Written questions by Onwurah.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2025 to Question 34611 on Microsoft: Prices, what assessment he has made of the implications for consumer.

The Government expects all firms to treat their customers fairly, and there is a strong framework of consumer rights in the UK that underpin this. At the same time, businesses are generally free to set the price of their products as they wish. The UK competition regime encourages open and competitive markets which produces lower prices for consumers. The Government has strengthened both competition and consumer protection regimes in the recent Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 33871 on Government Departments: Digital Technology, whether these discussions included the digitalisation of Government.

As per the previous answer, the Cabinet Office regularly discusses Civil Service workforce matters with trade unions. These matters are wide ranging and include the use of new technology.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 34259 on Cathedrals: Conservation, whether her Department recognises cathedrals as heritage assets.

Cathedrals are amongst some of the country’s finest heritage, with the great majority of them on the National Heritage List. There is no set definition of what constitutes a 'heritage asset'. This country has many significant heritage sites and government cannot afford to maintain them all alone.

Whether Microsoft has recently raised its prices to Government for Office 365.

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) established a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) known as the Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 (SPA24) with Microsoft, which commenced on 1 November 2024. This arrangement provides enhanced value and discounted pricing for public sector organisations.A reduction of approximately 6% in Microsoft 365 licence pricing took place in February 2025 as part of a wider price adjustment for Commercial Cloud Services.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of Microsoft's increase in prices for Office 365.

The Department for Business and Trade has not conducted a formal assessment on Microsoft's price increase for Office 365.Microsoft cites the addition of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities as the main reason for higher prices. Digital technologies, including AI, are an important way to improve business efficiency. We are exploring ways to boost uptake through the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce, Technology Adoption Review, and AI Opportunities Action Plan. We also provide a range of other support for small businesses, from the Business Support Service to local Growth Hubs.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Church of England on the protection of Cathedral buildings as heritage assets.

None.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2025 to Question 28100 on Investment, when the Minister for Investment (a) last visited and (b) will next visit the regions.

The Minister for Investment has made several regional visits since her appointment in October, including to Edinburgh, Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire, Darlington and Sunderland. The Minister for Investment will continue to make several regional visits in the coming months, to continue to promote investment and identify opportunities across the United Kingdom.

What recent discussions his Department has had with trade unions on the digitalisation of Government.

The Cabinet Office regularly discusses workforce matters with trade unions.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of standardising the legal definition of criminal child exploitation for the purposes of having consistent national statistics on criminal child exploitation.

This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation (CCE) and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. Data from the Department for Education's Children in Need statistics allow us to estimate there were around 14,500 children that have been identified as at risk or involved in child criminal exploitation in 23/24.We are delivering on our manifesto commitment to introduce a new offence of child criminal exploitation which was included in the Crime and Policing Bill. The offence will define CCE (in terms of its constituent elements) for the purpose of prosecuting offenders under this offence. A specific new CCE offence will also more clearly identify the volumes of victims and perpetrators of CCE, thus helping to improve the overall data available on this issue.As part of the CCE offence we will be taking a power for the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance. We intend for this to also provide guidance on the definition of CCE, including illustrative examples of common forms and methods of CCE.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 25215 on Driverless Vehicles, which companies are members of the industry working group; and on how many occasions has this group met.

The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV’s) Industry Working Group (IWG) aims to strengthen collaboration between CCAV and the automated vehicle (AV) industry to support the development and implementation of the regulatory framework. The IWG had its inaugural meeting in February 2025 and will have regular meetings throughout the lifetime of the AV Act Implementation Programme. The IWG forms part of CCAV’s stakeholder engagement across industry, academia and the public. The core members of the IWG include trade bodies techUK and The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd, as well as AV industry representatives from Wayve, Waymo, Oxa, Bosch, Aurrigo, Ocado, and Nissan. The membership of the IWG is kept under review and other government representatives such as delivery agencies or local government may join meetings depending on the agenda.

Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure (a) the preservation and (b) contribute to celebrations of the Newcastle Swing Bridge as an industrial heritage asset.

The importance of Newcastle Swing Bridge, spanning the River Tyne, is recognised through its designation as a Scheduled Monument and as a Grade II* listed structure. Historic England, DCMS Arms-Length Body and government’s statutory adviser on the historic environment, is involved in ongoing discussions on restoring movement to the bridge and is supporting relevant stakeholders in its repair.

