Written questions by Kumaran.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide additional support for an urgent scale-up of cholera response in Sudan.

The conflict in Sudan and the widespread destruction of sanitation and health services has caused a devastating cholera outbreak with more than 100,000 cases and 2,500 deaths since July 2024. More than 33.5 million people are at risk across all 18 states. The UK Government continues to work with a range of international partners to deliver lifesaving emergency health interventions, including cholera vaccines, treatment, and prevention. Additionally, through a 'match funding' arrangement we have recently partnered with the State of Kuwait to deliver an additional £3.75 million to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), supplementing UK resources already allocated to combat the outbreak. We continue to urge the warring parties in Sudan to facilitate humanitarian access so that aid reaches those most in need.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the implementation of the 10 Year Health Plan will help tackle inequalities in the commissioning of hospice services.

We know that there are inequalities in access to palliative care and end of life care and we are looking at how best to reduce these. The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining the drivers and incentives that are required in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, whether the Disabled Facilities Grant will be available to disabled residents required to pay for changes to living circumstances arising from recommendations of person-centred fire risk assessments.

Under the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 regulations, residents with disabilities or impairments in high-rise and certain medium rise buildings will be entitled to a person-centred fire risk assessment to identify equipment and adjustments to aid their fire safety and evacuation. Where costs arise, these may fall to the building owner, all residents or the individual resident. Where the cost of an identified mitigation would fall to the resident, the resident can decline to pay for it, in which case that mitigation may not be put in place. The Government has committed funding this year (2025/26) supporting social housing providers to deliver RPEEPs for their renters. Future years funding will be considered through the Spending Review process. Residents can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant from their local council which can help cover the capital costs of adaptations so they can live safely and independently at home. Local housing authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for disabled people following a needs assessment, means test, eligibility criteria and subject to any permissions required from a landlord. They also have powers to provide financial assistance for adaptations for those that do not qualify for funding under the duty, and in some cases to waive the means test.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that young people are able to develop creative skills.

The government published its Industrial Strategy and eight Sector Plans, including for the creative industries, on 23 June.Skills are central to the strategy, recognising their vital role in enabling young people to succeed regardless of background and in supporting the UK’s future economic success.Skills England will ensure the UK has the workforce to support growth sectors such as the creative industries by identifying and addressing current and future skills needs.New shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships will help more people learn new skills at work and provide high-quality entry pathways for young people.From April 2026, short courses in areas such as digital and artificial intelligence (AI) will be funded through the growth and skills levy and will support skills within the creative industries.The government believes creative subjects are important elements of the rounded, enriching education every child deserves. The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review is seeking a curriculum that readies young people for life and work, including creative subjects and skills, with the final report due autumn.We are launching a National Centre for Arts and Music Education in 2026 to support excellent teacher training in the arts and boost partnerships between schools and arts organisations.

Whether the National Cancer Plan will include measures to ensure earlier diagnosis.

Early diagnosis is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan. We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.The National Cancer Plan, due to be published later this year, will build on the shifts in care set out in the 10-Year Health Plan to diagnose cancers earlier. Through the 10-Year Health Plan, we will make it easier for people to access cancer screening, diagnostics, and treatment in patients’ local areas, backed by the latest technology. We will increase participation in screening programmes through taking innovative approaches like self-sampling for cervical screening and digital booking.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure the Fair Work Agency has the required resource to enforce (a) the minimum wage, (b) protection from harassment and (c) protection from gender discrimination at work for young women.

The Fair Work Agency will deliver a much-needed upgrade to the enforcement of workers’ rights, including the rights of young women.The specific legislation the Fair Work Agency will be responsible for enforcing is set out in Part 1 of Schedule 7 of the Employment Rights Bill.The Government is committed to giving the Fair Work Agency the resources it needs to enforce its remit effectively. More detail around funding will be released in due course.

Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to support bids for (a) the 2029 World Athletic Championships and (b) other major athletics events in London; and if she will hold discussions with the organisers of the UK bid for the 2029 World Athletic Championships.

The Government is committed to delivering international events with pride, building upon the UK’s global reputation for excellence in staging major sporting events.That is why I am pleased that we confirmed on 19 July that we will support a partnership bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships and World Para Athletic Championships in the UK.Beyond this, we continue to work closely with our expert arm’s-length body UK Sport to explore all future hosting opportunities that will strengthen the UK’s major events pipeline. The UK has already secured a strong pipeline of events over the coming years, including the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, and UEFA 2028 European Championships, as well as backing a bid for the 2035 Football Women's World Cup.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 60276 on Development Aid, when he expects to complete the resource allocation process.

We expect to publish the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's final 2025/26 Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts on the 21 July.And over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of adopting new digital tools on public sector efficiency.

