Written questions by Davies.

Whether her Department has had it own ministerial car service since her appointment.

Since my appointment, the Wales Office has not had its own ministerial car service.

Whether his Department has made an application under Section 293B Town and County Planning Act 1990 in relation to the Crowborough Training Camp.

Asylum is a Home Office lead. As such, The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not made an application under Section 293B Town and County Planning Act 1990 in relation to Crowborough Training Camp and the MOD has not received any planning objections from Wealden District Council on the use of Crowborough Training Camp as asylum accommodation.

Whether any objection has been received from Wealden District Council as the Local Planning Authority on the use of Crowborough Training Camp as asylum accommodation.

Asylum is a Home Office lead. As such, The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not made an application under Section 293B Town and County Planning Act 1990 in relation to Crowborough Training Camp and the MOD has not received any planning objections from Wealden District Council on the use of Crowborough Training Camp as asylum accommodation.

What meetings she has held with the victims and survivors of grooming gangs in Wales since January 2025.

As the lead department, the Home Office leads on engagement with victims and survivors of grooming gangs across Wales and England. On 16 June 2025, the then Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament confirming that the Government has accepted all of the recommendations made in Baroness Casey’s national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, including a recommendation to commission a national inquiry. Baroness Casey specifically recommended that the national police operation and national inquiry should cover England and Wales. The Home Office has been working closely with partners to develop the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry, with early consultation already undertaken with victims and survivors. The National Working Group (NWG) charity has been coordinating the engagement with victims and survivors related to the inquiry set-up, including sessions attended by the Minister for Safeguarding and VAWG.

What steps she has taken to help victims of grooming gangs in Wales.

The Government is committed to tackling all forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The police will respond to all allegations of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, ensuring that victims are protected and offenders are brought to justice.The National Inquiry into Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse will cover England and Wales. The Home Secretary has written to the First Minister to confirm this.We will continue to work closely with law enforcement and safeguarding partners to address ongoing crimes and protect vulnerable children across Wales and the rest of the UK.We are also providing £2.59 million in 2025-26 for the Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Fund, providing a range of support services with national reach. As part of the fund, this year we have provided £193,515 to Cyfannol Women’s Aid.The Home Office also launched the invitation-to-tender for the national Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) Service contract in September 2025, which will expand coverage from two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales to all local authorities in England and Wales.The service provides specialist modern slavery and child exploitation expertise to ensure child victims are protected from further harm, prevent possible repeat victimisation or re-trafficking, and promote the child’s recovery. It supports child victims of sexual exploitation and grooming who have been referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), and the professionals working with them.The Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) provides specialist support to adult victims of exploitation and trafficking who have been identified through the NRM in England and Wales. This includes adults who experienced sexual exploitation as children.

If she will make (a) an assessment of the potential merits of launching a Wales-wide inquiry into grooming gangs and (b) it her policy to tackle ongoing crimes relating to grooming gangs in Wales.

The Government is committed to tackling all forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The police will respond to all allegations of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, ensuring that victims are protected and offenders are brought to justice.The National Inquiry into Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse will cover England and Wales. The Home Secretary has written to the First Minister to confirm this.We will continue to work closely with law enforcement and safeguarding partners to address ongoing crimes and protect vulnerable children across Wales and the rest of the UK.We are also providing £2.59 million in 2025-26 for the Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Fund, providing a range of support services with national reach. As part of the fund, this year we have provided £193,515 to Cyfannol Women’s Aid.The Home Office also launched the invitation-to-tender for the national Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) Service contract in September 2025, which will expand coverage from two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales to all local authorities in England and Wales.The service provides specialist modern slavery and child exploitation expertise to ensure child victims are protected from further harm, prevent possible repeat victimisation or re-trafficking, and promote the child’s recovery. It supports child victims of sexual exploitation and grooming who have been referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), and the professionals working with them.The Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) provides specialist support to adult victims of exploitation and trafficking who have been identified through the NRM in England and Wales. This includes adults who experienced sexual exploitation as children

Whether her Department has issued guidance to local authorities on (a) when and (b) how often they can issue legal stop notices in relation to the housing of asylum seekers in their areas.

Planning enforcement action is not a matter for the Home Office.  This government will close every asylum hotel. Work is well underway, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities across the country so that the Home Office continues to meet its statutory obligations while also carefully considering the impact on local areas.

How much funding her Department has allocated to Wealden District Council for each asylum seeker.

We are working closely with key stakeholders including local health partnersto minimise the impact on the local community. Total costs will be included inthe Departments Annual Report and Accounts in the normal way.

How much (a) revenue and (b) capital spending has been allocated to railways in Wales in each year of the Spending Review period; and (i) how much and (ii) over what period of time her Department plans to spend on railways in Wales outside of the Spending Review period.

I would refer the Honourable Member to the answer I provided to written question UIN 69339 on 2 September 2025.

