Written questions by Roome.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of AI road cameras at reducing road accidents in high risk areas.

The Department for Transport has not made an assessment of the effectiveness of AI road cameras at reducing road crashes in high-risk areas. However, trials of new technology including the use of AI cameras in small scale operational activity has been carried out under the Roads Policing Review. Evidence from these is being considered. National Highways has also worked with police forces to understand the role of technology to detect and enforce mobile phone and seatbelt violations.

Media and Sport, what financial support her Department has given the Rugby Football Union to support the Women's Rugby World Cup in 2025.

To date, DCMS has invested £20.65 million in the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. This includes £12.13 million of funding towards the tournament's legacy and impact programme, ‘Impact 25’. This is supporting women's and girls' clubs across the country as part of the Rugby Football Union’s ambition to widen female participation in England. This is part of our strategic approach to ensuring we maximise the socio-economic benefits of major sporting events.In addition, the Governments arm’s length body for grassroots sport, Sport England, has awarded the Rugby Football Union £13.8 million for the period 2022-27, as one of their long-term system partners who have responsibility to support grassroots rugby union.

What steps her Department is taking to improve rates of persistent absence among pupils in state-funded (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools.

This government is determined to tackle the generational challenge of school absence, which is a fundamental barrier to learning and life chances. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, which limits their opportunity to succeed. There is evidence that more students are attending school this year compared to last, thanks to the efforts of families and school staff, although around 1.6 million children remain persistently absent and miss 10% or more of lessons.Central to the department’s approach to tackling absence are stronger expectations of local authorities and schools, as set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which was made statutory on 19 August 2024. The guidance promotes a 'support first' approach and sets out clear expectations on how schools, trusts, local authorities and wider services should work together and with families to address attendance barriers and provide the right support, including where a pupil is not attending due to special educational needs.Every state school in England should now be sharing their daily attendance register data with the department, local authorities and trusts. These bodies can access this data through a secure, interactive dashboard which is maintained by the department, allowing them to target attendance interventions more effectively.The department recognises the importance of creating opportunities within the sector to share existing best practice on how to improve attendance. This is why the department set up a network of 31 attendance hubs, who have offered support to 2000 primary, secondary and alternative provision schools and shared their strategies and resources for improving attendance.In addition to this work, the department also aims to improve the existing evidence on which interventions work to improve attendance. Over £17 million is being invested across two mentoring projects that will support at least 12,000 pupils in 15 areas. These programmes will be evaluated and the effective practice will be shared with schools and local authorities nationally.From early 2025, new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will support all state schools by facilitating networking, sharing best practice across areas including attendance and empowering schools to feel they can better access support and learn from one another. For schools requiring more intensive support, RISE teams and supporting organisations will work collaboratively with their responsible body to agree bespoke packages of targeted support, based on a school’s particular circumstances.School attendance is also supported by broader investments, such as funded breakfast clubs across all primary schools to ensure children start their day ready to learn.The department is working across government on plans to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, new Young Futures hubs, access to mental health support workers and an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults. Schools can also allocate pupil premium funding, which has now increased to over £2.9 billion for the 2024/25 financial year, to support pupils with identified needs to attend school regularly.

When the Migration Advisory Committee will conduct the next review of the Skilled Worker visa: immigration salary list.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) are currently undertaking a number of reviews. Their current review of shortages in IT and engineering occupations includes scope to consider whether the Immigration Salary List should remain in its current form. We will consider future reviews of the list once this review has been concluded.

Whether her Department has issued guidance to (a) local authorities and (b) bus companies on the pricing of children's fares.

At present, bus services in England outside London are predominantly run on a commercial basis by private operators, and the level at which bus operators set their fares is a commercial decision. The government is committed to delivering better bus services for passengers, including making them more reliable and affordable, because we know how important this is for communities. The Department for Transport has issued to guidance to local transport authorities and bus operators to support the development of local Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs). This makes clear that fares policy should be an integral part of BSIPs, and that they should set out ambitions and proposals for extending youth fares for younger people.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the ability of the carbon intensity calculations used by his Department to take into account the recent increase in the volume of liquified natu

The UK follows the agreed international approach for setting targets, and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, which is for countries to report the emissions produced within their territories. However, consumption-based emissions, which factor in overseas ...

What steps his Department is taking with the Joint Civil Aid Corps (JCAC) to help improve the resiliency of the UK's civil defence.

The Ministry of Defence engages with other Government Departments and civil authorities in the event that military aid is sought by them to respond to disruptive challenges to national resilience. Under the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) pro...

With reference to page 16 of the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, whether her Department plans to abolish the role of Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall

Since their introduction, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have brought greater local accountability to policing and we recognise the important role they play as the elected voice of their local communities.The English Devolution White Paper sets out...

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Council funding to be overhauled to deliver better outcomes, published on 28 November 2024, what methodology her Departm

The government is committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Places with a significant rural population will on average receive around a 5% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, a real terms increase.The Rural Services D...

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to give people with disabilities additional rights to use electric scooters in public spaces.

This government is determined to seize the opportunities of emerging micromobility and tackle any negative impacts which may arise. We actively monitor the industry and the new vehicle types and business models being developed while carefully considering ...

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on providing oral health (a) education and (b) other support in schools.

All state-funded schools are required to teach about good oral hygiene as part of statutory health education. Pupils should know about dental health and the benefits of good oral hygiene and dental flossing, including the need for regular check-ups at the...

Whether his Department is taking steps to encourage the use of small and medium-sized businesses in its defence procurement process; and what steps he is taking to improve the resilience of the defence supply cha

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a long-standing commitment to improve its engagement with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in order to broaden and strengthen its supply-base. The recently published Defence Industrial Strategy Statement of Intent reco...

Whether a public sector organisation that has signed the Armed Forces Covenant may be removed as a signatory if the organisation has acted in contravention of the obligations and principles laid out in the Covena

Organisations not fulfilling their pledge can have their Armed Forces Covenant status reviewed. Concerns should initially be raised directly with the organisation in question, by following their standard complaints process. Complaints that remain unresolv...

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to levels of funding for Level-7 apprenticeships on access to graduate-level education in rural areas.

The government is committed to spreading opportunities and economic growth supported by a strong skills system.This government has an extremely challenging fiscal inheritance. There are tough choices that need to be taken on how funding should be prioriti...

What steps her Department is taking to improve support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need. This includ...

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to mandate food waste reporting.

The Government is committed to setting a clear roadmap to a circular economy – a future where our resources are used as efficiently and productively as possible for as long as possible, and waste is reduced. Defra is reviewing policies to address the chal...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support family farmers.

The Government’s commitment to British farmers, including family farms, remains steadfast. We will always champion British farming to boost rural economic growth, strengthen food security and improve the environment. In the Budget announced last month, th...

What fiscal steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support households with energy bills.

The Government is continuing to deliver the Warm Home Discount which provides an annual £150 rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households. In November Energy UK, in collaboration with the Government, published a Winter 2024 Commitment which ...

For what reason funding for community resilience is not a statutory duty with accompanying funding in England and Wales.

The Civil Contingencies Act and accompanying non-legislative measures deliver a single framework for civil protection in the UK. The Government has a legal obligation to review the Act every five years. The most recent Review was published in March 2022 a...

If he will hold discussions with the NHS England Investment Committee on the time it has taken to review the business case for North Devon District Hospital.

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is currently developing their Strategic Outline Case (SOC) for the new North Devon District Hospital scheme. Following approval of their SOC, they will need to develop their Outline Business Case,...