Written questions by Arthur.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential risks of age verification methods involving facial or biometric data to enforce a social media ban for under-16s.

Awaiting answer.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a Digital Citizenship Qualification to educate children on interaction with the online world.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of Inclusion Body Myositis and other rare progressive muscle disorders.

Awaiting answer.

When he plans to launch a consultation on proposed regulations relating to costs orders under Section 17 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to incentivise research into Inclusion Body Myositis and other rare progressive muscle disorders.

Awaiting answer.

With reference to the answer to Question UIN 63826 on driving test waiting times in Currie, what the average waiting time is for a practical driving test at the Currie Driving Test Centre; and by what date she

The average waiting time for a car practical driving test at Currie driving test centre in May was 24 weeks.DVSA is taking sustained action to increase testing capacity and reduce waiting times as quickly as possible, including recruiting and training mor...

What assessment the Department has made of the level of need for further regulation of autonomous delivery robots operating on public pavements and highways; and whether the Department plans to publish addition

The Government has committed to pursuing legislative reform for micromobility vehicles when parliamentary time allows by creating a ‘Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicle’ category. This could be used to regulate pavement robots in future. Any new regulations w...

What assessment his Department has made of the barriers to genomic testing for pancreatic cancer patients and how he plans to increase uptake nationally.

Awaiting answer.

Whether he will undertake a horizon-scanning review to identify emerging actionable gene mutations for timely inclusion in the National Genomic Test Directory, prioritising pancreatic cancer and ot

Awaiting answer.

Whether the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles is exploring the adequacy of compensation arrangements for victims of accidents involving uninsured vehicles in the context of the Automated Vehicles Act

Through the Automated Vehicles Act Implementation Programme, officials from the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles are working with the Motor Insurers' Bureau on insurance for automated vehicles. This includes assessing the adequacy of the insur...

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding to the UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods; what assessment he has made of the role of industry co-investment in s

The Government is supporting the establishment of the UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods through funding secured as part of the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, with costs informed by analysis of validation requirements and comparab...

When she plans to launch the consultation on micromobility regulation.

The Government plans to consult on e-scooter regulations over the next year.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle harmful platform features that put children at risk online.

Protecting children online is a priority for the Secretary of State. Through our recent consultation, which included parents and children's consultations and nationally representative polls, we heard from over 116,000 people. Following this, on 15 June th...

Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to extend proposed restrictions to livestreaming and communication with strangers for child users to other high-risk functionalities including disappearing messages, t

The government recently announced restrictions on social media services offering their services to under-16s and wider services offering livestreaming or stranger communication to under-16s.Combined with requiring more device level protections for childre...

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of permanent absolute GDP growth on long-term environmental sustainability in the context of the Dasgupta Review.

The Government recognises the vital role of nature in the economy and agrees with the central conclusion of the Dasgupta Review that biodiversity underpins nature, and sustains our economies, livelihoods and well-being. As recommended by the Dasgupta Revi...

What steps her Department is taking to (a) cost the degradation of natural assets resulting from headline GDP growth and (b) ensure long-term environmental costs are reflected in fiscal planning.

Since the Dasgupta Review, the Government has taken forward work to integrate nature into policy-making, including improving the valuation of natural capital through collaboration with Defra and its Biodiversity Expert Committee. The Government is support...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the change in funding levels for the Independent Commission for Aid Impact on the evaluation of the (a) effectiveness

The reduction in the Independent Commission for Aid Impact's (ICAI's) budget is proportionate in the context of the reduction of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income, and provides sufficient funding to maintain it...

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of incorporation of cultivated meat and alternative proteins into future food security and agri-tech strategies.

Defra is researching the sector’s growth potential, impacts on future emissions, and working across government to support innovation and scaling. Defra is also working with the Food Standards Agency to develop guidance for approval of new alternative prot...

What steps her Department is taking to promote and support the adoption of the (a) Rights Respecting Schools programme and (b) principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in schools.

The government is committed to upholding the principles of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child and safeguarding the rights of children within schools. For example, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act included several measures to enhance chil...

What guidance HM Revenue and Customs has issued to employers on the legality and tax treatment of schemes known as grocery salary sacrifice schemes; what steps have they taken to ensure such schemes are structured t

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes guidance on the tax treatment of salary sacrifice arrangements, including the optional remuneration arrangements rules in the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. Where arrangements are marketed as providing...