Written questions by Raja.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2026 to Question 120878, whether those efficiencies will contribute to a reduction in the rail passenger services subsidy in 2026–27.

The Government expects efficiencies made through public ownership to contribute to a reduction in the rail passenger services subsidy during the Spending Review period of 2026-27 to 2028-29, inclusive. This includes £395m of efficiencies from corporate initiatives as part of the Departmental Efficiency Plan, £52m of which are forecast to be delivered in 2026-27.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 120647, what estimate she has made of the net saving once the costs of expanding DfT Operator Limited, including staffing and administrative overheads, are accounted for.

Scaling up DFTO staffing in anticipation of establishing GBR is critical to building DFTO’s present capability to manage its growing number of operators and allow DFTO to maximise efficiencies during the transition to GBR. We expect the costs associated with expanding DfT Operator Limited - expansion that is key to delivering public ownership - to be offset in full by efficiency savings and reductions in the net subsidy.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 118043, how much the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has spent on advertising driving examiner vacancies in each of the last three years.

The table below shows the driver recruitment campaigns that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has spent advertising on, in each of the last three financial years to date. Financial YearSpend (£)Number of Campaigns2023/2419,675.0542024/2530,903.8932025/268,000.003Total58,578.9410

What recent estimate she has made of the proportion of electric vehicles in short-term hire fleets used by Government departments.

Data on vehicles used by Government departments are collected as part of the Government Fleet Commitment. This includes vehicles hired for 6 days or more. The Government Fleet Commitment data are fed into the Greening Government Commitments, and the most recent published data can be found online at Greening Government Commitments April 2021 to March 2024 report - GOV.UK. However, the data does not break down owned fleet and hired vehicles.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 118042, whether the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has considered introducing additional tracking mechanisms to identify which recruitment channels generate successful applicants.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) uses the Civil Service recruitment service for all of its recruitment. For campaigns up to November 2025, DVSA used the data available from the Civil Service recruitment standard applicants survey. This shows which advertising routes generate candidates, however the information is limited and does not give 100% coverage. In December 2025, DVSA introduced a DVSA specific survey. This is sent to everyone who is offered an interview. This is then followed by another survey sent to anyone who successfully moves onto training. The data will be crossed referenced, however DVSA currently only has data for one complete and one ongoing campaign.

Food and Rural Affairs, which body has overall responsibility for consolidating greenhouse gas emissions data across the central government office estate; and what estimate has been made of the total cost across all departments of measuring, collecting, reporting and validating that data in 2024–25.

Defra consolidates greenhouse gas emissions. This is published in GGC annual reports. The last published report for 2021 to 2024 published here Greening Government Commitments April 2021 to March 2024 report - GOV.UK estimates in year 3, the Government’s overall emissions were 41% lower than the baseline based on data reported to Defra at that time. There is no estimate of cost of this work however a small team of c.2FTE produces this report as part of wider responsibilities. Departments are encouraged to provide data that is already collected for other purposes and are not required to put in place specific arrangements to collect this data solely for GGC reporting purposes.

What assessment his Department has made of the relative costs to Northern Ireland of a) inclusion of maritime emissions in the UK ETS and (b) potential exposure to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

The published Impact Assessment found the inclusion of maritime activities in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to have a positive net present social value for the UK.Independent analysis by Frontier Economics identified no material risk of carbon leakage, diversion of trade, or competitive distortion on Great Britain–Northern Ireland routes. Internal route-specific case studies also show very small effects on final prices, with increases of under 1% for typical freight goods. On average between 2022-24 annual UK exports of goods in scope of EU CBAM were worth almost £7bn, and without a CBAM exemption, UK exporters could face associated costs.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent children from being exploited by drug gangs in (a) Leicester, (b) the East Midlands and (c) the UK.

This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a national register for people found guilty of exploiting children for criminal activity.

This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.

What assessment has been made of the availability of shore power and alternative fuel infrastructure for ferry operators serving the Isle of Wight.

The policies set out in the Government’s Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy will encourage more shore power or alternative fuel availability for ferry operators, by incentivising investment in maritime decarbonisation across the UK and in our ports. This Government will continue to work with Ofgem, the independent energy regulator, in its work to incentivise network companies to invest strategically ahead of need, ensuring that future grid capacity planning reflects the emerging demands from electrifying sectors, including the Isle of Wight ferry market. Through our UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions research programme, we have awarded nearly £580k funding to support a feasibility study, which is looking into options for providing shore power for the existing Wightlink FastCat ferry service.

What steps her Department is taking to support children and families who have been victims of child exploitation by organised crime.

This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help increase access to nature for people living in urban areas.

