Written questions by Franklin.

What assessment she has made of the impact of pay levels on morale among police contact centre staff.

The Government has no statutory role in determining police staff pay and conditions of service which are agreed locally by Chief Constables, in consultation with trade unions.However, the Government recognises and deeply values the dedication of police staff. Their commitment to public service is exemplary, and the Government remains focused on ensuring they receive the support and recognition they need to carry out their vital roles.Every member of the police workforce is valuable in keeping the public safe. Police officers and staff work in partnership, and their combined skills are essential to delivering better outcomes for the public.

If he will set out the contractual requirements that apply to independent sector providers delivering NHS-funded cataract surgery, including whether they are required to accept an appropriate case mix rather than lower-complexity patients.

Independent sector providers are commissioned and managed by integrated care boards (ICBs) under the terms of the NHS Standard Contract which applies the same standards of oversight and regulation as are applied to National Health Service providers.In the 10-Year Health Plan for England, we set out we would not tolerate ‘gaming’ the national payment tariff to cherry pick the simplest, most profitable cases. ICBs are expected to monitor this, and act decisively where they identify problems as part of a wider duty to safeguard and ensure value for taxpayer money.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of average waiting times for fact-finding hearings in the family courts; and what steps he is taking to reduce those waiting times.

This Government is committed to improving the performance of the Family Courts, and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide priorities and targets for reducing delay across England and Wales. While we do not have specific figures for the timeliness of fact-finding hearings, the latest published data shows a reduction in the national average case duration for both public and private law cases.The Government recently announced the national rollout of the Child Focused Model for private law over the next three years. It currently operates in 10 of 43 Family Court areas and seeks to enhance the experience of children and families. The model has additionally demonstrated a significant impact on timeliness and reductions in the number of average hearings per case. Cases are concluding between 11-30 weeks quicker and outstanding caseloads have been reduced by up to 50%.

What steps he is taking to support community pharmacies to improve accessibility for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or living with dual sensory loss; and whether he is taking steps to support the provision of reasonable adjustments, including hearing loops, to ensure patients can safely access advice and treatment.

The Department recognises the importance of ensuring community pharmacy services are safe and accessible to all patients, including those with sensory impairments. In addition to legal requirements under the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998, pharmacy businesses have a duty to comply with the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) standards for registered pharmacy premises. This requires pharmacies to provide an environment that is safe and accessible for all, taking reasonable steps to remove barriers for patients with disabilities. These standards emphasise the need for pharmacies to make adjustments to facilities and services, such as providing accessible entrances, hearing loops, and assistance for individuals with mobility or sensory challenges. To support community pharmacies in meeting their legal duties, the GPhC has issued equality guidance for pharmacies, which outlines best practices for supporting patients with a range of needs. NHS England is also rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a disabled patient and the reasonable adjustments to care and treatment that they need, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately and equitably. This is being rolled out nationally across all healthcare settings and will help community pharmacies spot when a patient may need extra support.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of landfill tax rates on levels of fly-tipping; and whether she has made a comparative assessment of (a) revenue generated from landfill tax and (b) the cost to the public purse of clearing illegally dumped waste.

The Government does not have a legal duty to clear illegally dumped waste and is not funded to do so. The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the impact of landfill tax rates on levels of fly-tipping, neither has it made a comparative assessment of revenue generated from the landfill tax against the cost to the public purse of clearing illegally dumped waste.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the sufficiency of Ofcom's sufficient powers and resources to tackle a specific website linked to over 135 UK deaths and to prevent future sites with the same nature.

The Secretary of State has been clear Ofcom has full backing to use its enforcement powers and welcomes its investigation into extremely harmful suicide forums. Ofcom’s provisional decision published on 27 February is clear that unless its concerns are fully addressed, it will consider using all of the powers available to it, including, in most serious cases of non-compliance, imposing business disruption measures. One of the first things the Secretary of State did in the job was to make self-harm a priority offence under the Online Safet Act, triggering the strongest possible legal protections. She has been clear she will not hesitate to go further if needed and regularly talks to Ofcom about ensuring enforcement is strong.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department has taken to help stop UK users accessing a suicide forum responsible for over 135 deaths in this country following her meeting action with a group of the bereaved families on 19 January 2026.

