Written questions by Taylor.

Innovation and Technology, what steps is she taking to ensure the safety of citizens’ personal data through the proposed digital ID scheme.

Privacy and security are integral to the Government’s proposals. People’s privacy and data will be protected in line with the UK’s data protection laws as well as using state-of-the-art encryption and authentication technology that’s already protecting millions of digital transactions daily - in the same way banking apps do. The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year, which will seek views on the design, build and delivery of the system. The Government will work closely with expert stakeholders, including the Information Commissioner’s Office and the National Cyber Security Centre, to make the programme as effective and secure as possible.

What steps she is taking to ensure that all 16 to 18-year-olds receive political education in schools.

In secondary schools, democracy is currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship, with an optional GCSE available in citizenship studies. Political education is not compulsory post-16, but providers are free to teach it if they wish. When political issues are discussed, schools must offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views and should not present materials in a politically biased or one-sided way.On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report, which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England. The government’s response to the report recognises the importance of developing young people’s understanding of democratic institutions and processes and commits to strengthening citizenship content to improve progression across all key stages.

If he will ask the Pensions Commission to consider expansion of access to the State Pension for people of working age with terminal illnesses.

The Terms of Reference for the Pensions Commission, which set out the scope for the Commission, were published on the 21st July. As set out in their Terms of Reference, the Commissioners will consider what is required in the long term to deliver financial security in retirement through a pensions framework that is stronger, fairer and more sustainable. The Commissioners will engage with a wide range of issues relevant to their terms of reference and will publish their findings in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to secure the release of Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention centres.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 13th October to Question 76963.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including specific measures to improve the safety of women runners in the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

This Government has been clear that the level of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable, and we are treating it as the national emergency that it is.Everyone should both be and feel safe whilst going about their day-to-day lives – and we recognise the particular vulnerability that women runners may feel. We are working across Government to use every tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence to keep all women safe.We will go further than before to deliver a transformative approach to halve VAWG in a decade, underpinned by a new VAWG strategy, which we aim to publish shortly. This will be underpinned by an analytical sprint and Theory of Change to ensure that our approach is informed by the best available evidence.

Whether her Department's Roads Investment Committee has considered funding alterations to the London South Circular in the last year.

No, it has not. Responsibility for progressing any work on the London South Circular is a matter for Transport for London.The Catford town centre scheme, which includes proposed alterations to the London South Circular, was originally part of the Department’s Major Road Network (MRN) programme. Following the outcome of the Spending Review, however, responsibility for this and other London MRN schemes has been passed to Transport for London (TfL). It is for them to take forward this and other MRN schemes in London as part of their Spending Review settlement.

What assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care entitled Inquiry into the financial impact of a terminal diagnosis, published on 9 September 2025.

The Department supports people nearing the end of life through the Special Rules for End of Life. These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit. The recent UC bill ensures that all Special Rules for End of Life claimants will receive the higher LCWRA rate, no matter when they make their claim. The Department values the insights and perspectives provided by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care and has noted the many recommendations made in the report.

What steps he is taking to help improve the financial security of people at the end of life.

This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it. The primary way the Department supports people nearing the end of life is through special benefit rules which are known as the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These enable people who have 12 months or less to live to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods and, in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.

Whether he plans to review the effectiveness of the Special Rules for End of Life fast-tracking benefits system.

The primary way the Department supports people nearing the end of life is through special benefit rules which are known as the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit. The Government is committed to ensuring that the fast-tracked access to benefits via SREL is maintained, while continuing to keep the effectiveness and efficiency of current system delivery under review.

What discussions she has had with (a) Citizens Advice, (b) disabled people and (c) carers as part of the upcoming Timms Review.

We are committed to co-producing the Timms Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This will include carers' organisations so that the voices of unpaid carers are heard. I have been engaging widely over the summer, including with welfare rights organisations, to consider how to approach the review and how it can best be co-produced. I will share more details on this and how disabled people and other stakeholders will be involved in the review as plans progress.

Whether the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will prohibit the voluntary engagement of children as matchball assistants at grassroots football clubs.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill should not prohibit the voluntary engagement of children as match ball assistants at grassroots football clubs, as it does not change the scope of what is or is not considered employment for the purposes of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.

What steps she plans to take to increase the Universal Credit rate for people under 25 ahead of the Autumn Budget 2025.

There are currently no plans to increase the Universal Credit rate for people under 25. Under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 the Secretary of State is required by law to review State Pension and benefit rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. We have 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. In addition, we have introduced our Universal Credit bill which legislates to rebalance Universal Credit by bringing in, for the first time ever, a sustained above inflation increase to the UC standard allowance for all claimants.

