Written questions by Shannon.

What steps he is taking to improve export capacity within the UK.

We recognise the importance of increasing the capacity of businesses to export and succeed around the world.UK businesses can access DBT’s export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises an online support offer and a wider network of support including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and one-to-one support from International Trade Advisers.As part of our work on a new trade strategy and a small business strategy, we are looking at further proposals to help UK businesses to export more.

How many first time applications there were for British passports in 2024.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What assessment she has made of trends in the number of university applications in the last five years.

There has been a 5.9% increase in the number of main scheme UCAS applications between 2020 and 2024.Main scheme applications for UK students are up 7.7% but down 0.7% for international students.

What steps she is taking to improve employment capacity in local job centres.

We have interpreted your question to refer to the functionality of Jobcentre Plus and the role they play in increasing employment. The Government has set a long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate, building on our plan for growth. The Get Britain Working White Plan sets out the fundamental reforms needed to realise our ambitions, including the vision to reform Jobcentres - to a new Jobs and Careers Service to meet the needs of local labour markets, people and employers. Across Great Britain, the new service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. Central to the new service will be our use of technology, enabling us to reinvest time in supporting people more effectively. We are starting a test and learn approach to develop the new service. We are currently running two large-scale tests testing reducing the frequency of engagement with customers and the mode of mandatory engagement for Universal Credit claimants that are looking for work or are in lower paid jobs. These will help us to better understand what will work best for the individual.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2025 to Question 28481 on Dialysis Machines: Per Capita Costs, if he will provide a breakdown of the figures by (a) in centre and (b) home therapies dialysis treatment in the last three years; what the total annual cost was to the NHS per dialysis; and what assessment he has made of how these align with NHS England guidance on Best Practice Tariffs.

This data is not available in the requested format. Best Practice Tariffs are regularly updated to ensure they incentivise National Health Service providers to move from usual care to best practice, by creating a price differential between agreed best practice and usual care.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of Pakistan's record on implementing human rights commitments under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences on (a) freedom of religion, (b) blasphemy laws and (c) the treatment of religious minorities.

Promoting human rights is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement in Pakistan. I raised issues including the rights of religious minorities and blasphemy accusations when I met Pakistan's Minister for the Interior, Talal Chaudhry, on 31 March. Under the UK's Developing Countries Trading Scheme (which replaced the Generalised Scheme of Preferences in 2023), Pakistan benefits from duty free exports on the condition that it ratifies and effectively implements specified international conventions on human rights and environmental degradation.

How many people have died from sepsis in the last 12 months.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on the number of death registrations where sepsis was the underlying cause of death, and where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, in England and Wales between 2001 and 2023. According to the ONS, in 2023, the number of deaths registered where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate in England and Wales was 26,203. The ONS has not yet published the number of death registrations for sepsis for 2024. ONS data for deaths involving sepsis is available at the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/adhocs/2111deathsinvolvingsepsisenglandandwales2001to2023

What estimate she has made of the number of teaching assistants who are on temporary contracts.

Education is a devolved matter, and as such the response below outlines the information for schools in England only.As of November 2023, the latest date for which data is available, there was a headcount of 395,585 teaching assistants (282,925 full-time equivalent) employed by state-funded schools with a contract of 28 days or longer. Of these, 22,224, equivalent to 5.6%, (14,277, 5.0%, full-time equivalent) were reported to be employed on a temporary contract.In addition, support staff who are not directly employed by the school or local authority and who are in school on census day (early November each year) with a contract or service agreement lasting fewer than 28 days are recorded as ‘third-party support staff’. As of November 2023, the latest date for which data is available, schools reported there was a headcount of 14,908 third-party support staff with a post of teaching assistant (full-time equivalent is not collected).​Information on the school workforce, including the number of teaching assistants, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

What steps he is taking to increase the availability of NHS appointments.

We have already achieved our pledge to deliver two million extra elective appointments in England, as a first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029.The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and reform efforts needed to deliver more elective care in England. This includes: expecting community diagnostic centres to open 12 hours a day, seven days per week; launching and expanding 17 new surgical hubs; investing in new DEXA scanners to deliver 29,000 more scans; and streamlining patients’ care pathways and reducing unnecessary appointments.We are also committed to improving access and capacity in general practices (GPs). That’s why, in October 2024, we provided an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, enabling the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified GPs across England. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in GPs, benefitting thousands of patients.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of financial crimes across the UK in the last 12 months.

