Written questions by Maguire.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase participation in women's rugby.

The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity. Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign has inspired millions of women and girls to get active and anticipates that 1.6 million women will be active as a result of the campaign by 2028. Sport England have awarded the Rugby Football Union £13,859,000 as one of their long-term system partners for the period 2022-27 to support grassroots men’s and women’s rugby union.DCMS has provided £17.98 million of investment to support England hosting the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, including £6.77m legacy funding. This tournament can be the springboard for women's rugby, just as the women's EUROs in 2022 was for women’s football. A record-breaking 400,000 tickets have been sold and 43,500 women and girls are now playing rugby. The legacy programme, Impact 25, is pivotal in cementing rugby as a game for all- improving facilities, reaching 850 clubs up and down the country, and supporting greater opportunities for women and girls of all ages to get involved. We’re also launching the Women’s Sport Taskforce at the Rugby World Cup to tackle challenges and barriers facing women and girls in sport, including rugby, from grassroots to elite. Meeting actions will be published on gov.uk.

Whether her Department encouraged the Tunisian government to set up complaint mechanisms for people to report alleged violations of their human rights as part of the implementation of (a) the upskilling of migrants in-country, (b) the International Organisation for Migration’s Assisted Voluntary Returns & Reintegration Programme and (c) other UK funded programmes.

We have engaged with the Tunisian Government on allegations of human rights abuses and expect them to investigate such allegations. The UK has worked with Tunisian officials and partners on the implementation of a ‘code of conduct’ that aims to increase the accountability of Tunisian authorities. With UK funding, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) delivers case management for migrants in Tunisia which provides opportunities to disclose information on their experience of their journey.

Whether he plans to raise the potential impact of Chinese companies providing military support to Russia during his upcoming trade talks with China.

As the Foreign Secretary has previously said, we are concerned about China’s military backing for Russia, including the provision by Chinese companies of dual-use goods and support to Russia’s military. We continue to call on China to take action and prevent companies within its jurisdiction from providing military support to Russia. We will continue to engage with them at all levels to this end.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the findings by the Human Rights Watch entitled Questions and Answers on Israel’s Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza and Lebanon, published on 12 October 2023.

Since the start of the conflict, the UK has urged all parties to comply with their obligations under International Humanitarian Law, including in relation to protection of civilians. We continue to engage the Government of Israel at the highest levels to urge it to do much more to protect Gaza's civilians and to ensure it fully complies with its obligations.

What criteria her Department uses to determine whether contracts for projects funded by the UK Government in Tunisia should be suspended due to alleged violations of human rights; and whether those criteria have been published.

The UK Government routinely carries out Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessments before agreeing to undertake capacity building and other collaborative activities with overseas governments and agencies.

What oversight mechanisms are in place to ensure that evidence submitted to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry from (a) bereaved families and (b) their legal representative is represented in (i) published materials and (ii) oral hearings.

The Covid-19 Inquiry is independent of the Government, and its timing, process and focus are all matters for the Chair, Baroness Heather Hallett. This includes the submission and representation of evidence.

Why (a) notice or (b) a transition period was given for the closure of the ARAP scheme.

The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) Scheme was not created to be an open-ended scheme, and as such had strict eligibility criteria for applicants to meet before they would be offered relocation. In statements made by the Ministry of Defence in December 2024 and May 2025, intent for scheme closure was reiterated. In the Written Ministerial Statement on 1 July 2025, we explained that throughout the previous year, we have regularly assessed progress, and carefully considered the right time to stop taking on new applications. As explained in that statement, we considered that we had reached the right point. Given the wider context, it was not considered necessary to provide for any transitional period.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) introducing penalties for certain uses of a mounted device while driving and (b) updating the guidance entitled Using a phone, sat nav or other device when driving to clarify the legality of using a mounted device.

My department is developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course. My department keeps the law under review but has not made an assessment of the penalties for the use of a mounted device while driving, or of updating the guidance “Using a phone, sat nav or other device when driving".

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending armed forces pension eligibility criteria to include personnel who served for more than six years but left the service before the age of 26 and prior to 6 April 1975.

It is a principle of public service pensions policy, including Armed Forces Pensions, and one that has been upheld by successive Governments, that improvements to pension schemes are not made retrospectively. To concede retrospection for one group would place great pressure on other public service schemes.

Whether her Department plans to include voluntary work as a qualifying measure of societal contribution for British National (Overseas) visa holders under the proposed points-based pathway to Indefinite Leave to Remain.

We will consult later this year on the details of the Earned Settlement policy and will provide details of how the scheme will work after that, including on any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK.

Whether the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will have a military use exemption.

