the proportion positive for Mycobacterium bovis) in the Low Risk Area is published annually on GOV.UK:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-hotspots-in-the-low-risk-area-of-england.

What steps he is taking to help reduce melanoma incidence rates.

The Department continues to advise patients to follow National Health Service guidance on reducing the risk of melanoma. The advice is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/