Written questions by Dhesi.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to ensure the safe return of British nationals from countries impacted by airspace closures in the Middle East.

Support to British nationals remains our top priority and we have worked at pace to ensure those who wanted to leave left safely. Consular teams have worked round the clock to support British nationals in the region. As soon as Israeli airspace re-opened UK government charter flights left Israel carrying more than 380 people on six flights. In allocating seats, we prioritised those who were most vulnerable, including those with medical needs, children, and the elderly. Commercial flights are now available.

What discussions she has had with (a) the Payment Systems Regulator and (b) representatives of the payments industry on merchant interchange fees.

The government is committed to ensuring a world-leading payments ecosystem that meets the needs of all businesses and consumers, as reflected in the National Payments Vision. This includes support for regulation of interchange fees. Government ministers and officials meet regularly with payments firms and their representatives on this and other issues. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis and available on gov.uk. Domestic interchange fees are capped at 0.2% for consumer debit cards and 0.3% for consumer credit cards. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is responsible for enforcing these caps. The PSR is independent of the Government. However, the Government engages with them regularly on their important work, including on card fees. The PSR has recently conducted a market review into cross-border interchange fees. These are fees charged when an EEA issued card is used to make a purchase from a UK merchant. It published its final report in December 2024 and is now considering its next steps.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the financial support available for sole traders applying for a patent.

The Government provides a range of support to inventors, including sole traders, so they may identify, protect and commercialise their intellectual property through tools found on GOV.UK.The Government considers the fees charged by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to apply for patents to be accessible and comparatively low compared to other jurisdictions.The IPO works in partnership with a range of organisations that can help inventors bring ideas to market. In addition, the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, provides a range of support services to help innovators.

Whether he plans to ban the import of produce from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. There are clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel.The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the OPTs should be handled.

What discussions she has had with (a) the payment systems regulator and (b) representatives of the payments industry on the adequacy of interchange fee caps.

Government ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations. Details of ministerial meetings are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-giftsand-overseas-travelDomestic interchange fees are capped at 0.2% for consumer debit cards and 0.3% for consumer credit cards. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is responsible for enforcing these caps. The PSR is independent of Government. However, the government continues to engage with them on their important work, including card fees.The PSR has recently conducted a market review into cross-border interchange fees, fees charged when an EEA issued card is used at a UK merchant. It published its final report in December 2024 and is now considering its next steps.The Government recently announced its intentions to consolidate the PSR and its functions primarily within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The PSR continues to be an independent regulator with full access to its statutory powers in the interim. There will be no immediate changes to its functions and its work will continue, including its important role in regulating card fees.

What recent steps has he taken to help reduce waiting times for mental health treatment in the South East.

Waiting times for those referred to mental health services are too high all across England, including in the South East.Too many people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.We are committed to improving mental health care for people with a range of mental health conditions, and to shifting the focus from treatment to prevention, as we make the National Health Service fit for the future.In the Spending Review announcement, we have confirmed that we will fulfil the Government’s commitments to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health staff, to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, by the end of the Parliament, and we will expand mental health support teams in schools in England to cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30.Our reforms to the Mental Health Act will give patients a greater say in their care and will ensure that people get the appropriate and compassionate mental health support they need.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the use of farrowing crates on the welfare of farmed pigs.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 April 2025 to the hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield, PQ UIN 41698.

What recent steps she has taken to help protect consumers from authorised push payment fraud.

The Government is committed to tackling fraud and protecting victims from this appalling crime. The Government has committed to introduce a new and expanded fraud strategy to create a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and industry to better protect the public and businesses from fraud. In October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement regime for authorised push payment (APP) scams which take place over the Faster Payments system. This requires payment service providers to reimburse victims for losses up to £85,000. The details of the reimbursement regime are a matter for the independent PSR, but it has committed to carry out an independent evaluation of the reimbursement requirement after the rules have been in place after 12 months. The Government has also introduced legislation to allow payment service providers more time to investigate payments where there are reasonable grounds to suspect APP fraud. This gives firms more time to engage potential victims and break the spell of fraudsters. The Government also recognises the importance of working with the technology and telecommunications sectors to prevent fraudsters abusing their platforms and networks. In November 2024, the Chancellor wrote to leading companies in these sectors to challenge them to go further and faster to reduce the scale of incidents and losses from fraud taking place on their platforms and networks. The Government will continue to work with these sectors as part of its upcoming fraud strategy.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the maximum reimbursement limit for victims of authorised push payment fraud.

The Government is committed to tackling fraud and protecting victims from this appalling crime. The Government has committed to introduce a new and expanded fraud strategy to create a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and industry to better protect the public and businesses from fraud. In October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement regime for authorised push payment (APP) scams which take place over the Faster Payments system. This requires payment service providers to reimburse victims for losses up to £85,000. The details of the reimbursement regime are a matter for the independent PSR, but it has committed to carry out an independent evaluation of the reimbursement requirement after the rules have been in place after 12 months. The Government has also introduced legislation to allow payment service providers more time to investigate payments where there are reasonable grounds to suspect APP fraud. This gives firms more time to engage potential victims and break the spell of fraudsters. The Government also recognises the importance of working with the technology and telecommunications sectors to prevent fraudsters abusing their platforms and networks. In November 2024, the Chancellor wrote to leading companies in these sectors to challenge them to go further and faster to reduce the scale of incidents and losses from fraud taking place on their platforms and networks. The Government will continue to work with these sectors as part of its upcoming fraud strategy.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on ensuring the safety of people retrieving aid in Gaza.

