Written questions by Arthur.

What steps he is taking to ensure that an adequate number of speciality training posts are available to ensure that NHS needs are met.

We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision.  We will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.

Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to provide urban nesting habitats for small birds within housebuilding targets.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22080 on 15 January 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he is having with (a) the Government of Pakistan and (b) other international partners on incidents of Ahmadiyya Muslims being barred from congregational Eid worship; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of such incidents on levels of human rights in Pakistan.

Promoting freedom of religion or belief is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement overseas. We are concerned by the deteriorating situation for Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, including reports they were prevented from offering prayers over Ramadan and Eid. I discussed the right of Ahmadi Muslims to practice their faith in a meeting with Pakistan's Minister of State for the Interior, Talal Chaudhry, on 31 March. On 16 April, Lord Khan of Burnley raised Ahmadi rights in a meeting with Pakistan's Minster for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf. The UK Government regularly engages with members of the Ahmadi community, both in Pakistan and the UK, to inform our understanding of the issues they are facing. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in accordance with international standards.

Whether she has considered exempting Lifetime ISAs from Universal Credit capital rules.

There are no plans to change the way savings held in a Lifetime ISA are treated in the assessment of Universal Credit. It is appropriate that means tested benefits, including Universal Credit, take all forms of savings into account. This includes investments where the Government provides a contribution to encourage saving such as the Lifetime ISA. People will not be required to cash in these ISAs in order to claim Universal Credit, but they will be taken into account as part of their capital. If a person has capital over £16,000, they will be expected to rely on their savings until their capital reduces to £16,000 before they can claim Universal Credit.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the (a) long-term growth and (b) international competitiveness of the video game industry.

The Government is committed to the long term success of our world class games sector, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.£5.5 million in funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) has been announced for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates.Video games companies can also access the International Business Development strand of the UK Global Screen Fund, which provides financial support for business strategies that drive international growth and IP development for companies working in film, TV (animation, drama and documentary) and interactive narrative gaming.Additionally, video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.We are working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and Skills England on skills policy to address skills shortages in the creative industries, including the games sector. This includes DfE’s work on growth and skills levy reform. We will set out more detail as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, to be published in coming months.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the graduate route visa scheme.

We keep all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to introduce further regulation for prize draws.

Large scale commercial prize draws are a significant and growing market. Whilst not regulated as a gambling product under the Gambling Act, we want people who participate to be confident that proportionate protections are in place. The department is grateful for the voluntary action taken so far by the sector to act transparently and apply player protection measures. We want to ensure high standards across the sector. The Minister for Gambling recently met with the leading operator Omaze to discuss this work further and will meet others in the sector soon. We will update Parliament further in due course.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has considered reintroducing a skills investment fund dedicated to the games industry to help tackle skills shortages.

The Government is committed to the long term success of our world class games sector, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.£5.5 million in funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) has been announced for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates.Video games companies can also access the International Business Development strand of the UK Global Screen Fund, which provides financial support for business strategies that drive international growth and IP development for companies working in film, TV (animation, drama and documentary) and interactive narrative gaming.Additionally, video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.We are working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and Skills England on skills policy to address skills shortages in the creative industries, including the games sector. This includes DfE’s work on growth and skills levy reform. We will set out more detail as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, to be published in coming months.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the UK video games industry remains a source of economic growth in the context of US tariffs.

The Government is committed to the long term success of our world class games sector, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.£5.5 million in funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) has been announced for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates.Video games companies can also access the International Business Development strand of the UK Global Screen Fund, which provides financial support for business strategies that drive international growth and IP development for companies working in film, TV (animation, drama and documentary) and interactive narrative gaming.Additionally, video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.We are working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and Skills England on skills policy to address skills shortages in the creative industries, including the games sector. This includes DfE’s work on growth and skills levy reform. We will set out more detail as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, to be published in coming months.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the graduate route visa scheme on economic growth.

In May 2024 the Home Office published Analysis of migrants use of the Graduate route - GOV.UK which explores Graduate earnings and employment.This was published alongside The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) rapid review of the Graduate route: Graduate route: rapid review - GOV.UK.The 2023 Changes to the Student route and consequential changes to work routes Impact Assessment provides macroeconomic and labour market impacts of the Student and Graduate routes. 2023 changes to the student route and consequential changes to work routes: impact assessment.

