Written questions by Dinenage.

With reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill: Scope (Premises), updated on 1 November 2024, if she will make an estimate of the number of those premises with (a) 200 to 300, (b) 301 to 400, (c) 401 to 500, (d) 501 to 600, (e) 601 to 700 and (f) 701 to 800 individuals present at any one time.

Estimates for the capacity of venues are based on a floorspace factor calculation (where no known capacity is available), drawing from ordnance survey data. The breakdown is:Number of individuals expected at venueEstimated number of venues in grouping200-30062336301-40031787401-50023597501-60013227601-7009031701-8007539As a result of pre-legislative scrutiny, Government made changes to the Bill removing the smallest premises from scope and reducing the number of venues in the standard tier from approximately 278,900 to an estimated 154,600.In addition, responsible persons will now be able to assess the number of people that may reasonably be expected to be present. This is considered a fairer basis to reflect actual usage of venues.When considering the appropriate threshold, Government’s concern is to ensure venues where a sizable amount of people gather are in scope, ensuring those responsible are required to take proportionate and reasonable action to mitigate the impacts of a terrorist attack. We are confident that, because of the changes detailed, the Bill strikes an appropriate balance between protecting the public and preventing undue burden on organisations in scope.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for joint replacement surgery in Gosport constituency.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government, including waits for joint replacement surgery. We have committed to achieving the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by the end of this Parliament. As a first step, we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, which is the equivalent to 40,000 per week.We are also supporting dedicated and protected surgical hubs to help reduce elective surgery wait times, including for joint replacement, by focusing on high volume low complexity surgeries, as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, transforming the way the National Health Service provides elective care.As of November 2024, there are currently 110 operational surgical hubs across England. There are currently two operational surgical hubs within the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Integrated Care System offering trauma and orthopaedics services, including joint replacement, those being the Lymington Hospital Elective Hub, and the Winchester Country Hospital Elective Hub. Patients in the Gosport constituency can be referred to the two surgical hubs for trauma and orthopaedics services.The Department and NHS England will set out details on the allocation of further funding at the earliest opportunity, including how many new surgical hubs will be established.

With reference to Table 5.2 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, for what reason the estimated revenue from the abolition of the Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime in the 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 financial years is lower than was set out in her Department’s Tax Information and Impact Note published on 29 July 2024.

The estimated revenue from the abolition of the Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime has been updated to reflect latest economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility and latest tax return data.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the police allocation formula on (a) policing, (b) crime and (c) council tax in Hampshire.

The government will consider police funding, including the allocation of funding to forces including Hampshire Police, in the round as part of phase 2 of the Spending Review.Each year the Home Office produces a Police Grant Report which is published and voted on by Parliament and contains grant funding allocations for the following year to be paid out under the Police Act 1996.The funding formula used for distributing Home Office Police Main Grant divides funds between different activities that (a) the police undertake and (b) in tackling crime. (c) Setting the police council tax precept is a matter for Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner who will take into account the views of the local community and the Police and Crime Panel.A copy of the most recent Grant Report for 2024-25 has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and can be found online:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65b913a1ee7d49000d9849d4/E03063051_-_Police_Grant_Report__England_and_Wales__24-25_Accessible.pdf

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Historic England's High Street Heritage Action Zone programme on (a) local economic regeneration and (b) the maintenance of cultural assets.

We have not made such an assessment, but Historic England has commissioned an external evaluation of the High Streets Heritage Action Zone programme, which was designed to drive economic growth in places that need it the most. We await the report for this which will be published in March 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2024 to Question 10427 on Animal Experiments: Licensing, how many applications received by the regulator were returned to the applicant for reconsideration between 1 January 2023 and 30 September 2024; and how many applicants withdrew an application in response to feedback from the regulator in that period.

