Written questions by Shannon.

If he will have discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of including migraine as a category within the (a) Get Britain Working white paper and (b) workforce participation and productivity strategies.

In relation to the Get Britain Working White Paper, the Government has engaged with both internal and external stakeholders through existing fora and Government engagement structures. We will be carrying out further, in-depth engagement, and look forward to working with stakeholders during policy development and implementation.Access to Work is a demand-led, personalised, discretionary grant that supports the recruitment and retention of disabled people in sustainable paid employment. The tailored nature of the scheme allows customers to receive the appropriate grant and support based on their specific health and disability-related needs, including migraines. Access to Work grants do not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments.The goal is to open up opportunities to work and to support a healthier, more productive and inclusive nation, by helping more disabled people and people with health conditions like migraine to get appropriate work, get on in that work, and to return to work as quickly as possible if they leave it. This supports the Government priority of tackling economic inactivity, as set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper.The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 4.3 million working days were lost due to headaches and migraines in 2022. The represents 2.3% of all days lost.

If he will take steps to help ensure that the Government's UK Neurology Forum include migraine as a priority for (a) discussion and (b) policy recommendations.

The new United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, which met for the first time on 10 March 2025, brings key stakeholders together to share learnings across the system, discuss important neurology service transformations and workforce challenges, as well as best practice examples and potential solutions that will add both to the existing programmes of work and wider health plans. The forum will be an advisory rather than a decision-making body.A wide range of neurological conditions, including migraine, will be within the scope of the Neuro Forum, and agendas will be agreed by the forum’s membership ahead of each meeting.

How many attendance allowance applications her Department has received in the last 12 months.

The number of Attendance Allowance applications received by the Department in the last 12 months (March 2024 – February 2025) was 592,545.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps he is taking to help increase the freshwater pearl mussel population.

The Government is supporting the recovery of freshwater pearl mussel by working collaboratively with environmental organisations to restore rivers and watercourses, raising awareness about the importance of freshwater pearl mussels and encouraging community participation in their conservation. Enforcement agencies are also ensuring compliance with the nature conservation laws to protect freshwater pearl mussels from illegal harvesting and environmental damage. As well as habitat-based actions the Environment Agency has established a captive breeding programme in Kielder, Northumberland to boost existing populations by providing a safe start to their lifecycle before they are returned to the wild at carefully chosen locations. Finally, we are exploring opportunities to reintroduce the species to river systems from where they have been lost; Natural England and partners are planning a freshwater pearl mussel reintroduction, the “R4ever Kent Life project”, which will also help inform other reintroductions across the country.

What assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of measles cases across the UK.

There has been a resurgence of measles in England since autumn 2023, initially driven by cases in Birmingham, followed by a large outbreak in London, with small clusters in other regions. This was largely due to a gradual decline in uptake of childhood vaccines over the last decade, including the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Case counts have followed a downward trajectory from mid-July 2024 with small, localised outbreaks in some regions.The UK Health Security Agency has worked closely with NHS England and other partners encouraging parents to catch up children with all childhood vaccines, including MMR. In 2024, national MMR catch-up and marketing campaigns were delivered alongside local tailored interventions to improve uptake. The evaluation, published on 29 August 2024, has shown that this work had a positive impact particularly in children from communities with the lowest uptake.The full evaluation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-vaccine-uptake-during-the-2023-to-2024-mmr-catch-up-campaigns-in-england

What steps his Department is taking with devolved governments to help ensure the equal provision of NICE-approved treatments across the UK for (a) advanced and (b) complex Parkinson’s disease.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service in England. Health is a devolved matter and decisions on the availability of medicines is a matter for the respective devolved administrations. The NICE has agreements with the devolved administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland to make its products, including guidelines, technology appraisals, and highly specialised technologies guidance, available to them, and works with organisations to help put its guidance into practice through its system implementation team.The Government has recently relaunched the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway, which is a unique initiative that aims to accelerate the time to patient care for transformative new medicines and drug-device combinations, facilitating patient access by providing a single integrated platform for sustained collaborative working between the developer, the regulator, the Health Technology Assessment bodies across the United Kingdom, the NHS, and patients.

