Written questions by Logan.

What plans she has for extending Turing funding to youth work, adult learning, community development and sport in line with the Erasmus+ scheme.

There are no plans to change the scope of the Turing Scheme, including the sectors in which it operates. The Turing Scheme is global by design and has supported placements in over 160 countries. The Turing Scheme already provides inclusion support through extra funding for students with special educational needs and disabilities, additional support needs (in Scotland) and additional learning needs (in Wales). The government keeps the scope of the Turing Scheme under review, and decisions on the Turing Scheme for future years will be shared in due course.Our association to Erasmus+ will open up opportunities for learners, educators, young people and communities. It is an investment in opportunity for our young people, our workforce and our future, opening doors for tens of thousands across the UK.

How many Access to Work reconsideration requests submitted by (a) blind and (b) partially sighted customers have resulted in the original decision being overturned in each of the last three years.

We do not hold this data in a way that can be extracted. Determining this information would require a manual review of all individual reconsideration cases, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Innovation and Technology, whether additional funding and staffing has been allocated to regulators and public bodies to implement the strategy to replace animals in science.

The Government has announced £75m of funding to accelerate alternatives and innovation, with new capabilities being developed across the UK. This funding will help bring forward advanced testing methods that can save lives and support a faster, science‑led route to regulation. Discussions are underway with regulators and public bodies to determine how this funding will be allocated to support effective implementation of the Replacing Animals in Science strategy

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to not include the North East Scotland Regional Economic Partnership in the Local Growth Fund.

The UK Government is providing targeted funding to the places in Scotland that need it most, while simultaneously delivering the largest Block Grant settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, which they can use to improve general funding settlements for local government services and priorities. The Local Growth Fund is targeting five regions that contain the local authorities with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income per capita (RDHI) in Scotland, which is an established metric for measuring spatial disparities in living standards across the country. The local authorities in the North East Scotland region had higher living standards and so did not meet the threshold for funding from this programme. The Local Growth Fund is just one UK Government investment programme and the North East region is benefiting from more than £200m in other investments, including the North East Scotland Investment Zone; Pride in Place Programme funding for Peterhead and Aberdeen; Local Regeneration Fund projects in Peterhead and Macduff; support for the Energy Transition Zone; and the completion of the Aberdeen City Region Deal. Other rural areas of Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland, are benefitting significantly from more than £400m in UK Government investment.

If he will make it his policy to ensure equitable distribution of the Local Growth Fund to rural areas.

The UK Government is providing targeted funding to the places in Scotland that need it most, while simultaneously delivering the largest Block Grant settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, which they can use to improve general funding settlements for local government services and priorities. The Local Growth Fund is targeting five regions that contain the local authorities with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income per capita (RDHI) in Scotland, which is an established metric for measuring spatial disparities in living standards across the country. The local authorities in the North East Scotland region had higher living standards and so did not meet the threshold for funding from this programme. The Local Growth Fund is just one UK Government investment programme and the North East region is benefiting from more than £200m in other investments, including the North East Scotland Investment Zone; Pride in Place Programme funding for Peterhead and Aberdeen; Local Regeneration Fund projects in Peterhead and Macduff; support for the Energy Transition Zone; and the completion of the Aberdeen City Region Deal. Other rural areas of Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland, are benefitting significantly from more than £400m in UK Government investment.

What the evidential basis is for not including the North East Scotland Regional Economic Partnership in the Local Growth Fund.

The UK Government is providing targeted funding to the places in Scotland that need it most, while simultaneously delivering the largest Block Grant settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, which they can use to improve general funding settlements for local government services and priorities. The Local Growth Fund is targeting five regions that contain the local authorities with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income per capita (RDHI) in Scotland, which is an established metric for measuring spatial disparities in living standards across the country. The local authorities in the North East Scotland region had higher living standards and so did not meet the threshold for funding from this programme. The Local Growth Fund is just one UK Government investment programme and the North East region is benefiting from more than £200m in other investments, including the North East Scotland Investment Zone; Pride in Place Programme funding for Peterhead and Aberdeen; Local Regeneration Fund projects in Peterhead and Macduff; support for the Energy Transition Zone; and the completion of the Aberdeen City Region Deal. Other rural areas of Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland, are benefitting significantly from more than £400m in UK Government investment.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes on 1950s born women in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency.

All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age. Estimates can be made with ONS 2022 Census Data of how many women born in the 1950s were resident in each constituency in that year.

What funding his Department has allocated towards research into the causes of epilepsy.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Knowsley on 6 January 2026 to Question 101055.

If he will publish impact assessments, modelling and further detail on the UK-US pharmaceutical trade deal.

Tens of thousands of National Health Service patients will benefit from this deal, which will secure and expand access to vital drugs, and thereby safeguard our medicines supply chain.Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the Spending Review period are expected to be approximately £1 billion. The final costs will depend on which medicines NICE recommends and the actual uptake of these.This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our NHS and world leading life sciences without taking essential funding from our frontline NHS services.There are no current plans to publish an impact assessment or modelling on the United Kingdom and United States’ pharmaceutical trade deal. Further detail on the deal will be shared in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to support research into new treatments for epilepsy.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Knowsley on 6 January 2026 to Question 101055.

When will the Government launch its public consultation on the controls on (a) shotguns and (b) other firearms.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns, to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety. We intend to publish this consultation shortly.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much total spend, and predicted spend in Sudan, originating from the FCDO ODA budget for bilateral aid there was, and will be, in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.

