Written questions by Osborne.

Whether her Department has undertaken research into the potential impact of VAT reductions on (a) the re-use of goods, (b) minimum warranty periods and (c) other circular economic practices in industry.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates. The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of 30 hours free childcare on (a) Job Centre operations and (b) levels of returns to employment.

The Department for Education 30 hours free childcare is one of several government childcare offers, including the Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit childcare. DWP has not made an assessment of the impact of the Department for Education’s 30 hours free childcare on job centre operations or returns to employment. In March 2023, when the government announced the extension of 30 hours of free childcare for working age parents of nine-month to two-year-olds, the OBR assessed as a result they would expect around 60,000 parents of young children to enter employment by 2027/28. Economic and fiscal outlook - March 2023

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the early release of prisoners on Job Centre operations.

To date, Jobcentres have been supporting customers through the early release schemes. We will continue to monitor, liaising closely with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and the Ministry of Justice. The Department deploys specialist resources to support individuals both in custody and upon release into employment. This includes around 200 Prison Work Coaches based in prisons, as well as additional specialist Work Coaches located in Jobcentres.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with international partners to encourage the Government of Pakistan to prevent mob violence against (a) the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and (b) other religious minorities.

We are concerned by incidents of violence against religious minorities in Pakistan and continue to monitor the situation. I raised my concern over violence against the Ahmadiyya community in a meeting with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister in August. Our High Commission in Islamabad regularly raises the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims with the Government of Pakistan at the highest levels, and has raised the recent attack at Baitul Mahdi Mosque in Rabwah with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister. On the international stage, the UK continues to highlight Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) violations and abuses through our position at the UN, G7 and as an active member of the Article 18 Alliance, ensuring joint international action on FoRB.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her Department’s human rights priorities of recent attacks against Ahmadi Muslims in the Punjab province in Pakistan.

We are concerned by incidents of violence against religious minorities in Pakistan and continue to monitor the situation. I raised my concern over violence against the Ahmadiyya community in a meeting with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister in August. Our High Commission in Islamabad regularly raises the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims with the Government of Pakistan at the highest levels, and has raised the recent attack at Baitul Mahdi Mosque in Rabwah with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister. On the international stage, the UK continues to highlight Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) violations and abuses through our position at the UN, G7 and as an active member of the Article 18 Alliance, ensuring joint international action on FoRB.

Whether she plans to support the introduction of a new digital creativity GCSE.

To help break down barriers to opportunity, this government will deliver a curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative, and ensures that all young people get the opportunity to learn digital and creative skills as part of their education, with digital skills becoming increasingly important to the economy and our growth mission.To meet this ambition, the government commissioned the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review to advise on how to refresh the curriculum to ensure that young people leave compulsory education with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to thrive, including digital skills. The Review is also looking at whether the current assessment system for young people aged 5 to 19, including qualification pathways, can be improved, while protecting the important role of examinations.The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in the autumn, at which point the government will respond.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of a digital creativity GCSE on skills shortages in the digital sector.

To help break down barriers to opportunity, this government will deliver a curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative, and ensures that all young people get the opportunity to learn digital and creative skills as part of their education, with digital skills becoming increasingly important to the economy and our growth mission.To meet this ambition, the government commissioned the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review to advise on how to refresh the curriculum to ensure that young people leave compulsory education with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to thrive, including digital skills. The Review is also looking at whether the current assessment system for young people aged 5 to 19, including qualification pathways, can be improved, while protecting the important role of examinations.The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in the autumn, at which point the government will respond.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure that her proposals for curriculum reform align with the needs of the creative industries.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out this Government’s 10-year plan to tackle barriers to growth and maximise opportunities across the sector, with the aim of making the UK the number one destination for creativity and innovation by 2035. The plan sets out how Government and industry are working together to grow a creative workforce that supports job creation and drives economic growth in this high-potential sector, through an education and skills system aligned with business needs. The Plan has been designed in collaboration with business, Devolved Governments, and regions, with the Creative Industries Taskforce also playing a crucial role in gathering wider views from across industry.The Plan includes delivering a curriculum in England that readies young people for life and work, including in creative subjects and relevant skills. The Independent Curriculum and Assessment Review is one of the ways that Government will deliver on the commitment to reform the system for the benefit of the creative talent pipeline. The Review has a focus on all subjects in the national curriculum and is being informed by evidence, data and in close consultation with education professionals and other experts. This includes over 7,000 responses to the public call for evidence, including from the creative industries. The Review final report and Government response will be published in the autumn.

What plans her Department has to introduce (a) semi-transparent and (b) non-transparent Exchange Traded Funds.

