theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish which local authorities have the powers to enforce moving traffic restrictions. \p Lilian Greenwood: Local authorities in London have had the powers to enforce moving traffic contraventions since 2003. In 2022, regulations came into effect under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to allow local authorities in England outside London to apply for moving traffic enforcement powers. To date, 73 local authorities outside London have been granted moving traffic enforcement powers. All of the Designation Orders are available on the Government’s legislation website. The links to each are here: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/686/made; www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/698/made; www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/1135/made.
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Wera Hobhouse:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the size of vehicles on the uptake of active travel by (a) young and (b) other people. \p Simon Lightwood: There are no current plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of vehicle sizes on active travel uptake. Active Travel England is working with local authorities across England to support the development of safe and accessible walking and cycling infrastructure and funds various programmes to support the uptake of active travel in young people.

Before a new vehicle is permitted to be sold in Great Britain it is subject to rigorous and comprehensive testing to ensure it meets high standards of passenger and pedestrian safety and complies with emission standards.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with Hampshire County Council on pavement parking; and whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to support local authorities in tackling concerns related to pavement parking. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Secretary of State has not had discussions with Hampshire County Council about pavement parking. The Department held a consultation in 2020 and has been considering the responses to the consultation and working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response.  In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to restrict and enforce pavement parking.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations she has received from disability and passenger rights organisations in Wiltshire on Great Western Railway’s proposed staffing reductions; and if she will publish a summary of those representations. \p Simon Lightwood: Great Western Railway (GWR) are not proposing any staffing reductions in Wiltshire and we have not had any representations from disability and passenger rights organisations on this subject. GWR have confirmed that they will not be bringing forward any changes to ticket office opening hours at the current time.
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Lorraine Beavers:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to strengthen regulations on out-of-area working of private hire Uber vehicles. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department is considering options to improve the current regulatory position in respect of taxis and private hire vehicles and will consult shortly on whether to make all local transport authorities, including Strategic Authorities, responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing.

We believe administering taxi and private hire vehicle licensing across a larger footprint would increase the consistency of standards and enable more effective use of enforcement powers across a whole functional economic area and facilitate integrated local transport planning. Greater economies of scale should also increase the efficiency in taxi and private hire vehicle licensing and the sector. This should reduce the factors that induce people to license out of their usual working area. This would be a significant change for the sector, and responses to the consultation will help inform the final decision.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of passenger rail performance in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Hertfordshire. \p Simon Lightwood: Performance in the area has been challenging in recent months, affected by a range of issues including points failures, train faults and external trespass and fatality incidents affecting Thameslink services operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. However, there is an improving trend in service delay and cancellations with continued monitoring and challenge of the train operator and Network Rail by my Department.

Ongoing upgrade works on the Midline Main Line overhead power lines will help improve reliability. Department officials continue to monitor performance against contractual targets and will ensure appropriate action is taken to address any emerging issues.
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to support the provision of maternity services in south Somerset. \p Karin Smyth: The Department is aware of temporary changes to services at Yeovil District Hospital, which have been made in response to several factors including responding to a recent Care Quality Commission inspection and due to not currently being able to meet staffing levels required to provide safe services for mothers, babies and families. The South West NHS England regional team, integrated care board and trust are monitoring the situation closely and working collectively to review the situation and develop proposals to ensure safe future service provision of maternity services.
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Sir Christopher Chope:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) face-to-face and (b) other GP appointments conducted at (i) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (ii) Christchurch Medical Centre, (iii) Burton Branch Surgery (iv) The Stour Surgery and (v) The Grove Surgery in (A) 2022-23, (B) 2023-24 and (C) 2024-25. \p Stephen Kinnock: A table showing the number of face-to-face and other general practice appointments conducted for the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Centre, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Surgery is attached. Data for the Burton Medical Centre is not available as it was a branch of the Christchurch Medical Practice. The Burton Medical Centre became a branch practice in October 2017, and was subsequently closed in October 2024.

Table for 52182 (docx, 20.2KB)
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Nadia Whittome:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 5 December 2024 on Plan for Change: Milestones for mission-led government, HCWS285 and the Chapter on An NHs Fit for the Future, if he will publish plans to reduce waiting times for mental health services. \p Stephen Kinnock: Our 10-Year Health Plan will inform the future vision and delivery plan for mental health services in England. Earlier intervention remains a key focus of the plan, with the aim of reducing pressure on mental health services.