What assessment she has made of the economic benefits generated by the (a) Video Games Tax Relief and (b) Video Games Expenditure Credit; and if she will take steps to reform tax incentives.

Video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC), which provides a generous tax credit of 34 per cent on UK video games development costs.A report published by the BFI in 2021 found that VGEC, previously known as the Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR), supported increased spend in the UK by 22.8% between 2017-2019.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 to Question 25126, whether his Department has now published a breakdown of spending on brain cancer research in 2023-24 for each UKRI body.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects and strategic investments, including research investigating the causes for and underpinning the development of treatments for Brain Cancer. The Medical Research Council (MRC) spent £2.86 million on brain cancer research in funding year 2023-24. MRC, Innovate UK, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council all support research in this area. UKRI also plays a key role in funding underpinning research which may not be attributable to a specific condition but will benefit medical research more generally.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned reduction to ODA spending on the UK's commitment to the Agenda 2030 leaving-no-one- behind principle.

Reducing the overall size of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used are being worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments. The UK remains committed to Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the underlying principle to leave no one behind. We will continue to work with partners at home and internationally to accelerate progress towards the SDGs.

Whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the Graduate route visa scheme on university finances.

The UK has a world-class higher education (HE) sector, with four universities in the world university rankings top 10, and 15 in the top 100, alongside a wide array of leading institutions which attract international students from around the world. The graduate visa enables international students who have successfully completed an eligible qualification to stay in the UK for two years, or three years for doctoral students.Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency shows that international students contributed £12.1 billion in tuition fees to UK HE providers in the 2022/23 academic year.This government has made clear its approach to international students. We welcome international students who enrich our university campuses, forge lifelong friendships with our domestic students and become global ambassadors for the UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Foreign Secretary launches expert reviews to strengthen UK’s global impact and expertise, published on 9 September 2024, when he plans to publish the findings of the three reviews.

The reviews' reports take the form of unpublished independent advice to the Foreign Secretary. A decision on how best to communicate the independent reviews' findings will be taken in due course by the Foreign Secretary.

What information her Department holds on the proportion of applicants to the Graduate Visa scheme that are fraudulent.

The specific information requested is not held.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he will consider reallocating proposed capital financing for British International Investment to aid spending.

All development funding, including for British International Investment, will be considered as part of the ongoing multi-year spending review and subsequent resource allocation round.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress made on the introduction of a publicly accessible register on beneficial ownership of businesses registered in their jurisdiction by each British Overseas Territory.

At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to implement fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers as those that are already in place in Gibraltar and Montserrat.I discussed progress on beneficial ownership transparency with Premier Wheatley (BVI) last month. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) senior official visited BVI earlier this month and met with government and the finance industry. Every Territory is making progress towards the JMC commitments and FCDO officials are in regular contact with counterparts in the Overseas Territories on their proposals for registers to ensure they meet the agreement made at the JMC. I have and will continue to raise this directly with elected leaders across the Overseas Territories.The Government is keeping this under close review and will carefully consider what further steps to take if the registers are not delivered as per JMC agreements.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the British Virgin Islands and (b) the Cayman Islands on the introduction of public registers of beneficial ownership.

At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to implement fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers as those that are already in place in Gibraltar and Montserrat.I discussed progress on beneficial ownership transparency with Premier Wheatley (BVI) last month. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) senior official visited BVI earlier this month and met with government and the finance industry. Every Territory is making progress towards the JMC commitments and FCDO officials are in regular contact with counterparts in the Overseas Territories on their proposals for registers to ensure they meet the agreement made at the JMC. I have and will continue to raise this directly with elected leaders across the Overseas Territories.The Government is keeping this under close review and will carefully consider what further steps to take if the registers are not delivered as per JMC agreements.

What steps she is taking to encourage academic partnerships between UK and Ukrainian universities.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.As part of the government’s unbreakable 100 Year Partnership with Ukraine, the department is working closely with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine on a range of policy areas including early years, skills and apprenticeships, and the application of digital technologies in schools. There is already higher education (HE) twinning and partnerships underway through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s UK-Ukraine twinning programme and British Council’s Leaders of University Transformation for Ukraine’s Reinvention programme which have set a good foundation for further UK-Ukraine HE partnerships to emerge.