Written questions by Dodds.

How many and what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled postgraduate medics entered medical training in the latest period for which data is available.

Post graduate medical training is initially through the two-year foundation programme, followed by progression to specialist training programmes.NHS England publishes monthly data on the National Health Service Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) workforce in England. This includes data on the recorded disability status of Foundation year 1 doctors. Further information is available at the following link, in the file ‘NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Trusts and core organisations – data tables’:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statisticsFor doctors entering medical specialty training, in the 2024 NHS medical specialty training programme, 285 doctors had a recorded disability, which represents 2.1% of all doctors accepting an offer, while 13,099, or 94.6%, recorded no disability, and for a further 462, or 3.3%, the disability status was not known/not recorded.Each year NHS England published the disability status of applicants, including a count of those accepting posts, for each individual medical specialty to help future cohorts in their application processes. This information is available at the following link:https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/equality-and-diversity

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Norwegian counterpart on civilian protection in Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report by the Lighthouse Reports on Gezira state in Sudan, published 16 December 2025.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she is taking steps with international counterparts to bring those responsible for crimes in Gezeira state in Sudan to justice.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help protect civilians in Geizira state in Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations her Department has made to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on humanitarian access to detainees from El Fasher, Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-North al-Hilu on the protection of (a) civilians and (b) civilian infrastructure in South Kordofan in Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent atrocities taking place in South Kordofan in Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help protect civilians travelling from El Fasher to Tawila in Sudan.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025. The UK Government is working intensively with our international partners in an effort to end the violence in Sudan, secure humanitarian relief for the millions in need, and deliver justice for the victims of atrocities committed in this conflict. We will continue to keep the House updated on the latest developments, as we have done in recent months, including on critical issues such as the protection of civilians that the Rt Hon Member has raised.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking towards drafting technical specifications for energy efficiency for the new homes standard.

The Department is currently finalising the Future Homes and Buildings Standards following the consultation, which opened in December 2023 and closed in March 2024. As part of establishing the new Government, we have taken the time to carefully review previous proposals to ensure they align with our ambitions in this area. It is essential that we get the technical details right to deliver a robust and workable standard.Work to develop the technical specifications for new homes has included drafting proposed performance requirements, undertaking detailed modelling, and engaging with industry and other stakeholders. These processes have informed the energy efficiency specifications set out in the consultation. Industry engagement has continued throughout the policy development process. In particular, key issues around rooftop solar have required a series of follow-up discussions with industry to ensure the policy is practical and effective. The consultation response will be published in Q1 this year.

What steps his Department is taking on the development of the energy efficiency elements of the Home Energy Model for the new homes standard.

The Government is developing the Home Energy Model (HEM) to support net zero and housing goals, including the requirements laid out in the Future Homes Standard (FHS).HEM and the FHS ‘wrapper’ will together make up the HEM: FHS assessment methodology. HEM is completing final refinement and testing with industry and technical stakeholders ahead of its introduction as an approved route for demonstrating compliance with the FHS.

What assessment his Department has made of the implications for energy independence of a) current and b) predicted future levels of gas use in new build homes.

The Government’s policy on new build regulation is driving down the use of gas in new build homes, contributing to our energy independence. MHCLG has developed statistics on energy efficiency characteristics of new dwellings and will publish them shortly. Under the Future Homes Standard, to be published in early 2026, we expect new homes to be built with low carbon heating, such as heat pumps and heat networks, as well as solar panels by default. This, along with increased wider renewable generation, will boost our energy security with clean, homegrown power and increase our energy independence.

What assessment his Department has made of the implications for energy independence of a) current and b) predicted future levels of gas use in new build homes.

The Government’s policy on new build regulation is driving down the use of gas in new build homes, contributing to our energy independence. MHCLG has developed statistics on energy efficiency characteristics of new dwellings and will publish them shortly. Under the Future Homes Standard, to be published in early 2026, we expect new homes to be built with low carbon heating, such as heat pumps and heat networks, as well as solar panels by default. This, along with increased wider renewable generation, will boost our energy security with clean, homegrown power and increase our energy independence.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the incidence of costs on a) land-owners in reduced land value uplift as against b) new build sales prices, resultant from environmental standards for new build homes.

The Future Homes Standard, which will ensure all new homes are net zero ready, will be published early this year and a full impact assessment will accompany that publication. The impact assessment presents the costs and benefits of the Standard.

