Written questions by Naish.

What steps his Department is taking to help (a) homeless and (b) disabled young people to seek employment.

Homelessness can act as a significant barrier to gaining and sustaining employment. DWP helps people experiencing homelessness to move towards work through tailored and place-based work coach support – a commitment outlined in the new cross-government National Plan to End Homelessness. This includes specialist employment support for people with complex needs through the new Connect to Work programme, and a new Jobs and Careers Service that will enable work coaches to focus more on individuals with the greatest barriers to work. The plan also commits to addressing the ‘work disincentive’ that can affect young people in supported accommodation, ensuring work pays and enabling residents to enter or progress in employment without facing financial barriers. The Department further supports homeless young people to move towards employment through Youth Hubs, which provide community‑based, wrap‑around employment support for 16–24‑year‑olds. As part of the core Youth Hub service blueprint, Hubs work with local partners to provide access to housing and homelessness advice alongside employment, skills and health support, recognising that housing insecurity is a significant barrier to work. The Government is also taking action to help young disabled people move towards work. Disabled young people are a diverse group, so it is key that the individual gets access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, for them. The Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will guarantee specialist support for disabled young people. At the Budget, we have announced an £820 million funding package for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn. Over the next three years nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds will be offered a dedicated session with a Work Coach, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support. We will also expand our network of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain. This investment will create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21 through the Jobs Guarantee. Alongside the Youth Guarantee, the Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our plans for the Pathways to Work offer. Backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade, building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We anticipate that the Pathways to Work offer once fully rolled out will include a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support. Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will build on the range of support already available to disabled people, regardless of their benefit status or Work Group. For example, Connect to Work a supported employment programme that joins up work skills and health support, and Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies, which combine the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Additionally, disabled people might be able to access WorkWell, which is our new way to deliver integrated work and health support through local partnerships. Finally, we are considering how we might go even further. The Right Honourable Alan Milburn is leading on an investigation of the rise in youth inactivity with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability and expected to report in Summer 2026.

What assessment his Department made of the potential impact of withdrawing the universal credit health top-up for people under 22 on those unable to work.

The Pathways to Work consultation closed on 30 June 2025 and a summary of the consultation responses was published on 30 October. We will set out our plans in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's report entitled Deprivation in Rural Areas, published in October 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the report's finding that 14 of the 20 most-deprived rural Lower Layer Super Output Areas are in former mining areas.

Our Pride in Place strategy sets out how we will deliver up to £5.8 billion over ten years to 284 neighbourhoods (Middle Super Output Areas) experiencing the highest levels of deprivation across the country. Many coalfield communities – including very deprived Lower Super Output Areas - are part of this programme: Bentilee and Ubberley, Peterlee East, Grassmoor & Holmewood, Platt Bridge & Spring View, amongst many others.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with the the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the proposed £50 million capital investment in the Coalfields Regeneration Trust to support SME industrial development.

I refer the Hon.Member to Question UIN ⁠114606 answered on 9 March.

What assessment his Department has made of the ways in which the Youth Guarantee will benefit disabled young people seeking employment.

The Government is taking action to help young disabled people move towards work. Disabled young people are diverse group, so it is key that the individual gets access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, for them. The Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will guarantee specialist support for disabled young people. At the Budget, we have announced an £820 million funding package for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn. Over the next three years nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds will be offered a dedicated session with a Work Coach, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support. We will also expand our network of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain. This investment will create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21 through the Jobs Guarantee. Success of the Youth Guarantee will be measured by improvement in employment outcomes, reduction in economic inactivity, and an increase in participation in education and training. We will monitor these outcomes nationally for all Youth Guarantee participants. This will build on already commissioned evaluation of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers and a planned full process evaluation of the Jobs Guarantee. Alongside the Youth Guarantee, the Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our plans for the Pathways to Work offer. Backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade, building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We anticipate that the Pathways to Work offer once fully rolled out will include a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support. Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will build on the range of support already available to disabled people, regardless of their benefit status or Work Group. For example, Connect to Work a supported employment programme that joins up work skills and health support, and Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies, which combine the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Additionally, disabled people might be able to access WorkWell, which is our new way to deliver integrated work and health support through local partnerships. Finally, we are considering how we might go even further. The Right Honourable Alan Milburn is leading on an investigation of the rise in youth inactivity with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability and expected to report in Summer 2026.

