Written questions by Kumaran.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Person At Risk of Violence fee on victims of domestic violence; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making all personal details on the Individual Insolvency Register private.

The fees applied for Persons at Risk of Violence (PARV) orders should never have the effect of denying access to the courts. The government is presently reviewing the fee framework for PARV orders. The government is also undertaking a wider review of the personal insolvency framework, which includes whether the Individual Insolvency Register should be private.

Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that families in all forms of temporary accommodation have access to adequate cooking facilities.

Our Homelessness Code of Guidance provides a summary of the homelessness legislation duties, powers and obligations on local housing authorities, including the quality standards of temporary accommodation.Legislation is clear that temporary accommodation must be suitable for the needs of the household and that suitability of accommodation should be kept under review. Households may ask for a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable.The Government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors. It is the government’s intention that the Decent Homes Standard should apply to as much of the temporary accommodation sector as possible. We will consult on the detail of the new standard in due course.

If she will make an assessment of the (a) quality, (b) suitability and (c) adequacy of the nutrition of food provided to (i) babies and (ii) children in contingency asylum accommodation.

The Home Office remains committed to ensuring the wellbeing and safety of those staying in asylum accommodation. There are mechanisms in place to allow asylum seekers to request assistance, provide feedback and/or report issues, including any related to the provision of food for themselves or their children.

Whether he plans to make clean air a public health priority.

Improving the environment where we live, work, and play is critical to support everyone to live longer healthier lives. We know that air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks to public health in the United Kingdom and so tackling it plays a crucial role in the shift from treatment to prevention of ill health. Leading our Health Mission, the Department of Health and Social Care is working across Government on ways to reduce the health harms of air pollution, including with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support their plans for cleaner air so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Soft Power Council on the role of science and research in supporting the UK's diplomatic efforts; and whether the contribution of the science and research sector will be included in the upcoming soft power strategy.

The membership of the Soft Power Council includes several individuals with expertise spanning science, technology, education and research, in recognition of the importance of these themes to the UK's diplomatic work. As the strategy is developed over the coming months, science and research are among a broader set of sectors that are central to our planning.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) resources and (b) legal powers available to the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the context of the introduction of mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting requirements for large companies.

As set out in the King’s Speech in July, the government is committed to introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers. These measures will be part of the upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.We will shortly be consulting on our proposals to help us shape the legislation. This will include considering how the new reporting requirements will be monitored and enforced.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 23666 on Cabinet Office: Media, which Ministers received that training.

Information about attendees of the training sessions is not being disclosed to protect individual confidentiality.

What steps her Department is taking to set national standards on stalking perpetrator programmes.

Stalking is an insidious crime that can leave victims living in fear just going about their daily lives. That is why on 3 December the Government announced six new measures to tackle it and put victims first, making sure they can be protected at the earliest opportunity.This included a commitment to develop national standards for police-funded stalking perpetrator programmes, which seek to engage with perpetrators to address the root causes of their stalking behaviour.In developing these, we will take into account relevant learning from the stalking perpetrator programmes funded through the Home Office's Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund alongside analysing the international evidence base and input from expert stakeholders.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including shared (a) walking and (b) cycling paths in the National River Walks.

We are committed to making the nine new river walks accessible to a wide range of users where it is feasible to do so, so that where possible they can benefit walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

How many (a) away days and (b) leadership conferences for senior civil servants his Department organised between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and what the cost of these were.

Between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024, the Cabinet Office has not organised any away days for Senior Civil Servants. During the same period, there were a total of seven leadership conferences for Senior Civil Servants. 27 October 2022£13,17019 January 2023£27,75025 April 2023£28,2456 July 2023£32,14112 October 2023£19,70518 January 2024£20,72525 April 2024£18,710

When he plans to respond to Question 23666 on Cabinet Office: Media, tabled on 13 January 2025.

I apologise to the Honourable Member for the delay in responding to her Parliamentary Question of 13 January. An answer has now been issued, as of 3 February.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on alleged reports of (a) gender-based and (b) conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan.

