Written questions by Dhesi.

Whether she has had discussions with representatives of the insurance industry on (a) increases in car insurance costs and (b) steps being taken by (i) the Government and (ii) insurers to reduce those costs.

This Government committed in its manifesto to tackle the high costs of motor insurance. To deliver on this commitment, the UK Government has formed a cross-government Taskforce on motor insurance, co-chaired by the Department for Transport and His Majesty’s Treasury, which met for the first time on 16th October.The Taskforce is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and by the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The Taskforce is supported by a separate Stakeholder Panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector.This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. It will evaluate the impact of increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities.

Whether she plans to publish a sexual harassment survey.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity plans to strengthen protections against workplace sexual harassment through the Employment Rights Bill. These measures intend to amend the Equality Act 2010 to:● require employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees;● introduce an obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties, and;● enable regulations to specify steps that are to be regarded as “reasonable”, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.Prevalence across a range of Violence Against Women and Girls offences, including sexual harassment, is currently measured through the Crime Survey for England and Wales which is run continuously throughout each financial year by the Office for National Statistics, with data published quarterly.The Government is continuing its work to halve Violence Against Women and Girls in a decade.

Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the affordability of insurance for (a) young and (b) all drivers.

This Government committed in its manifesto to tackle the high costs of motor insurance. To deliver on this commitment, the UK Government has formed a cross-government Taskforce on motor insurance, co-chaired by the Department for Transport and His Majesty’s Treasury, which met for the first time on 16th October.The Taskforce is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and by the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The Taskforce is supported by a separate Stakeholder Panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector.This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. It will evaluate the impact of increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the influence of foreign funding in democratic processes.

The Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections and, as stated in our manifesto, we intend to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties to protect our democracy.We are developing proposals to give effect to these commitments and will make them public in due course. Furthermore, the Government’s Defending Democracy Taskforce brings together all work on defending democracy to allow a whole of government approach in tackling threats to those processes.

What percentage of reported bicycle thefts result in a (a) suspect being arrested and (b) prosecution being authorised by the CPS.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting and bicycle theft offences, and their investigative outcomes, recorded by the police in England and Wales. This includes a breakdown of those where a suspect has been charged. However, the data held centrally does not provide a breakdown on whether the police have made a charging decision themselves or had it authorised by the CPS.The data is published every quarter as official statistics and the latest can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesThe Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of people arrested for shoplifting or bicycle theft.The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests made by police in England and Wales, broken down by offence group, on an annual basis. The latest data, covering the period to March 2024, is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/stop-and-search-arrests-and-mental-health-detentions-march-2024However, the data is collected by broader offence group only, such as ‘theft offences’, and further details are not provided.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to make recycling easier for residents in Slough.

Simpler Recycling in England will reform the recycling system. Across England, people will be able to recycle the same materials, whether at home, work or school, putting an end to the confusion over what can and cannot be recycled in different parts of the country. Local Authorities are best placed to determine the effective delivery of local services. We want to provide the framework in which they do this and ensure that there is consistency in what is collected. UK Government remains committed to a mandatory labelling regime as part of the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic. This will make it easier for consumers to understand how to recycle packaging correctly, and ultimately for the scheme to deliver its environmental outcomes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to make recycling (a) easier and (b) cheaper for local authorities.

Simpler Recycling in England will reform the recycling system. Across England, people will be able to recycle the same materials, whether at home, work or school, putting an end to the confusion over what can and cannot be recycled in different parts of the country. We recognise that local circumstances differ across the country, and so we are making sure that councils and other waste collectors have flexibility where appropriate to make the best local choices. On 29 November we confirmed that local authorities and other waste collectors will not be required to collect waste in seven separate streams and will be able to co-collect some streams by default. Local authorities currently fund the collection and management of household packaging waste through locally raised revenues and funding from central government. Under packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR), the efficient costs of managing and recycling packaging waste will transfer to businesses who make and use packaging. We have already provided £258 million of capital funding and will also be covering transitional resource costs and ongoing service costs.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a National Flood Resilience Centre for the purposes of (a) flood research and (b) training emergency services across the UK to respond to flood events.

The Government is committed to reducing the impact of flooding on vulnerable communities and has established a Floods Resilience Taskforce to help achieve this. The Government is aware of the University of Hull and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service proposal for a National Flood Resilience Centre. The Government recognises the importance of both research and training and will consider the proposal for a National Flood Resilience Centre through the work of the Taskforce. Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) are actively engaged in partnership working with local resilience partners, including the emergency services, local authorities, specialist military units and other supporting organisations to provide resilience flooding in England. Defra and the EA carry out joint exercising and share learning to with partner organisations through the resilience forums, whilst also attending joint emergency service training for the response to all types of environmental emergencies, not just flooding.

What percentage of reported incidents of shoplifting result in a (a) suspect being arrested and (b) prosecution being authorised by the CPS.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting and bicycle theft offences, and their investigative outcomes, recorded by the police in England and Wales. This includes a breakdown of those where a suspect has been charged. However, the data held centrally does not provide a breakdown on whether the police have made a charging decision themselves or had it authorised by the CPS.The data is published every quarter as official statistics and the latest can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesThe Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of people arrested for shoplifting or bicycle theft.The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests made by police in England and Wales, broken down by offence group, on an annual basis. The latest data, covering the period to March 2024, is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/stop-and-search-arrests-and-mental-health-detentions-march-2024However, the data is collected by broader offence group only, such as ‘theft offences’, and further details are not provided.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2024 to Question 15113 on Veterans: LGBT+ People, which recommendations have not been implemented.