The Home Office Regulator for animals in science provides comprehensive guidance to project licence applicants and has a thorough and extensive application process; see Guidance at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6700017e080bdf716392ee63/Guidance_on_the_operation_of_ASPA_-_December_2023.pdfApplicants may not apply for a licence unless they are doing so under an Establishment licence with all the associated requirements of the legislation, have demonstrable funding and can demonstrate appropriate availability of resources as well as having been through a rigorous process of local checks and balances. First time applications to the Regulator are therefore of general high conformity with legal requirements.The Regulator reports that project licence applications for 2024, to date, had a mean number of 2.4 iterations before granting. The Regulator does not collect data on the number of applications withdrawn, but reports that such occurrences are rare.

Whether she will commit to the continued funding of the Heritage Schools programme.

Programme funding for the 2025/26 financial year is subject to the outcomes of the department’s business planning. This includes the Heritage Schools programme, led by Historic England. Details will be set out in due course.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of delays to fitness to practice investigations on dentists' mental health.

No assessment has been made by the Department. The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator for dentists and dental care professionals in the United Kingdom. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) is responsible for overseeing the work of the healthcare professional regulators. The PSA’s latest report on the GDC’s performance is available at the following link:https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/default-source/publications/performance-reviews/monitoring-report-gdc-2022-23.pdf?sfvrsn=aa0b4a20_7

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that large scale lotteries meet social responsibility requirements.

There are around 500 large society lotteries licensed by the Gambling Commission. The Gambling Act 2005 has licensing objectives that underpin the responsible functions that any Lottery must meet. These include:preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder, or being used to support crimeensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open wayprotecting children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling.All Society and local authority lotteries licensed by the Gambling Commission are required to comply with the relevant conditions and codes of practice, which are set by the Gambling Commission. These licence conditions are set out at the time a licence is issued. Further information about social responsibility requirements are contained in the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice.The National Lottery is managed under separate legislation - the National Lottery Act 1993. This establishes a statutory duty on the Government to ensure it is run with due propriety, wide social value commitments, while contributing substantially to Good Causes across the UK and via the Lottery Duty.The Licence is awarded through a competitive process to an operator with an overriding duty to ensure the interests of every Participant in respect of playing, engaging with or being exposed to, the National Lottery are protected. This is supported through regulatory requirements overseen by the Gambling Commission.The current operator Allwyn has its own strategy of creating additional social value commitments in the way they operate their business and engage with all National Lottery partners. More information on Allwyn’s social value plan can be found here.

What estimate her Department has made of the potential revenue loss from large society lotteries who should be paying lottery duty due to not meeting social responsibility requirements but have not.

Exemptions are permitted from Lottery Duty including for lotteries run as Large Society Lotteries under the terms of the Gambling Act 2005. Regulatory responsibility for those lotteries lies with the Gambling Commission. Society lotteries require a licence to operate from the Gambling Commission and are tightly regulated.

Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of a text and data mining exception to copyright legislation.

We recognise the important role that the UK copyright framework plays in supporting investment into the creative industries and ensuring that talent and creativity are rewarded. Finding the right balance between rewarding human-centred creativity, fostering the potential of AI to open up new creative frontiers and ensuring legal certainty for all those working in these fields is going to be complex and challenging, but addressing it is a priority of this Government. My department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to address this issue.This work requires thoughtful engagement with the creative industries and with AI developers including widespread consultation. DCMS and DSIT chaired roundtables with AI developers and representatives of the creative industries to discuss AI and IP issues on 17 September. The Government will continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders on this topic, and will set out next steps soon. These would need to address a range of issues in the round, including transparency.

Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the open letter entitled Statement on AI Training, published on 23 October 2024.

The Minister for Creative Industries, Arts, and Tourism and I held roundtables with the creative, media and AI sectors last month and our departments continue to engage with those stakeholders to inform our approach. The Statement on AI Training provides the views of individual creators and performers from across the sector and will also inform our approach alongside our engagement with the AI and broader creative industries sectors.The Government is committed to supporting the growth of the creative industries and AI sectors while recognising the value of human-centred creativity. Whilst clarity is needed, this is a complex topic, and we must take the time to hear stakeholder views and give them careful consideration.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with representatives of the creative industries on proposals for a text and data mining exception to copyright legislation.

