Written questions by Shannon.

Whether the review of Universal Credit will consider the process of how social security rates are (a) set and (b) uprated.

The Secretary of State already has an annual Statutory duty to conduct a review of benefits and State pension rates, including Universal Credit, to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices and/or earnings. This is a well-established process that applies more widely than just Universal Credit and is therefore outside the scope of the review. This Government uprated benefit rates for 2025/26 in line with inflation, with 5.7 million Universal Credit households forecast to gain by an average of £150 annually. We will also improve the adequacy of the Universal Credit standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced, subject to parliamentary approval as part of our welfare reform.

What steps she is taking to encourage more opportunities in schools for music and orchestra lessons.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.As part of our Opportunity Mission, the department wants to widen access to the arts, including music, so young people can develop their creativity.On 18 March 2025, the department announced its intention to launch a National Centre for Arts and Music Education to promote opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic interests in school, including through the government’s network of Music Hubs.The government has also committed £79 million per year for Music Hubs to the 2025/26 academic year. The 43 Music Hubs partnerships offer musical instrument tuition, instrument loaning, and whole-class ensemble teaching in schools. It is for schools and Hubs to decide in relation to lessons that support orchestral music.

What steps she is taking to educate children on the harms of antisemitism within the National Curriculum.

I refer the hon. Member for Strangford to the answer of 20 June 2025 to Question 59341.

Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on reaching housing targets.

The government publishes quarterly data on planning applications and housing starts and completions.The latest data on planning application statistics can be found on gov.uk here.Data on housing starts and completions can be found on gov.uk here.The main measure of housing supply is net additional dwellings, the latest data on which can be found on gov.uk here.

What progress his Department has made on using drone technology.

Each of the Front-Line Commands employ a range of different drone capabilities and are currently developing an array of future capabilities aligned to the Defence Drone Strategy. In 2024 the Defence Uncrewed Systems Design Authority (DUxDA) was established to focus on Research and Development, Test and Evaluation, Policy and Regulation, Security and Integration and Knowledge Exploitation across the developing portfolio of Defence Uncrewed Systems.

What steps she is taking to reduce unemployment in 18-21 year olds.

As part of our plan to Get Britain Working, we are launching a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England, which began mobilising the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in April 2025. The eight areas delivering Trailblazers are: the West of England, Tees Valley, East Midlands, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Liverpool City Region, West Midlands and two areas within the Greater London Authority. The trailblazers will run for 12 months, and we will use the learning to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls-out across the rest of England. This is part of a broader package of reforms, including introduction of a new jobs and careers service to help get more people into work, the development of work, health and skills plans for the economically inactive, and the launch of Skills England to open up new opportunities for young people. We will work in partnership with organisations and businesses at the national and local level to offer exciting and engaging opportunities to young people. This could include work experience, training courses or employability programmes. In addition, DWP continues to provide young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

What recent steps he has taken to help protect the steel industry.

Through measures announced in our Industrial Strategy, we are taking action to improve the competitiveness and growth potential for our steel sector. This includes steps to make industrial electricity costs for UK businesses cheaper and accelerating grid connection timelines for new projects. We are leveraging the Government’s purchasing power to bolster domestic competition by streamlining and strengthening criteria for suppliers to contribute to these objectives in their bids and continuing to incentivise investment in CCUS and hydrogen. This Industrial Strategy, together with the Steel Strategy to be published later in the year, will ensure that this Government has a coordinated response to sector challenges and to drive new investments.

What progress his Department has made on developing the upcoming industrial strategy.

The Government published “The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy” on 23 June 2025. The document has been laid before Parliament and published online at www.gov.uk/industrialstrategy

If she will hold discussions with AdviceUK on the potential impact of her reforms to disability benefits on demand for independent advice services.

This government values the input of stakeholders, disabled people and representative organisations. Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we engaged with a number of organisations, and we continue to explore ways of involving stakeholders in our reforms. This includes through the PIP review, collaboration committees and the Disability Advisory Panel. I also continue to meet with a range of charities, organisations and individuals. The Green Paper consultation further offers the opportunity for organisations, as well as claimants themselves, to provide input and help shape the reform proposals. We hope to hear from a wide range of voices and encourage organisations to respond to the consultation to share their views and expertise, before it closes on the 30 June. We will continue to consider the potential impacts of reforms as part of our wider consideration of responses to the consultation, including any impacts on services.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of integrating (a) health and (b) social care services with access to welfare advice.

We understand the importance of ensuring local services are joined up and providing personalised wrap around support. In the recent Pathways to Work green paper the Government announced that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up increased funding each year up to £1billion a year by the end of the scorecard. As part of the mission led government, regular cross government collaboration takes place at both Ministerial and official level. The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions and has a range of support available so individuals can stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. In England and Wales, these measures include joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell, as well as support across the UK from Work Coaches, Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants. Good work is good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with (a) pro-democracy organisations, (b) civil society and (c) ethnic nationalities in Myanmar to promote (i) federal democracy and (ii) human rights in that country.

We continue to discuss the political situation in Myanmar with a range of opposition stakeholders, including the National Unity Government (NUG) and a number of Ethnic Resistance Organisations (ERO). I recently met senior NUG stakeholders, to reiterate UK support for inclusive dialogue in Myanmar.In April, we co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar calling for the Myanmar military to fully respect and protect the human rights of all persons in Myanmar, including Rohingya and other persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities.UK Aid continues to support the role of civil society to promote peace and stability in Myanmar.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing free hypnobirthing classes to pregnant women.