The Secretary of State has been clear Ofcom has full backing to use its enforcement powers and welcomes its investigation into extremely harmful suicide forums. Ofcom’s provisional decision published on 27 February is clear that unless its concerns are fully addressed, it will consider using all of the powers available to it, including, in most serious cases of non-compliance, imposing business disruption measures. One of the first things the Secretary of State did in the job was to make self-harm a priority offence under the Online Safet Act, triggering the strongest possible legal protections. She has been clear she will not hesitate to go further if needed and regularly talks to Ofcom about ensuring enforcement is strong.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the adequacy of the pace of its ongoing investigation of a suicide forum that grooms users to die by suicide.

The Secretary of State has been clear Ofcom has full backing to use its enforcement powers and welcomes its investigation into extremely harmful suicide forums. Ofcom’s provisional decision published on 27 February is clear that unless its concerns are fully addressed, it will consider using all of the powers available to it, including, in most serious cases of non-compliance, imposing business disruption measures. One of the first things the Secretary of State did in the job was to make self-harm a priority offence under the Online Safet Act, triggering the strongest possible legal protections. She has been clear she will not hesitate to go further if needed and regularly talks to Ofcom about ensuring enforcement is strong.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the adequacy of its powers under the Online Safety Act 2023 to tackle a suicide forum linked to over 135 UK deaths.

The Secretary of State has been clear Ofcom has full backing to use its enforcement powers and welcomes its investigation into extremely harmful suicide forums. Ofcom’s provisional decision published on 27 February is clear that unless its concerns are fully addressed, it will consider using all of the powers available to it, including, in most serious cases of non-compliance, imposing business disruption measures. One of the first things the Secretary of State did in the job was to make self-harm a priority offence under the Online Safet Act, triggering the strongest possible legal protections. She has been clear she will not hesitate to go further if needed and regularly talks to Ofcom about ensuring enforcement is strong.

What assessment he has made of regional variation in access to children’s hospice services; and what steps he is taking to ensure equitable provision across England.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end-of-life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including children and young people’s hospices, also play in providing support to children at the end of life, as well as their loved ones.We recognise that there is variation in access to children and young people’s hospice services across England. This reflects a range of factors, including the way in which the independent hospice sector has historically developed, which was largely not planned with a view to ensure even geographical coverage or to prioritise areas of greatest need based on demographics. However, it is worth recognising that hospices are not the sole providers of palliative care and end of life care, much of which is provided by NHS statutory services.Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment.We supported the hospice sector in England with a £125 million capital funding boost for adult, and children and young people’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We are also providing approximately £80 million of revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices over three financial years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29, giving them the stability they need to plan ahead.For the long-term, the Government is developing a Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care for England, with a planned publication date of Autumn 2026. Through our MSF, 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, and we will also consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of this work.

Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to help prevent noise-induced hearing damage and tinnitus at live music events; and whether he is considering (a) guidance and (b) regulation to promote safe listening standards.

There is no specific legislation setting limits for the audience exposure to noise and the Government has no plans to legislate further in this area at present. However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides advice for when noise levels are expected to exceed certain levels and recommends that audiences are advised of this in advance of the event either on tickets, advertising for the event, or on notices at entry points. HSE is in the process of updating its operational guidance for Local Authority health and safety enforcement teams for noise in music and entertainment venues. Local authorities have responsibility for enforcing noise levels to ensure events are appropriately managed and have minimal adverse impact on the community and those attending. Large scale events such as festivals will often present an Event Safety Management Plan that is reviewed by the local authority as part of the licensing process. The local authority will also place conditions on an event’s Premises Licence in relation to maximum noise levels, timings and durations. Complaints about specific events or venues can be raised with the organiser directly and/or raised with the relevant local authority.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to implement the recommendations of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on reducing VAT for grassroots music venues.

