Written questions by Hodgson.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of social media age restrictions on young people accessing illegal platforms.

The government keeps this issue under close consideration . The Online Safety Act places robust duties on in-scope services to prevent children from encountering illegal content and activity.We are shortly launching a consultation exploring children’s use of technology to understand how they can be better protected and how their wellbeing can be improved. The consultation will seek views across many issues, including a minimum age of access for social media.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the whether social media age restrictions on platforms headquartered overseas would be enforceable.

The Online Safety Act has extraterritorial effect, meaning any regulated service with a significant number of UK users is required to meet duties wherever they are based.Where an organisation breaches its duties, Ofcom can require it to take steps to return to compliance or issue a fine. Ofcom can enforce these penalties via court processes in the UK and other jurisdictions.Ofcom can also apply for court orders requiring third parties to withdraw services or block access in the UK to non-compliant services. These measures ensure that, where services overseas choose to ignore their duties, they can be sanctioned.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that young people from all regions, including the North East, are represented in consultations on online safety and Al regulation.

We will ensure that young people from across the country, including the North East are represented in consultations.We are shortly launching a consultation exploring children’s use of technology to understand how they can be protected and how their wellbeing can be improved during technological change. The consultation will seek views on tackling ‘addictiveness’ of social media, introducing a minimum age of access and additional protections for AI chatbots.We will ensure children's voices are heard by launching a child-friendly version of the consultation and progressing a national conversation to hear directly from children and young people.

How his Department plans to ensure that the NHS Genomic Medicine Service’s pipeline of whole genome sequencing for cancer patients is unconstrained by local tissue storage practices; and whether there is a target date for ensuring consistent access across all NHS regions.

As part of the evolving NHS Genomic Medicine Service infrastructure, a new delivery model will be in place from April 2026 to deliver the genomics commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan, the National Cancer Plan, and other national strategies.Currently, there is variable access to freezers for fresh frozen tissue in the NHS with the associated complexity of cold chain transport. Providing adequate freezer storage for fresh frozen tissue is necessary to ensure that there is equitable regional access to whole genome sequencing (WGS) testing.In efforts to address this variability NHS England has produced national sample handling guidance to support approaches to the handling of fresh tissue and more recently the use of tissue stabilisers has been introduced to provide an alternative to frozen tissue and still meet the requirements for WGS. NHS England is also currently working with the British Neuro-Oncology Society to map where freezer storage facilities for fresh frozen tissue are required.Fresh tissue pathways are dependent on system engagement and work is ongoing between the NHS Genomics, Cancer, and Pathology programmes to develop and optimise these pathways and ensure that all appropriate cancer patients, including brain and central nervous system and rare cancers, get the optimal genomic testing for their tumour type.A number of NHS Genomic Networks of Excellence are also developing the evidence for developing fresh tissue pathways for WGS.

Whether regional cost-of-living variations will be factored into proposed maintenance grant calculations.

This government recognises the impact that cost-of-living pressures are having on students. This is why we are reintroducing means-tested maintenance grants from the 2028/29 academic year, providing students with up to £1,000 extra support each year, regardless of their location. We will also increase maintenance loans by 2.71% in 2026/27, bringing maximum amounts to £14,135 for students living away from home and studying in London, £10,830 for students living away from home and studying outside London and £9,118 for students living at home.We are developing options to address regional disparities in entering higher education for disadvantaged students through a new Access and Participation Task and Finish Group, chaired by Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Derby. We are also working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to encourage universities to collaborate with local authorities on strategic approaches to meeting student housing needs.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of reviewing the No Recourse to Public Funds income thresholds to ensure equity of eligibility for all children when expanding access to the free school meals to children from families in receipt of universal credit.

The department has permanently extended free school meal eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds, provided they meet income thresholds set out in public guidance.This ensures that children can access support regardless of their background or circumstances, including the immigration status of their parents.The income thresholds for No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) households were designed to account for the differences in household income between NRPF households and those with access to additional state support to ensure parity.The government has set out plans to extend free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. The department continues to keep all aspects of the free school meals system under review.

