theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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John Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to (a) reform procurement, (b) make efficiency savings, (c) increase levels of access to defence procurement for SMEs and (d) encourage economic growth through the Strategic Defence Review. \p Maria Eagle: The Strategic Defence Review has been considering the state of the defence industrial base, the approach to be taken to acquisition and support, and the contribution of Defence to the Government's Growth Mission. The Review will make Defence central both to the security, and to the economic growth and prosperity, of the United Kingdom.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of using the General Atomics MQ-9 for Royal Navy carrier based operations. \p Maria Eagle: Through the MQ-9 International Cooperation Support Partnership, of which the United Kingdom is a signatory, the Royal Navy (RN) has established that the General Atomics MQ-9 can be modified to operate from the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers. As such, the MQ-9 is being considered as a candidate for the RN’s requirement for Carrier Strike Airborne Early Warning following the planned withdrawal of the Crowsnest Airborne Early Warning system when it reaches the end of its service life.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the feasibility of the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Air Force, using uncrewed remotely piloted aircraft systems to provide airborne early warning. \p Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Defence is actively assessing the potential of uncrewed remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to support airborne early warning (AEW) roles across the air environment.   These assessments are part of broader efforts to modernise UK defence capabilities through the integration of autonomous systems. While current RPAS platforms are predominantly used for land and maritime surveillance tasks, future developments may enable their use in AEW missions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish which (a) suppliers and (b) contractors to his Department are located in Huntingdon constituency; and what service they provide to the Department. \p Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does hold some of the information requested.

Please see below showing the companies in the area requested who provided defence goods or services. These are based on the supplier site set as the primary invoice address for the contract.

The MOD does not distinguish suppliers from contractors and does not hold data on any sub-contractors a direct contract might use.

The Department cannot provide the granularity for each service provided as this would require a review of each individual contact. The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Parent Supplier Name

ACTIVINSIGHTS LIMITED

AUDIO PRECISION UK LTD

BABCOCK DYNCORP LIMITED

CABLECONNECT SOLUTIONS LIMITED

DAVID GARRARD

DUFAYLITE DEVELOPMENTS LTD

GRAS SOUND & VIBRATION UK LIMITED

HEATCON COMPOSITE SYSTEMS (EUROPE) LTD.

IAN HOPWELL LIMITED

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS LIMITED

JOHN GRAHAM CONSTRUCTION LIMITED

KIER GRAHAM DEFENCE LIMITED

MASS CONSULTANTS LIMITED

MUNTERS LTD

PLEXSYS INTERFACE PRODUCTS UK LTD

SVANTEK UK LTD

SYSTEMWARE EUROPE LIMITED

THE COLLEGE OF ANIMAL WELFARE LIMITED

V-BANDZ LIMITED

VINTAGE ENGINE TECHNOLOGY LIMITED
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the planned (a) in-service date and (b) date of integration with F-35B is for the Spear 3 air-to-surface weapon. \p Maria Eagle: The Spear Capability 3 air-to-surface weapon programme is currently undergoing re-baselining, with a Review Note expected towards the end of 2025. Until that is approved, dates are considered draft and of low confidence. The estimated current timeline for in-service capability is expected to be early 2030s.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 44696 on Warrior Vehicles: Decommissioning, how many Warrior vehicles will be sold to private collectors. \p Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 30 April 2025, to Question 44696.

Warrior Vehicles: Decommissioning (docx, 15.9KB)
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 37237 on Defence: Procurement, what the other Departmental publications are that are working in parallel to the SME direct spend target. \p Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Defence's SME direct spend target continues to be developed in parallel with and as part of the Strategic Defence Review and the Defence Industrial Strategy. We intend to publish an updated SME Action Plan setting out how we will deliver on the target and take forward the broader commitments to SMEs set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 33142 on Ministry of Defence: Rifles, how will out of service (a) SA80A2 and (b) A3 variants be disposed of. \p Maria Eagle: The current Out of Service Date (OSD) for the L85 (SA80) Rifle family is 2030. Plans for the L85 Rifles beyond their OSD are yet to be formally agreed.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43786 on Armed Forces: Protective Clothing, what hearing protection is currently issued to Specialist Users. \p Maria Eagle: The Tactical Hearing Protection System (THPS) Specialist User requirement is met by the 3M ComTac XPI.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the cost of maintaining the nuclear programme was spent in the UK in each of the last five years. \p Maria Eagle: The Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) consists of a range of interdependent programmes to support, maintain and renew the United Kingdom’s independent nuclear deterrent.