The Government is committed to supporting the UK’s world-leading asset management sector. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are often domiciled outside of the UK to benefit from increased marketing access, and existing pockets of administrative expertise. However, many of these funds are still managed here - 49% of all assets managed in the UK are managed on behalf of overseas clients. Semi-transparent and non-transparent ETFs which are domiciled in Europe can list in the UK and market to retail investors, following the UK’s recognition of certain retail funds from the EEA states, under the Overseas Funds Regime. At present no non-transparent or semi-transparent ETFs have sought to be established in the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority, as the relevant regulator, would deal with any such applications on a case-by-case basis.

What steps her Department is taking to help counter hostile state threats.

We are ensuring the UK is a harder target for states that seek to harm our people and interestsWe have established a cross-Whitehall Joint Unit for state threats, launched the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme on 1 July, placing Iran and Russia on the enhanced tier, and are taking forward recommendations from the comprehensive review of transnational repression.

If his Department will take steps to deploy drone technologies carrying (a) defibrillators and (b) other emergency medical equipment.

The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, and work is ongoing across Government, including between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Civil Aviation Authority, to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics.Last year, the Department of Health and Social Care, working in collaboration with the Department for Transport, Innovate UK, and UK Research and Innovation, supported five pilot projects, allocating them a total of £500,000 to explore the use of drones in the National Health Service. Given the potential of drones to improve how the NHS delivers patient care, the Department of Health and Social Care is supportive of trials that explore the use of drones in medical logistics.Recent drone trials in the NHS have included pathology deliveries in Cornwall, blood deliveries in London, and the transport of chemotherapy to the Isle of Wight, where drone use reduced journey times from four hours by road and sea to a 30-minute flightThe National Institute for Health and Care Research has also funded a study into the use of drones to deliver defibrillators in emergency simulations, with more information available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/drones-could-deliver-defibrillators-cardiac-arrest-patients-ukCurrently, there are no plans to deploy drone technologies carrying defibrillators outside of trials. The Department of Health and Social Care continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials, including those involving defibrillators, to further build this evidence base.

Whether she is considering steps to incentivise domicile Exchange Traded Funds in the UK if they have a significant corporate footprint in country.

The UK is home to the world’s second largest investment management sector, with over £10.9 trillion of assets under management (11% of global assets). The UK has historic expertise in portfolio management, a crucial part of the Financial Services ecosystem. The UK Government is committed to supporting this important sector and in the recently published Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy committed to be one of the most competitive places globally to manage investments. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are often domiciled outside of the UK for a range of reasons including marketing access, and existing pockets of administrative expertise. However, many of these funds are still managed here - 49% of all assets managed in the UK are managed on behalf of overseas clients. The Government has undertaken a wealth of work to enhance the UK’s fund domicile offering, including as part of the recent review of the UK funds regime. This has led to the introduction of new UK fund structures focused on enhancing real-economy investment including the Reserved Investor Fund, the Long-Term Asset Fund and Qualifying Asset Holding Companies.

Whether she is taking steps to establish an Exchange Traded Fund.

The UK is home to the world’s second largest investment management sector, with over £10.9 trillion of assets under management (11% of global assets). The UK has historic expertise in portfolio management, a crucial part of the Financial Services ecosystem. The UK Government is committed to supporting this important sector and in the recently published Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy committed to be one of the most competitive places globally to manage investments. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are often domiciled outside of the UK for a range of reasons including marketing access, and existing pockets of administrative expertise. However, many of these funds are still managed here - 49% of all assets managed in the UK are managed on behalf of overseas clients. The Government has undertaken a wealth of work to enhance the UK’s fund domicile offering, including as part of the recent review of the UK funds regime. This has led to the introduction of new UK fund structures focused on enhancing real-economy investment including the Reserved Investor Fund, the Long-Term Asset Fund and Qualifying Asset Holding Companies.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent guidance his Department has provided to local authorities on the (a) collection and (b) disposal of independently certified BS 13432 compliant compostable packaging.

Under Simpler Recycling, local authorities and other waste collectors are required to collect the following recyclable waste streams from all households and workplaces in England: glass, metal, plastic, paper and card, food waste (and garden waste from households only). These measures apply from 31 March 2025 from workplaces, 31 March 2026 from households and 31 March 2027 from micro-firms (with less than 10 FTEs). In May 2024, Parliament made the Simpler Recycling Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2024 [1] and Government published guidance [2] that included a description of the materials in scope of collection within each of the recyclable waste streams required for collection under Simpler Recycling in England. During our call for evidence on bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics, concerns were highlighted by the waste and recycling industry over the suitability for recycling biodegradable and compostable plastics. Consequently, the guidance set out that packaging labelled ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’ cannot be recycled with food waste, nor be collected within the plastic recycling waste stream. Biodegradable and compostable plastics will also not be included as a separate recyclable waste stream in the amended Environmental Protection Act 1990, and we do not propose to include these materials in any of the other recyclable waste streams. Plastic packaging materials labelled as “compostable”, or “biodegradable” are not generally collected for recycling as these materials can contaminate mechanical recycling streams; therefore, should be placed in the residual waste stream. However, we do recognise the valid role compostable plastics play in some applications and closed-loop contexts (e.g. where they are able to be collected and processed correctly at an industrial composter). [1] The Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2024[2] Simpler recycling: workplace recycling in England - GOV.UK

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with UKRI on steps his Department is taking to support innovative materials whose development has been funded by grants from Innovate UK.