The UK remains committed to tackling gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Sudan. From 23-25 January, the Foreign Secretary visited Chad and travelled to the Sudan-Chad border. He spoke directly to Sudanese refugees, including survivors, who shared harrowing stories of sexual violence and torture. The UK has galvanised international efforts on this issue, including through the UN Human Rights Council, Security Council and International Alliance on PSVI. In September, the UK convened an event at the UN General Assembly with Dutch and Swiss partners to draw attention to the situation, spotlight the plight of women and girls and stress the importance of survivor-centred, local and women-led responses. The UK co-led a Resolution at the UNSC with Sierra Leone on the protection of civilians which called on parties to take urgent steps to prevent CRSV and to improve protection and access to services. Despite unanimous support from the Council, the Resolution failed to pass due to a Russian veto. I visited South Sudan from 19-21 August 2024, where I heard first-hand the horrifying experiences of women who fled the war in Sudan.

How much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.

Between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024, the Department has spent £23668 on media and voice training for Ministers. This spend only came to light after the original answer was published.The training took place in 2023.

What steps she is taking to help tackle the ethnicity pay gap.

As set out in the King’s Speech in July, the government is committed to introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers. These measures will be part of the upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. We will shortly be consulting on our proposals to help us shape the legislation.

How much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.

The Department for Business and Trade has not spent anything on media and voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.

How much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.

The Cabinet Office routinely provides or procures media or voice training for Ministers and Senior Officials who carry out frequent or high-profile media appearances in the course of their official duties. The Cabinet Office spent c.£75,800 on this type of training during the time period stated.

What (a) training and (b) support local authorities will receive to ensure the Children Not In School register does not inadvertently disadvantage parents of children with special educational needs.

The measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for statutory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, and the accompanying duties on parents and out-of-school education providers to provide information for these registers, will support local authorities in identifying all children not in school in their areas, including those with special educational needs (SEN). By identifying these children, local authorities will be better able to support them and their families so they can achieve and thrive.In order to make sure that these measures are implemented appropriately, the department has established stakeholder implementation forums to enable us to engage with a wide group of stakeholders at regular intervals during the progress of the Bill and subsequently after. This includes a group of home educating representatives and families, some of whom have children with SEN, and we are factoring their views into our delivery and the planned support offer to local authorities.The department will be issuing statutory guidance to support local authorities to carry out their new duties proportionately. As part of our planned engagement with stakeholders, we will consider whether additional support is required, such as training for local authority staff.

Whether she has had discussions with representatives of the mobile phone industry on (a) using technology to prevent stolen phones from being re-used and (b) the adequacy of security on banking phone apps.

A series of meetings have already been held, and we will be holding a Home Office Mobile Phone Theft Summit, drawing together representatives from the mobile phone industry, including tech companies, and law enforcement to see what more can collectively be done to break the business model of mobile phone thieves.As part of our Safer Streets Mission, this government is determined to crack down on theft and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities, including strengthening neighbourhood policing, tackling anti-social behaviour and restoring public confidence.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts about (a) the role the UK will play in restarting Syria’s political process and (b) a timeline for political transition that enables free elections.

The UK is speaking regularly to regional and other partners about the situation in Syria. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria and a number of regional counterparts. I have also discussed developments in Syria with regional partners and Syrian civil society actors.The focus of discussions has been on protecting civilians, including minorities, and moving quickly to a political transition. It is essential that this transition is inclusive, comprehensive and most importantly determined by the Syrian people themselves. The UK will continue to engage closely with Syrian contacts, international and regional partners to support a peaceful political transition.

With reference to his Written Statement of 12 November 2024 on the UK’s 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution emissions reduction target under the Paris Agreement, HCWS206, what steps his Department is taking to assess the potential health impacts of different pathways for implementing mitigation ambitions.

The UK’s 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% on 1990 levels is an economy-wide target, covering all greenhouse gases, sectors and categories and aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5c. Our NDC is aligned with the advice of the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) and consistent with the effort required to deliver our ambitious Carbon Budget 6 (2033-2037). In providing advice on pathways to meet CB6 and the UK’s 2050 Net Zero target, the CCC emphasised the host of health benefits attached to the net zero transition and appointed an expert advisory group on Health to support their advice.