When he plans to respond to The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.

The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report.

What progress his Department has made on increasing the recruitment and training of midwives since July 2024.

NHS England publishes monthly Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. This covers staff working for hospital trusts and integrated care in England. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service. These show that as of 30 June 2025, there are currently 24,888 full time equivalent midwives working in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. This is an increase of 1,326 or 5.6%, compared to 30 June 2024. Further information is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics3,270 students have accepted places to undergraduate midwifery degrees at English providers so far in 2025. This is a 3% increase compared to the same point in 2024. This is also the first year-on-year increase in the number of acceptances since 2021, when acceptances across healthcare courses peaked, driven by interest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/statistical-releases-daily-clearing-analysis-2025These are not final numbers, and the Department will continue to monitor numbers of acceptances through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services’ clearing cycle which ends in October.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the recruitment and training of midwives.

To break down financial barriers to training, eligible midwifery students receive a non-repayable grant of £5,000 per year via the NHS Learning Support Fund. Further financial support is available for childcare, dual accommodation costs and travel. Apprenticeship routes are also available to those for whom a full-time university route is not practical or preferred.On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. 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 further ease the recruitment strain.Later this year, we will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

What steps his Department is taking to consult (a) the Maternity Safety Alliance and (b) other bereaved families’ groups as part of the national maternity review.

On 23 June 2025, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies and families experience unacceptable care.He has held a series of meetings with harmed and bereaved families from across the country, and has committed to ensuring the voices of women and families are at the heart of improving standards.On 14 August 2025, he announced the appointment of Baroness Amos as Chair of the Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation. Baroness Amos was selected after feedback from bereaved families who expressed a preference for someone with distance from the NHS.Baroness Amos’ investigation will put families at the heart of the work and affected families were asked to provide input to the draft terms of reference of the investigation. These have been developed to focus on understanding the experiences of affected women and families, identifying lessons learned and driving the improvements needed to ensure high quality and safe maternity and neonatal care across England.The Government is also establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to be made up of a panel of experts and family, charity and staff representatives.The taskforce will use the recommendations from the independent investigation to develop a national plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care, and will work closely with families in developing the action plan, ensuring their voices are central to this work.

When he expects the rapid national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services to make its initial set of recommendations.

In June 2025, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services, which will be chaired by Baroness Amos.The investigation will produce an initial set of national recommendations by December 2025. These recommendations will take previous recommendations into consideration and will therefore take primacy over previous recommendations.

On what date his Department will publish the terms of reference for the national maternity review.

The Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation’s Terms of Reference were published on 15 September 2025 and are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-maternity-and-neonatal-investigation-terms-of-referenceThe Chair of the Investigation, Baroness Amos, engaged with families on their development.

When he expects the rapid national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services to complete.

In June 2025, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services, which will be chaired by Baroness Amos.The investigation will produce an initial set of national recommendations by December 2025. These recommendations will take previous recommendations into consideration and will therefore take primacy over previous recommendations.

When he last met with the Patient Safety Commissioner.

There has been no formal meeting between my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the Patient Safety Commissioner. However, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Baroness Merron), in her previous role as the minister with responsibility for patient safety and patient voice, met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in January 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps has he taken to reduce regulations on (a) small-scale abattoirs and (b) other rural food producers in Sussex.

Defra is working closely with industry stakeholders and the Food Standards Agency to maintain high standards of public and animal health while identifying opportunities to ease regulatory and administrative burdens on small-scale abattoirs and rural food producers, including those in Sussex.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help expand the network of small abattoirs in (a) the South East and (b) England.

England benefits from an established and resilient meat processing sector which continues to deliver high-quality products, supporting food supply and food security. The Government has full confidence this will continue. While the Government does not intervene in individual business decisions, it is dedicated to working collaboratively with the sector to help, where possible, alleviate pressures faced by small abattoirs. Defra remains committed to supporting initiatives that enhance accessibility to slaughter facilities in the South East and more widely across England.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of small abattoirs on food (a) safety and (b) security.

Ensuring the safety of food that enters the supply chain is of vital importance to the Government. Likewise, the Government considers food security a matter of national security and is committed to maintaining a resilient and diverse food supply chain. The contribution smaller abattoirs make to the UK food supply chain for meat products in England, is approximately 7% of overall production and 0.3% of throughput. While we have seen the closure of several smaller abattoirs in recent years, this has not impacted national food security or food supply. The national abattoir network remains resilient, continuing to deliver high-quality and safe meat products. Nonetheless, we recognise that small abattoirs play an important role in supporting regional food systems, providing routes to market for local producers, particularly those rearing native and rare breeds and sustaining diversity in the meat processing sector. While the Government does not intervene in individual business decisions, it is committed to working with the smaller abattoir sector to help, where possible, mitigate pressures that these abattoirs face.