The £120 million Sudan allocation announced in April 2025 is funded from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.Humanitarian ODA allocations are included in country programme budgets, as set out in the FCDO annual report and accounts (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025). Additional emergency humanitarian support comes from the crisis reserve, which is also set out in the FCDO annual report and accounts.Data on ODA spend for 2020 to 2024 is published in Statistics on International Development (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-oda-spend-2024), including breakdowns by country and region.Figures for 2025 and 2026 will be published in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with regards to the Prime Minister's announcement on the 15th April 2025 to spend £120M in emergency aid Sudan, a) which governmental budget this originates from and b) which budgetary line emergency humanitarian aid appears under in the FCDO annual report and accounts published on the 31st March 2025.

The £120 million Sudan allocation announced in April 2025 is funded from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.Humanitarian ODA allocations are included in country programme budgets, as set out in the FCDO annual report and accounts (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025). Additional emergency humanitarian support comes from the crisis reserve, which is also set out in the FCDO annual report and accounts.Data on ODA spend for 2020 to 2024 is published in Statistics on International Development (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-oda-spend-2024), including breakdowns by country and region.Figures for 2025 and 2026 will be published in due course.

Pursuant to his Statement on the Electricity Market Review on July 10 2025, Official Report, column 1160, if he will publish his Department’s reformed national pricing delivery plan.

I confirm that the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero will publish a Reformed National Pricing delivery plan early next year. Some elements of Reformed National Pricing are already under way, including building network infrastructure, and we intend to proceed with other measures, such as reform of transmission charges, as soon as possible in this Parliament.

Whether he plans to publish a fuller equalities impact assessment of the Child Poverty Strategy, including its impact on groups at highest risk of poverty.

A full summary Equalities Analysis was published alongside the Strategy and is available at: Child Poverty Strategy: Summary Equalities Analysis - GOV.UK.The impacts of policies contributing to the Child Poverty Strategy will be kept under review and monitored on an ongoing basis by departments using their own established approaches to considerations made under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). The ongoing Monitoring and Evaluation of the Child Poverty Strategy will also continue to assess the poverty risk and prevalence for groups with protected characteristics, as far as the data and evidence gathering allow. The Monitoring and Evaluation framework published alongside the Strategy set out that a baseline report will be published in Summer 2026, with annual reporting on progress thereafter, this can be found here: Child Poverty Strategy: Monitoring and Evaluation Framework - GOV.UK.

Whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that measures outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy designed to support families with newborn babies, including voucher schemes, are accessible to families seeking asylum.

The government is committed to ensuring that vulnerable migrant children receive the support to which they are entitled. Asylum seekers and their dependents who would otherwise be destitute can obtain support under Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. In addition, asylum seeking families can access some of the support set out in the Child Poverty Strategy. This will include Best Start Family Hubs in England, which will be open to all families with children aged 0–19 (or up to 25 for young people with special educational needs and disabilities). The hubs will connect families to a wide range of support, including housing, employment, debt and welfare advice. Asylum-seeking families are eligible for the 15 hour early education entitlement for 3- and 4-year-olds, and may be eligible for the 15 hour entitlement for 2-year-olds receiving additional forms of support.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing the pension age of prison officers on levels of staff retention.

We have seen an improving picture on retention nationally – with resignation rates at their lowest level for four years for Band 3-5 prison officers.We recognise that pension age is an important issue for frontline staff and our recognised trade unions. Ministers regularly engage with the POA and the Deputy Prime Minister is due to meet with the POA early in the new year.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025 to Question 92670, whether a scientifically satisfactory method or testing strategy requires validation.

Where a novel method is devised, it is expected to undergo evaluation in studies that describe its performance in its capacity to predict outcomes of testing of chemicals of a known profile. Such studies will be a forerunner to formal validation of the method which will likely involve comparative testing in many different laboratories, to ensure the method’s performance is robust.In terms of what constitutes acceptable validation, the OECD also published a guidance document on validation of methods (see https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/guidance-document-on-the-validation-and-international-acceptance-of-new-or-updated-test-methods-for-hazard-assessment_e1f1244b-en.html).In the strategy, we committed to establishing a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM).

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of retaining the freeze on Local Housing Allowance on older private renters in Scotland who are living in poverty.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State confirmed in his Written Statement (HCWS1101) that Local Housing Allowance rates will not be increased for 2026/27. He considered a range of factors, such as rental levels and impacts across Great Britain, including in Scotland, the wider fiscal context and UK government social security priorities.For private renters who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. DHPs have been fully devolved to Scotland who are responsible for the allocation and payment to Scottish local authorities.

What steps he is taking to increase the take-up of Pension Credit amongst older households in Scotland; and what consideration he has given to the potential merits of an all entitlements take-up strategy.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all pensioners receive the support to which they are entitled. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit taken-up campaign across the whole of Greater Britain, promoting Pension Credit to eligible pensioners and their family and friends through adverts on television and radio; on social media and on digital screens in GP surgeries and Post Offices, as well as in the press. The latest burst of the campaign began in September, and further promotional activity is planned until the end of the financial year. We are also focusing on a range of other actions to increase the take-up of Pension Credit, including targeted communications and partnership working as well as engaging with all councils, both directly and through the Local Authority Welfare Direct bulletins. In Scotland, 19 councils have actively supported the Pension Credit campaign by promoting it on social media and distributing promotional materials, including posters and leaflets. We are also making better use of data to reach potentially eligible households. For example, since February, all new Housing Benefit claimants who may be eligible have been invited to apply for Pension Credit and we are testing whether it is possible to identify potentially eligible households using HMRC and DWP data.