The Government is delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. We have launched six neighbourhood adult mental health centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care.

NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity.

We are also improving data quality so we can support providers in understanding demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting time metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication, to help services target the longest waits.
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Grahame Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for mental health treatment services. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. We have launched six neighbourhood adult mental health centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care.

NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity.

We are also improving data quality so we can support providers in understanding demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting times metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication, to help services target the longest waits.

Our 10-Year Health Plan will inform the future vision and delivery plan for mental health services in England. Earlier intervention remains a key focus of the plan, with the aim of reducing pressure on mental health services.
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help support (a) NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board and (b) local hospital trusts to (i) improve working culture and (ii) reduce stress-related illness in hospitals. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Ian Sollom:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) take steps to launch an independent public inquiry to assess the effectiveness of the steps taken by Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in relation to concerns raised by families about surgery undertaken by Ms Kuldeep Stohr and (b) meet with affected families in St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support internationally educated nursing staff during their first years in the UK. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Royal College of Nursing entitled Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK, published on 15 May 2025. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including NHS Professionals employees in the NHS Pension Scheme. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Edward Argar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by his Department within the required timescale in (i) January 2025, (ii) February 2025, (iii) March 2025 and (iv) April 2025. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Edward Argar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Urgent Question on the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders service on 19 May 2025, what estimate he has made of when the new national programme will be in operation. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 13 May 2025, on levels of retention of internationally-educated nursing staff in the NHS. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund is being used for (a) digitisation projects and (b) physical improvements to GP premises. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future and recognises the importance of strategic, value for money investments in capital projects. We recently announced schemes which will benefit from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund (PCUMF) to deliver upgrades this financial year to more than a thousand general practice surgeries across England.

We have made sure that every single region across the country receives part of the funding, so benefits are felt nationwide. Decisions were made based on the highest priority of need and where the investment would quickly create additional clinical space, specifically to deliver more appointments.

NHS England worked with all the integrated care boards (ICBs), including in Greater Manchester, to prioritise the schemes that local health leaders identified as meeting their communities’ most urgent needs.

The Greater Manchester ICB has been allocated £5.6 million from the PCUMF to be spent on physical improvements resulting in additional clinical space and increased access to appointments. Digital transformation projects were not considered to be in scope for the £102 million of funding.
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Graeme Downie:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to update guidance on the use of Ritlecitinib to treat alopecia. \p Karin Smyth: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations for the National Health Service in England on the use of new medicines, based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.

The NICE issued guidance in March 2024 that recommends ritlecitinib, within its marketing authorisation, as an option for treating severe alopecia areata in people 12 years old and over. Whilst severity is not specifically defined in the guidance, the evidence submission by the medicine’s manufacturer defined ‘severe’ as a Severity of Alopecia Tool score of more than 50 out of 100. The guidance also acknowledges that living with severe alopecia areata can have a profound impact on psychosocial health. At the present time, there are no plans to update this guidance.

As health is a devolved issue, information relating to guidance on the use of ritlecitinib in Scotland would be held by the Scottish health authorities.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to Food Standards Agency inspection charges on the financial viability of (a) small abattoirs and (b) private kill services. \p Ashley Dalton: Information on the 2025/26 charge rates for official controls (inspections) conducted in meat premises is available on the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) website.

https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/charges-for-controls-in-meat-premises

As in previous years, the impact of charges will be offset by a taxpayer-funded discount which provides the greatest proportional support to smaller businesses. The impact of the discount on different sized food businesses in England and Wales for 2025/26 is set out in the Cost Data Slides the FSA has published.

The FSA is currently conducting an evaluation of the discount and will assess the impact of any changes it might propose in the light of this evaluation. No decisions have yet been taken.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of prescription items dispensed in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire were exempt from charges for each of the last three years. \p Karin Smyth: The information requested has been provided by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). It has not been possible to collate data for the Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire area alone as this would require the NHSBSA to hold postcodes for all addresses in this area, however we do hold data for the two National Health Service integrated care boards (ICBs) which cover the Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire area, namely the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB and the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB. Therefore, the following table shows the percentage of prescription items for which the patient held a prescription pre-payment certificate or did not pay a charge because the item was covered by an existing exemption that were dispensed for the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB, for 2022, 2023, and 2024:

Year

Percentage of items where no per item charge was paid at the point of dispensing

2022

93.73%

2023

93.95%

2024

94.31%

In addition, the following table shows the percentage of prescription items for which the patient held a prescription pre-payment certificate or did not pay a charge because the item was covered by an existing exemption that were dispensed for the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB, for 2022, 2023, and 2024:

