Written questions by Berry.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support humanitarian aid and climate resilience in Somaliland.

Climate resilience is a priority across Somalia, including Somaliland. The UK is the largest contributor to the Somaliland Development Fund (SDF), providing nearly £50 million since 2012 and an additional £4 million in Financial Year 25/26 to improve water access, promote sustainable agriculture, and protect livestock-dependent incomes vulnerable to climate change.The UK also supports climate adaptation through the Sinaan programme, which helps Somaliland's growing cities manage unplanned urbanisation driven by climate pressures.On humanitarian aid, the UK contributes to the Somalia Humanitarian Fund, which has responded to Somaliland's drought emergency, and the UK also supports partners such as the Red Cross/Red Crescent working locally on disaster response.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of job vacancies in key professions within his Department’s responsibilities, including contractor organisations.

The independent Office for National Statistics publish monthly estimates of online job adverts by occupation Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK - Office for National Statistics and vacancies across each industrial sector VACS02: Vacancies by industry - Office for National Statistics.

Whether he plans to remove the work capability assessment.

We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we are abolishing the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and that following this, eligibility to the new Universal Credit Health Element would require the claimant to be in receipt of a Daily Living award on Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Work is continuing to determine the detail of how this reformed system would work and discussions are also under way with the Scottish Government about the interactions between the devolved and reserved systems. We will set out further details of the reformed system, and the timing of WCA abolition, once we are in a position to do so.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Motability Scheme on supporting disabled people into employment and training.

The Motability Foundation report that 27% of Scheme users have improved access to education and 21% have improved access to employment opportunities. Scheme customers in employment report working an extra 14 hours a week, on average.

Whether she plans to develop a National Integration Strategy for asylum seekers and refugees as part of proposed reforms to the asylum system.

The Government’s Asylum and Returns Policy Statement published on 17 November 2025 announced transformative changes to the asylum system and safe and legal routes.Successfully integrating refugees remains a key Government priority. Work is underway to operationalise the proposals set out in the statement, with careful consideration being given to how integration is prioritised in implementation. Further details will be provided in due course.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of a centralised Probation service.

A unified Probation Service operates throughout England and Wales, under the leadership of the Chief Probation Officer, who provides both professional guidance and system oversight for probation staff. We recognise that probation works best when delivering in partnership, and Regional Probation Directors and their teams have significant flexibility to collaborate with local partner agencies. Examples of that local collaboration and innovation include joint delivery of Integrated Offender Management with police forces and co-commissioning of services for offenders with metro mayors. The probation service needs investment and strong leadership – which we are delivering. It is our assessment that further structural changes at this time would be disruptive and detrimental.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Motability Scheme on transport barriers experienced by disabled people.

The Motability Scheme supports many disabled people and families, by enabling them to lease a car, wheelchair accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair in exchange for an eligible disability benefit allowance. The scheme helps people with significant mobility issues participate in society, including by breaking down barriers to work. The Motability Foundation have published its strategy to support and empower disabled people by improving their access to transport. The plan sets out how they will act directly and work with others to drive change.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of job vacancies in key professions within her Department’s responsibilities, including contractor organisations.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes information on the number of vacancies at UK-level, by industry, and by size of business as part of the vacancies and jobs in the UK release. Using that data, we see that in August to October 2025 there were 15,000 vacancies in arts, entertainment and recreation, 33,000 vacancies in information and communication and 76,000 vacancies in accommodation and food service activities. Parts of these industries are included in DCMS sector definitions.Compared to August to October 2024:Arts, entertainment and recreation vacancies are down 14.0%Accommodation and food service activities vacancies are down 16.5%Information and communication vacancies are down 13.5%DCMS uses a more granular industry classification (4-digit Standard Industrial Classification codes) to define our sectors and ONS vacancy data is not publicly available at this level.DCMS publishes official statistics in development estimating the number of vacancies, alongside skills shortages and skills gaps, based on the Department for Education’s (DfE) Employer Skills Survey. Two regular data releases have been published so far: DCMS Sectors Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2019 and DCMS Sector Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2022, UK, as well as additional analysis for the Creative Industries. The 2022 data showed that 25.5% of DCMS Sectors businesses in the UK had at least one vacancy open at the time of the survey. This was significantly higher than All Sectors (23.2%).Further insights into labour demand are provided in the ONS’s Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK dataset, which includes official statistics in development sourced from Textkernel data. DCMS has published additional estimates by SOC code for the Creative Industries using the DfE’s Employer Skills Survey.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of job vacancies in key professions within her Department’s responsibilities, including contractor organisations.

