Written questions by Owen.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of designating industrial sites in Luton North constituency as AI growth zones.

We are committed to working in partnership with regional and local authorities on AI Growth Zones (AIGZs). The selection process will open in spring 2025, and we welcome interest from areas with strong access to power infrastructure and economic potential. AIGZs will be closely aligned with wider government initiatives, including Local Growth Plans, to ensure they deliver substantial regional and national benefits.

What steps his Department is taking to attract investment to towns historically impacted by de-industrialisation.

The Department works across the UK, including towns impacted by deindustrialisation, to showcase strong commercial investment opportunities to potential investors and support business to grow, and provides extensive support to small businesses through the network of Growth Hubs. The government’s Industrial Strategy will focus on tackling barriers to growth in highest potential growth-driving sectors and places, creating the right conditions for increased investment, high-quality jobs and ensuring tangible impact in communities right across the UK. The National Wealth Fund will support its delivery and mobilise billions of pounds of investment. Through the Government owned British Business Bank, we are also investing over £1billion through their regional Investment Fund programmes.

What steps his Department is taking to encourage investment from (a) OpenAI, (b) Google, (c) Anthropic and (d) Meta in local communities.

The Department for Business and Trade will continue to work with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Office for Investment to support significant overseas companies to invest and expand their footprint in the UK, and ensure that local communities benefit from the digital industrial revolution. As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan presented earlier this month, AI Growth Zones will be established across the UK. Government will support these dedicated hotbeds of development to build the infrastructure needed to power and train cutting-edge AI. By partnering with the private sector, we will create vibrant hubs that attract investment, support new jobs, and rejuvenate communities.

What discussions his Department has had with (a) OpenAI, (b) Google, (c) Anthropic and (d) Meta on workers’ rights.

The Plan to Make Work Pay sets out an ambitious agenda to ensure employment rights are fit for a modern economy, empower working people and contribute to economic growth. Its reforms will strengthen the rights of workers, address the fragmented labour market enforcement framework, and support workers in balancing responsibilities outside work. The Government is committed to working in partnership with businesses, trade unions and other stakeholders to deliver the Plan to Make Work Pay. We have not had any engagement with OpenAI, Google, Anthropic or Meta on workers' rights.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of investing in industrial sites in Luton North constituency.

DBT works with all regions in the UK to understand in detail the areas sector by sector potential for investors. In Luton, DBT has a strong working relationship with Luton Borough Council and the South Midlands Growth Hub, where we have a shared understanding of Luton’s strengths in areas such as manufacturing, automotive, creative & digital and the green economy.

What representations his Department has made to industry on investment in towns historically impacted by de-industrialisation.

The Department works across the UK, including towns impacted by deindustrialisation, to showcase strong commercial investment opportunities to potential investors and support business to grow, and provides extensive support to small businesses through the network of Growth Hubs. The government’s Industrial Strategy will focus on tackling barriers to growth in highest potential growth-driving sectors and places, creating the right conditions for increased investment, high-quality jobs and ensuring tangible impact in communities right across the UK. The National Wealth Fund will support its delivery and mobilise billions of pounds of investment. Through the Government owned British Business Bank, we are also investing over £1billion through their regional Investment Fund programmes.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of designating sites in Bedfordshire as AI Growth Zones.

We are committed to working in partnership with regional and local authorities on AI Growth Zones (AIGZs). The selection process will open in spring 2025, and we welcome interest from areas with strong access to power infrastructure and economic potential. AIGZs will be closely aligned with wider government initiatives, including Local Growth Plans, to ensure they deliver substantial regional and national benefits.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support grassroots (a) women's and (b) girls' football.

The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport including football.We are pleased to see the significant progress in the number of women and girls taking up football in recent years, and wider developments in the women’s game. In 2023, Karen Carney OBE published a major Independent Review of Women’s Football which made a series of recommendations including supporting grassroots women and girls’ football. This Government fully endorses those recommendations and looks forward to ensuring tangible progress is made.The Government has set out its support for grassroots facilities, including through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities programme which provides funding to build and improve grassroots facilities and a commitment to support the Football Association’s ambition to double their number of gold-standard (3-star) community clubs by EURO 2028. This will deliver more opportunities for women and girls to get on the pitch.The Football Association is a long-term partner of Sport England, and have received over £26 million of funding from them for the period 2022-27.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure grassroots (a) women's and (b) girls' football clubs have the facilities they need to (i) play and (ii) train.

The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport including football.We are pleased to see the significant progress in the number of women and girls taking up football in recent years, and wider developments in the women’s game. In 2023, Karen Carney OBE published a major Independent Review of Women’s Football which made a series of recommendations including supporting grassroots women and girls’ football. This Government fully endorses those recommendations and looks forward to ensuring tangible progress is made.We are acting to support more players in getting onto the pitch wherever they live via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which will invest £123 million UK-wide throughout 2024/25. All projects selected for funding through this programme are required to demonstrate how they increase access and participation levels among under-represented groups, which includes women and girls.Following the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024, the Government confirmed its continued support for elite and grassroots sport through future investment. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Rwandan counterparts on (a) human rights abuses and (b) violence against women and girls by militia groups in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The UK is closely monitoring the situation in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and continues to raise our concerns about reported human rights violations at the highest levels with the Governments of Rwanda and DRC, most lately by the British High Commissioner on the 13 January. The Minister for Africa also spoke with the Rwandan Foreign Minister on 9 January to emphasise the UK's concern at the recent escalation of violence in eastern DRC and ongoing violations of the current ceasefire agreement by armed groups, including M23.As a member of the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, the UK is especially concerned by the continuing high rates of violence against women and girls in eastern DRC. We continue to encourage the Governments of Rwanda and DRC to re-commit meaningfully to the Luanda regional peace process and deliver lasting protection for civilians, including those in particularly vulnerable communities.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for autism diagnoses.

