Every parliamentary written question tabled by Gill German this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 33 · this parliament
What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the current system whereby proof of posting is treated as proof of delivery for notices of intended prosecution for speeding offences; and whether
Notices of Intended Prosecution are issued by the police, not by the Department for Transport. The Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 requires, for certain offences including speeding, that a person is warned at the time of the offence, or that a summons or ...
Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to work with young people in developing policies on restrictions to social media use for under-16s.
The Government has engaged extensively with children and young people as part of the Growing up in the Online World consultation and National Conversation, including through a dedicated version of the consultation for young people, alongside youth‑led ses...
Whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of current statutory rest break entitlements under the Working Time Regulations 1998; and whether he plans to review these provisions to improve workin
The Working Time Regulations establish minimum standards for rest periods, including a 20-minute rest break after every 6 hours’ work, a minimum rest period of 11 hours each 24-hour period and a minimum rest period of 24 hours in any 7-day period. The gov...
Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of Ofcom's recent findings on TikTok and YouTube; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of
Protecting children online is a priority for the Secretary of State and this government. The Online Safety Act provides strong foundations for protecting children across the UK. We have always been clear that we will build on that foundation and published...
Innovation and Technology, what evidence her Department has considered in determining whether video-sharing platforms pose different risks to children's wellbeing than social networking platforms; and what assess
Protecting children online is a priority for the Secretary of State and this government. The Online Safety Act provides strong foundations for protecting children across the UK. We have always been clear that we will build on that foundation and published...
Innovation and Technology, for what reason YouTube has not been included in the Government’s online safety and age assurance pilot programmes; and whether YouTube is expected to be included in any future iteratio
The decision not to include YouTube as part of the Government’s child social media pilot study was due to the use of the platform by schools and youth organisations for teaching and other educational purposes. Next steps will be considered once the curren...
Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the scale of spoofing scams using UK telephone numbers; and whether she plans to strengthen obligations on network operators to prevent fraudulent number allocation and misuse.
The most recent Ofcom research on the scale of spoofing calls reveals that in February 2025, two in five phone users said they received a suspicious call in the last three months. Tackling fraud and pursuing the criminals behind it is a priority for the government. We are working closely with industry and regulators to reduce spoofing and other forms of telecoms-enabled fraud.In November 2025, the Government published the second Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter, signed by major mobile network operators including BT EE, Virgin Media O2, and VodafoneThree. Through the Charter, signatories' committed to measures to tackle spoofing, including adopting common standards to reduce fraud and abuse across all network-originated messaging channels.As the independent regulator, Ofcom also consulted in 2025 on proposals to strengthen rules on overseas calls that falsely present UK numbers, including updates to its Calling Line Identification Guidance. The Government supports this work and continues to engage with Ofcom and industry to protect customers. More recently, on 9 March 2026, the Home Office also published its new Fraud Strategy which sets out how the Government will work with all partners, including law enforcement and industry, to make the UK a much harder place for criminals to operate.
What contingency plans are in place to protect fuel supply, heating oil availability, fertiliser supplies and food distribution in Wales in the event of prolonged disruption to global oil and gas supply routes, including through the Strait of Hormuz.
The UK benefits from a diverse and resilient fuel supply chain and remains well supplied across all fuel types. The Government works closely with industry to monitor supply, demand, and market conditions. Government’s long-standing contingency plans include the National Emergency Plan for Fuel. A summary of the plan is published on gov.uk and sets out measures to respond to supply and distribution disruption, ensuring that, in the unlikely event of a sustained disruption, fuel can be prioritised for essential services and critical supply chains. The Government does not assess that the current situation warrants, or is approaching, the threshold for the use of emergency powers.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of online safety protections for vulnerable adults, including neurodivergent adults such as those with autism and ADHD; and whether she plans to take steps to improve safeguarding and platform accountability.
