Written questions by Dodds.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of abuse at work on the mental health of roadworkers.

The physical and verbal abuse of roadworkers at work by members of the public is not acceptable. The Department takes this issue seriously and recognises the potential impact such abuse has on the mental health of roadworkers. The Department supports the work Stamp it Out, National Highways and others in the sector are doing to tackle this important issue. We are committed to ensuring that roadworkers feel safe and supported as they carry out their essential work.

How many roadworkers have been hit by vehicles breaching cones or road signs indicating live work zones in each of the last five years.

While the Department for Transport does not hold specific data on the types, trends and impacts of roadworker abuse, we work closely with the Highways Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC) UK, the representative body for the industry, who provide a mechanism for reporting roadworker abuse through the HAUC App. Abuse to roadworkers can also be reported to the local Highway Authority or in more serious cases where there is an immediate danger or a crime is taking place, the police. In 2023, GeoPlace worked with HAUC UK to gather data and publish the “Road Worker Abuse Report” on the prevalence, nature and impact of road worker abuse across the England, Scotland and Wales. The report highlighted some of the abuse that roadworkers had been subjected to, such as spitting, projectiles being thrown and punching. The Government strongly condemns any abuse directed at roadworkers, who play a vital role in installing and maintaining the infrastructure we rely on daily. We remain committed to working with HAUC UK, local authorities, the police, and campaign groups to tackle this issue and ensure roadworkers can carry out their duties safely and with respect.

What discussions she has had with Highways England on the potential impact of abuse of roadworkers on levels of retention of roadworkers.

The Department is concerned about the increasing reports of abuse and intimidation faced by roadworkers and recognises the potential impact this has on both recruitment and retention in the sector. National Highways also takes this issue seriously and works closely with its delivery partners to ensure all incidents of abuse on the Strategic Road Network are reported. It also supports the Stamp it Out campaign, which aims to eliminate abuse across transport networks, and contributed to the development of Stamp it Out’s recent guidance on road network crimes and the types of evidence required to prosecute them. The Department will continue to support work to address this unacceptable behaviour and ensure roadworkers feel safe and supported in their roles.

What discussions her Department has had with Police Forces on (a) abuse of roadworkers and (b) steps to help tackle this.

While the Department for Transport does not hold specific data on the types, trends and impacts of roadworker abuse, we work closely with the Highways Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC) UK, the representative body for the industry, who provide a mechanism for reporting roadworker abuse through the HAUC App. Abuse to roadworkers can also be reported to the local Highway Authority or in more serious cases where there is an immediate danger or a crime is taking place, the police. In 2023, GeoPlace worked with HAUC UK to gather data and publish the “Road Worker Abuse Report” on the prevalence, nature and impact of road worker abuse across the England, Scotland and Wales. The report highlighted some of the abuse that roadworkers had been subjected to, such as spitting, projectiles being thrown and punching. The Government strongly condemns any abuse directed at roadworkers, who play a vital role in installing and maintaining the infrastructure we rely on daily. We remain committed to working with HAUC UK, local authorities, the police, and campaign groups to tackle this issue and ensure roadworkers can carry out their duties safely and with respect.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of abuse of roadworkers in different local authority areas.

While the Department for Transport does not hold specific data on the types, trends and impacts of roadworker abuse, we work closely with the Highways Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC) UK, the representative body for the industry, who provide a mechanism for reporting roadworker abuse through the HAUC App. Abuse to roadworkers can also be reported to the local Highway Authority or in more serious cases where there is an immediate danger or a crime is taking place, the police. In 2023, GeoPlace worked with HAUC UK to gather data and publish the “Road Worker Abuse Report” on the prevalence, nature and impact of road worker abuse across the England, Scotland and Wales. The report highlighted some of the abuse that roadworkers had been subjected to, such as spitting, projectiles being thrown and punching. The Government strongly condemns any abuse directed at roadworkers, who play a vital role in installing and maintaining the infrastructure we rely on daily. We remain committed to working with HAUC UK, local authorities, the police, and campaign groups to tackle this issue and ensure roadworkers can carry out their duties safely and with respect.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on (a) abuse of roadworkers and (b) steps to help tackle this.

While the Department for Transport does not hold specific data on the types, trends and impacts of roadworker abuse, we work closely with the Highways Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC) UK, the representative body for the industry, who provide a mechanism for reporting roadworker abuse through the HAUC App. Abuse to roadworkers can also be reported to the local Highway Authority or in more serious cases where there is an immediate danger or a crime is taking place, the police. In 2023, GeoPlace worked with HAUC UK to gather data and publish the “Road Worker Abuse Report” on the prevalence, nature and impact of road worker abuse across the England, Scotland and Wales. The report highlighted some of the abuse that roadworkers had been subjected to, such as spitting, projectiles being thrown and punching. The Government strongly condemns any abuse directed at roadworkers, who play a vital role in installing and maintaining the infrastructure we rely on daily. We remain committed to working with HAUC UK, local authorities, the police, and campaign groups to tackle this issue and ensure roadworkers can carry out their duties safely and with respect.