What steps his Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that migraine is recognised within (a) the Access to Work scheme and (b) workplace health and disability strategies.

In relation to the Get Britain Working White Paper, the Government has engaged with both internal and external stakeholders through existing fora and Government engagement structures. We will be carrying out further, in-depth engagement, and look forward to working with stakeholders during policy development and implementation.Access to Work is a demand-led, personalised, discretionary grant that supports the recruitment and retention of disabled people in sustainable paid employment. The tailored nature of the scheme allows customers to receive the appropriate grant and support based on their specific health and disability-related needs, including migraines. Access to Work grants do not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments.The goal is to open up opportunities to work and to support a healthier, more productive and inclusive nation, by helping more disabled people and people with health conditions like migraine to get appropriate work, get on in that work, and to return to work as quickly as possible if they leave it. This supports the Government priority of tackling economic inactivity, as set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper.The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 4.3 million working days were lost due to headaches and migraines in 2022. The represents 2.3% of all days lost.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of migraine-related absenteeism on the economy.

In relation to the Get Britain Working White Paper, the Government has engaged with both internal and external stakeholders through existing fora and Government engagement structures. We will be carrying out further, in-depth engagement, and look forward to working with stakeholders during policy development and implementation.Access to Work is a demand-led, personalised, discretionary grant that supports the recruitment and retention of disabled people in sustainable paid employment. The tailored nature of the scheme allows customers to receive the appropriate grant and support based on their specific health and disability-related needs, including migraines. Access to Work grants do not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments.The goal is to open up opportunities to work and to support a healthier, more productive and inclusive nation, by helping more disabled people and people with health conditions like migraine to get appropriate work, get on in that work, and to return to work as quickly as possible if they leave it. This supports the Government priority of tackling economic inactivity, as set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper.The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 4.3 million working days were lost due to headaches and migraines in 2022. The represents 2.3% of all days lost.

Whether his Department is taking steps to provide childcare to parents who serve in the armed forces.

We recognise that appropriate childcare provision can be challenging for parents who serve in the Armed Forces and continue to explore options for improving support to our personnel in affording and accessing it. Although the responsibility for childcare provision lies elsewhere within Government and is not a core Defence output, many Defence sites within the UK provide opportunities for local childcare providers to make use of facilities on, or close to, the Defence estate. These settings can also benefit the local civilian community. Overseas, we have extended Wraparound Childcare to families serving overseas which will potentially save up to £3,400 annually for Service families.

With reference to her Department's green paper Pathways to work: reforming benefits and support to get Britain working, published on 18 March 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this announcement on families in poverty.

We will be publishing equality analysis which sets out the impacts on disabled people alongside poverty impacts on all individuals.

What assessment he has made in the levels of of regional variations in waiting times for specialist migraine treatment.

Whilst no specific assessment has been made, as of January 2025 there were almost 233,000 pathways waiting for a neurology appointment and 53.8% of neurology pathways were waiting within 18 weeks.The Government is committed to tackling National Health Service waiting lists for patients and reducing variation across all regions, including patients awaiting specialist migraine treatment. We will ensure 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. As a first step, we delivered an additional two million appointments between July and November 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, seven months ahead of schedule. This includes operations, consultations, diagnostic tests and treatments, including for neurology patients.The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, commits to reforming elective care equitably and inclusively for all adults, children and young people to improve patient experience and waiting list performance and reduce regional variation, so that patients receive high quality care wherever they live.

Whether she has had discussions with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the timing of the implementation of firearms licenses.

Northern Ireland has its own firearms legislation which is separate to the legislation in Great Britain. This is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Government and this legislation governs how the Police Service of Northern Ireland undertakes its firearms licensing functions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Poland in countering Russian pressure.