The Online Safety Act places legal duties on platforms to make their services safer for all users, including vulnerable adults and those that are neurodivergent.Services are required to protect users from illegal content and activity online, which may impact vulnerable adults disproportionately. In addition, the largest services will also have additional duties put on them, to offer adults user empowerment tools. These will allow adults to have greater control over their online experience.Ofcom has robust enforcement powers and we have been clear that Ofcom has the government’s full backing to take enforcement action.We continue to build on the Act to keep users safe online, such as making content that promotes self-harm priority offences.
For what reason wholesale electricity prices are set by gas‑fired generation under the marginal pricing system; and what assessment he has made of the impact of this pricing structure on household energy bills.
Our recent announcement on 21 April set out several measures that will help break the link between the price of gas and the price of electricity. These measures include voluntary long term fixed contracts and an updated Electricity Generators Levy. Marginal pricing is a description of how competitive commodity markets function. It is the foundation of all commodity markets across the OECD. Marginal pricing incentivises the cheapest sources of energy production to provide as much power as possible, more expensive producers are only used when it is necessary to meet demand. The issue is that we are too often relying on gas to provide our power. Accelerating the deployment of renewable generation, as we are through our Clean Power 2030 Mission, will reduce the amount of time when gas is setting the price and will help to rapidly decouple electricity from gas prices without the need for more complex arrangements. This will in turn reduce the exposure of consumer bills to volatile international prices.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to identify, detain and seize vessels involved in transporting Russian oil in circumvention of international sanctions, including those operating as part of the so‑called shadow fleet; and what discussions his Department is holding with European partners on overcoming the legal and political barriers to the release of frozen Russian state assets held in Europe for use in support of Ukraine.
In response to the first question, I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided on 10 April in response to Question 123071, and on 28 January in response to Question 106997. In response to the second question, the UK and wider G7 countries have committed to ensuring that Russian sovereign assets remain immobilised across our jurisdictions until Russia ceases its war of aggression and pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. We will continue to work with international partners to ensure Ukraine gets the support it needs.
What steps he is taking to improve UK-wide data collection on secondary breast cancer; and how such data is used to inform research, workforce planning, including specialist nurses, and assessments of treatment cost-effectiveness.
The Government recognises the importance of robust, comprehensive data on secondary, or metastatic, breast cancer to improve patient outcomes, inform research, and support effective workforce and service planning.Through the National Cancer Plan, for the first time, we have committed to delivering the systemic definition, identification, and counting of recurrent and metastatic cancers, starting with metastatic breast cancer, addressing longstanding gaps in national data on secondary disease.To improve data collection, the National Disease Registration Service’s Get Data Out programme is strengthening the scope, quality, and accessibility of cancer data. This includes expanding the data made available to the public, clinicians, and researchers on incidence, routes to diagnosis, treatments, and survival.This data is used to support cancer research and outcomes analysis, to inform service and workforce planning, including understanding demand for specialist roles such as breast cancer clinical nurse specialists, and to provide real‑world evidence to support assessments of clinical and cost effectiveness used in commissioning and appraisal processes. NHS England is also taking action to improve the completeness and consistency of data collected by National Health Service trusts. This includes funding national audits for primary and metastatic breast cancer using routinely collected NHS data. These audits assess diagnosis, treatment, and care pathways, identify variation in practice, and highlight areas where data quality or service delivery can be improved.On 11 September 2025, the second State of the Nation report for primary and metastatic breast cancer was published by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre, and officials in the Department and NHS England are acting on the findings where appropriate, including to strengthen data quality across trusts.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of wholesale electricity prices being set by the marginal cost of gas generation on the extent to which consumer bills reflect lower-cost renewable generation.
Marginal pricing incentivises the cheapest sources of energy production to provide as much power as possible, more expensive producers are only used when it is necessary to meet demand. The real problem is that we rely too much on volatile fossil fuels – and the solution is our clean power mission: upgrading our grid while accelerating the rollout of clean, homegrown energy, so the price of electricity is instead set by clean power that we control. Every wind turbine we switch on and solar panel we deploy helps reduce our exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets.
