Written questions by McMurdock.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Government launches consultation on making public services quicker, easier and more secure to access with digital ID, published on 10 March 2026, whether existing contact routes to accessing public services will continue to be funded at the same levels when digital ID is introduced.

The Government is committed to an inclusive digital identity system where existing routes to public services will continue to be available for those who prefer them. The design and rollout of digital ID will be accompanied by an inclusion programme across the UK. This is an opportunity to empower the vulnerable and left behind in our society - inclusion will be at the heart of the design and delivery of the national digital ID.

Pursuant to Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 115668, what proportion of the £250 million allocated to expand same day and urgent care services will be distributed to a) NHS trusts and b) ICBs.

NHS England is responsible for the operational delivery of the £250 million capital investment to continue expanding same day emergency care and co‑located urgent treatment centres.NHS England has confirmed that this funding will support 40 schemes in 2025/26, comprising 15 new services and 25 expansions. This includes ten new urgent treatment centres (UTCs) and four UTC expansions, alongside five new same day emergency care (SDEC) services and 21 SDEC expansions.The schemes were selected based on business cases submitted by National Health Service trusts who will draw down the funding directly.

Pursuant to Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 115668, what proportion of the £250 million investment in same day and urgent care services will be used to a) expand existing facilities and b) fund new services.

NHS England is responsible for the operational delivery of the £250 million capital investment to continue expanding same day emergency care and co‑located urgent treatment centres.NHS England has confirmed that this funding will support 40 schemes in 2025/26, comprising 15 new services and 25 expansions. This includes ten new urgent treatment centres (UTCs) and four UTC expansions, alongside five new same day emergency care (SDEC) services and 21 SDEC expansions.The schemes were selected based on business cases submitted by National Health Service trusts who will draw down the funding directly.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of current waiting times in accessing disability equipment on people’s ability to live independently.

No assessment has been made of the impact of waiting times in accessing disability equipment on independent living. Local authorities (LAs) in England have a statutory duty under the Care Act 2014, and the Children and Families Act 2014, to make arrangements for the provision of disability aids and community equipment, to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area. Some LAs deliver this themselves but a significant number have external contracts for an integrated community equipment service.Guidance to support the implementation of the Care Act 2014 states that community equipment, aids and adaptations can support reablement and promote independence contributing to preventing the needs for care and support.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has recently issued guidance to international travel operators who have reinstated flights to the United Arab Emirates.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 16 March in response to Question 118590.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Tough new rules force suppliers to fix faulty smart meters, published on 10 March 2026, what information his Department holds on the number of smart meters connected to 2G and 3G networks.

The Department collects statistics on the total number of smart meters in operation at a GB-wide level which use a range of technologies including 2G and 3G mobile communications. The latest statistics on smart meters in operation across Great Britain are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics#2025-quarterly-updates.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Students given stronger protections against extremism on campus, published on 8 March 2026, whether the updated guidance includes safeguards to protect free speech.

The updated guidance will include safeguards to protect freedom of speech within the law and will clearly signpost higher education providers to the Office for Students’ guidance related to freedom of speech here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/regulatory-advice-24-guidance-related-to-freedom-of-speech/. Further guidance will be issued in the Spring on Managing External Speakers and Events to ensure providers can meet their Prevent duty obligations while upholding freedom of speech.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Tough new rules force suppliers to fix faulty smart meters, published on 10 March 2026, what information his Department holds on the average time taken for suppliers to fix faulty smart meters.

The Department does not hold data on the average time taken by energy suppliers to resolve reported issues with smart meters, but we know too many are waiting an unacceptable amount of time. Ofgem is responsible for regulating suppliers against their obligations to restore smart meters into smart mode and are taking compliance action against the worst performers. The Government wants to speed up the resolution of smart metering communication issues and has confirmed a new requirement (coming into force in May) for suppliers to restore smart meters into smart mode within 90 days or face action by Ofgem.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Tough new rules force suppliers to fix faulty smart meters, published on 10 March 2026, whether his Department has a preferred target response time for suppliers to fix faulty smart meters separate to the proposed 90 day maximum response time.

From May 2026 energy suppliers will be obligated to take all reasonable steps to resolve issues with smart meters not operating in smart mode as soon as possible, and within 90 days from when they first become aware of the issue. In many cases we would expect resolution to be well within the 90-day limit. Ofgem is responsible for regulating energy suppliers against this obligation.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Students given stronger protections against extremism on campus, published on 8 March 2026, what metrics her Department will use to assess whether the new measures improve safety and reduce extremism on campus.

The department has assessed that Prevent related concerns, harassment and intimidation on university campuses in England have increased in recent years, reflecting wider societal and geopolitical tensions.Prevent related concerns in higher education reached a record high in the 2023/24 reporting year of 65 Prevent referrals according to the Office for Students annual reporting data here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/prevent-monitoring-summary-of-2023-24-accountability-and-data-returns/. Reports also highlight a significant rise in harassment and intimidation, particularly following the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.There is no place for unlawful extremist behaviour on university campuses, including harassment or intimidation, and we expect Vice Chancellors to tackle it decisively. The department will continue to work closely with key sector organisations to understand how their data and reported campus experiences evolve over time.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Tough new rules force suppliers to fix faulty smart meters, published on 10 March 2026, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure consumers are aware of their rights when a smart meter is not functioning correctly.