For the past two years, over 90% of DNE spend was directly with UK suppliers.

The DNE was established in financial year 2023-24. Due to organisational changes, comparable information is not held centrally for earlier years and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the key programme milestones are in the Global Combat Air Programme. \p Maria Eagle: The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) has reached several major milestones since its launch in December 2022. In December 2023, the UK, Italy and Japan signed the "Convention on the Establishment of the Global Combat Air Programme – GCAP International Government Organisation", formalising the partnership for developing a next-generation fighter aircraft.

The UK Government ratified the treaty in October 2024, and it entered into force in December 2024, enabling the creation of the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO), headquartered in Reading, UK.

Also in December 2024, BAE Systems (UK), Leonardo (Italy), and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd (JAIEC), agreed to form a joint venture for GCAP, subject to regulatory approvals.

The partners have agreed that the GIGO will let the first joint international contract during financial year 2025-26 for completion of Concept and Assessment and initial Design and Development activities.

The programme's ambition remains to deliver an aircraft into service from 2035, and the detailed milestones will be agreed following completion of the Concept and Assessment phase.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Marie Goldman:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that vehicle manufacturers rectify security issues with cars to prevent theft; and what discussions her Department has had with vehicle manufacturers on preventing car theft. \p Dame Diana Johnson: This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police – taking a national approach - to ensure our response is as strong as it can be, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. This will support the changes manufacturers continue to make to prevent thefts.

We also provided £250,000 funding in financial year 24/25 to help support enforcement work at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad.

Via the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, we are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.

In recent weeks, the Security Minister and I have each met vehicle manufacturers to discuss these issues. Officials also regularly engage and work with industry to discuss workable solutions to help prevent vehicle theft.
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Jess Brown-Fuller:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many breached Community Protection Notices issued to owners of dogs following attacks on cats led to prosecutions in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Home Office does not hold data in relation to the number of Community Protection Notices that have been issued to owners of dogs following attacks on cats and how many of these led to prosecutions.

The Ministry of Justice publishes figures on the number of breached CPNs that result in a court fine. The data does not include the reasons for the CPN being issued. The most recent court outcomes data can be found in the ‘Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2024’ here - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-june-2024
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Indian nationals have emigrated to the UK to work in each of the last five years. \p Seema Malhotra: Statistics regarding UK immigration and emigration are a matter for the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS). Contact details can be found on their website at Making a request - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by nationality, year and visa type in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visas granted are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the ‘detailed entry clearance dataset’. A visa grant does not necessarily correspond to the person arriving or remaining long-term in the UK. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is from January 2005 up to the end of December 2024.
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Shivani Raja:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints her Department has received relating to the passport photograph software cropping or rejecting images of individuals wearing (a) turbans and (b) other religious head coverings in the last 12 months. \p Seema Malhotra: The information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
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Shivani Raja:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the photograph software used for passport applications; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the software does not discriminate against people wearing (a) turbans and (b) other religious head coverings. \p Seema Malhotra: The initial check to guide if a photo meets the internationally agreed standards for passports utilises an algorithm provided by a leading technology provider.

The testing of the photo checker was extensive and included wearers of religious headwear to optimise the algorithm for passport purposes. However, feedback is welcomed from across the approximately seven million people who apply online for a passport each year, and their experiences continue to help inform further refinement to best meet the needs of HM Passport Office and all of its customers.
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Andrew Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of (a) unlawful employment practices and (b) labour exploitation in the nail salon industry. \p Jess Phillips: The Government takes all reports of labour exploitation very seriously, and we remain committed to tackling the crime of modern slavery, – in which ever sector it occurs. We do not currently hold data for the number of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking within the nail salon industry. Nonetheless, we will continue to monitor the sector closely alongside the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, to ensure we target our work effectively.