The majority of trusts already offer free antenatal education services. A National Health Service online tool is available for women and families to find a class local to them. These classes include support for pregnant women to make a birth plan, considering the different arrangements for labour and birth, and the choices available to them. The Department is working with NHS England on how to improve the quality of these classes, and to ensure that mothers receive information about their choices so they feel empowered throughout their pregnancy journey, and into motherhood. Pregnant women can discuss additional hypnobirthing courses with their midwife if this is something they wish to explore.

Whether she plans to implement a cross-departmental strategy on improving reading outcomes for children and young people.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child, in every region of the country, the best start in life.In the 2025/26 financial year, the government has committed £27.7 million to support and drive high and rising standards in reading and writing. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme. The 34 English Hubs across England provide support to the schools in their region, with a focus on supporting children who are making the slowest progress in reading, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds.​In the 2025/26 academic year, this funding will also deliver a range of support for schools, including new training for primary schools to help children progress from the early stages of phonics through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school, and new support and training for secondary schools to support reading at key stage 3.Departmental officials are working with the sector and other departments to consider how we can further encourage reading and reading for pleasure.

Media and Sport, if her Department will support initiatives to connect books with (a) TV, (b) film and (c) gaming franchises to engage children and young people with reading.

The government recognises the importance of reading for children’s development and of reading for pleasure. All children should have the opportunity to access books and other resources to support their learning and enjoyment. Many recognisable British stories start out as books before finding new audiences told through film, TV and video games adaptations, with production supported by the Government’s stable, efficient and reliable creative tax reliefs. The government is always supportive of the creative industries working together to enhance access of children to reading and literacy.Arts Council England provides funding to literature organisations, writers, and independent publishers through National Portfolio funding and project grants. This includes grants for literary festivals, and support for organisations like BookTrust, which in addition to getting millions of children reading each year, works with school children until the age of 13 to showcase the very best in children’s literature. Moreover, Into Film and their partners have developed a course “Teaching Literacy through Film” which supports the use of film in classroom settings to improve speaking, listening, comprehension, and writing attainment. Many resources are provided from Oliver Twist to How to Train Your Dragon which combine the best of film and literature to provide excellent learning outcomes.The government has also established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The review seeks to deliver an excellent foundation in the core subjects of reading, writing and maths, and a rich and broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. This includes creative subjects such as art and design, music and drama. The Review Group has now published a well-evidenced, clear interim report, which highlights the successes of the current system, making clear that the most trusted and valued aspects of our system will remain, whilst setting a positive vision for the future. The government will respond to the final recommendations in autumn.In addition to the role that industry can play, public libraries are an important resource for teachers, parents and children to engage children and young people with reading.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of access to books in low-income households on reading outcomes among children eligible for free school meals.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The department knows that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits. As well as a number of strong links with attainment, pupils who read regularly report heightened levels of social and emotional wellbeing.Evidence from the National Literacy Trust shows that in 2024, one in eight children who received free school meals (FSM) said they did not own a book of their own. There was a 4.4 percentage point gap in book ownership between children and young people who did and did not receive FSM, with 87.6% of those who received FSM having a book compared with 92.0% of their peers who did not.The department recognises and welcomes the important work of charities such as the National Literacy Trust, the Book Trust, the Reading Agency, World Book Day and many others in supporting and encouraging reading.The government has implemented a range of measures to support reading for pleasure. The English Hubs programme supports the teaching of phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. Furthermore, the government’s Reading Framework provides guidance on improving the teaching of reading, to ensure that every child is not only able to read proficiently but also develops a genuine love of reading.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle regional inequalities in children’s (a) reading enjoyment and (b) daily reading frequency.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child, in every region of the country, the best start in life.In the 2025/26 financial year, the government has committed £27.7 million to support and drive high and rising standards in reading and writing.This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme. The 34 English Hubs across England provide support to the schools in their region, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds.The English Hubs also deliver a reading for pleasure continuous professional development programme, ‘Transforming Schools Reading Culture’, in which over 2,000 schools have participated since 2021.The department is also strengthening our tools for more effective school improvement by launching new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams to break down the barriers to opportunity and end the link between background and success. Supported by over £20 million in the 2025/26 financial year, RISE teams will provide both targeted intervention and universal support which will act as a catalyst for collaboration and improvement across all schools.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of reading on the mental health of young people.

No such assessment has been made. We know that according to research reading helps to reduce stress levels and could be beneficial to mental health and well-being.

What steps she is taking to raise awareness of online scams.

The national Stop! Think Fraud campaign helps the public recognise fraud and scams, including common scams people may see online, and the steps they can take to protect themselves, their family and friends.The website can be accessed at Stop! Think Fraud - How to stay safe from scams and is regularly updated. We are also working with tech companies to promote the messaging of the Stop! Think Fraud campaign on their platforms, as a commitment under the Online Fraud Charter.Improving public awareness and victim support will be one of the seven key areas in the next Fraud Strategy.

How many people have been prosecuted for espionage in the last 12 months.

From 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025, seven people have been convicted under espionage offences.These offences were contrary to section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 and conspiracy to spy offences contrary to section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977.A number of related cases are proceeding through the courts at various stages though these have not yet concluded.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to disability payments on people in working poverty.

The government's impact assessment regarding Health and Disability Reform is available at Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms - Impacts. However, this assessment does not include the impact of the £1 billion a year, by 2029/30, funding for measures to support those with disabilities and long-term health conditions into employment, which we expect to mitigate the poverty impact among people it supports into work. As such, an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed changes on people in working poverty cannot be made. The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out a broad package of plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Our plans are designed to protect the most vulnerable and give disabled people equal chances and choices to work. We will continue to carefully consider the impacts of reforms as we develop our detailed proposals for change.