Financial crime can encompass a wide range of crime types used to gain funds in an illicit way.Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show there were an estimated 3.86 million incidents of fraud experienced by adults aged 16 and over in England and Wales based on those interviewed in the twelve months to end of September 2024. This was an increase of 19% compared with the previous year’s survey (3.24 million incidents).This Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and we are working with law enforcement, industry, and civil society to better protect the public and businesses from this appalling crime. That is why we appointed Lord Hanson as the first dedicated Minister for fraud, played a central role in the adoption of the first ever UN resolution on fraud and introduced a new offence of failure to prevent fraud. Later this year, the Home Office will be publishing an expanded Fraud Strategy that covers the full range of threats that our society faces from this crime.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help tackle sexual harassment in sports settings.

The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. Everyone should be able to participate in sport in safe and secure environments, and where allegations about inappropriate or harmful behaviour are made, these should be taken seriously. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. Any matter meeting the criminal threshold should be taken forward through the criminal justice system. Where there is evidence that a crime may have been committed, this should be reported directly to the police. DCMS's Arm's-Length Body for grassroots sport, Sport England, provides support to the sport and physical activity sector around preventing harm, including sexual harassment, through funding the Ann Craft Trust and the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit. This totalled £330,917 and £527,525 respectively in 2024/25. The Government will continue to discuss athlete safety with relevant stakeholders and the sports sector to ensure that everyone can take part in sport as safely as possible.

What steps he is taking to increase UK aviation exports.

DBT works with UK aerospace companies to open markets, tackle trade disputes, provide SME support, and connect business to export opportunities. Through the Aerospace Growth Partnership and Aerospace Technology Institute, we support industry to increase supply chain productivity, competitiveness, innovation and exports. In defence, we work with industry to develop campaigns to pursue a pipeline of global opportunities. In 2024 the UK aerospace industry exported £23 billion of its production and over 5 years to 2023 on average achieved annual orders of £5.4 billion across aerospace products relating to defence. The Industrial Strategy will set out our further support for these sectors.

What assessment she has made of recent trends in the level of inflation.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are the Government’s official economic forecaster. They published their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) on 26th March, including an assessment on recent trends in inflation. The EFO can be found at the link below. https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2025/.

What steps she plans to take to support the availability of more construction apprenticeships.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The government is reforming the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners across England. This will create routes into skilled jobs in growing industries, such as construction.The department is developing new foundation apprenticeships, a work-based training offer that will provide young people with clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment.Construction will be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry, giving them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in the construction industry.There is £140 million industry investment in Homebuilding Skills Hubs. The hubs are projected to deliver over 5,000 fast track apprenticeships per year by the 2027/28 financial year, in shortage occupations including bricklaying and groundwork.Additionally, on the 23 March, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced measures to address skills shortages in the construction sector. This package commits over £600 million over the Parliament to help deliver up to 60,000 skilled construction workers.

What steps he is taking to improve children's facilities in hospitals.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever across the United Kingdom. This involves ensuring that children receive the appropriate care and support whenever they need it. To make children’s services better, we are changing the National Health Service through our 10-Year Health Plan, to make it fit for the future. The plan will be published in June 2025. Health is a devolved matter, and it is the responsibility of the individual devolved administrations to commission comprehensive healthcare based on population need. Guidance has been provided to the NHS on the provision of children’s facilities in hospitals in the best practice guidance, Hospital accommodation for children and young people, which is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HBN_23.pdf NHS England has work currently ongoing with the Starlight Foundation to produce recommended guidelines, standards, and checklists for designing health play services for babies, children, and young people.

If he will take steps to provide funding for all hospice care.

Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between integrated care board (ICB) areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area, but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provided from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We are pleased to confirm that the Government has released the first £25 million tranche of the £100 million of capital funding, with Hospice UK kindly allocating and distributing the money to hospices throughout England. An additional £75 million will be available from April 2025.We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.In February, I met with key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, and long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Northern Ireland on changes to farming subsidies.

Agriculture is a devolved policy area. Defra and devolved Government officials meet routinely to share experiences and insight regarding our respective agricultural policies.

When he expects the permanent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to be appointed.

The House of Commons leads on the recruitment of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which is ongoing. We expect that further information will be made available shortly.

What recent steps she has taken to reduce terrorism threats in the UK.

The aim of CONTEST, the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, is to reduce the risk from terrorism to the UK, its citizens and interests overseas, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence.The Government constantly keeps our counter-terrorism approach under review to ensure it is fit for purpose.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of families on waiting lists for social housing.

The number of households on social housing registers (waiting lists) in England and for each local authority in England is available each year since 1987 in live table 600 on gov.uk here. My Department only collects data on housing registers for local authorities in England as social housing is a devolved matter. The number of households on the housing register (waiting list) is not the same as the number of households waiting. Local authorities periodically review their registers to remove households who no longer require housing, so the total number of households on housing registers may overstate the number of households who still require social housing at any one time. Housing register size may also be affected by other factors. For example, there is the potential for some households to be on the housing register of more than one local authority. The frequency of reviews varies between local authorities.