The Government is establishing the Fair Work Agency, which will bring under one roof multiple agencies and bodies, including the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and HMRC’s National Minimum and Living Wage Team. This will ensure a more cohesive and streamlined response to exploitation across the economy. The Fair Work Agency will have enhanced powers and resources to identify and address labour exploitation more effectively.
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Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of workers in the nail salon industry who are victims of modern slavery or human trafficking; what data her Department holds on the total number of such victims identified in this sector in the last five years; and what steps she is taking to (a) identify and (b) support victims within this industry. \p Jess Phillips: The Government takes reports of labour exploitation in the beauty sector and nail bars very seriously, and we remain committed to tackling the crime of modern slavery – wherever it occurs.

The Government is establishing the Fair Work Agency, which will bring under one roof multiple agencies and bodies, including the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and HMRC’s National Minimum and Living Wage Team. This will ensure a more cohesive and streamlined response to exploitation across the economy. The Fair Work Agency will have enhanced powers and resources to identify and address labour exploitation more effectively. It will be a strong, recognisable brand so individuals know where to go for help.

We do not currently hold data for the number of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking within the nail salon industry. Nonetheless, we will continue to monitor the sector closely alongside the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, including emerging intelligence and trends, to ensure we target our work effectively.

The National Referral Mechanism is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. Once identified, victims are entitled to support under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract - regardless of their nationality and where their modern slavery experience has occurred, unless the public order or bad faith disqualifications apply.
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Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase women’s safety in Gosport Town Centre. \p Jess Phillips: Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are driving action across Government to achieve our unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. That means working to tackle threats to women's safety in all areas of their lives, including in public places.

We are investing £13.1m this financial year (25/26) in a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection, to drive national coordination and improvement in the police response. This includes delivering our manifesto commitment for strengthened specialist training for officers across England and Wales, including in Hampshire, to ensure that they offer consistent protection for victims and relentlessly pursue perpetrators.

Our VAWG strategy, due to be published later this summer, will set out further measures designed to keep women and girls safe in the streets, in their homes, and online.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help protect children from criminal exploitation in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Jess Phillips: Tackling the criminal exploitation of children is an important strand of our work to halve knife crime under the Safer Streets Mission. Prevention and early intervention to stop young people being drawn into crime is an integral part of that mission including those being exploited by county lines gangs and those involved in violent crime.

We are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill to increase convictions against exploiters, deter gangs from enlisting children, and improve identification of victims. Alongside the offence, we are creating a new regime for CCE prevention orders to prevent exploitative conduct committed by adults against children from occurring or re-occurring

Through the County Lines Programme, we will continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and disrupt the organised crime groups behind this trade. Between July and September 2024, policing activity delivered through the County Lines Programme resulted in over 400 deal lines being closed, the arrest and charge of over 200 deal line holders, 500 arrests and 800 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people. Through the Programme, we also fund specialist support for children and young people caught up in county lines and child criminal exploitation. More than 280 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service since July 2024

While the majority of lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, and Greater Manchester Police, the county lines trade is a national issue. This is why, through the Home Office-funded County Lines Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre to monitor the intelligence picture, identify and share effective practice, and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. In addition, we have a dedicated surge fund which provides local forces with additional funding to tackle county lines, including Surrey Police.

As part of the Programme, the National County Lines Coordination Centre regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. The most recent of these took place between 25 November to 1 December 2024, during which Surrey Police made 18 arrests and seized 2 drug lines, 55 bladed articles and 4 firearms.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions have been carried out as a result of arrests made by the Grooming Gangs Taskforce. \p Jess Phillips: The Child Sexual Exploitation (or 'Grooming Gangs') Police Taskforce provides expert, on the ground support for local forces investigating child sexual abuse and exploitation, with a particular focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation, including grooming gangs. Responsibility for those investigations remains with the relevant local police force, but the Taskforce continues to advise the relevant police force on how to manage any specific lines of investigation appropriately.