The independent Office for National Statistics publish monthly estimates of online job adverts by occupation Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK - Office for National Statistics(opens in a new tab) and vacancies across each industrial sector VACS02: Vacancies by industry - Office for National Statistics(opens in a new tab).

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations of the Kingdon review of children's hearing services; and if he will set out a timetable for the implementation of (a) actions and (b) additional funding and resources required.

We are grateful to Dr Kingdon for the review into children’s hearing services published on 4 December 2025. No assessment has yet been made of the potential implications on policies. We are progressing an early analysis of implementation requirements for each of the 12 recommendations made by Dr. Kingdon. We will provide further updates once this initial assessment has been completed and a detailed timetable has been established.

Media and Sport, if she will support making the agent of change principle statutory to safeguard grassroots music venues from the impact of new residential developments and ensure that developers take full responsibility for mitigating noise and other environmental conflicts at the planning stage.

Grassroots music venues are vital to the UK’s music culture, offering emerging artists a platform and supporting local economies and creative jobs.This Government wants to enable new developments such as housing to co-exist with cultural infrastructure, including music venues. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that new development should be integrated effectively with existing businesses and community facilities, such as music venues. Existing businesses and facilities should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on them as a result of development permitted after they were established.MHCLG intends to consult on the National Planning Policy Framework, including the agent of change principle, this year. DCMS are working with MHCLG to consider how the agent of change can be implemented as effectively as possible as part of this review, to ensure the principle works well for music venues.In August 2025, the joint industry and HM government licensing policy sprint taskforce recommended stronger guidance or a mandatory requirement for licensing authorities to ensure that the agent of change principle is considered when making licensing decisions. The Government is reviewing the findings of the taskforce and the recent call for evidence on licensing, to inform how the agent of change principle could be considered in licensing.

If she will publish data, broken down by police service, of all offences by category associated with suspects or offenders who were detected using live facial recognition (LFR) technology during each calendar year since 2016, along with any other categories of people added to LFR watchlists, if these were not suspects or offenders.

The Government is committed to equipping police forces with the tools they need to tackle serious crimes, locate offenders and bring them to justice. As part of this commitment, the Home Office has funded the roll-out of ten live facial recognition (LFR) vans.The National Audit Office reports on Home Office expenditure which is then independently scrutinised and reported on by the Public Accounts Committee.Oversight of LFR is provided by a number of independent bodies including the Information Commissioner, Equality and Human Rights Commission and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire & Rescue Services.However, oversight is fragmented and we want to improve it through the creation of a bespoke new legal framework. Subject to consultation, that framework will include specific oversight for the use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.The Home Office does not hold data on the number of arrests made following the police’s use of facial recognition technology, including the use of LFR, as specific LFR deployment decisions rest with individual police forces. The department is however funding national evaluation work to understand better the impact of facial recognition on police and crime outcomes.Where police forces are using LFR, the number of arrests made following each deployment are published on their respective websites. Further, the Met Police have published these in their recent Live Facial Recognition Annual Report September 2025

What independent scrutiny is being carried out on the use of the ten new live facial recognition systems provided to local police services by the Home Office, starting in November 2025, and when the conclusions of this scrutiny will be published.

The Government is committed to equipping police forces with the tools they need to tackle serious crimes, locate offenders and bring them to justice. As part of this commitment, the Home Office has funded the roll-out of ten live facial recognition (LFR) vans.The National Audit Office reports on Home Office expenditure which is then independently scrutinised and reported on by the Public Accounts Committee.Oversight of LFR is provided by a number of independent bodies including the Information Commissioner, Equality and Human Rights Commission and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire & Rescue Services.However, oversight is fragmented and we want to improve it through the creation of a bespoke new legal framework. Subject to consultation, that framework will include specific oversight for the use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.The Home Office does not hold data on the number of arrests made following the police’s use of facial recognition technology, including the use of LFR, as specific LFR deployment decisions rest with individual police forces. The department is however funding national evaluation work to understand better the impact of facial recognition on police and crime outcomes.Where police forces are using LFR, the number of arrests made following each deployment are published on their respective websites. Further, the Met Police have published these in their recent Live Facial Recognition Annual Report September 2025

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of (a) trends in the level of demand for and (b) the adequacy of older people’s housing, including sheltered housing and care homes, for older LGBTIQA+ people.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 74681 on 12 September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if he will support the establishment of structured, research-led innovation through an Areas of Research interest approach for fire and rescue services, similar to that adopted by police services in England.