What assessment she has made of the extent to which the ten recommendations from the IOPC report 'National learning recommendations and responses - EIP searches of children, published on 19 March 2024 have been implemented.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct’s (IOPC) ‘National Learning Recommendations re: Exposure of Intimate Parts Searches of Children’ report made ten recommendations. Seven recommendations have been fully implemented, and work is ongoing for the other three. Progress on these is set out below:Recommendation 1, Updating Authorised Professional Practice Guidance: The College of Policing has reviewed and is in the process of updating the Authorised Professional Practice guidance, which will embed trauma-informed and child-centred principles.Recommendation 2, Provision of Appropriate Adults: The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has worked closely with forces to ensure that officers understand the legislative requirements for providing Appropriate Adults during searches of children. They have also engaged with stakeholders to develop and disseminate clear information to help children in custody understand how Appropriate Adults can and should support them.Recommendation 3, Child First Approach: The College of Policing is reviewing and updating guidance and training materials to reinforce a child-centred, trauma-informed, approach to searches of children.Recommendation 4, Coordination of National Policing Response: The Home Office has fostered greater collaboration across policing partners by convening regular engagement with the NPCC, College of Policing, and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, to ensure that the response to the IOPC’s recommendations is coordinated, evidence-based and embedded in frontline practice.Recommendation 5, Annual Data Requirements (ADR): The ADR has been significantly expanded to create a more comprehensive and robust dataset, enabling clearer monitoring of police practice and better-informed safeguarding assessments. Forces are now required to provide detailed and consistent information on searches that expose intimate parts, both in custody and under stop and search powers. This includes the geographic location of the search, whether a supervisor was consulted, and whether an Appropriate Adult was present. The latest stop and search data, published on GOV.UK recently (Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025 - GOV.UK), includes additional details on strip searches. Data on searches in custody is due to be published in March 2026.Recommendation 6, Data Collection and Monitoring: The NPCC has implemented regular data monitoring procedures, so that the circumstances and rationale for child strip searches are consistently reviewed. Any issues or learning identified through these reviews are addressed by the Custody Leadership Team within each force, helping drive improvements in practice.Recommendation 7, Authorisation Guidance: The NPCC has reviewed and strengthened authorisation processes for exposure of intimate parts searches. It has also recommended that a senior officer must authorise the strip search of a child, ensuring decisions are made with the necessary accountability, justification, necessity and proportionality.Recommendation 8, Research Around Trauma: The College of Policing has enhanced its evidence base and incorporated key findings related to the trauma experienced by children during strip searches into their products.Recommendation 9, Voice of the Child: Relevant guidance and training products are being reviewed and updated by the College of Policing, to ensure the ‘Voice of the Child’ is more consistently reflected.Recommendation 10, Mandatory Safeguarding Referral following exposure of intimate parts searches: The Home Office has led system-wide consultations to consider amendments to Code A and C of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984), including mandating a safeguarding referral for any child who is subject to an exposure of intimate parts search. The Government is committed to introducing new legal safeguards around the strip search of children as soon as possible.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve the Corporate Power Purchase Agreements system as it applies to automotive manufacturing.

Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs) allow businesses to enhance competitiveness by securing stable, competitively priced electricity.The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy committed to issue a call for evidence on how the British CPPA market can be improved for industry. The call for evidence, run by DBT and DESNZ, was launched on 9 January and closes 6 March. Ideas generated will be carefully reviewed to inform future policy development.Future policy will complement existing support for the automotive sector including the DRIVE35 initiative, an additional 1.3bn in the Electric Car Grant and increased funding for charging infrastructure.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what her budget is for atrocity anticipation, prevention, and response not including conflict prevention work.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 2 December 2025 in response to Question HL12019.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department work on atrocity prevention (a) as their primary role and (b) as part of their portfolio.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 2 December 2025 in response to Question HL12019.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress her Department has made on anticipating, preventing and responding to mass atrocities.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 2 December 2025 in response to Question HL12019.

If he will list the companies that will receive 90 per cent discounted network charging costs under the proposed Network Charging Compensation scheme from 1 April 2026.

The Network Charging Compensation (NCC) Scheme is one of the three components making up the British Industry Supercharger (the Supercharger). The other two components are the GB Capacity Market Exemption and Energy Intensive Industries Exemption Scheme. The most current list of recipients of Supercharger support, and therefore NCC Scheme support, can be found at the following link: Contracts for Difference (CfD) and renewables obligation (RO): list of companies awarded an exemption - GOV.UK. These recipients, and future Supercharger recipients, will benefit from 90% compensation from network charges from 1 April 2026.