The Taskforce supported forces in making 807 arrests for group-based child sexual exploitation in 2024. The data held centrally does not allow individual cases to be tracked through the criminal justice system.

Further information on the Taskforce is available online at: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/cse-taskforce.
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Laura Kyrke-Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on preventing violence against women and girls. \p Jess Phillips: The Government has set an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

The cross-government violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy will set out the strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver on this ambition, informed by the best available evidence, including from other countries.

As part of our evidence-gathering, we have engaged extensively with a wide range of international partners and stakeholders to share perspectives and learning regarding the prevention of VAWG. We have also engaged with countries that look to the UK to understand and observe effective practices that we implement to prevent VAWG.
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Kirsty Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many rejections of statelessness applications submitted in 2024 have been followed by renewed applications. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's news story entitled Statement on Serco asylum accommodation list, published on 27 April 2025, which local authorities in Serco provides asylum accommodation to in (a) the North West, (b) the Midlands, (c) the East of England and (d) the rest of the country; and how many individual properties are managed in each local authority area. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office continues to work closely with a range of stakeholders to fulfil its statutory obligations, while seeking to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation for the taxpayer.

The Home Office does not publish detailed information on the location of asylum accommodation sites for safety and security reasons. Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people deported for criminal offences in the last five years had previously been granted (a) asylum and (b) humanitarian protection. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The requested data is not centrally held, and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Home Office data systems for collecting and processing data on foreign national offenders in the immigration system are currently being upgraded to improve the quality of information held by the department. For more information, please see this recently published note.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 46893 on Asylum: Local Government, what the names of those grants are. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Details of the grant names are accessible through the following links:

Government grants statistics 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e56dd1bb6002588a90d662/2025-03-24_Government_Grants_Register_2023_to_2024.ods.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers are currently housed in the Huntingdon constituency. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
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Dame Karen Bradley:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to repurpose (a) offices and (b) other buildings to house asylum seekers in Staffordshire Moorlands constituency. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders to fulfil its statutory obligations, while seeking to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, and to end the use of hotels.
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Lincoln Jopp:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what stages of recruitment are still to be completed for the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration role. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Home Affairs Select Committee’s pre-appointment hearing with the Government’s preferred candidate took place on 11 February.

Once Ministers have finalised the appointment and the terms of appointment have been agreed, the new ICIBI will be announced in the normal way.

Ministers agreed to extend David Bolt’s appointment term as interim ICIBI for a further period of up to three months, to enable sufficient time to conclude the recruitment process for a permanent ICIBI and ensure a smooth transition.
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James Wild:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 42858 on Child Trust Fund, whether her Department has taken recent steps to (a) update and (b) publicise the guidance entitled Making Financial Decisions for young people: parent and carer toolkit, published on 9 June 2023. \p Sarah Sackman: Although the parent and carer toolkit ‘Making Financial Decisions for young people’ is almost two years old, the information it contains is still current.

The Ministry of Justice regularly considers how to publicise the tool kit and raise awareness of the Mental Capacity Act.
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James Wild:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on the number of providers that have allowed carers of young people without capacity to access Child Trust Funds up to £5,000 without legal authority. \p Sarah Sackman: Providers of Child Trust Funds are financial organisations who are independent of government.

As a result, my Department does not hold information on volumes of matured, unclaimed Child Trust Funds belonging to people who lack capacity, or information on the number of providers who have allowed carers of young people without capacity to access Child Trust Funds up to £5,000 without legal authority.
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Fabian Hamilton:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) making the Enforcement Conduct Board's voluntary accreditation scheme regulations for Bailiffs mandatory and (b) giving the Board the power to authorise or certify agents. \p Sarah Sackman: The Government supports the important work undertaken by the Enforcement Conduct Board to ensure that people facing enforcement action are treated fairly. We are actively considering whether further legislation is required to ensure appropriate oversight of enforcement firms and enforcement agents using the Taking Control of Goods procedure.