Communities and Local Government, what financial support the Government is providing for the redevelopment of Manchester United's Old Trafford ground.

There is no direct financial support committed for the redevelopment of Old Trafford football ground. Greater Manchester Combined Authority will receive around £630 million per annum through their integrated settlement from the start of the 2025-26 financial year.This will give the Mayor and Combined Authority much greater freedom and funding flexibility to drive forward the local economy and deliver growth. This may include support for priority regeneration schemes such as the redevelopment of Old Trafford stadium.

Whether the membership of the Technology Advisory Board has changed since June 2023.

I refer the Hon. Member to Question UIN 30994 answered on 24 February 2025.

What recent discussions he has had with the lithium (a) extraction and (b) processing industry.

DBT regularly engages with the lithium extraction and processing industry. I will visit Cornwall this Spring to see first-hand the progress that the UK’s leading extractive and processing projects have made. Government has supported growing the lithium value chain through the National Wealth Fund’s £24m investment in Cornish Lithium. Domestic production of lithium will be increasingly important as demand for resilient and responsible sources of critical minerals grows. Government will work closely with industry to publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year. This will secure our supply chains for the long term and refine our approach to maximising domestic production.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support growth in the video game industry.

The Government recently announced £5.5 million funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios to develop new intellectual property and deliver the graduate talent development programmes Tranzfuser and Dundee Development (DunDev).Video games companies can also benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, and access support from the Create Growth Programme and the UK Global Screen Fund.

What steps he is taking to support the domestic critical minerals industry.

A secure supply of critical minerals is vital for the UK’s economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition. Government will work hand in hand with industry to publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year. The Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure our supply chains for the long term and drive forward the green industries of the future. Government is considering policy options to secure our critical mineral supply chains and will be engaging closely with industry to realise our potential for producing critical minerals domestically. I am pleased to see the National Wealth Fund’s recognition of our domestic critical minerals industry’s growth potential, as demonstrated by their recent £28.6m equity investment into the Cornish Metals South Crofty tin mine.

With reference to the Gingerbread report entitled Child maintenance: research on the experiences and impact on separated families published on 25 November 2024, whether her Department is working with charities and others with expertise in domestic abuse to embed trauma-informed principles into the operation of the Child Maintenance Service.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that victims of abuse get the help and support they need to use the service safely.Incorporating views and feedback from external stakeholders with experience of domestic abuse, CMS has updated and refreshed its Domestic Abuse training which includes awareness of a Trauma Informed Approach. All CMS caseworkers have received training to help identify abuse, support vulnerable customers, and provide signposting. A Domestic Abuse Plan is in place to support caseworkers in having these conversations. Domestic Abuse training will continue to be reviewed regularly and developed with the support of stakeholders, including Gingerbread, as we develop policies and processes that support victim-survivors of domestic abuse.Additionally, there is work underway around the Trauma-Informed Approach across the Department, and CMS will, of course, be part of this work. This includes a dedicated programme that will integrate the six key pillars of the approach as defined by the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (December 2022).

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to publish a written response to the recommendations of the independent report entitled What works to attract and retain people into R&D careers, published on 10 February 2025.

The Government does not typically publish responses to independent research reports. The recommendations made by the Behavioural Insights Team in this report will be considered as part of the Department’s ongoing policy development to support our ambitions for the UK’s R&D workforce and to drive national and regional growth through R&D.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to help ensure that tax incentives for science and technology are used to promote innovation.

Research and development (R&D) tax reliefs are vital to economic growth, and will support an estimated £56 billion of business R&D expenditure a year by 2029-30.In the Corporate Tax Roadmap, the Government committed to strengthening the administration of the reliefs by continuing to improve guidance, establishing an expert advisory panel, and publishing a consultation on widening the use of advance clearances. An R&D disclosure facility was launched at the end of 2024.HMT is the lead department for taxation policy including R&D tax reliefs. The Secretary of State and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have regular discussions on a range of issues.

Whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of ending the entitlement of football clubs to claim research and development tax credits.

The Government recognises the importance of Research and Development (R&D) in driving innovation and the benefits it can bring for society, where the R&D tax reliefs play a vital role in the Government’s mission to boost economic growth.All sectors are able to claim R&D relief on projects that meet the definition of qualifying R&D set out in DSIT Guidelines. R&D claims from all sectors are checked and where risks are identified HMRC use a range of compliance approaches and powers to address them.There are currently no plans to exclude certain sectors from claiming R&D relief.