What assessment she has made of the risk posed by foreign-state bounties and wanted notices against UK residents; and what steps are being taken to deter and prosecute any person in the UK seeking to facilitate such schemes.

The first duty of this Government is to keep the country safe. Any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will never be tolerated.The police and intelligence services have mature mechanisms to continually assess potential threats in the UK. They use a wide range of tactics to counter the most acute forms of state-directed threats and protect those individuals identified as at risk.The National Security Act 2023 has provided a comprehensive suite of powers to counter the threat of TNR. In particular, the Foreign Interference Offence and State Threats aggravating factor, have been specifically designed to bear down on harmful state-linked conduct (including state-directed activity such as transnational repression). Foreign Interference in the UK carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.Anyone who believes they are a victim of state‑directed activity should report to the police via 101, 999, or at a local station. Allegations of unlawful activity will be handled sensitively, treated seriously, and swiftly investigated in line with UK law.

What plans her Department has to promote the National Year of Reading in (a) early years settings, (b) primary schools, (c) secondary schools, (d) further education and (e) higher education.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment.It includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout the year. Reading together is one of the most powerful ways to build a child’s language and communication skills, strengthen early bonds, and spark a lifelong love of reading, which is why early years is one of the priority groups for the National Year of Reading.We are raising awareness of the National Year of Reading through a range of methods, such as via departmental communication channels, the National Year of Reading mailing list and social media, communications from the National Literacy Trust, and promotion via the English Hubs network.All interested parties are encouraged to sign up to the National Year of Reading website for more information: https://goallin.org.uk/.To further support reading for pleasure, this government has committed over £10 million of dormant assets funding to guarantee a library for every primary school by the end of this parliament, and a further £5 million for secondary schools to purchase books to encourage reading enjoyment amongst their pupils.

What training on transnational repression in the UK by the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) has been offered to territorial police forces; and which forces in England and Wales have (a) completed that training, (b) partially completed that training and (c) not commenced any training.

The first duty of this Government is to keep the country safe. Any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will never be tolerated.As of March 2025, guidance on the National Security Act and foreign interference is available to all police forces in the UK through the College of Policing, and the guidance has been used by each force. Counter Terrorism Police (CTP) continue to encourage forces to increase usage of these products to enhance awareness of the threat from foreign interference and how to respond.Anyone who believes they are a victim of state‑directed activity should report to the police via 101, 999, or at a local station. Allegations of unlawful activity will be handled sensitively, treated seriously, and swiftly investigated in line with UK law.

How many 999 call handlers in England and Wales have received specific training on transnational repression since 1 January 2025.

The Home Office does not collect information on the training 999 call handlers have received.

What steps he taking to ensure that people in the criminal justice system can engage with the National Year of Reading.

The National Year of Reading is a welcome opportunity to promote a wide range of activity to improve literacy and engagement with reading for people in custody and on probation. As part of this work we have appointed the first ever Prison Reading Laureate, the author Lee Child. He will champion the transformative power of reading across the criminal justice system, continue expansion of his successful literacy pilot programme which has been running in a number of prisons since 2025 and will bring in more authors to work with prisons across the country, promoting the benefits of reading to rehabilitation. Reading is a priority for HMPPS who work with many voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations such as the Reading Agency and National Literacy Trust. A programme of work is planned throughout this year to improve national access to books and facilitate workshops with authors. The Youth Custody Service is also launching its first ever Literacy Festival to inspire reading amongst some of the most complex children in our society.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure effective due diligence when assessing applications for export licences for UK military equipment that could be re-exported onwards to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.

I refer the Hon Member to the Urgent Question debate on this issue held on 15 December 2025.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support libraries.

Each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within their available resources.DCMS supports library services by providing guidance on any proposed changes to their statutory library service and shares best practice from other library services who have undertaken similar changes. DCMS also works across government departments to promote public libraries’ contributions to a range of important agendas and encourage a “libraries first” approach to delivery of government projects and policies.Core funding for libraries is through the Local Government Finance Settlement. In 2026-27 the government will make available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26.In January 2026 the DCMS Secretary of State announced continued investment in the Libraries Improvement Fund, meaning £27.5 million over the period 2025-30. This will enable library services across England to invest in a range of projects to upgrade buildings and technology to meet changing user needs. Nottinghamshire County Council has previously received £399,086 from this fund to support projects in a number of their libraries.