What discussions he has had with the EU on the 90/180-day rule for UK nationals visiting the Schengen area; and whether it plans to seek changes to that rule.
HMG officials and Ministers, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period which is standard for third nationals travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the likelihood of children and young people migrating to alternative online services if age verification is introduced unevenly across service types, and what assessment she has made of the potential for app store or operating system level age assurance to mitigate such displacement.
Ofcom will publish a report on the effectiveness of age assurance in terms of compliance with the duties under the Online Safety Act by July 2026, and a separate report on the role of app stores in protecting children by January 2027. We are also seeking views on a range of measures, including how age assurance can support effective implementation, as part of the government’s consultation to ensure children’s experiences online are safe and enriching.We will not hesitate to take further action to protect children online whenever the evidence suggests we need to do so.
Communities and Local Government, what guidance is issued to Returning Officers on the latest date by which postal ballot packs for overseas electors must be dispatched; and what monitoring is undertaken to ensure compliance.
The Electoral Commission provides guidance to Returning Officers including on the issuing of postal votes to overseas addresses. The Electoral Commission is also responsible for setting standards and monitoring the performance of Returning Officers.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of inaccurate or prolonged estimated energy billing on small and microbusinesses.
Billing issues, for both domestic and non-domestic customers, are a matter for Ofgem as the sector regulator. Ofgem’s licence conditions require suppliers to take all reasonable steps to reflect accurate meter readings in bills or statements sent to customers where these have been provided by a customer or obtained by the supplier. We are rolling out smart meters to smaller businesses, and our latest data shows that almost two thirds of meters in non-domestic premises are smart or advanced meters. Smart meters enable accurate billing by automatically recording energy use in every half-hour period, allowing bills based on actual rather than estimated usage.Since December 2024, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees have been able to access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. This means that 99% of British businesses can now access this service with outcomes ranging up to £20,000 in financial awards. We consulted in late 2025 on measures to strengthen the Ombudsman’s tools for ensuring suppliers implement decisions in a timely manner.
What data his Department holds on the frequency and duration of estimated billing for small business energy customers.
Billing issues, for both domestic and non-domestic customers, are a matter for Ofgem as the sector regulator. Ofgem’s licence conditions require suppliers to take all reasonable steps to reflect accurate meter readings in bills or statements sent to customers where these have been provided by a customer or obtained by the supplier. We are rolling out smart meters to smaller businesses, and our latest data shows that almost two thirds of meters in non-domestic premises are smart or advanced meters. Smart meters enable accurate billing by automatically recording energy use in every half-hour period, allowing bills based on actual rather than estimated usage.Since December 2024, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees have been able to access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. This means that 99% of British businesses can now access this service with outcomes ranging up to £20,000 in financial awards. We consulted in late 2025 on measures to strengthen the Ombudsman’s tools for ensuring suppliers implement decisions in a timely manner.
Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to help ensure that official child right’s impact assessments are undertaken to inform the evaluation of different policy options during the consultation, Driving action to improve children’s relationship with mobile phones and social media.
We will assess a range of impacts when deciding how we will act on social media, including children’s rights and their wellbeing. To inform those assessments, we will consult children and young people directly through the national conversation and consultation, because their views and voices must be heard.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory duty of care for children’s safety on Gen AI companies to ensure they are held accountable for the safety of children.
In the UK, AI systems are regulated at the point of use under existing frameworks such as data protection law, competition law, equality law, and other forms of sectoral and cross-sectoral regulation.Generative AI services that allow users to share content with one another, search live website to provide search results, or publish pornographic content are regulated under the Online Safety Act. These services must protect users from illegal content and children from harmful and age-inappropriate content. The Technology Secretary has confirmed that the government is considering how the Online Safety Act applies to AI chatbots and whether more is needed to protect users.