Written questions by Morrison.

What support is available to help patients with metastatic ocular melanoma cope with the psychological impact of limited NHS treatment options.

The National Health Service is committed to ensuring that cancer patients have access to personalised care, including a needs assessment, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support, as outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan. Personalised care ensures that each person’s care is planned holistically, covering mental and physical health as well as any practical or financial concerns. The NHS is supporting adults experiencing cancer with access to psychosocial support, which can include NHS Talking Therapy services, which provide evidence-based psychological therapies for people with anxiety disorders and depression.Improving outcomes for rarer cancers, including ocular melanoma, is an area of focus for the National Cancer Plan for England, which will seek to improve both the physical and mental health aspects of cancer care. The plan’s overarching goal will be to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years.To understand how we can do more to achieve our ambitions for cancer in England, on 4 February 2025 we launched a Call for Evidence for the National Cancer Plan, in which the views of people across the country will inform our plan to improve cancer care, including for rarer cancers. Those who wish to share their views can do so on the new online platform, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/shaping-the-national-cancer-planThe Department is committed to working closely with the devolved administrations on health matters to share best practice and deliver better outcomes for patients across the United Kingdom. The devolved administrations’ Phase 1 Spending Review settlements for 2025/26 are the largest, in real terms, of any settlements since devolution. The allocation of these settlements is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce barriers to NHS funding for (a) Chemosat and (b) other cancer treatments classified as medical devices.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance in 2021, through its interventional procedures programme, that recommends that chemosaturation can be used for patients with secondary liver metastases resulting from a primary ocular melanoma, provided special arrangements are in place. NICE interventional procedures guidance considers the safety and efficacy of a treatment, but not whether it represents value for money and if it should be funded by the National Health Service. It is therefore for NHS England to decide if the treatment should be made routinely available based on the available evidence, and NHS England’s clinical commissioning policy states that it will not routinely commission chemosaturation for liver metastates from ocular melanomas, as there is insufficient evidence to support its use. Both NHS England’s policy and the NICE guidance will be reviewed if sufficient new evidence becomes available.No assessment has been made of the adequacy of the support provided specifically to rare cancer patients. NHS England is committed to ensuring that all cancer patients are offered a Holistic Needs Assessment and Personalised Care and Support Planning, ensuring care is focused on what matters most to each person, including those with rare cancers. This is being delivered in line with the NHS Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer and maximise the potential of digital and community-based support.Health and wellbeing information and support is provided from diagnosis onwards and includes access to NHS Talking Therapy services for anxiety and depression. This is alongside wider work to improve psychosocial support for people affected by cancer, for instance through local partnerships with cancer support charities.Additionally, the Innovative Device Access Pathway pilot, launched in February 2024, aims to streamline the introduction of innovative medical technologies to the market. The pilot provides intensive support and advice to selected target areas which are major causes of death and disease, and the pilot cohort included cancer treatments. The advice includes steps to overcome adoption barriers and facilitate patient access in the NHS. The learning from the pilot will be put to use.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with rarer cancers. We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be, and we will provide updates in due course.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a licensing framework to ensure creators are compensated when their works are used in the development of generative AI.

All these matters were addressed in the Government 10-week consultation on AI and Copyright, which was published on Tuesday 17 December and closed on 25 February. We engaged extensively with AI and creative industries stakeholders before, during and since the consultation and will respond to the consultation once we have considered the submissions in detail.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has had discussions with AI developers on remuneration models for creatives' whose work is used to train AI models.

All these matters were addressed in the Government 10-week consultation on AI and Copyright, which was published on Tuesday 17 December and closed on 25 February. We engaged extensively with AI and creative industries stakeholders before, during and since the consultation and will respond to the consultation once we have considered the submissions in detail.

Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to take steps to support workers in the creative industries whose work opportunities may be potentially impacted by generative AI technologies.

All these matters were addressed in the Government 10-week consultation on AI and Copyright, which was published on Tuesday 17 December and closed on 25 February. We engaged extensively with AI and creative industries stakeholders before, during and since the consultation and will respond to the consultation once we have considered the submissions in detail.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential economic impact of Generative AI on employment in the creative industries.

All these matters were addressed in the Government 10-week consultation on AI and Copyright, which was published on Tuesday 17 December and closed on 25 February. We engaged extensively with AI and creative industries stakeholders before, during and since the consultation and will respond to the consultation once we have considered the submissions in detail.

Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that generative AI developers obtain authorisation from copyright holders before using their creative works for training AI models.

All these matters were addressed in the Government 10-week consultation on AI and Copyright, which was published on Tuesday 17 December and closed on 25 February. We engaged extensively with AI and creative industries stakeholders before, during and since the consultation and will respond to the consultation once we have considered the submissions in detail.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the recommendations in the Rt. Rev. Philip Mounstephen's report entitled Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians, Final Report and Recommendations, published in 2019, what steps his Department has taken to incorporate the protection of Christian communities into its international development strategy.

An independent review of the FCDO's implementation of the Truro recommendations in 2022 was largely positive. This has now been concluded, and we are focused on the looking to the future, as we continue to champion the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora, our bilateral work and our programme funding, including the FCDO John Bunyan Fund, a designated programme for FoRB-focused overseas projects. We will continue to monitor and respond to the issue of persecution of Christians globally on account of their faith, alongside the persecution of other groups.The appointment of David Smith MP as the Special Envoy for FoRB is a clear signal of the UK's ongoing commitment to these efforts.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that staff in his Department receive training on freedom of religion or belief.

Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is incorporated within FCDO's broader human rights training programme. This includes workshops on religious engagement for staff delivered in the UK and overseas. We also provide several additional tools for staff, particularly those based overseas, to support work on FoRB, including a FoRB Toolkit, scale of persecution and framework for FoRB reporting.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UK aid in supporting Christian communities facing persecution.

We are championing the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora, our bilateral work and our programme funding. Including the FCDO John Bunyan Fund, a designated programme for FoRB-focused overseas projects.The FCDO works to ensure that Official Development Assistance (ODA) is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity. This includes minority religious or belief communities, including Christians, who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the situation of Christians in (a) Gaza and (b) the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and whether he has made representations on that issue to the Palestinian Authority.

The UK is pressing for a Palestinian-led process for recovery and reconstruction in Gaza and a strong role for civil society. This is crucial to lay the groundwork for inclusive governance, accountability, and transparency so that the needs, desires, rights and freedoms and voices of all Gazans are protected, including Christians. The Foreign Secretary has spoken with President Abbas and the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Mohammad Mustafa, and offered the UK's support as his government implements much-needed reforms. An effective Palestinian Authority is vital for lasting peace and progress towards a two-state solution. Officials from the Consulate General in Jerusalem have regular engagements with the Christian community in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, to understand the impact of the conflict and Israeli occupation on Christian Palestinians. The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religious belief for all abroad. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken steps to ensure that UK (a) embassies and (b) high commissions report on violations of freedom of religion or belief.

The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in.We continue to monitor human rights, including FoRB, across the globe through our overseas network of embassies and high commissions, who report on developments. We draw on a range of resources to support our monitoring, including the annual Open Doors report on Christian persecution.

Innovation and Technology, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require generative AI developers to (a) document and (b) disclose their use of copyrighted materials.

The Government’s consultation on Copyright and AI has just closed. This included a proposal to require AI model developers to be more transparent about how they obtain and use copyright works in their training, whether from web crawlers or other forms of training for AI models. Our priority now is to review the evidence from the consultation which will inform the Government response, including any legislative proposals.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) respond to Christian persecution globally.

The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in.We continue to monitor human rights, including FoRB, across the globe through our overseas network. We draw on a range of resources to support our monitoring, including the annual Open Doors report on Christian persecution.We are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora, our bilateral work, and our programme funding, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) John Bunyan Fund, a designated programme for FoRB-focused overseas projects. The appointment of David Smith MP as the Special Envoy for FoRB is a clear signal of the UK's ongoing commitment to these efforts. We will continue to monitor and respond to the issue of persecution of Christians globally on account of their faith, alongside the persecution of other groups.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on the protection of Christian communities in Nigeria in light of reports of ongoing violence and persecution.

The UK Government is committed to upholding the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). The UK Government regularly advocates for the protections of all vulnerable communities including religious minorities through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora as well as raising FoRB bilaterally with the Government of Nigeria and other influential parties. In his meeting with the Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives on 22 January, the Minister for Africa raised the importance of FoRB and resolving intercommunal conflict and tensions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to help protect Christians facing persecution in Nigeria.

The UK Government is committed to upholding the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). This includes advocating for the protections of all vulnerable communities including religious minorities through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora as well as raising FoRB bilaterally with the Government of Nigeria and other influential parties. The UK also supports programmes working to address the complex root causes of intercommunal violence in Nigeria through locally led peace-building efforts. This support aims to reduce intercommunal tensions by improving access to security and justice, and natural resource management in specific areas across northern Nigeria. In addition, the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) works with Nigeria's security forces to tackle violence against all civilian communities, including those of different religious backgrounds and belief systems.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that consumers can differentiate between AI-generated and human-created content in creative industries.

Increasing transparency about the use of copyrighted works to train AI models and AI-generated content was one of the key issues explored in the Government’s recently closed Copyright and AI consultation. The consultation also sought views on the protection for the outputs of generative AI, the labelling of AI outputs and digital replicas. The consultation closed on 25 February and our priority now is to review the evidence from the consultation which will inform the Government response.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of replicating the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act.

The UK is committed to establishing a proportionate AI regulatory approach which is grounded in science and supports growth and innovation. As set out in the manifesto, the Government is developing legislative proposals which will establish targeted measures. This will complement work outlined in the government’s response to the AI Action Plan to support the UK's existing regulators who are responsible for governing the vast majority of AI systems at the point of use. As we develop our approach to regulating AI, we recognise the need to engage with a range of international partners. This includes engaging with the EU, who are a key science and technology partner, to discuss our respective approaches, as well as working alongside them and other partners in the G7, OECD, UN, and other international fora. We take a close interest in how our trading partners are regulating in similar areas and have regular exchanges with the EU on regulatory developments.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to introduce a mandatory labelling or watermarking system to identify AI-generated creative content.

The Government’s consultation on Copyright and AI has just closed. This included questions about the protection and labelling of generative AI outputs. Various industry initiatives exist to label AI outputs, but it may need to happen more consistently. Our priority now is to review the evidence from the consultation which will inform the Government response.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in the international development budget on his Department's programmes supporting persecuted Christians overseas.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) works to ensure that Official Development Assistance (ODA) is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity. This includes minority religious or belief communities, including Christians, who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.The reduced ODA settlement is for 2026/27 onwards and we will be taking a rigorous approach to ensuring all ODA delivers value for money. The impact on specific programmes will be informed by the ongoing Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.