Media and Sport, what role public libraries will play in the delivery of the National Year of Reading.

Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work and boost engagement.Local authorities such as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Hillingdon, Oxfordshire and Nottinghamshire are actively celebrating and participating in the National Year of Reading programmes with various activities and events at their library branches.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) the United States, (b) Australia, (c) Canada and (d) the European Union on coordinated action to secure Jimmy Lai’s release.

On his questions relating to Jimmy Lai, I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February, and I will keep him and other members updated on all further steps that the UK will take alongside our international partners to call for Mr Lai's release, and for the protection of his health and wellbeing while he remains in detention. On the question of sanctions, the Hon Member will be aware that we never comment on potential designations as to do so would undermine their impact. And on the six-monthly report on Hong Kong, he will be aware that the last such report was published on 23 October 2025, less than four months ago.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what consideration she has given to imposing sanctions under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 on officials involved in the prosecution, sentencing or detention of Jimmy Lai.

On his questions relating to Jimmy Lai, I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February, and I will keep him and other members updated on all further steps that the UK will take alongside our international partners to call for Mr Lai's release, and for the protection of his health and wellbeing while he remains in detention. On the question of sanctions, the Hon Member will be aware that we never comment on potential designations as to do so would undermine their impact. And on the six-monthly report on Hong Kong, he will be aware that the last such report was published on 23 October 2025, less than four months ago.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that Jimmy Lai is not transferred from detention in Hong Kong to mainland China.

On his questions relating to Jimmy Lai, I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February, and I will keep him and other members updated on all further steps that the UK will take alongside our international partners to call for Mr Lai's release, and for the protection of his health and wellbeing while he remains in detention. On the question of sanctions, the Hon Member will be aware that we never comment on potential designations as to do so would undermine their impact. And on the six-monthly report on Hong Kong, he will be aware that the last such report was published on 23 October 2025, less than four months ago.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the UK is taking during its presidency of the UN Security Council to raise concerns about the prosecution of Jimmy Lai and rights in Hong Kong.

On his questions relating to Jimmy Lai, I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February, and I will keep him and other members updated on all further steps that the UK will take alongside our international partners to call for Mr Lai's release, and for the protection of his health and wellbeing while he remains in detention. On the question of sanctions, the Hon Member will be aware that we never comment on potential designations as to do so would undermine their impact. And on the six-monthly report on Hong Kong, he will be aware that the last such report was published on 23 October 2025, less than four months ago.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to secure Jimmy Lai’s access to independent medical professionals and appropriate treatment while in custody.

On his questions relating to Jimmy Lai, I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February, and I will keep him and other members updated on all further steps that the UK will take alongside our international partners to call for Mr Lai's release, and for the protection of his health and wellbeing while he remains in detention. On the question of sanctions, the Hon Member will be aware that we never comment on potential designations as to do so would undermine their impact. And on the six-monthly report on Hong Kong, he will be aware that the last such report was published on 23 October 2025, less than four months ago.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she next plans to publish a six-monthly report on Hong Kong.

On his questions relating to Jimmy Lai, I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February, and I will keep him and other members updated on all further steps that the UK will take alongside our international partners to call for Mr Lai's release, and for the protection of his health and wellbeing while he remains in detention. On the question of sanctions, the Hon Member will be aware that we never comment on potential designations as to do so would undermine their impact. And on the six-monthly report on Hong Kong, he will be aware that the last such report was published on 23 October 2025, less than four months ago.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities following the conviction of the father of US-based activist Anna Kwok; what assessment she has made of the potential implications of this case for the risk of reprisals against the family members of Hong Kong activists living overseas; and what steps the Government is taking with international partners to deter further such actions.

The UK closely monitored the trial of Kwok Yin-sang, and British diplomats attended his verdict on 11 February. This Government will not tolerate any attempts by foreign governments to coerce, intimidate, harass, or harm their critics overseas. We have raised our concerns regarding the Hong Kong Police's use of arrest warrants and bounties directly with the Hong Kong authorities, and officials engage frequently with like-minded international partners about these issues.