We are taking coordinated action with allies to respond to the growing threat to Europe from Russian hybrid activity. This includes exposing the activities of the Russian Intelligence Services, expelling intelligence officers, and sanctioning individuals. We will continue to work at pace, including through the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), to hold Russia accountable, to counter the threat posed by Putin's regime and to increase our resilience to Russian malign activity. As set out in the Prime Minister's joint statement with Prime Minister Tusk following his visit to Warsaw on 17 January, the UK and Poland co-operate closely on defence and security, including on the joint training of Ukrainian troops and the development of integrated air defence.There is currently a squadron from the UK deployed to Poland as part of the US-led NATO battle group. In addition to this, the UK is providing 4-6 Eurofighter Typhoon jets for Air Policing missions in Polish airspace and a new Polish-British Joint Programme Office in the UK will be established later this year to support greater defence industrial co-operation. The UK is also offering support to Poland's East Shield project to further strengthen its border through a number of infrastructure and security tasks.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to regulate the sale of (a) magazines and (b) other offline pornography to under 21s in (i) shops and (ii) garages.

Physical (or ‘offline’) media with pornographic content is usually classified 18 or R18 rating by the British Board of Film Classification under the Video Recordings Act 1984. This Act is the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, rather than DSIT.DSIT is responsible for the Online Safety Act, which requires online services in scope of the Act to proactively tackle and remove illegal content, including illegal pornographic content. By summer 2025, all user-to-user services that allow sharing of pornographic content should also use highly effective age assurance if necessary to prevent children from accessing such content.

What estimate he has made of the number of drug deaths in the last 12 months.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 17th March is attached.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing tax breaks to employers who train apprentices.

Employers of those under the age of 21 and apprentices under the age of 25 already receive 100% employer National Insurance relief on salaries up to £50,270.

What steps his Department is taking to help increase public preparedness for out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest.

To improve patients' survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the Government has committed to improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces, and to reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.As part of the application process, the Department has selected the Smarter Society as its independent partner to manage grant applications against requirements specified by the Department to ensure that resources are allocated to where there is the greatest need, for instance remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.NHS England is working with St John’s Ambulance on increasing the number of people in our communities who are confident in the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillators. This includes a national network of Community Advocates to champion the importance of first aid, training 60,000 people that will help save up to 4,000 lives each year by 2028.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of racial attacks in football game settings in the last 12 months.

The Government is determined to tackle hate crime across England and Wales, including offences that occur at football matches, and we are clear there is no place for racism in sport or society.We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to all forms of hate crime, including racial attacks. There is an expectation in law that anyone convicted of a hate crime offence linked to a football match will receive a football banning order, preventing them from attending all regulated football matches in England and Wales for a period of three to five years, or six to ten years if a custodial sentence is imposed.We back the police in taking strong action against perpetrators of these appalling offences and we are continuing to fund the UK Football Policing Unit, which works in conjunction with the Government and the National Police Chiefs’ Council Football Lead (NPCC) to reduce all forms of violence, anti-social behaviour and disorder at football events involving UK football teams.The Home Office publishes annual statistics on football-related disorder in England and Wales. This includes information on the number of matches with reported incidents of hate crimes relating to race. The latest available data, which covers the 2023 to 2024 season, can be found in table 11 of the supporting data tables to the Football-related arrests and banning orders publication on GOV.UK: 'Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2023 to 2024 data tables'.The Government also works with sports bodies, including Sport England, UK Sport, and national governing bodies, to tackle racism and discrimination in sport, and we expect them to take robust action whenever it occurs.Policing is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the backlog of settled status applications.

As of the end of December 2024, 98% of all applications for status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) have been concluded by the Home Office. Information on average processing times can be found on GOV.UK at EU Settlement Scheme: current estimated processing times for applications - GOV.UK. The majority of applications are decided very quickly. However, in some instances, where a case is less straightforward, the overall processing time will vary as caseworkers endeavor to engage with applicants to help them provide the evidence needed to support their application. At present, most applications to the EUSS are from people who already hold an initial grant of pre-settled status and who are applying to upgrade to settled status. Earlier this year, the Home Office has introduced a new process to automatically convert eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status, without the need for them to make a further EUSS application.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of misuse of prescription drugs.

The Department has made no such assessment. We are unable to assess trends in this area because there is no universal definition of prescription only medicine misuse, and data is not routinely collected, particularly for patients using medication without a prescription, or outside recommended prescribing parameters.