How many roadworkers have been hit by projectiles thrown by passing drivers or their passengers in each of the last five years.

While the Department for Transport does not hold specific data on the types, trends and impacts of roadworker abuse, we work closely with the Highways Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC) UK, the representative body for the industry, who provide a mechanism for reporting roadworker abuse through the HAUC App. Abuse to roadworkers can also be reported to the local Highway Authority or in more serious cases where there is an immediate danger or a crime is taking place, the police. In 2023, GeoPlace worked with HAUC UK to gather data and publish the “Road Worker Abuse Report” on the prevalence, nature and impact of road worker abuse across the England, Scotland and Wales. The report highlighted some of the abuse that roadworkers had been subjected to, such as spitting, projectiles being thrown and punching. The Government strongly condemns any abuse directed at roadworkers, who play a vital role in installing and maintaining the infrastructure we rely on daily. We remain committed to working with HAUC UK, local authorities, the police, and campaign groups to tackle this issue and ensure roadworkers can carry out their duties safely and with respect.

What information her Department holds on the number of roadworkers who have been spat at from passing drivers in the last five years.

While the Department for Transport does not hold specific data on the types, trends and impacts of roadworker abuse, we work closely with the Highways Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC) UK, the representative body for the industry, who provide a mechanism for reporting roadworker abuse through the HAUC App. Abuse to roadworkers can also be reported to the local Highway Authority or in more serious cases where there is an immediate danger or a crime is taking place, the police. In 2023, GeoPlace worked with HAUC UK to gather data and publish the “Road Worker Abuse Report” on the prevalence, nature and impact of road worker abuse across the England, Scotland and Wales. The report highlighted some of the abuse that roadworkers had been subjected to, such as spitting, projectiles being thrown and punching. The Government strongly condemns any abuse directed at roadworkers, who play a vital role in installing and maintaining the infrastructure we rely on daily. We remain committed to working with HAUC UK, local authorities, the police, and campaign groups to tackle this issue and ensure roadworkers can carry out their duties safely and with respect.

What steps she is taking to reduce decision times for children’s applications under the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme.

The vast majority of Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme applications are being processed within Service Level Agreements. There may be applications which have varying levels of complexity and we have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, which can cause a delay to an application.Information on visa processing times for applications made outside of the UK can be found here: Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK.Information on visa processing times for applications made from within the UK can be found here: Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 64542 on Immigration, what steps she is taking to speed up decisions being taken on applications for (a) leave in line and (b) status in line.

The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement to speed up decision making and improve the quality and consistency of our leave in line and status in line applications.

Whether her Department has provided guidance to local authorities on (a) legacy shared space schemes and (b) how streets covered by those schemes can be altered to be made more accessible for blind and partially sighted people.

Local authorities are bound by the Public Sector Equality Duty and it is for them to ensure any schemes they take forward are delivered in a way that allows them to comply with this duty. The Department provides guidance in Inclusive Mobility on designing accessible public realm, and the need for streets to be accessible to all is highlighted in other guidance documents as a matter of course. In 2018 local authorities were asked to pause any new shared space schemes that incorporated a level surface and were at the design stage. Existing schemes or ones that were contractually committed or under construction were not in scope to avoid incurring financial penalties. This is still the position, and it is for local authorities to determine what changes may be required to existing schemes, taking into account their obligations under equalities legislation.

What progress Active Travel England has made on creating a disabled people's panel to help inform its work.

Active Travel England (ATE) does not have any current plans to create a disabled people’s panel and does not set policy. ATE routinely works with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee and disabled representative organisations to improve its output, such as guidance products. ATE is setting up a technical advisory group to help improve its products and processes so they better address the barriers people face to active travel, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the powers of councils to improve street accessibility.

Local authorities are bound by the Public Sector Equality Duty and it is for them to ensure any schemes they take forward are delivered in a way that allows them to comply with this duty. The Department provides guidance in Inclusive Mobility on designing accessible public realm, and the need for streets to be accessible to all is highlighted in other guidance documents as a matter of course. In 2018 local authorities were asked to pause any new shared space schemes that incorporated a level surface and were at the design stage. Existing schemes or ones that were contractually committed or under construction were not in scope to avoid incurring financial penalties. This is still the position, and it is for local authorities to determine what changes may be required to existing schemes, taking into account their obligations under equalities legislation.