From 1 January 2027, the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will apply to specific goods imported from the aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron & steel sectors. The specific goods are listed in the Government response to the consultation on the ‘Introduction of a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism’, this is available at: Consultation on the introduction of a UK carbon border adjustment mechanism - GOV.UK The UK CBAM is designed to address the risk of carbon leakage and to ensure that CBAM goods which are imported from overseas face a comparable carbon price to what is paid by manufacturers producing the same goods in the UK. The UK CBAM does not apply to imports of military equipment. Therefore, the UK CBAM will not have a specific military use exemption.

Whether her Department plans to allow British National (Overseas) visa holders to use the same border control queues as UK citizens at UK airports.

There are no proposed changes to airport queuing arrangements for any cohorts, including British National (Overseas) passport holders, at the current time.However, queueing arrangements at the UK border, including the use of eGates, remain under constant review to prioritise security, maintain fluidity and ensure that we continue to run our border in the best interests of the UK whilst also taking into account capacity and availability of space at individual ports. The government is committed to improving our border security and the passenger experience by continuing to look at options to increase the usage of eGates by those currently eligible and explore innovative technologies to increase the use of automation at the UK border.

If his Department will release all bereavement case studies submitted to Module 4 of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry in a timely manner.

The COVID-19 Inquiry is independent of the Government, and its timing, process, and focus are all matters for the Chair, Baroness Heather Hallett. This includes the disclosure of documents submitted to the Inquiry.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the repayment threshold of student loans on plan five in line with those on plan two.

Where government reforms lead to the introduction of a new student loan plan type, the terms of the new loan, such as repayment threshold, interest rates and length of the loan are considered as a whole. They are then set in legislation to apply to that specific loan type, such as for Plan 5 which was introduced in 2023.Comparing only one element, such as the threshold, of a historic plan to a new plan does not provide a balanced assessment. Though the Plan 5 repayment threshold is lower than for Plan 2, the Plan 5 interest rate is lower (RPI+0%) when compared with Plan 2 Plan (RPI+3% during study and varies with earnings post-study).In 2022, the department conducted a government consultation to assess the impact of policy reforms on higher education funding and finance, including changes to repayment thresholds from Plan 2 to Plan 5. Details on the consultation are available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62223cfb8fa8f549071fc82c/Higher_education_policy_statement_reform_consultation_-_Equality_analysis.pdf.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of extending the route to settlement from 5+1 to 10+1 years on the mental health of British (National) Overseas visa holders.

We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at the time. An impact assessment will be developed alongside any finalised policy.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of a delay in settlement for British National (Overseas) child visa holders caused by a change from a 5+1 to a 10+1 route on access to (a) scholarships, (b) tuition support and (c) student finance.

Subject to meeting the normal eligibility requirements, Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status holders will be able to qualify for student finance, including tuition fee loans and maintenance loans, and home fee status once they have acquired settled status in the UK. This is in line with most other persons on routes to settlement.The Home Office has made clear that they will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details of the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to publish its legal advice on whether Israel is breaching international humanitarian law in Gaza.

In line with the long-standing practice under successive governments, we do not routinely publish the legal advice on which assessments of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) compliance are based.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the BNO visa settlement route on older BNO visa holders’ ability to access pension funds from Hong Kong.

The Government remains fully committed to the BNO route, and we will continue supporting members of the Hong Kong community in the UK and all those who will arrive in future. We are listening to visa holders' views about the route to settlement, and we will continue to do so.We are aware that individuals in the UK on the BN(O) visa route are having difficulty drawing down early their pensions held in Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Fund. We continue to raise this issue directly with the Hong Kong authorities to encourage a pragmatic solution.

What steps her Department is taking t support the expansion of (a) return to work and (b) accredited conversion courses at UK universities for (i) overseas workers and (ii) BNO visa holders seeking to re-enter the UK workforce.

UK higher education (HE) providers offer a wide range of conversion courses designed to help individuals transition into new career areas. Many providers also offer tailored support for students, including pre-sessional programmes, careers guidance and post-graduation employability support.As autonomous bodies which are independent of government, universities and other HE providers are responsible for their business decisions in relation to both domestic and international students.The UK European Network of Information Centre supports the recognition of international qualifications in the UK. The service facilitates the entry of students with qualifications from other countries into UK educational institutions and work by enabling them to provide evidence that they meet the entry requirements for courses and jobs.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing monthly start dates for the 30 hours funded childcare scheme.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.Children become eligible for an early education and childcare place from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April, the term after they reach the relevant age and meet relevant eligibility criteria.Depending on when a child is born and when the eligibility criteria are met, there will be differing periods to wait until the relevant termly date.Termly deadlines enable local authorities and childcare providers to plan and ensure sufficient early years places are available for parents each term, as there are clear periods for when children are likely to enter into a place.