Written questions by Barker.

What steps her Department is taking to help (a) prevent (i) serious delays and (ii) cancellations and (b) provide adequate alternate travel provisions when weather conditions cause severe disruptions in the North West.

The Department requires train operating companies and Network Rail to put in place measures to avoid, where possible, the potential impact of disruption including as a result of weather. Network Rail owns and is responsible for maintaining railway infrastructure to ensure passenger and freight services operate safely. Officials hold regular discussions with Network Rail and industry to ensure severe weather preparedness plans are in place with clear mitigations to reduce the impacts of weather on punctuality and reliability. Network Rail Routes liaise closely with train operators to ensure comprehensive checklists are in place and to align customer messaging. Extreme Weather Action Telecons (EWATs) are stood up in anticipation of adverse or extreme weather conditions likely to impact upon rail networks, attended by Network Rail, British Transport Police, the Rail Delivery Group, train operators and the Department. EWATs coordinate the response to severe weather, for example by prepositioning people, equipment, assets to at-risk areas and implementing speed restrictions and emergency timetables where appropriate. Where services need to be cancelled, train operators will seek to provide alternative transport where possible, although there may be instances where this is not viable.

Innovation and Technology, whether artificial intelligence is being used to make decisions on individual caseworks (a) across government departments, (b) in the Home Office and (c) in the Department for Work and Pensions.

Individual departments have responsibility for their specific adoption of Artificial Intelligence. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) supports their adoption by providing frameworks, guidance and a community of practice. DSIT is currently implementing the mandatory rollout of the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS) which establishes a standardised way for public sector organisations to publish information about how and why they are using algorithmic tools.Artificial Intelligence is not being used within the Home Office to make caseworking decisions. DWP does not use artificial intelligence to make decisions in relation to fraud and error. All decisions that impact payments involve human intervention.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of potential impact of the cost of energy required to power AI capabilities on the feasibility of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, published on 13 January 2025.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will achieve our AI ambitions by laying the foundations for AI growth, driving adoption and building UK capability at the frontier.We recognise that data centres face sustainability challenges, from energy demands to water use. Through the AI Energy Council, we will be exploring bold, clean energy solutions — from next-generation renewables to small modular reactors — to ensure our AI ambitions align with the UK’s net zero goals.This builds on DSIT’s contribution to make Britain a clean energy superpower by investing in relevant research on clean energy and climate change.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions her Department has had with (a) Greater Manchester Combined Authority, (b) the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and (c) the West Midlands Combined Authority on the future of the Housing First pilots.

My officials and advisers work closely with local and combined authorities to review and explore options to respond to homelessness and rough sleeping in their areas, including through Housing First where appropriate.Government funding for the Housing First pilots, paid through the Rough Sleeping Initiative in 2024/25, has been consolidated into wider funding in 2025/26 through the £185.6 million Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant. Local and combined authorities have been given the flexibility to determine the most effective services, driven by local need, to be delivered to support individuals sleeping rough, at risk of sleeping rough, or at risk of returning to rough sleeping, which may include Housing First provision.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to provide development support to Cuba in the context of that country's removal from the US state sponsor of terrorism list.

The decision to remove Cuba from the US State Sponsor of Terrorism List has now been reversed by the new administration in Washington. The UK has contributed to the response to humanitarian crises in Cuba, including most recently through the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) following the hurricanes which affected Cuba in October and November 2024. The UK is one of the largest overall donor countries to CERF and has supported the agency's work since its creation.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of deaths by suicide as a result of (a) domestic violence and (b) emotional abuse.

The Home Office is working to develop the evidence base on suicides that follow domestic abuse through funding research into the Domestic Homicide Project, which captures information on suicides with a known history of domestic abuse from all 43 police forces in England and Wales.In the latest published data capturing deaths from April 2022 to March 2023, 242 deaths were counted, with 93 deaths (38%) classified as suspected suicides following domestic abuse. The full report can be found at the following link: https://www.vkpp.org.uk/vkpp-work/domestic-homicide-project/However, we recognise that the number identified in the report does not represent all suicides linked to domestic abuse and that more needs to be done to identify these tragic deaths. The scale of violence against women and girls is intolerable and this Government will treat it as the national emergency that it is. The Government is committed to halving violence against women and girls in a decade, and preventing domestic abuse related deaths is a key part of that mission

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of banning social media for under-16s.

We continue to consider all options in the pursuit of online safety for children. We live in a digital age and it is important we strike the right balance. Our priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act so children can benefit from its wide-reaching protections as quickly as possible. We are building the evidence base to inform any future action and have launched a research project looking at the links between social media and children’s wellbeing.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to help (a) Ministers and (b) officials from other departments fully participate in the Inter Ministerial Group on Homelessness.

The Deputy Prime Minister chairs an Inter-Ministerial Group which includes Ministers from across government and is focused on developing a long-term strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness, an urgent priority for this Government. Departments include the Department for Work and Pensions, Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care, Ministry of Justice, Department for Education, Ministry of Defence, His Majesty’s Treasury, in addition to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.The Inter-Ministerial Group is supported by a senior officials' board from the same departments. This is alongside regular bilateral meetings between Ministers on the key issues arising.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of standards of temporary accommodation on child infant mortality.