The Government will set out its approach in due course.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how her Department holds records of children with a parent in prison; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of holding this information in (a) a single and (b) multiple databases. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: The Ministry of Justice does not hold records of children with a parent in prison. Where professionals are concerned about a child’s welfare, they consider whether a referral to local authority children’s social care is required and should always refer immediately if there is a concern that the child is suffering, or likely to, suffer significant harm (as outlined in the statutory safeguarding guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023)).

Recognising that having a parent in prison is considered an adverse childhood experience and can have a significant impact on a child’s life chances, the Government has committed to ensure children impacted by parental imprisonment are identified and offered the support they need.

We are currently working closely with the Department for Education who hold responsibility for children to determine how we effectively identify these children, where to hold this information, and the best way to provide support for both them and their parent in prison.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how Serco performed against the key performance indicators at the most recent performance review on their HMP & YOI Fosse Way (Leicester) contract. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: HM Prison & Probation Service’s Annual Prison Performance Ratings are based on a range of indicators. The latest ratings cover the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. As a newly opened prison (June 2023), HMP Fosse Way did not form part of the latest ratings but will be included in future publications. HMP Ashfield was rated at level 3 (‘Good performance’).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Mary Glindon:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions she has had with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman on its planned timetable to publish the report on its special investigation into Medomsley Detention Centre. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: I have the deepest sympathy for victims and survivors of abuse suffered at Medomsley Detention Centre. The previous Government, after years of campaigning by victims and survivors, commissioned the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) in October 2023 to undertake a thorough review of the abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre between 1961 and 1987. The investigation commenced in November 2023 and looked into what the authorities knew about the abuse over this period, if there were opportunities for them to take action or intervene, and what action they took.

The PPO has now concluded the evidence-gathering phase of the investigation, and we expect the PPO to publish the final report later this year.

I continue to be grateful to the PPO for their expertise and independence in conducting a rigorous investigation and I hope this will help us to understand how such horrific events were able to take place.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_260

Phil Brickell:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many liability orders were (a) sought by local authorities and (b) granted by courts for council tax debt, in each tax year since 2019. \p Sarah Sackman: The information requested is not collated or maintained centrally in a manner that could reliably be reported.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_261

Dan Aldridge:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to simplify the Court of Protection’s Deputyship application process for families of disabled children who lack capacity to access Child Trust Funds. \p Sarah Sackman: No such assessment has been undertaken. In many cases, no fee is payable for a court order to access a Child Trust Fund where this is the sole asset.

Where a young adult lacks mental capacity, including due to a disability, legal authority is required to make decisions on their behalf about financial assets or property. This requirement applies to all assets, including Child Trust Funds, and is vital in ensuring that vulnerable people are safeguarded and protected. Guidance on completing the court form when access to a Child Trust Fund is required can be found at How to apply to make property and finance decisions on someone’s behalf (including Child Trust Funds) - GOV.UK.

In February 2023, the Court of Protection introduced an online process to simplify the making of property and affairs applications. This has reduced errors and omissions and reduced administration handling times.

We are considering options for further improving access to matured Child Trust Funds while balancing the need to maintain safeguards which protect the best interests of individuals that lack capacity.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_262

Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Disney+ making available the 'uncut' version of The Abyss, what steps is she taking to ensure that streaming services ensure their content is not in breach of UK law. \p Stephanie Peacock: I refer the Rt. Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 29 April 2025 to Question UIN 47833.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_263

Neil Coyle:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the Terms of Trade regime under the Communications Act 2003 on the (a) independent television production sector and (b) creative economy. \p Stephanie Peacock: The terms of trade regime as set out in the Communications Act 2003 has been central to the growth of the independent television production sector and the wider creative economy since it was introduced in 2004. A recent report from Pact, the trade body representing independent film and television producers, highlighted how the regime had played an important role in enabling independent producers to retain more of the intellectual property they create.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_264

Dan Aldridge:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that national sports governing bodies enforce compliance with statutory safeguarding guidance; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of enforcement mechanisms for failing to act in the absence of direct harm. \p Stephanie Peacock: The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm, including through adherence to statutory safeguarding guidance.