What progress his Department has made on developing national guidance for Auditory Verbal therapy for deaf children since March 2025; and whether he plans to establish a timeline for publishing that guidance.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of services to meet the needs of their local populations, including services for non-hearing children. NHS England supports ICBs to make informed decisions about the provision of audiology services so that they can provide consistent, high quality, and integrated care. Auditory verbal therapy (AVT) is one type of therapy to support children with hearing loss, and it is important that local commissioners have the discretion to decide how best to meet the needs of their local population, informed by the best available evidence and guidance. Based on consideration of the current evidence on AVT for deaf children, NHS England has no plans to develop such national guidance. In November 2025, NHS England appointed two national specialty advisers for hearing and associated conditions who are considering care pathway improvements for hearing services. The national speciality advisors are committed to meeting with the charity Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) to discuss AVT, with a meeting scheduled. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s prioritisation board considered childhood hearing loss as a potential guideline topic in August 2024, but concluded that there is limited evidence available in this area and that the 2015 NHS England Action Plan on Hearing Loss and guidance issued in 2019 addresses care for this population, and it is understood that AVUK are in the process of developing the evidence base for the intervention. The NHS England Action Plan on Hearing Loss is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/act-plan-hearing-loss-upd.pdf

What recent progress he has made in meeting the 18-week referral-to-treatment standard in Washington and Gateshead South constituency.

The Washington and Gateshead South constituency is served by the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB). Performance against the 18-week Referral to Treatment standard for this ICB has improved from 68.9% to 70.5% since the Government came to office, and the waiting list has dropped by 11,854.The Elective Reform Plan, which was published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to reach the 92% standard by March 2029, which improve patient care in the Washington and Gateshead South constituency and across England. We have set a national ambition that by March 2026, 65% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum 5% improvement on current performance over that period. We are making progress in several areas including demand management, validation of waiting lists, diagnostics reform, including straight to test pathways, and clinically-led pathway reform in priority specialties.

How many pensioners in Washington and Gateshead South constituency are covered by the pension triple lock.

Caseload statistics for State Pensions are available via Stat-Xplore - Log in. The latest published data currently relate to the quarter ending May 2025. The State Pensions Triple Lock applies to recipients of the core element of State Pension. Based on latest data, the number of pensioners resident in the Washington and Gateshead South constituency who are in receipt of the State Pension, and therefore covered by the Triple Lock, is 20,085. This total has been adjusted to exclude a very small number of individuals, who receive only Graduated Retirement Benefit, a category of the Pre-2016 State Pension system, as such payments are uprated using CPI. The constituency referenced above encompasses Gateshead South as well as the entire Washington area, including Washington Central, Washington South, Washington North, Washington East and Washington West.

What steps she is taking to ensure adequate policing in Washington and Gateshead South constituency.

The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. An effective, well-supported police service is central to achieving this.For 2025-26, a total of up to £422.2 million will be available for Northumbria Police through the police funding settlement, an overall increase of up to £28.8 million when compared to the 2024-25 settlement.This includes:£10,781,126 through the officer maintenance ringfenced grant, and £4,742,769 through the top-up grant, to maintain a total headcount of 3,853 officers£6,160,643 through the neighbourhood policing grant to grow by 122 FTE Neighbourhood Policing officers (95 FTE police officers and 27 FTE PCSOs).It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions, to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate and deploy the resources at their disposal to provide an effective service to local communities.

How many public sector workers have received an above-inflation pay rise in Washington and Gateshead South constituency since 5 July 2024.

We value all our public sector workers, and pay awards reflect the important work that our nurses, teachers, doctors, prison officers and soldiers do to keep the country running.The overwhelming majority of awards announced in 2025/26, including for all of the above workforces, announced are above the OBR’s forecast for CPI inflation over the 2025/26 pay year. Whilst I cannot confirm the number of public sector workers in the Washington and Gateshead South constituency in receipt of those pay awards, all those workers set out above will benefit from the above inflation pay uplift.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of measures to reduce child poverty on children in Washington and Gateshead South constituency.

Estimates of the total impact on low income poverty levels, and the number of children gaining, from the main changes included in the strategy for the United Kingdom as a whole are available here: Child Poverty Strategy: Impact on low income poverty levels and children gaining in the UK: December 2025 - GOV.UK. Across the United Kingdom, the measures set out in the strategy are expected to reduce the number of children in poverty by 550,000 in the final year of this Parliament, compared to our estimates without these measures. Estimates for the number of children and households that are expected to gain from the removal of two-child limit policy at constituency level are available here: Poverty impacts of social security changes at Budget 2025 - GOV.UK. The number of children who are expected to gain from the removal of the two-child limit policy in the Washington and Gateshead South constituency is 2,620.