Too many children are spending years in temporary accommodation, at a point in their lives when they need space to play and develop, nutritious food to thrive and access to education. We must build more homes so we can reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation, which is why we will deliver the biggest increase to social and affordable housing in a generation.MHCLG’s dedicated team of homelessness advisers continue to work closely with local authorities under the highest bed and breakfast (B&B) pressures, including to develop B&B elimination plans, to reduce families being placed in this accommodation for longer than six weeks.The Government will also work with 20 local authorities with the highest levels of B&B use for temporary accommodation through a new programme of Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £5 million to test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives.All temporary accommodation must be safe and suitable for households with babies and children, and we are taking action to improve standards across the housing sector. The death of any child is devastating, and we must do all we can to prevent avoidable deaths. The Homelessness Code of Guidance is therefore clear that temporary accommodation should not be considered suitable for a family with children under 2 if there is not enough space for a cot and that housing authorities should support families to secure a cot where needed.Housing authorities must, as a minimum, ensure that all temporary accommodation is free of Category 1 hazards as identified by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Housing authorities have a continuing obligation to keep the suitability of accommodation under review, and to respond to any relevant change in circumstances which may affect suitability. Households may request a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable.

Communities and Local Government, what her Department's target date is to ensure that homeless households with children are not housed in bed and breakfast accommodation longer than the statutory six weeks maximum.

Too many children are spending years in temporary accommodation, at a point in their lives when they need space to play and develop, nutritious food to thrive and access to education. We must build more homes so we can reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation, which is why we will deliver the biggest increase to social and affordable housing in a generation.MHCLG’s dedicated team of homelessness advisers continue to work closely with local authorities under the highest bed and breakfast (B&B) pressures, including to develop B&B elimination plans, to reduce families being placed in this accommodation for longer than six weeks.The Government will also work with 20 local authorities with the highest levels of B&B use for temporary accommodation through a new programme of Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £5 million to test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives.All temporary accommodation must be safe and suitable for households with babies and children, and we are taking action to improve standards across the housing sector. The death of any child is devastating, and we must do all we can to prevent avoidable deaths. The Homelessness Code of Guidance is therefore clear that temporary accommodation should not be considered suitable for a family with children under 2 if there is not enough space for a cot and that housing authorities should support families to secure a cot where needed.Housing authorities must, as a minimum, ensure that all temporary accommodation is free of Category 1 hazards as identified by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Housing authorities have a continuing obligation to keep the suitability of accommodation under review, and to respond to any relevant change in circumstances which may affect suitability. Households may request a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable.

What actions is her Department taking to mitigate the rise in employer NI contributions on the homelessness charities.

In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance contributions (NICs). HMRC published on 13 November a Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the impact on charities as employers of the changes. The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no NICs.More broadly, within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 -24.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of women murdered by domestic abusers in (a) England and Wales and (b) Merseyside in each of the last five years.

The latest published data on the number domestic homicides between 2018/19 and 2022/23 in (a) England and Wales and (b) Merseyside can be found in the table below.Table: Number of domestic homicides of women aged 16 and over, Merseyside and England and Wales, 2018/19 to 2022/23 2018/192019/202020/212021/222022/23Merseyside33324England and Wales11088788370The scale of violence against women and girls is intolerable and this Government will treat it as the national emergency that it is. The Government has made it our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and tackling domestic homicide is a key part of that mission.Domestic homicide is a horrific crime that disproportionately impacts women. Every death linked to domestic abuse should be considered for a Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) to ensure that national and local agencies, local communities and society as a whole continues to learn lessons from domestic abuse related deaths and treats every death as preventable.

With reference to the press notice entitled Pat McFadden vows to make the state more like a start up as he deploys reform teams across country, published on 9 December 2024, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on sharing the lessons learned from his Department’s temporary accommodation pilot with the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness.

In December the Government launched the £100 million Innovation Fund to pioneer Public Service Reform by deploying new test-and-learn teams around the country to find innovative ways to fix some of our biggest challenges, including temporary accommodation. My officials are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on this programme, ensuring they build on and complement the extensive programme of work the Secretary of State is taking forward on temporary accommodation and homelessness, including the Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots announced on 18 December 2024. I am a member of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Inter Ministerial Group on homeless and temporary accommodation. I have also met with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping and we have jointly met with council leaders to discuss this issue. Trialling new, innovative ways of doing government is right at the heart of the Public Service Reform agenda, and we will be sharing the lessons learned from our pilots across government, including with the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has set up expert boards for homelessness policy.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected.The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.As well as work on the Inter-Ministerial Group and Expert Group we are also working closely with the sector to deliver a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy. We will continue to meet with a range of stakeholders, including mayors and MPs, to make sure the strategy is informed by a range of expertise.

Whether he has had discussions with local authorities on the provision of temporary accommodation for test-and-learn pilots.

The Test & Learns are a new way of working. The Cabinet Office, in close partnership with MHCLG, will be working across government and with local partners to codesign the detailed approach to the allocation of the Public Services and Innovation Fund in early 2025. We will partner with the Local Government Association (LGA) on this process. The initial projects include work on temporary accommodation with Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Essex County Council.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that Prison pathfinder meetings are provided with intelligence risk assessments on the release of prisoners that could pose a threat to national security.

The improvements being made to the Pathfinder process, to further enhance our ability to make informed decisions about offenders who pose national security risks, are set out in the Ministry of Justice’s response to the Prevention of Future Deaths Report by H M Coroner, following the inquest into deaths resulting from the terror attack in Forbury Gardens, Reading (https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-0276-Response-from-Ministry-of-Justice.pdf). In addition, new guidance and templates have been produced for prison security departments to improve the quality and detail of the intelligence assessments that inform pre-release planning under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements.

Communities and Local Government, how many times officials from her Department have met with homelessness sector stakeholders since July 2024.

The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from...

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to consult the homelessness sector on the work of the development of a cross-departmental strategy for ending homelessness.

The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from...

Communities and Local Government, what (a) formal role and (b) ongoing involvement she will have in the (i) formulation and (ii) implementation of a cross-departmental strategy for ending homelessness.

The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from...

What assessment has she made on the number of points failures on the rail network in the last 12 months.

Between the start of this financial year and 9 November, there have been 1,772 points failures compared with 1,715 points failures in the same period last year.