What steps his Department is taking to protect Iranian (a) dissidents, (b) activists, and (c) journalists residing in the UK from (i) harassment, (ii) surveillance (iii) and intimidation by agents of the Iranian regime.

The UK Government will continue to use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK and its people against any threats from the Iranian state. Any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated, and will be thoroughly investigated.The National Security Act 2023 strengthens our legal powers to counter transnational repression and provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt modern-day state threats. In March, I announced a package of measures to tackle state threats from Iran. This included our decision to place Iran on the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS).I also announced new training for all frontline police officers on state threats; further sanctions against Iranian-linked criminal groups; an independent review of the parts of our counter-terrorism framework which could be applied to state threats; continued support to the Jewish community; and strengthened enforcement of our immigration measures to protect the UK from Iranian interference. Finally, the National Protective Security Authority and Counter Terrorism Policing will continue to provide protective security advice and support to individuals and organisations threatened by the Iranian regime and its criminal proxies, including Persian language media organisations.In line with recommendations from the Defending Democracy Taskforce’s Transnational Repression Review, new guidance is available on GOV.UK to provide those who believe themselves to be at-risk of TNR with practical advice for their safety both physically and online. Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police via 101, a local police station, or 999 in emergencies.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support (a) women and (b) political prisoners under threat from the Iranian regime.

We continue to support women and political prisoners in Iran through sustained action alongside international partners in multilateral fora. In the past eight months, the UK was integral to the delivery of two Iran human rights resolutions. The first, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2024, condemned Iran's intensified and targeted repression of women and girls, and called on Iran to immediately and unconditionally release persons arbitrarily detained for the exercise of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including human rights defenders, journalists and all those who remain under detention for taking part in peaceful protests. The second, adopted by the Human Rights Council in April 2025, renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, and renewed and expanded the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission to investigate a wider breadth of violations, and to establish the facts, circumstances and structural causes of such violations, including discrimination on grounds of gender and political views. Our Ambassador to Iran and I continue to raise human rights directly with the Iranian Government.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question HL5327 on Israel and Palestinians: Development Aid and in the context of discussions held in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the potential impact of the Associations Bill (Amendment—Donation from Foreign State Entity) 2024 on the UK’s overseas development assistance to (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian (i) humanitarian and (ii) human rights organisations.

We are deeply troubled by the proposed non-governmental organisation (NGO) taxation bill which threatens to undermine the ability of NGOs to operate effectively and continue their essential work in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We continue to raise these concerns with the Israeli government. Israel must immediately allow the UN and NGOs to safely deliver aid at scale and in line with humanitarian principles.

What assessment her Department has made of the reasons for the reduction in the number of children put on the child protection register for reasons including sexual abuse from (a) 2022-23 to (b) 2023-24 in England and Wales.

Baroness Casey’s national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation recommended the department interrogate the child protection data to identify the causes of the decline in child sexual abuse and exploitation representation.The government has committed to urgently reviewing the child protection data. We must better understand the decline in child sexual abuse and exploitation representation in the assessment data and the reasons for variation across local authorities.By the end of 2025, we will publish analysis that aims to better understand what has happened regarding the decline in child protection data on child sexual abuse and exploitation.This will include analysis of child abuse victims’ demographics, outcomes, trends and local area variation over time. We will also work with the Child Sexual Abuse Centre to understand the specific issues outlined in this recommendation and will publish any related research once concluded.Child sexual abuse is an abhorrent crime that no child should ever have to face, and it is of paramount importance that we do more to protect vulnerable children from the horrors of this crime.

Whether the pupil premium will be linked to the current income unit only.

The allocation of pupil premium funding to schools will continue to be based on the existing earned income threshold for free school meal eligibility of £7,400 in the 2026/27 financial year.The pupil premium eligibility criteria also includes children looked-after or previously looked-after by their local authority.The department is reviewing how we allocate pupil premium funding in the longer term.

How many local authorities have been able to auto-enrol children for free school meals; and whether she expects that the new expanded eligibility will increase this number.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Oxford East to the answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 58496.

Whether there will be an increase in the pupil premium following the introduction of free school meals for all pupils from families on Universal Credit.

The allocation of pupil premium funding to schools will continue to be based on the existing earned income threshold for free school meal eligibility of £7,400 in the 2026/27 financial year.The pupil premium eligibility criteria also includes children looked-after or previously looked-after by their local authority.The department is reviewing how we allocate pupil premium funding in the longer term.