Year

Percentage of items where no per item charge was paid at the point of dispensing

2022

92.91%

2023

93.26%

2024

93.69%

To note, prescriptions purchased using a prescription pre-payment certificate are recorded as exempt at the point of dispensing by the NHSBSA. Given this, prescription pre-payment certificate dispensing data is included in the above data set.
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Layla Moran:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Question 44527, tabled by the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon on 4 April 2025. \p Karin Smyth: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 May 2025 to Question 44527.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of redundancies arising from the abolition of NHS England. \p Karin Smyth: Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre.

The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down. As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England, with further details to become available as we take the programme forward.

These changes are no reflection of the tireless work carried out by talented professionals across the health sector. These changes are about forming a more agile and efficient system, in the interests of patients and the public.
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Andrew George:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the guidance entitled NHS Financial Support for Health Students (Fourth Edition): NHS Learning Support Fund, published on 29 June 2020, how many regional incentive payments were made to eligible students in areas where there is a workforce shortage in each of the last four years; and whether these payments are still available. \p Karin Smyth: The regional incentive payments that were referenced in the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF) fourth edition rules published on 29 June 2020 were not introduced, and therefore no payments have been made. The LSF scheme rules are reviewed annually ahead of each academic year.

To reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions.

The Government will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again. We will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to support the (a) training and (b) recruitment of optometrists in underserved areas. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England provides an annual grant for supervisors of optometry trainees. This payment is an essential element of ensuring that adequate training provision is available for new optometrists.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services and receive an annual allocation of funding to secure services to meet the needs of their local population. Any decisions about the recruitment of optometrists are a matter for individual employers, to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.
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Mary Glindon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase employment rates for doctors who have recently completed foundation training. \p Karin Smyth: Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service employers. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the NHS in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where the need is greatest.

To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision.  We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.

The Government committed to recruiting over 1,000 recently qualified general practitioners (GPs) through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to secure the future pipeline of GPs. Data on the number of recently qualified GPs for which primary care networks are claiming reimbursement via the ARRS was published by NHS England on 7 April, showing that since 1 October 2024, 1,503 GPs were recruited through the scheme.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 40621 on DHSC: Translation Services, if he will list the foreign languages that were translated into in that year; and what publications were translated into foreign languages. \p Karin Smyth: During 2024, translation services work by the Department, for languages other than English, comprised a translation of the Health and Care Act 2022 from English into Welsh and a translation of the consultation document for the Healthy Start initiative from English into Welsh.
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Dr Caroline Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) internal policy reviews, (b) independent reviews, (c) external reviews, (d) taskforces, (e) public consultations, (f) investigations and (g) other reviews his Department launched between 5 July 2024 and 14 May 2025; what the titles were of those reviews; and how many of those reviews have been (i) completed and (ii) published. \p Karin Smyth: Following the election, the Government outlined its ambitions through the Plan for Change, which sets out an ambitious set of milestones, across the missions, for this Parliament.

As the House of Commons would expect, the Government continually reviews its work to ensure that it is delivering the best outcomes for the people of the United Kingdom, and that its policies continue to represent the best value for the taxpayer.

Public reviews will be available on the GOV.UK website as they are published.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the equality of access to fertility services for LGBTQ+ people. \p Karin Smyth: In the light of broader pressures on the National Health Service and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.

We expect these organisations to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The NICE is currently reviewing its fertility guidelines.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether estates managed by his Department are participating in the No Mow May initiative. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has no estate with grass or lawned areas, and therefore is not participating in the No Mow May initiative.
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Munira Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 13 March 2025 from the hon. Member for Twickenham, case reference MC2025-00007485. \p Feryal Clark: The Department attaches great importance to providing timely responses to correspondence and is working hard to improve our processes, including through greater digitisation. A response to this letter was regrettably delayed by administrative error, for which the Department sincerely apologises. We issued a full response on 16 May 2025.
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will publish a full list of approved masts included in the Shared Rural Network programme. \p Chris Bryant: The locations of proposed government-funded Total Not Spot masts can be found at https://srn.org.uk/about/srn-tns-site-locations/,however this is due to be updated soon, as we now expect the objectives for this part of the programme to be met with far fewer masts. We are currently in the final stages of following the necessary processes with the mobile network operators to approve the details before they can be shared publicly. Details of the Home Office masts that will be upgraded for the Shared Rural Network are not publicly available as not all Home Office masts will be viable for the programme, but my officials will write to you with details of the sites that will be upgraded in your constituency.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to enable parents the right to access their deceased child’s social media data. \p Feryal Clark: The government is committed to ensuring families feel that the system is on their side when tragedies happen. In these cases, the Online Safety Act provides for Ofcom to require information from services on a child’s online activity at a coroner’s request. To strengthen this, the Data (Use and Access) Bill seeks to establish a data preservation process requiring companies to preserve such relevant information at a coroner’s request.