When he plans to launch the consultation on updating school food standards.

The department aims to revise the school food standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. We intend to consult on these revisions and further details on timings will be available in due course.

Whether his Department plans to adopt a UK-wide model similar to the Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Act (Scotland) 2022.

There are currently no plans to adopt a model similar to the Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Act (Scotland) 2022 on a UK-wide basis.I recently met with Siobhian Brown MSP, Minister for Victims and Community Safety in the Scottish Government to understand the impact of changes made in Scotland. In addition to this meeting, I will engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks. The safety of the public and the impact on people, animals and property will be central in decisions on how the Government proceeds in relation to the regulation of fireworks.

If his Department will meet with fireworks industry stakeholders, such as Fireworks Impact Coalition, to discuss calls for a comprehensive review of fireworks legislation.

I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on fireworks-related issues. I also recently met with the Scottish Government, and a number of MPs to discuss fireworks policy and hope to meet with the Fireworks Impact coalition in the near future.The insights from these discussions, as well as other evidence gathered on the impact of fireworks will guide future action.

What assessment his Department has made to determine whether the 120 dB noise limit for consumer fireworks is sufficient to protect animals and vulnerable people from harm.

No recent formal assessment of the fireworks legislation has been made including whether further restrictions on sales and use would fuel illegal trade or whether the 120 dB noise limit for consumer firework is sufficient.I launched a public campaign on fireworks safety in October, just ahead of the fireworks season. Ensuring that these materials were shared widely helped to increase their impact. The campaign featured new guidance for those running community fireworks events, as well as social media materials that emphasised the risks associated with the misuse of fireworks.To inform any future decisions in relation to the regulation of fireworks, I will engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks. The safety of the public and the impact on people, animals and property will be central in decisions on how the Government proceeds in relation to the regulation of fireworks.

What assessment of the fireworks black market his Department has made to determine whether further restrictions on sales and use of fireworks would fuel illegal trade.

No recent formal assessment of the fireworks legislation has been made including whether further restrictions on sales and use would fuel illegal trade or whether the 120 dB noise limit for consumer firework is sufficient.I launched a public campaign on fireworks safety in October, just ahead of the fireworks season. Ensuring that these materials were shared widely helped to increase their impact. The campaign featured new guidance for those running community fireworks events, as well as social media materials that emphasised the risks associated with the misuse of fireworks.To inform any future decisions in relation to the regulation of fireworks, I will engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks. The safety of the public and the impact on people, animals and property will be central in decisions on how the Government proceeds in relation to the regulation of fireworks.

If his Department will conduct a review into fireworks legislation.

No recent formal assessment of the fireworks legislation has been made including whether further restrictions on sales and use would fuel illegal trade or whether the 120 dB noise limit for consumer firework is sufficient.I launched a public campaign on fireworks safety in October, just ahead of the fireworks season. Ensuring that these materials were shared widely helped to increase their impact. The campaign featured new guidance for those running community fireworks events, as well as social media materials that emphasised the risks associated with the misuse of fireworks.To inform any future decisions in relation to the regulation of fireworks, I will engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks. The safety of the public and the impact on people, animals and property will be central in decisions on how the Government proceeds in relation to the regulation of fireworks.

Whether she has plans to introduce monitoring arrangements to assess compliance with the updated school food standards once they are in force.

The department aims to revise the School Food Standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. School governors and trustees have a statutory duty to ensure compliance, holding school leaders to account for meeting the School Food Standards. Through our review, we will engage with the sector on a range of matters, including improving compliance.

Whether she has considered adding heat batteries to the list of Energy Saving Materials.

Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent. The list of qualifying ESMs, which includes but is not limited to heat pumps, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-on-energy-saving-materials-and-heating-equipment-notice-7086.The Government assesses whether to add ESMs to this relief by evaluating them against the following tests: the primary purpose of the technology must be to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions; relieving the technology of VAT must be a cost effective lever for encouraging installations; and it must be practical for business to operate and for HMRC to administer.