We recognise the important role that the UK copyright framework plays in supporting investment into the creative industries and ensuring that talent and creativity are rewarded. Finding the right balance between rewarding human-centred creativity, fostering the potential of AI to open up new creative frontiers and ensuring legal certainty for all those working in these fields is going to be complex and challenging, but addressing it is a priority of this Government. My department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to address this issue.This work requires thoughtful engagement with the creative industries and with AI developers including widespread consultation. DCMS and DSIT chaired roundtables with AI developers and representatives of the creative industries to discuss AI and IP issues on 17 September. The Government will continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders on this topic, and will set out next steps soon. These would need to address a range of issues in the round, including transparency.

Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to hold a consultation on a text and data mining exception to copyright legislation.

We recognise the important role that the UK copyright framework plays in supporting investment into the creative industries and ensuring that talent and creativity are rewarded. Finding the right balance between rewarding human-centred creativity, fostering the potential of AI to open up new creative frontiers and ensuring legal certainty for all those working in these fields is going to be complex and challenging, but addressing it is a priority of this Government. My department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to address this issue.This work requires thoughtful engagement with the creative industries and with AI developers including widespread consultation. DCMS and DSIT chaired roundtables with AI developers and representatives of the creative industries to discuss AI and IP issues on 17 September. The Government will continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders on this topic, and will set out next steps soon. These would need to address a range of issues in the round, including transparency.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 6049 on Pension Credit: Gosport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the survey sample sizes for entitled non-recipients of Pension Credit.

The take-up statistics which include the estimated number of entitled non-recipients for Pension Credit, are based on survey data from the Family Resources Survey. The Family Resources Survey is designed to produce robust regional estimates and does not include all local authorities each year so is not suitable for analysis at, or below, the Local Authority level [PQ 74999, Emma Lewell-Buck]. There is not currently an intention to increase the achieved sample size. Further detail on the upcoming sample size of the Family Resources Survey can be found here: Family Resources Survey: release strategy - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations of the National Centre for Creative Health's review entitled Creative Health Review, published on 6 December 2023.

No specific assessment has been made.

Communities and Local Government, if she will amend the Future Homes and Buildings Standards to ensure that all newbuild homes include solar photovoltaic panels.

Future standards next year will set our new homes and buildings on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels and ensures they are fit for a net zero future. This will support our ambition that the 1.5 million homes we will build over the course of this parliament will be high quality, well designed and sustainable. That is why the Deputy Prime Minister and I are clear that rooftop solar should play an important role, where appropriate, as part of the future standards for homes and buildings.  Responses to the recent Future Homes and Buildings standards consultation are being reviewed, and government will publish a response in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 7738 on General Practitioners: Gosport, what steps he plans to take to introduce Neighbourhood Health Centres in Gosport constituency.

We have committed to trialling Neighbourhood Health Centres to bring together a range of services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home and patients receive the care they deserve. This is part of our broader ambition to move towards a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered in local communities to spot problems earlier.I thank my Rt. Hon. friend for their suggestion of Gosport as a trial location. We are working with officials to explore options for how best to trial Neighbourhood Health Centres.

Whether she plans to review the police funding formula.

Any future changes to the funding and resourcing of police forces in England and Wales will be considered and awarded in the normal way.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the publication entitled Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2023, published on 11 September 2024, what steps he plans to take to (a) increase funding for the further development and uptake of human-specific methods that can replace the use of animals in medical research and testing and (b) support scientists to transition to these approaches.

The Government has committed to partnering with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the requirements for phasing out of animal testing and we are currently engaging with the sector as to how to take this commitment forward.The Government invests £10m annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to accelerate the development and adoption of non-animal approaches. The NC3Rs receives additional funding from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) for specific programmes and substantial in-kind support from companies for their CRACK IT innovation programme.