The Online Safety Act will also require categorised services to be transparent with parents regarding a company’s data disclosure processes, following the death of a child.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking with universities to develop research and development policies in the (a) East and (b) rest of England. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is clear that universities are a key partner in research and development, which is fundamental to kickstarting economic growth and delivering the Government’s missions. DSIT values the views of universities and engages closely with them through a programme of one to one meetings, roundtables, visits, and sector group meetings, as appropriate, to develop research policies for England and the rest of the UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_142

Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on the (a) scope, (b) function and (c) remit of the proposed advisory committee on disinformation and misinformation in Section 152 of the Online Safety Act (2023). \p Feryal Clark: The Online Safety Act provides clear requirements for the Committee’s responsibilities: advising Ofcom on how providers should address mis- and disinformation, and how Ofcom should exercise their transparency powers and fulfil their statutory duty to promote media literacy in relation to mis- and disinformation.

How Ofcom approaches the design of the committee, providing that it is compliant with these legislative requirements, is for it to decide as an independent regulator. The terms of reference for the new Online Information Advisory Committee have now been published and confirm that these duties remain at the heart of its function.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_143

Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on Sport England's role as a statutory consultee in the planning process. \p Stephanie Peacock: The statutory consultee system must work in support of development and economic growth—reflecting the central place of these objectives in the Government’s plan for change. A process is in place to consult on the impacts of removing a limited number of statutory consultees, including Sport England.

Access to open green spaces and playing fields is important, and we will work closely with MHCLG as part of their proposed reforms. The National Planning Policy Framework ensures these interests are maintained in the planning system and there is an important, ongoing role for statutory consultees working with local authorities and developers on the development of local and strategic plans, and through the publication of guidance and advice.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_144

Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Education and (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of the (i) Primary School PE and Sport Premium, (ii) Holiday Activities Fund and (iii) School Games Organiser Network on grassroots participation in sport amongst young people. \p Stephanie Peacock: I regularly meet with Ministerial counterparts from the Department for Education on a range of issues, most recently meeting with the Minister for Schools about school sport in April 2025.

Future funding on a range of sports initiatives will be considered as part of the forthcoming Spending Review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_145

Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she last met representatives of (a) the Premier League, (b) the English Football League, (c) the National League, (d) UEFA and (e) FIFA; and whether she discussed the Football Governance Bill at those meetings. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Secretary of State and I have met with clubs, leagues, governing bodies, fan groups and many other stakeholders from across the game on numerous occasions to discuss the Football Governance Bill. Most recently, we held a series of meetings in March 2025 including with the Premier League, the English Football League and the National League. This is in addition to frequent, regular meetings that officials in my department have with these and other important stakeholders.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_146

Anneliese Dodds:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Fundraising Regulator on the transparency of fees on online fundraising platforms. \p Stephanie Peacock: Fundraising platforms are commercial organisations that provide an important service to charities and donors. Most platforms are registered with the Fundraising Regulator, which is the independent, non-statutory regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Fundraising Regulator’s new Code of Fundraising Practice, which will come into force on 1 November 2025, includes requirements for fundraising platforms to include information for donors about how fees, including any voluntary tips, are calculated. The information must be easy to find, and include details on how voluntary tips can be amended or removed altogether in a straightforward way.

DCMS meets with the Fundraising Regulator regularly to discuss a range of issues and will continue working with them as well as charities and online giving platforms to support best practice across all forms of charitable fundraising.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_147

Ben Goldsborough:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much Youth Investment Fund money has been allocated to (a) organisations, (b) authorities and (c) other entities with premises within South Norfolk constituency in each year since applications were open. \p Stephanie Peacock: This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives. The detail and scale of the funding commitments included in this Government's National Youth Strategy will be shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector, and will be dependent on Spending Review decisions.