The Government has assessed the potential impact of adopting digital tools on public sector efficiency through detailed analysis.This work identified up to £45 billion in potential annual benefits from digital transformation, including through automation of routine tasks, migrating services to lower-cost online channels, and reducing fraud via digital compliance tools.Government continues to evaluate the effectiveness of these tools, recently publishing a study on Microsoft CoPilot across 20,000 Civil Servants. The Incubator for AI also deploys bespoke tools to unlock mission delivery. For example, the PM recently announced the rollout of Extract, an AI planning tool, to all local authorities in England by Spring next year.These initiatives will enhance efficiency and reduce duplication, ensuring we can deliver public services which are fit for the future, while also making it easier for people to interact with their government’s digital services.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 52505 on Sri Lanka: War Crimes, for what reason his Department provided legal representation to the freedom of information tribunal against the application for Major David Walker to be summoned to give evidence.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) takes seriously its statutory obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has complied with all relevant directions issued by the Tribunal. The FCDO accepts the Tribunal's decision of March 2024 not to call Mr Walker as a witness in the case. It would be inappropriate for the FCDO to comment any further on ongoing legal proceedings.

What steps she is taking to ensure that accommodation for housing asylum seekers (a) meets adequate minimum standards and (b) protects residents against (i) mistreatment, (ii) exploitation, (iii) sexual abuse and (iv) other abuse.

All asylum seekers have access to a 24/7 AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help where they can raise any concerns regarding accommodation or support services, and they can get information about how to obtain further support. The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC) Statement of Requirements gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and the standards we expect.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve its capabilities to negotiate humanitarian access to conflict areas.

The UK uses its diplomatic reach and political influence in support of access negotiations by impartial humanitarian actors.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is finalising an internal humanitarian diplomacy training module focused on access and protection, in partnership with the British Red Cross, to bolster capability across the FCDO. The UK also recently published the Conflict, Hunger and International Humanitarian Law: A Practitioner's Legal Handbook, which sets out rules relevant to addressing conflict-induced hunger, including rules on humanitarian access. This is a free resource, available online and intended to support understanding of these issues at a global level. The FCDO regularly briefs UK Defence Attachés on humanitarian access and protection. The UK is also working with partners and allies to maximise collective impact on humanitarian access and protection in crises. This includes partnership with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who lead access negotiations, and an Australian-led partnership with other states to develop a political declaration to protect humanitarian personnel.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the reduction in Official Development Assistance, whether her Department plans to maintain its full pledge to the 21st replenishment of the International Development Association.

The UK is strongly committed to the International Development Association, and we will prioritise spending our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget through multilaterals. ODA allocations and the impact on programmes are currently being worked through and we will set out our spending plans following the completion of the resource allocation processes.

Whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to protect leaseholders from paying for heat network remediation costs.

The rules of the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS) are still under development. They are designed to be proportionate, deliver better quality of service and to reduce consumer costs in the longer term. We plan to publish a consultation on HNTAS this summer. We are exploring options to support the sector, including leaseholders. Recognising that the availability of support will have a significant bearing on the sector’s ability to fund and achieve proposed HNTAS requirements, we encourage stakeholders to respond to the consultation once published.

What estimate he has made of the (a) total and (b) per dwelling building remediation costs associated with the proposed Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme.

The rules of the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS) are still under development, and it would be inappropriate to pre-emptively set out potential costs ahead of publishing our technical standards consultation and options assessment this summer. To support the sector with remediation costs arising due to HNTAS, the Heat Networks Efficiency Scheme will deploy up to £75 million of capital grants and £2 million of revenue grants between 2023 and 2028.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's news story entitled UK Chair statement: Ministerial Roundtable on Sudan, published on 20 February 2025, whether he plans to convene a follow-up meeting.

We do not plan to re-convene another Development Minister meeting in the immediate future. The Foreign Secretary recently hosted the London Sudan Conference in April alongside France, Germany, the Africa Union and EU which brought together senior figures from the international community to discuss the conflict in Sudan. UK Ministers remain engaged on the crisis with the Minister for Development visiting Chad in May which included a focus on Sudan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve access for humanitarian (a) workers and (b) supplies into Sudan.

The UK is playing a leading role in response to the crisis in Sudan, including efforts to facilitate more consistent humanitarian access to help facilitate the delivery of lifesaving supplies and the provision of critical services. At the April London Sudan Conference, the Foreign Secretary highlighted the importance of humanitarian access. The co-chairs' statement from the Conference called on the warring parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access in accordance with commitments made in the Jeddah Declaration, and in adherence with their obligations under international humanitarian law. He also announced £120 million which will deliver lifesaving support to more than 650,000 people.

Communities and Local Government, if she will update the Decent Homes Standard for social housing to ensure that kitchens over 20 years old are renewed by social landlords.

The government will consult this year on a new Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.

With reference to the White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May 2025, when she plans to publish further information on how changes to the five-year settlement pathway will affect people already in the UK on a pathway to settlement.

We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether former SAS soldiers working in private mercenary companies had any involvement in the committing of war crimes during the Sri Lankan civil war.

The UK Government is committed to human rights in Sri Lanka for all its communities and will continue to press for truth, reconciliation, accountability and justice for victims of the Sri Lankan civil war. On 24 March, the Foreign Secretary announced sanctions on four Sri Lankan individuals responsible for serious human rights abuses and violations during the Sri Lanka civil war.We take very seriously the allegations raised in relation to the committing of war crimes during the conflict in Sri Lanka. In March 2020, the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Team received a referral regarding British mercenaries in Sri Lanka during the 1980s which started an investigation into these claims. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has previously assisted the police in relation to this matter but does not hold any relevant information. We are not able to provide further comment on the content of relevant information, as the investigation by the police is ongoing.