The Government keeps all tax policy under review, however we have no current plans to introduce a temporary cut to Value Added Tax (VAT) on tickets based on venue capacity. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20% standard rate applies to most goods and services. Any request for new reliefs must be considered within the context of the Government receiving numerous requests for VAT relief from different sectors every year.The Government recognises the economic and cultural importance of grassroots music venues and the wider music sector to the UK. We will soon publish a Music Plan, drawing together all that the Government is doing to support the music industry, including grassroots music venues. This includes a Music Growth Package of up to £30 million, which will provide further government support to grassroots venues, by fostering domestic growth, talent development, and music exports. To further support grassroots venues, the Government has announced that in 2026-27, all live music venues will benefit from a 15% business rates relief on top of the support announced at Budget 2025. Their bills will then be frozen in real terms for a further two years to allow the vital infrastructure that showcases our vibrant music industry to continue to thrive.

What consideration she has given to the VAT treatment of the proposed grassroots ticket levy on arena and stadium concerts.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the standard rate applies to most goods and services, including event tickets. VAT is charged on the total price paid by the consumer, and any additional charges or levies applied prior to sale would generally form part of the taxable amount. Tax breaks, such as reduced VAT rates, reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.

Whether she will take steps to ensure that VAT collected on the grassroots ticket levy does not reduce funding intended for grassroots music venues.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the standard rate applies to most goods and services, including event tickets. VAT is charged on the total price paid by the consumer, and any additional charges or levies applied prior to sale would generally form part of the taxable amount. Tax breaks, such as reduced VAT rates, reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.

What assessment she has made the potential merits of a temporary cut to VAT, based on grassroots music venue capacity, to stimulate grassroots music activity.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the standard rate applies to most goods and services, including event tickets. VAT is charged on the total price paid by the consumer, and any additional charges or levies applied prior to sale would generally form part of the taxable amount. Tax breaks, such as reduced VAT rates, reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.

What assessment she has made of the potential cost of obtaining certified copies of death certificates from the General Register Office; and whether she has plans to review those fees.

Civil registration fees, including those for issuing certificates, are set at a level to recover the full cost of delivering the service in line with HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money Principles. All fees are reviewed to prevent them falling below cost recovery levels; the fee for a certificate was last increased in May 2024.

Innovation and Technology, what data her Department holds on participation and completion rates for Government-funded AI training courses.

The government is committed to building a digitally skilled workforce to support long-term economic growth, drive innovation and expand individual opportunity. As part of this ambition, DSIT has launched the AI Skills Boost campaign to upskill 10 million workers in AI skills by 2030, and our industry partners deliver these courses at no cost to government. Since June 2025, this initiative has delivered more than 1 million free AI training courses to workers across the UK, and the Government continues to track delivery.The government runs monitoring & evaluation for all government-funded AI training courses to track participation and assess the delivery and impact of funded programmes. This includes the AI and Data Science Conversion Courses, the Flexible AI Upskilling Fund pilot, and several digital apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps that offer AI-related training courses. Given the nascency of the sector, monitoring and evaluation of most of these programmes is currently ongoing. Data on participation and completion rates for these apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps can be found on the Explore Education Statistics GOV.UK Service.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the value for money of Government-funded AI training courses.

The government is committed to building a digitally skilled workforce to support long-term economic growth, drive innovation and expand individual opportunity. As part of this ambition, DSIT has launched the AI Skills Boost campaign to upskill 10 million workers in AI skills by 2030, and our industry partners deliver these courses at no cost to government. Since June 2025, this initiative has delivered more than 1 million free AI training courses to workers across the UK, and the Government continues to track delivery.The government runs monitoring & evaluation for all government-funded AI training courses to track participation and assess the delivery and impact of funded programmes. This includes the AI and Data Science Conversion Courses, the Flexible AI Upskilling Fund pilot, and several digital apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps that offer AI-related training courses. Given the nascency of the sector, monitoring and evaluation of most of these programmes is currently ongoing. Data on participation and completion rates for these apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps can be found on the Explore Education Statistics GOV.UK Service.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release "Housebuilding around train stations will be given default yes" published on 18 November 2025, whether he pans to define the areas around railway stations that will fall within the proposed presumption in favour of development near transport hubs.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 122451 on 1 April 2026.

Whether she has considered introducing reduced fees or fee waivers for additional copies of death certificates purchased at the same time.

Civil registration fees, including those for issuing certificates, are set at a level to recover the full cost of delivering the service in line with HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money Principles.Registration officials can waive, reduce, or refund any fee in exceptional circumstances due to hardship or for compassionate reasons.