In August 2025, the Department published a consumer guide, outlining rights and expectations, on the government website available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meters-your-rights-and-expectations/smart-meters-your-rights-and-expectations. The Department works closely with Smart Energy GB, who run the national campaign for smart meters, and consumer organisations such as Citizens Advice to raise awareness of consumer rights in relation to smart metering. Ofgem also publishes consumer guidance on its website.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Tough new rules force suppliers to fix faulty smart meters, published on 10 March 2026, what monitoring mechanisms will be in place to verify that faulty smart meters are repaired within 90 days.

Ofgem is responsible for monitoring the compliance of energy suppliers against their licence conditions and to take any compliance or enforcement action, which could include fines.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Tough new rules force suppliers to fix faulty smart meters, published on 10 March 2026, what the penalty to suppliers will be for each faulty smart meter not repaired within the proposed 90 day period.

Ofgem is responsible for monitoring the compliance of energy suppliers against their licence conditions and to take any compliance or enforcement action, which could include fines.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Students given stronger protections against extremism on campus, published on 8 March 2026, what protections will be available for university staff who report concerns relating to extremism and intimidation on campus.

Universities are autonomous institutions and therefore have their own policies and procedures for handling employee concerns.In addition, the government will work with the Department for Business and Trade to add the Office for Students (OfS) to the list of prescribed bodies under the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2024. This change will help ensure that whistleblowers can report wrongdoing related to registered higher education providers with confidence.The OfS will also strengthen how it monitors universities’ efforts to prevent individuals from becoming involved in terrorism or supporting it. It will publish a new monitoring framework and accompanying guidance in September, which will come into effect at the beginning of 2027.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Students given stronger protections against extremism on campus, published on 8 March 2026, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Prevent duty in higher education institutions.

Higher education (HE) providers are subject to the Prevent duty to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.” To comply with the Prevent duty, providers must demonstrate they have effective policies and procedures in place to safeguard individuals susceptible to radicalisation. This includes assessing the risk of learners becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Under the Prevent duty, the Office for Students (OfS) monitors and evaluates whether universities and other HE providers have due regard to the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism. The OfS has assessed that HE providers are broadly compliant with their Prevent duty requirements. The latest assessment of Prevent monitoring in HE is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/prevent-monitoring-summary-of-2023-24-accountability-and-data-returns/.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Tough new rules force suppliers to fix faulty smart meters, published on 10 March 2026, what information his Department holds on the number of smart meters installed which are faulty.

The Department collects data on smart meters not operating in smart mode at a GB-wide level. The latest statistics on smart meters in operation across Great Britain until the end of 2025 are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics#2025-quarterly-updates.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Students given stronger protections against extremism on campus, published on 8 March 2026, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of extremism, harassment and intimidation on university campuses in England.

The department has assessed that Prevent related concerns, harassment and intimidation on university campuses in England have increased in recent years, reflecting wider societal and geopolitical tensions.Prevent related concerns in higher education reached a record high in the 2023/24 reporting year of 65 Prevent referrals according to the Office for Students annual reporting data here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/prevent-monitoring-summary-of-2023-24-accountability-and-data-returns/. Reports also highlight a significant rise in harassment and intimidation, particularly following the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.There is no place for unlawful extremist behaviour on university campuses, including harassment or intimidation, and we expect Vice Chancellors to tackle it decisively. The department will continue to work closely with key sector organisations to understand how their data and reported campus experiences evolve over time.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Students given stronger protections against extremism on campus, published on 8 March 2026, when she plans to review the effectiveness of the increased campus extremism protections.

The department has assessed that Prevent related concerns, harassment and intimidation on university campuses in England have increased in recent years, reflecting wider societal and geopolitical tensions.Prevent related concerns in higher education reached a record high in the 2023/24 reporting year of 65 Prevent referrals according to the Office for Students annual reporting data here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/prevent-monitoring-summary-of-2023-24-accountability-and-data-returns/. Reports also highlight a significant rise in harassment and intimidation, particularly following the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.There is no place for unlawful extremist behaviour on university campuses, including harassment or intimidation, and we expect Vice Chancellors to tackle it decisively. The department will continue to work closely with key sector organisations to understand how their data and reported campus experiences evolve over time.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Students given stronger protections against extremism on campus, published on 8 March 2026, whether any additional resources will be allocated to the Office for Students to help monitor universities.

The Office for Students will strengthen its monitoring activity by reprioritising its existing resources.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Students given stronger protections against extremism on campus, published on 8 March 2026, how many university students have been referred under the Prevent duty in each year since 2020.

The Home Office publishes overall Prevent referrals by sector but does not break down the ‘Education’ category between schools, colleges, and universities. However, the Office for Students publishes annual Prevent monitoring data for higher education providers here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/prevent-monitoring-summary-of-2023-24-accountability-and-data-returns/.This includes formal external Prevent referrals. The most recent reporting period 2023/2024 indicates that universities made 65 Prevent referrals, but it does not indicate how many of the individuals involved were students versus staff.