The Government recognises the importance of working collaboratively with sector partners.The implementation of an Areas of Research Interest (ARI) approach to support research and innovation will be considered as part of the due process associated with any future establishment of a college. This ensures that decisions are informed by evidence-based priorities and aligned with fire sector needs.

Whether staff in her Department have been instructed to apply Access to Work guidance more strictly since July 2024.

For the last year, we have worked to improve decision-making throughout the Access to Work Scheme by ensuring that guidance is applied with greater consistency, helping to provide a fairer process. This may mean that some awards change at the point of renewal, but this does not reflect a change in policy of the Scheme.

What action he is taking to ensure that the voices of people with learning disabilities are heard directly during the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment, including (a) digitally excluded people with learning disabilities, (b) people with learning disabilities who are non-verbal, and (c) people with learning disabilities who need written information provided in an accessible format.

For the Review to be a success, lived experience must be at the heart of its work. The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon. On 30 October, I published the revised Terms of Reference on GOV.UK which set out further details about its scope. I also announced that the Review will be co-chaired by myself alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review's strategic direction, priorities and workplan. The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people's organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest (EOI) process, which is now live. We have worked closely with experts to ensure the EOI is accessible, inclusive and has a broad reach. The steering group will not work alone, it will oversee a programme of participation that brings together the full range of views and voices.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to (a) investigate (i) war crimes and (ii) genocide in Sudan and (b) support international efforts to (A) end violence and (B) protect civilians in that country; whether she plans to (1) impose targeted sanctions on those responsible for that violence and (2) prevent UK arms exports; and what plans her Department has to increase the (a) volume and (b) effectiveness of humanitarian aid in that country.

I refer the Hon. Member to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on Sudan on 18 November, which addressed all these issues at length.

If she will take steps to ensure that diesel vehicle manufacturers responsible for illegal emissions practices contribute to environmental remediation or compensation schemes.

The Government takes illegal emissions practices extremely seriously. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Market Surveillance Unit (MSU) is investigating cases of possible non-compliant diesel emissions in cars and vans. The investigations aim to ensure any non-compliance found is fixed as soon as reasonably possible, working together with manufacturers to achieve real-world impacts on air quality.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of amending (a) visa and (b) asylum routes for people fleeing conflict in Sudan with British national immediate family members in the UK by (i) waiving income rules, (ii) allowing asylum applications to be made in third party countries and (c) bringing forward other measures to help reunite families separated by conflict.

Sudanese nationals who wish to come to the UK to join a family member here need a family visa. Applications can be made for a family visa to live with a spouse or partner; fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner; parent; child; relative who is providing care.The financial requirements form part of the ‘core’ requirements of the Family Immigration Rules. Expecting family migrants and their sponsors to be financially independent is reasonable, both to them and the taxpayer.However, where someone cannot meet the core requirements, including those relating to finances, permission will still be granted where refusal would breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.As part of the Immigration White Paper reforms, the government intends to set out a new family policy that will cover all UK residents, including those who are British, settled, on work routes or refugees seeking to bring family members to the UK.The UK has a proud history of providing protection and we continue to welcome refugees and people in need through our safe and legal routes. However, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, including the current situation in Sudan, we are not bound to consider asylum claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might wish to come here. It is important that safe and legal routes are sustainable, well managed and in line with the UK’s capacity to welcome, accommodate and integrate refugees. We do not currently have any plans to open a specific route for people affected by the conflict in Sudan.Additionally, the recently announced Asylum Policy Statement set out a new model for refugee resettlement. We will give greater say to communities and support refugees as they settle, become self-sufficient, and contribute to their local areas. This new model will be based on local capacity to support refugees, and arrival numbers will be tightly controlled by the government.To achieve this, we will: • Reform refugee sponsorship to give voluntary and community sector organisations a greater role in resettlement through named sponsorship, within caps set by government. • Introduce a capped route for refugee and displaced students to study in the UK, helping talented refugees to continue their studies, realise their potential and be able to return to their country and help rebuild it as soon as circumstances allow. • Establish a capped route for skilled refugees and displaced people to come to the UK for work, building on the experience of the Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot.Our intention is that those arriving on the reformed resettlement routes will be on the ten-year route to settlement. However, this will be subject to wider consultation.