What steps he plans to take to update the existing regulations on composition, marketing and labelling of commercial infant and toddler foods.

Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influence many aspects of wellbeing in later life. The Government has published voluntary industry baby food guidelines as part of our comprehensive strategy to give children the best start in life. The guidelines challenge businesses to reduce the levels of salt and sugar in commercial baby food and drink products aimed at those aged up to 36 months. The guidelines also set out voluntary labelling actions for industry, in addition to reinforcing legislative requirements around labelling and health and nutrition claims. This will help to support parents and carers to make informed choices about what to feed their children. Businesses have 18 months from the publication of these guidelines, therefore by February 2027, to deliver the required changes. We will monitor industry progress towards implementing the sugar, salt, and labelling guidelines. It is vital that we maintain the highest standards for foods consumed by babies and infants, which is why we also have regulations in place that set nutritional, compositional, and labelling standards for commercial baby food. These ensure that commercial baby foods are suitable for infants and young children and require businesses to ensure labelling is clear and not misleading. The regulations also set labelling standards to ensure consumers have clear and accurate information about the products they buy. The Best Start in Life health website has advice for parents and carers on successful weaning of infants to introduce healthy solid foods, and is available at the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/ It has been updated to provide new advice on shop-bought baby food and healthy weaning practices. The update has been made in light of the increased availability and range of commercial baby food products, highlighting the need for clear and consistent advice for parents and carers. We continue to keep these regulations under review to ensure that the composition of infant food and drinks reflects the latest scientific advice and dietary guidelines. The voluntary industry baby food guidelines should support improvements in this area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to phase out the use of high concentration carbon dioxide gas for the stunning of livestock in abattoirs.

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter. We understand that there is a pressing need to address the welfare concerns associated with this method of stunning pigs. The Animal Welfare Committee has carried out an up-to-date and comprehensive animal welfare assessment of the evidence on high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs and alternative pig stunning methods. The Committee carefully considered the evidence and provided their report to the UK Government, and Scottish and Welsh Governments, in July which we are now considering.

What steps he is taking to end recruitment freezes in maternity services.

On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified midwife in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs, ensuring thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and enabling a seamless transition from training to employment.Vacant maternity support worker posts will be temporarily converted to Band 5 midwifery roles, backed by £8 million to create new opportunities specifically for newly qualified midwives and to further ease the recruitment strain.These new measures aim to tackle graduates’ concerns about job availability and ensure the NHS has the right staff to provide the best possible care to patients everywhere.

If he will provide funding for newly qualified midwifery posts.

On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified midwife in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs, ensuring thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and enabling a seamless transition from training to employment.Vacant maternity support worker posts will be temporarily converted to Band 5 midwifery roles, backed by £8 million to create new opportunities specifically for newly qualified midwives and to further ease the recruitment strain.These new measures aim to tackle graduates’ concerns about job availability and ensure the NHS has the right staff to provide the best possible care to patients everywhere.

If he will include targets to improve diagnosis times for myeloma in the forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers such as myeloma, as well as other unstageable cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, in order to improve outcomes.To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancer earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.

If he will include targets to improve diagnosis times for myeloma in the National Cancer Plan for England.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers such as myeloma, as well as other unstageable cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, in order to improve outcomes.To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancer earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.

If she will launch an investigation into the Co-op’s lone working practices.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has the policy lead for regulation of workplace health and safety in Great Britain. The primary responsibility for managing risk to health and safety lies with employers. An employer is the person or organisation that is legally responsible, under health and safety law, for managing and controlling risks created by their work activities. It is for the employer to determine the best way to manage those risks taking account of the circumstances of their business and work activity. There may be greater risks for lone workers without direct supervision or someone to help them if things go wrong, and an employer must identify the risks to lone workers and put control measures in place to protect them. HSE provides guidance on lone working: Lone working: Protect those working alone - HSE which includes advice on violence in the workplace. HSE has not made an assessment of the Co-op’s Project Lunar.

Whether he plans to bring the gas purchased for community heat networks under the energy price cap set by Ofgem.

Heat network operators typically buy their energy through commercial contracts. As the energy price cap has been designed for domestic electricity and gas customers, it could not be applied to the price of energy purchased on the wholesale market. DESNZ and Ofgem continue to monitor the heat network sector and to consider actions that could improve price deals available to heat network operators.