Officials regularly engage with UK Research and Innovation including with Innovate UK as the delivery partner for some of our most significant research programmes. The Farming Innovation Programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, provides grants to support industry-led R&D to develop technologies and innovative practices to drive innovation in agriculture and increase productivity, sustainability and resilience in our farming sectors. Examples of other collaborative programmes include the Defra co-funded Innovation in Environmental Monitoring programme. This programme has connected industry and research to the growing UK environmental monitoring sector, ensuring that the public and private sectors work in partnership to develop and test new sensing capabilities that can be commercialised, helping to boost the UK’s economic growth. This programme has supported technologies in fields such as environmental DNA, artificial intelligence, remote sensing and acoustic monitoring.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that visa applications for injured Palestinian children are processed without delay; and whether those visas applications can be fast-tracked.

The Prime Minister announced at the end of July that the UK will medically evacuate Gazan children for treatment in the UK. A cross-government taskforce is working urgently to get some of these sick and injured children out of Gaza, so that they can receive specialist treatment in NHS hospitals across the UK. We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, and the first patients and their immediate family members are expected to arrive in the UK in the coming weeks. Visa applications will be dealt with in a timely and sensitive manner. Helping people leave a war-zone is a highly complex and dangerous process and their safety and wellbeing are our top priority, so we will not be providing a running commentary on the evacuation process.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of soft plastic recycling schemes operated by supermarkets.

Defra has not carried out a specific assessment of soft plastic recycling schemes offered by supermarkets. Under Defra’s Simpler Recycling reforms, The Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2024 require flexible plastics to be collected from kerbside from 31st March 2027. We are aware of the delivery challenges surrounding the collection of flexible plastics and recognise that stakeholders need more time to address these. This is why the requirement to collect flexible plastics will not come in until 31st March 2027. Ahead of the requirement coming into effect, existing kerbside, front of store and postal take back of plastic films will continue and are expected to increase in response to certainty over the timing of the introduction of this new collection requirement. To help support these delivery challenges, Defra has also provided financial support for the multi-million-pound FlexCollect project, launched in May 2022, funding Local Authorities to roll out kerbside plastic film collection trials. The FlexCollect final report was published on 1 September 2025. Defra will analyse the results of the trials, alongside wider evidence, to ensure we make the implementation of flexible plastics a success. We will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure issues surrounding end markets and reprocessing are taken into account and addressed in the lead up to the 2027 implementation date.

Whether she plans to review the definition of recycled in Section 49 of the Finance Act 2021 to recognize organic recycling through food waste schemes.

The Plastic Packaging Tax provides a clear economic incentive for businesses to use recycled plastic in the manufacture of plastic packaging, thereby stimulating the collection and recycling of plastic waste and diverting it away from landfill or incineration. The government has no plans to review the definition of recycled plastic that is used for the tax.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the risks (a) associated with third-party providers' involvement in (i) age verification and (ii) content moderation systems and (b) of (A) data breaches and (B) misuse of personal information by those providers; and what (1) regulations, (2) oversight procedures and (3) safeguards have been put in place to guarantee the safe (a) handling and (b) storage of the sensitive data of (i) children, (ii) vulnerable users and (iii) other users.

UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act impose obligations on data controllers – including third-party providers - to process data fairly, lawfully, and transparently.The OSA also requires all providers to give particular regard to the importance of protecting users’ privacy rights when implementing measures to comply with their new safety duties, including age assurance and any content moderation measures.The ICO has responsibility for monitoring and enforcing the application of data protection legislation in the UK. It has a range of tough criminal and civil enforcement tools at its disposal, including powers of prosecution and powers to issue substantial monetary penalties for serious breaches of the data protection legislation.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to raise public awareness of the (a) legal and (b) safety implications of using VPNs to bypass online safety measures.

While there are legitimate reasons for using VPNs, services that deliberately target UK children and promote VPN use to circumvent online safety measures could face enforcement action under the Online Safety Act. Some VPNs may present security or privacy risks, so users are advised to exercise caution when using VPNs.Government and Ofcom will monitor the impact of potential circumvention techniques on the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act and will consider further options if necessary.