Over £120,000 has been invested in South Norfolk and an additional £1.4 million in the wider Norfolk County through the Youth Investment Fund.

The Secretary of State’s Written Statement, of 15 May 2025, sets out the Department’s 2025/26 funding for youth programmes - an investment of over £145 million - to provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities, as we transition to the new National Youth Strategy.

The package of funding includes £79.4 million of reprofiled Youth Investment Fund Phase 2 to ensure the successful delivery of projects scheduled for completion in 2025/26. This includes the pipeline of 25 Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) projects.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_148

Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of times the guidance set out in the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice on (a) fee transparency on charging commission on Gift Aid and (b) giving equal prominence to a zero fee or tip option has been breached in each of the last three years. \p Stephanie Peacock: Fundraising platforms are commercial organisations that provide an important service to charities and donors. Many charities ask online fundraising platforms to claim Gift Aid on donations made on their platform for the charity, and pay a fee for this service to be provided because it is cost effective and efficient to do so. No estimate has been made at this time on the potential impact of banning the charging commission on Gift Aid on revenues to charities.

Most platforms are registered with the Fundraising Regulator, which is the independent, non-statutory regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Fundraising Regulator’s new Code of Fundraising Practice, which will come into force on 1 November 2025, includes requirements for fundraising platforms to include information for donors about how fees, including any voluntary tips, are calculated. The Fundraising Regulator will engage with fundraising platforms to ensure they are clear on the new transparency requirements for fees and tipping sliders before the new Code comes into effect.

DCMS does not hold information centrally about breaches of the Code of Fundraising Practice. The below information was provided by the Fundraising Regulator.

The Fundraising Regulator issued guidance for fundraising platforms on 17 February 2023.To date since the guidance was published, the Regulator has closed a total of 20 cases where there were complaints about a "tip" being taken by a platform. None involved a breach of the Code because information about fees, including the tip, was provided even if it could have been clearer or made easier for donors to choose not to tip. In the same period, there were seven complaints relating to Gift Aid but none were about commissions, fees or tips on fundraising platforms so there was no breach of the Code.

DCMS will continue working with the Fundraising Regulator, charities, and online giving platforms to support best practice across all forms of charitable fundraising.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_149

Richard Baker:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to continue funding tennis facilities in (a) Fife, (b) Scotland and (c) Great Britain following the conclusion of the Park Tennis Project. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government recognises that sports clubs and facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help people get active. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to them and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.

All future funding of sports facilities beyond 2025/26 will be considered as part of the forthcoming Spending Review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_150

Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-India free trade agreement on levels of investment in (a) Bedfordshire, (b) the East of England and (c) the UK. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: This comprehensive agreement is expected to boost increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion, increase UK GDP by £4.8 billion and boost wages by £2.2 billion each and every year in the long run.

This deal is expected to make trade between the UK cheaper and easier, which could encourage more businesses to expand and invest. In the East of England, science and technology hubs like Bedford will benefit from reduced tariffs on technologies such as medical devices, alongside improved customs processes.

We will set out further information on the regional impacts of this agreement in our Impact Assessment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_151

Rebecca Long Bailey:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security has had discussions with his Egyptian counterpart on the detention of Alaa Abd el-Fattah. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The Government is committed to securing Mr El-Fattah’s release, and we continue to raise his case at the highest levels of the Egyptian government. The Prime Minister raised the case in a letter to President Sisi on 4 May. The National Security Adviser also raised Mr-El Fattah’s case with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 27 April and the Foreign Secretary raised with Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 9 April.

Our strong bilateral relationship with Egypt enables us to raise our human rights concerns. We will continue to act in standing up for human rights around the world, providing support to open societies and drawing on our full range of tools and levers, including our independent global human rights sanctions regime to hold to account those involved in serious human rights violations and abuses. HM Government continues, in London and through British Embassies worldwide, to discuss and advocate for human rights.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-23 conversation_152

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the trade agreement with the EU of 19 May 2025, what (a) tariffs and (b) rules will apply to steel exports to the EU. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The EU applies a safeguard measure on imports of 26 categories of steel in the form of tariff-rate quotas that allow certain volumes of imports per category to enter duty-free. A 25% duty is charged on volumes that exceed quotas.

Following a recent amendment by the EU, the UK’s duty-free access to category 17 (steel sections) was restricted to below traditional volumes.

As part of the new agreement, the EU committed to correcting this in line with traditional trade flows, which will allow UK industry to double the amount of tariff-free steel sections they can export to the EU.