The UK is appalled by reports of civilian fatalities at aid distribution sites in Gaza. This underscores the urgent need to protect civilians accessing humanitarian assistance. The Foreign Secretary raised the safety of aid workers with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on 15 April, and again on 22 June, where he expressed concerns about mass casualty incidents and stressed the need to deliver aid at scale. In our 13 May statement to the UN Security Council, we made clear the UK will not support any aid mechanism that compromises civilian safety or humanitarian neutrality. We continue pressing for safe, unimpeded aid delivery through all diplomatic channels, including with regional partners and at the UN.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) his Israeli counterpart, (b) the United Nations and (c) humanitarian organisations on the availability of safe drinking water in Gaza.

The UK works closely with partners to provide the delivery of vitally needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. Desalination plants must be able to operate and provide clean drinking water for civilians. In the last financial year, we provided a £2 million uplift, through a contribution to the World Bank, to increase the sustainable supply of water and energy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including in Gaza. We are proud that UK support has meant over 430,000 people have received essential healthcare, more than 640,000 have received food, and 275,000 people have improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.

What recent progress she has made with local transport organisations on making interchanges from local public transport to national transport step-free.

The government is committed to making public transport and infrastructure more inclusive and accessible, to allow people to make the journeys they want and need. It is key that government, local authorities and transport operators work together to achieve this.The government has continued to support the Access for All programme to improve the accessibility of railway stations. When designing these projects Network Rail will always work with local authorities to improve interchange with other transport modes.On 17 December, the government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill. The Bill will provide powers for the Secretary of State for Transport to produce statutory guidance on the safety and accessibility of bus stations and stops, and to require local authorities commissioning the provision of new or upgrading of existing facilities to pay regard to it. Guidance could include recommendations on design elements that support the ability of disabled people to continue their journey.

Whether the Government plans to increase the purchase limit for properties outside of London when using a Help to Buy ISA.

This Government is committed to helping first time buyers own their own home, and will do this by building 1.5 million more homes.The Government keeps savings policy under review, any changes to savings policy would be made at a relevant fiscal event.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to financially support the installation of flood defences in (a) Slough constituency and (b) the Thames Valley.

We’re investing a record £2.65 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The full list of over 700 schemes to benefit from fresh funding this year, including Thames Valley and Slough, was announced on 31 March and can be found here.

What recent steps she has taken to ensure adequate (a) working conditions and (b) pay for app-based (i) private hire drivers and (ii) couriers.

In “Next Steps to Make Work Pay” the Department for Business and Trade committed to consulting on a simpler framework for employment status. As part of this consultation, it will also explore how to implement the targeted and specific manifesto commitments to enhance protections for self-employed workers.Individuals are entitled to National Minimum Wage if they are considered a worker or employee under employment rights legislation - some app-based workers are self-employed so do not come in scope.

Whether he plans to increase funding for hospice care.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. The funding will help hospices to provide the best end of life care to patients and their families in a supportive and dignified physical environment.We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding from integrated care boards (ICBs) for providing National Health Services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area, but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative care and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.We are also working to make sure the palliative and end of life care sector is sustainable in the long term and are determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community through our 10-Year Health Plan.

What recent steps her Department has taken to help prevent (a) violence and (b) abuse against public transport workers.

There is no place for abuse or assault of any worker; everyone should feel safe and be safe whilst working. The Government values the commitment of everyone who works in the public transport sector ensuring the continued running of all the vital services which many people rely on daily. We work closely with the transport industry, and on the railway the British Transport Police (BTP), on a continuous basis to ensure that they are supported to tackle offences wherever they occur on the transport network. On the railway the BTP work closely with the rail industry to encourage staff to report offences so they can take action against offenders. Through the Bus Services (No.2) Bill, we propose to mandate training for staff including drivers and those who deal directly with the travelling public on how to recognise and respond to incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour on public transport. Training for drivers should cover how to identify and respond to anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls. We intend to make clear that training will require a person to take steps to prevent crime or anti-social behaviour only where it is safe to do so. The government intends to issue statutory guidance that considers the most appropriate response to criminal or anti-social behaviour, while protecting the safety of staff.

What recent discussions she has had with retailers on the prevention of shoplifting.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level and we will not stand for it. That’s why our Crime and Policing Bill introduces a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. Also included as part of the Bill, we will be repealing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, which means it can only be tried in a magistrate’s court, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.Retail crime is regularly discussed with the sector at both Ministerial and official level. I am committed to chairing the Retail Crime Forum, which has held two very productive meetings to date. The Forum brings together representatives from the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime.This work includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by retail sector representatives and policing. The strategy builds on previous progress made by police and retailers but provides a more comprehensive and intelligence-led approach to tackle all perpetrators of shop theft – not just organised criminal gangs.

What recent discussions he has had with the (a) Home Secretary and (b) Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the prevention of violence against retail workers.

Retail crime remains a significant concern, and we are taking steps including measures in the Crime and Policing Bill and in the Safer High Streets missions to tackle this important issue.We are increasing police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period, supporting us to meet our plan for change commitment of putting 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales. In the Crime and Policing Bill, we brought in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, and we are removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.The Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention will continue to host the Retail Crime Forum to ensure regular engagement with law enforcement and the retail sector and to discuss what more we can do to tackle retail crime, including abuse.

What recent discussions he has had with retailers on the prevention retail crime.

Retail crime remains a significant concern, and we are taking steps including measures in the Crime and Policing Bill and in the Safer High Streets missions to tackle this important issue.We are increasing police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period, supporting us to meet our plan for change commitment of putting 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales. In the Crime and Policing Bill, we brought in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, and we are removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.The Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention will continue to host the Retail Crime Forum to ensure regular engagement with law enforcement and the retail sector and to discuss what more we can do to tackle retail crime, including abuse.