Written questions by Evans.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has undertaken research into the prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in (a) professional athletes and (b) recreational players of sport.

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. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to help ensure the safety of all participants in sport.The Sports Concussion Research Forum, established by DCMS and chaired by the Medical Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, published its independent report into the key research questions in this important area in September 2024 - https://www.ukri.org/publications/concussion-in-sport/The Government remains committed to working with sports stakeholders to build on the positive work that is already taking place to mitigate the causes and effects of concussion in sport.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with stakeholders on helping to reduce the prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy amongst sportspeople.

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. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to help ensure the safety of all participants in sport.The Sports Concussion Research Forum, established by DCMS and chaired by the Medical Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, published its independent report into the key research questions in this important area in September 2024 - https://www.ukri.org/publications/concussion-in-sport/The Government remains committed to working with sports stakeholders to build on the positive work that is already taking place to mitigate the causes and effects of concussion in sport.

What steps his Department is taking to use digital technology to improve defence outputs.

Defence’s goal is to continually evolve a secure, singular, modern Digital Backbone to connect sensors, effectors, and deciders across military and business domains and with partners, driving integration and interoperability across domains and platforms. Through this, we are exploiting digital technology and data to revolutionise warfare and transform defence.

What steps he is taking to improve (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the armed forces.

The new Government’s work in improving retention and recruitment is part of a package of measures aimed to renew the contract between the nation and those who serve. We are modernising and refining our policies and processes to attract, and then retain the best possible talent, highlighting that Defence is a modern, forward-facing employer which offers a valuable and rewarding career. Our aim is to attract and recruit more, as well as maximise the number of applicants that successfully enter and remain in Armed Forces employment.We have already awarded the largest Armed Forces pay increase in 22 years, ensuring that the starting Armed Forces’ salary is in line with the National Living Wage, and have set a new ambition for the Armed Forces to make a conditional offer of employment to candidates within 10 days and to give people a provisional training start date within 30 days. We have reviewed and implemented changes to the Armed Forces’ Entry Medical Employment Standards, setting new regulations for a range of conditions including asthma and eczema. Furthermore, Defence is creating a new military direct-entry cyber pathway. This will help boost our cyber resilience and support the UK’s ability to conduct operations in cyberspace.