The Government is committed to ensuring everyone lives within a 15-minute walk of a green or blue space. Currently 80% of people are within this range, with this figure at 78% in urban areas. We have set out how we will make access more equitable and remove barriers to access in our Environmental Improvement Plan. This includes progressing plans to deliver nine new National River Walks across England, one in each region, to enhance access to nature. The Mersey Valley Way, which runs from Stockport into Manchester, will be the first of those nine new walks. We will identify locations for the next tranche of river walks through a competition that will be launched before the end of 2026. The Government is also investing £1 billion in tree planting and support to the forestry sector over this parliament. Access to nature is an important part of our work both within the public forestry estate and more broadly including with the 15 Community Forests which bring trees closer to where people live. Last year (2024/25) the Community Forests created over 2,200 hectares of new woodland, with 70% of woodlands planted having full or partial public access and 8% of schemes being within the most deprived areas of the country.

What steps she is taking to improve her Department's decision time on visa applications.

UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards and continue to prioritise urgent compelling or compassionate cases across all workstreams.Where applications are complex and further information is required, decisions may take longer. UKVI encourages all customers to apply in good time ahead of intended travel dates.The Home Office publishes data on its performance against its service level agreement for visas, which can be found on the GOV.UK webpage: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of current sentencing guidelines for individuals convicted of grooming and coercing children as part of criminal drug activities.

Sentencing guidelines are developed by the Sentencing Council, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so. In 2021, the Council issued a comprehensive package of revised sentencing guidelines for drugs offences. The guidelines include an aggravating factor “Exploitation of children and/or vulnerable persons to assist in drug-related activity”, the presence of which increases the seriousness of an offence and can merit a more severe sentence.Further information is available on the Council’s website: https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/guidelines/crown-court/.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of postponing the proposed increase in fuel duty, given the current situation in the Middle East.

The Government is already taking action to ensure that fuel at the pump remains affordable. At Budget 2025, the Government extended the 5p-per-litre cut for a further five months, until the end of August this year. The Government has also cancelled the increase in line with inflation for 2026/27; instead, rates will only gradually return to early 2022 levels by March 2027. Since Autumn Budget 2024, the Government's decisions to freeze fuel duty will save the average motorist over £90 – or 8-11 pence per litre – compared to the plans inherited from the previous government. As the Chancellor has set out, a rapid de-escalation in the Middle East remains the best way to keep prices low at the pump. As with all taxes, the Government keeps fuel duty under review.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the equity of the current single person council tax discount given the relative burden on single-occupancy households.

A full council tax bill assumes that there are at least two adults living in a dwelling. Where there is only one liable adult resident in a property, the bill is reduced by 25%. This is effectively a 50% reduction in the personal element of the bill. The Government has no plans to change the single person discount.

What estimate he has made of the number of Personal Independence Payment claimants who have been in receipt of the benefit for more than a) two years b) three years and c) five years without reassessment.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What metrics are being used to measure progress on reducing violence against women and girls.

We will measure progress against our ambition to halve VAWG is through a headline metric of the combined prevalence estimate of the proportion of people (aged 16 and over) who experienced any of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking in the previous 12 months, as measured by the Crime Survey for England and Wales.Given the complexity and breadth of these crimes, a single metric cannot fully capture progress. We will therefore track a set of supporting headline metrics, focused on female homicide, repeat domestic abuse, and the prevalence of sexual harassment.These measures will be underpinned by a wider range of sub-metrics, such as measures of online harms, to assess progress across government against the pillars of the Strategy.Further detail on our performance framework can be found on page 70 of Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy.

What estimate she has made of the number of children receiving SEND transport support where the responsible adult has access to a vehicle through the Motability Scheme.

The Education Act 1996 requires local authorities to arrange free home-to-school travel for eligible children. A child’s eligibility is not affected by any further benefits or allowances they or their parents may receive.The department does not collect or hold information about the number of children receiving home to school travel from their local authority where the responsible adult has access to a vehicle through the Motability Scheme.

What progress her Department has made towards meeting the Government’s target to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade.

“Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls” was published on 18th December 2025 and sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver our commitment to halve VAWG in a decade.Since July 2024, the Home Office has delivered a series of measures to tackle these crimes including: establishing the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection; commencing the rollout of Raneem’s Law to strengthen protections for victims of domestic abuse; introducing Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in the first pilot areas; announcing £53 million of funding over four years to expand the Drive Project across England and Wales; and rolling out the Steps to Safety referral initiative.Throughout 2026, we will begin delivering many of the commitments set out in the Strategy. This includes the publication of new statutory guidance on Domestic Homicide Reviews, as well as the further rollout of Raneem’s Law to improve the police response to victims and survivors of domestic abuse. Together, these measures represent significant steps towards meeting our ambition to halve VAWG within the next decade.