To date, the Government has implemented 38 of Lord Etherton’s 49 recommendations. Of those that remain, six are for Defence: recommendation 3 – the restoration of rank lost due to the Ban; recommendation 17 – a memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum; recommendation 26 – the qualification of administrative discharge; recommendations 28 and 29 – financial recognition, and recommendation 44 – improving women veterans’ access to support, welfare and other Services. The remaining five recommendations are for the National Health Service England: recommendations 31, 35, 36, 38 and 42. The Government has accepted the intent behind all of Lord Etherton’s recommendations and remains committed to implementing them in a timely manner. This Government will also provide full Parliamentary scrutiny on the Government’s response to the Review.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve recycling rates.

The collection and packaging reforms as a whole will increase recycling and reduce our reliance on imported and virgin materials. These reforms are estimated to increase the municipal recycling rate in England from around 44% in 2024 to over 55% in 2035, mostly driven by Simpler Recycling. Simpler Recycling in England will reform the recycling system. Across England, people will be able to recycle the same materials, whether at home, work or school, putting an end to the confusion over what can and cannot be recycled in different parts of the country. Under pEPR, producers who pay fees to cover household packaging disposal costs will have their fees modulated (varied) from the second year of pEPR (2026/27). Producers who use unrecyclable packaging (such as polystyrene or black plastic), will have their fees increased, thereby incentivising them to use packaging that can be recycled easily. The Deposit Return Scheme will complement the other collection and packaging reforms to help drive recycling levels, reduce littering, and promote a circular economy.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's procedures are for informing relatives when a British national dies abroad in (a) non-suspicious and (b) suspicious circumstances.

When the FCDO Consular Directorate is first notified of the death of a British national abroad, consular staff will, wherever possible, arrange for the relevant police force to notify UK-based relatives as soon as possible.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2024 to Question 14865 on British Council: Finance, what the planned expenditure of the British Council is for 2024/25.

The British Council's Corporate Plan for 2024/25 sets out its projected expenditure as £1,069.5 million and projected total income as £1,047.5 million.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2024 to Question 12766 on Rolling Stock, if she will make an assessment of introducing a rolling programme for the new build and refurbishment of rolling stock.

The rolling stock strategy that is currently being developed will support British manufacturing and innovation. This will align with the wider objectives of the industry in ending the current variability in production rates and ensuring a stable pipeline of work.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 14161, what her Department's timetable is for its consideration of marriage law in England and Wales.

Marriage law is an issue of great importance and one which therefore requires careful consideration. The Law Commission’s report on weddings raises a number of issues around weddings law, and as a new Government we need to take the time to consider these carefully before setting out our position, which we will do in due course.

What steps he is taking to ensure (a) early and (b) consistent diagnosis of Group B streptococcus.

Screening for group B streptococcus (GBS) is not routinely offered to all pregnant women. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed the evidence to screen for GBS at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy in 2017, and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits of screening would outweigh the harms. This is because the test currently available cannot accurately distinguish between those mothers whose babies are at risk, and those who are not. This means that many women would unnecessarily be offered antibiotics during labour. A risk-based approach is taken, whereby those women identified as being at increased risk of having a baby affected by GBS are managed according to agreed clinical guidelines on the prevention of early on-set neonatal GBS infection. The National Institute for Health Research funded a large-scale clinical trial to compare universal screening for GBS against the usual risk factor-based strategy. The UK NSC will review its recommendation, considering the evidence from the trial, once the report is available.

Whether he plans to introduce routine antenatal screening for Group B streptococcus.

Screening for group B streptococcus (GBS) is not routinely offered to all pregnant women. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed the evidence to screen for GBS at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy in 2017, and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits of screening would outweigh the harms. This is because the test currently available cannot accurately distinguish between those mothers whose babies are at risk, and those who are not. This means that many women would unnecessarily be offered antibiotics during labour. A risk-based approach is taken, whereby those women identified as being at increased risk of having a baby affected by GBS are managed according to agreed clinical guidelines on the prevention of early on-set neonatal GBS infection. The National Institute for Health Research funded a large-scale clinical trial to compare universal screening for GBS against the usual risk factor-based strategy. The UK NSC will review its recommendation, considering the evidence from the trial, once the report is available.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs that were created as a result of foreign direct investment in the Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership area in the last three years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) works closely with local authorities and investment partners to monitor and support the impact of foreign direct investment in the Berkshire area. Official statistics at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbt-inward-investment-results-2023-to-2024 show that Foreign Direct Investment projects created 1,270 new jobs in Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in 2021-22, 746 in 2022-23 and 399 in 2023-24.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2024 to Question 12929 on Railways: Freight, who will set the target for growing rail freight.

The Secretary of State will be responsible for setting clear and meaningful targets for growing rail freight, working with Shadow Great British Railways to identify the best way in which they should be expressed. Growth targets will provide confidence and certainty to the sector’s customers and investors and will demonstrate the Government’s commitment to this area.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the provision of youth services in Slough.

This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. Over the past three years, Slough has received funding from the Million Hours Fund and via our support for the Duke of Edinburgh Award. These funds create new opportunities for young people to access regular activities, volunteering and adventures away from home.Our government has also recently announced the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which will be produced together with young people and the youth sector. This Strategy will better coordinate youth services, as well as move away from national, one-size-fits all programmes from government, bringing power back to young people and their communities and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable sector.The Strategy will be published next year.