In order to be in receipt of public funding all sport’s organisations need to be in adherence with the Code for Sport Governance, authored by Government’s Arm’s Length Bodies, UK Sport and Sport England. The code includes provisions in relation to welfare and safety which all organisations are required to adhere to.

Sport England also provides support to the sport and physical activity sector around safeguarding, including funding the Ann Craft Trust and the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_265

Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the (a) English Football League and (b) Premier League on the potential impact of the new deal financial package on grassroots football. \p Stephanie Peacock: Ministers continue to discuss a distributions deal with the Premier League and EFL on a regular basis, with a clear expectation that any agreement should provide meaningful support across the football pyramid, including grassroots football. While the Football Governance Bill includes a backstop power for the independent regulator to intervene if a deal cannot be reached, this would only apply to distributions between the leagues. As such, Ministers continue to emphasise the importance of a voluntary agreement that delivers broader benefits, including investment in grassroots facilities and programmes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_266

Noah Law:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the financial challenges facing leisure centres; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing funding to support their (a) operation, (b) expansion and (c) long-term sustainability. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level with funding levels set by MHCLG as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.

The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

Future funding of community sports facilities will be considered as part of the forthcoming Spending Review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_267

Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of terrestrial television and radio services on the resilience of communications infrastructure. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government understands how important it is that everyone can access information in times of national emergency. Television and radio both play an important role in providing such access in a range of different emergency scenarios, including scenarios where other communications may be disrupted.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications.

The Government’s project looking into the future of TV distribution is considering a range of relevant factors, including the future resilience requirements for broadcast networks.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_268

Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the reliability of (a) digital terrestrial television and (b) IPTV. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government’s project on the future of TV distribution is seeking to understand how people receive their television now and in the next decade. We want audiences to continue to receive consistent levels of service regardless of how they receive their television, and ensuring that this can happen will be a priority for the Government.

Reliability is one of the issues that is being considered by the Future of TV Distribution stakeholder forum. The forum brings together the Government, the TV industry, the infrastructure sectors, and audience advocacy groups to share ideas and develop solutions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_269

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to limit access to gambling advertising to people with problem gambling. \p Stephanie Peacock: This government recognises that while advertising is a legitimate advantage which licensed operators have over unlicensed gambling firms, increased exposure to gambling advertising can have an impact on gambling participation. Some forms of advertising can also have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and those who are already experiencing problems with their gambling.

There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that advertising and marketing, whenever it appears, is socially responsible. Licensed operators are prohibited from sending direct marketing to those showing strong indicators of harm and must be part of the GAMSTOP scheme. Individuals registered with the scheme are automatically removed from marketing lists of any gambling company they were registered with. Further, the Gambling Commission is introducing new requirements for operators to allow customers to have greater control over the direct marketing they receive, and measures to ensure that incentives such as free bets are constructed in a socially responsible manner.

However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_270

Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the process was for deciding the allocation of seating in the VIP box for the VE concert at Horse Guards Parade on 8 May 2025. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) managed the allocation of seating for the VE Day 80 concert on Horse Guards Parade.

For the VIP area, DCMS prioritised representatives from key stakeholder organisations, including veterans' groups, the Armed Forces, Parliament, and partners involved in the VE Day 80 commemorations. Consideration was also given to accessibility and operational requirements, protocol, ensuring appropriate and inclusive representation from across the UK and Commonwealth.

Allocations in the Royal Box followed established protocol and precedence and included members of the Royal Household, veterans and their companions, senior Cabinet Ministers, Service Chiefs and other senior delivery partners.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_271

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with UNESCO on the potential merits of recognising the (a) production and (b) serving of cask ale as an intangible cultural heritage. \p Chris Bryant: As part of the implementation of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the UK Government is working closely with the Devolved Governments to create inventories for each of the four nations in the UK; these will combine into one inventory of Living Heritage (or Intangible Cultural Heritage) in the UK.

The inventories are a domestic process and do not require discussion with UNESCO. The potential merits of inclusion are outlined in the UK Government’s consultation response published in April.

We would welcome a submission from the cask ale community on the production and serving of cask ale when we open the call for submissions later this year.