It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments and diagnosis, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people and adults referred to an autism assessment service.In 2024/25, £4.3 million is available nationally to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure those diagnosed with coeliac disease receive timely and appropriate treatment.

The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.We have made a commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term. This includes those waiting for treatment for coeliac disease. As a first step to achieving this, following the Budget, we will deliver an additional two million operations, scans, and appointments across all specialities during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week.The Royal College of General Practitioners has an e-learning module on the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease and its immunological comorbidities, which is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the symptoms of coeliac disease amongst general practitioners and primary care professionals and support early diagnosis. The e-learning module highlights that untreated coeliac disease can have important consequences, including small bowel lymphoma and osteoporosis.The NHS website is also a key awareness tool and contains useful information for the public about coeliac disease, its symptoms and how it is diagnosed and treated. This information is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has guidance on the recognition, assessment and management of coeliac disease, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng20The guidance outlines a number of symptoms which are suggestive of coeliac disease and suggests that any person with these symptoms should be offered serological testing for coeliac disease. The guidance also states that first-degree relatives of people with coeliac disease should also be offered serological testing.

What (a) medical professionals, (b) charities, (c) organisations and (d) other groups the Commission on Human Medicines consulted on the provision of puberty blockers.

The Government’s response to the targeted consultation on proposed changes to the availability of puberty blockers was published on 11 December 2024, and details the individuals and organisations with which the Commission on Human Medicines consulted. It is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-the-availability-of-puberty-blockers-for-under-18s/outcome/9702c8a7-3299-4a01-94dc-a63861786dd9

What services NHS England gender services provide for children and young people.

NHS England commissions gender services for children and young people in line with its interim service specification for children and young people with gender incongruence.Children and young people are cared for holistically by specialist multi-disciplinary teams based in specialist children's hospitals. The multi-disciplinary team should include expertise in paediatrics, psychological health, and neurodevelopmental conditions.Each child or young person will have a tailored individual care plan to meet their needs. Depending on individual need, the gender service for children and young people will provide psychosocial and clinical interventions, including support for the family. Further information from the interim service specification is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/interim-service-specification-for-specialist-gender-incongruence-services-for-children-and-young-people/

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect British Pakistanis critical of the Pakistan government from transnational repression.

The UK Government continually assesses potential threats and takes the protection of individuals' rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously, including in relation to Pakistan. Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated. Wherever we identify such threats, we will use all measures, including through our world-class police and intelligence services, to mitigate risk to individuals.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Pakistan government on (a) freedom of protest and (b) the (i) safety and (ii) rights of protestors.

The UK strongly supports individuals' rights to expression without censorship, intimidation or unnecessary restriction, and we will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people as laid down in Pakistan's Constitution and in accordance with international standards. I raised the importance of upholding civil and political rights with senior Ministers, including the Minister for Human Rights and Interior Minister, on my visit to Pakistan last month. The British High Commission also regularly raises these issues with the Pakistani authorities at a senior level.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential risk of transnational repression for British Pakistani critics of the Pakistan government.

The UK Government continually assesses potential threats and takes the protection of individuals' rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously, including in relation to Pakistan. Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated. Wherever we identify such threats, we will use all measures, including through our world-class police and intelligence services, to mitigate risk to individuals.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

We recognise that there are human rights concerns in both India-administered-Kashmir and Pakistan-administered-Kashmir. We encourage all states to ensure domestic laws are in line with international standards. Any allegation of human rights violations or abuse is deeply concerning and must be investigated thoroughly and transparently.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling people over 65 who are not eligible for the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance to access mobility vehicle support.

Disability Living Allowance is aimed at providing additional help with the extra costs of disability to people who are severely disabled early, or relatively early, in life and who as a result, have had fewer opportunities to work, earn and save. Those who become disabled, or develop mobility needs, after reaching the age of 65 will have had no disadvantage on grounds of their disability during their working lives. It is normal for pensions and benefits systems to contain different provisions for people at different stages of their lives, because the help provided needs to reflect varying priorities and circumstances. We will keep the policies of the department under review, to ensure they meet current needs.

What steps she is taking to support first time buyers with stamp duty.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for additional dwellings were increased by two percentage points from 3% to 5%. This measure will ensure that those looking to move home, or purchase their first property, have a greater advantage over second home buyers, landlords, and companies purchasing residential property. The OBR certified costing estimates that increasing the higher rates of SDLT by two percentage points is expected to result in 130,000 additional transactions over the next five years by first-time buyers and other people buying a primary residence.