Written questions by Morrison.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of consulting with Syrian civil society organisations on the steps required to ease sanctions.

The UK has long supported Syrian civil society, and we continue to do so. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and senior officials, including the UK Special Representative for Syria, regularly meet civil society actors to discuss a range of issues, including the impact of sanctions. On 1 April, I met representatives from Syrian civil society to discuss how the international community can support Syria in building a better future, including through sanctions relief.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the level of religious freedom for (a) minority faith and (b) other groups in Iran.

Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Iran is extremely restricted. Minority faiths such as Bahai's, Christians, and Sunni Muslims, amongst others, are subjected to human rights violations, including but not limited to, harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrest and detention. The UK is championing the right to FoRB in Iran by taking action in multilateral fora - we were integral to the delivery of the Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2024, which called on Iran to release all religious practitioners imprisoned for their membership in or activities on behalf of a minority religious group, and to ensure that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief. The UK's dedicated Special Envoy for FoRB, David Smith, continues to advocate for religious freedom worldwide, including in Iran.

How many consolatory payments for gross inconvenience resulting from official error were made in each of the last five years; and what the (a) shortest and (b) average length of time for such a payment was in each of the last five years.

Although we collect data on the number of consolatory payments authorised, we do not systematically hold the information on the type of error (such as official error) and it would be too costly to review all these records. We do not keep a record of timescales taken on consolatory or any other special payments issued. We have provided the number of consolatory payments authorised for maladministration for the last five years in the table below. We are unable to provide a figure for 2024/25 as this information is still currently being compiled. Consolatory payments made 2019/2020 onwards Year No. of consolatory payments authorised 2019/20 5,1092020/21 3,8362021/22 8,0132022/23 10,2572023/24 9,753

If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for the 10-year Health Plan of the report by the National Clinical Homecare Association entitled Best Kept Secret: The Value Of Clinical Homecare To The NHS, Patients And Society, published in July 2024.

We have committed to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. As part of these reforms, we are determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and families receive the care they need when and where they need it.The use of evidence is embedded in our development of the 10-Year Health Plan, both by informing the proposals developed by the working groups supporting the plan, and in our ongoing assessment of the plan’s potential impacts. Both areas of work draw on a broad range of evidence, including published sources outside of the Department and NHS England.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a national strategy on the efficiency and effectiveness of community equipment services.

Individual National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts are responsible and accountable for their own purchasing decisions, which will include community equipment. NHS organisations are independent commercial entities, and it is for an NHS procuring authority to satisfy itself on how best to obtain quality and value for money through its procurement activity.Local NHS organisations have access to a wide range of procurement routes, but the Government has put in place a range of initiatives to help NHS bodies make informed choices about products and the route through which they are bought. These include the NHS Supply Chain, a national body which is responsible for procuring and delivering the majority of consumables, equipment, and other supplies to the NHS. The NHS Supply Chain was set up to leverage the collective buying power of the NHS to drive savings and provide a standardised range of clinically assured quality products at the best value.

What estimate has she made of the number of vehicles with a SORN certificate that are still being driven on the public highway.

The Department for Transport last carried out a roadside survey in 2023 which estimated the rate of vehicle excise duty evasion among vehicles seen on UK roads. The survey results were published on 7 December 2023 and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/vehicle-excise-duty-evasion-statistics-2023/vehicle-excise-duty-evasion-statistics-2023. Out of the unlicensed vehicles observed during the latest survey, five per cent were shown on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s database as having a current Statutory Off Road Notification in place.

Whether her Department plans to take steps to help (a) improve transparency within the umbrella company sector and (b) ensure workers are not subject to (i) excessive fees and (ii) improper tax arrangements.

The Government is committed to closing the tax gap and making the tax system fairer by ensuring temporary workers are protected from large, unexpected tax bills caused by unscrupulous behaviour from non-compliant umbrella companies. That is why the Chancellor announced in her Autumn Budget that the Government will introduce legislation to make recruitment agencies using umbrella companies legally responsible for accounting for Pay As You Earn on workers’ pay. The Government set out the expected Exchequer impacts of this measure at the Budget. The Government will publish a full Tax Impact and Information Note later this year. HMRC recently launched a comprehensive guidance tool, ‘work out pay from an umbrella company’, that agencies and umbrella company workers can use to better understand umbrella company pay and ensure tax compliance. The tool automatically flags discrepancies between submitted payslip information and calculated estimates that could indicate hidden deductions or tax avoidance. Earlier this month, HMRC published guidance with examples of how umbrella companies can demonstrate good practice. This guidance aims to raise standards across the umbrella company sector, creating a fairer market and helping workers and businesses understand what good practice looks like. This guidance can be found online at www.gov.uk/guidance/examples-of-good-practice-for-umbrella-companies-in-the-temporary-labour-market. The measures in the Employment Rights Bill will bring the activities of umbrella companies in scope for future regulation to ensure individuals working through them can access the rights they are legally entitled to and can receive greater transparency in the terms of their employment.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the appointment of the interim chair of the Competition Markets Authority on the regulation of (a) technology and (b) other large corporations.

The Secretary of State is grateful for the leadership Doug Gurr, the Interim Chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”), has shown since his appointment. Businesses of all sizes and types are required to comply with competition law. The CMA has published its prioritisation principles which set out the factors the CMA takes into consideration when deciding how to use its resources as effectively as possible.

If she has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to personal independence payments on blind and partially blind people.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an exemption for Council Tax on properties that are temporarily unoccupied due to probate.

When a property has been left empty following the death of its owner or occupant, it is exempt from council tax for as long as it remains unoccupied and until probate is granted. Following a grant of probate (or the signing of letters of administration), a further six months exemption is possible, so long as the property remains unoccupied and has not been sold or transferred to someone else.

How many and what proportion of vehicle accidents resulting in death or serious injury involved a vehicle without valid vehicle excise duty; and how many and what proportion of these untaxed vehicles were (a) driven by an uninsured driver, (b) not the subject of a valid MOT certificate and (c) both driven by an uninsured driver and not the subject of a valid MOT certificate.

This information is not held by the Department.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that umbrella companies in the temporary labour market comply with tax legislation on (a) the proper (i) deduction and (ii) reporting of (A) income tax and (B) National Insurance contributions for temporary workers and (b) other matters.

The Government is committed to closing the tax gap and making the tax system fairer by ensuring temporary workers are protected from large, unexpected tax bills caused by unscrupulous behaviour from non-compliant umbrella companies. That is why the Chancellor announced in her Autumn Budget that the Government will introduce legislation to make recruitment agencies using umbrella companies legally responsible for accounting for Pay As You Earn on workers’ pay. The Government set out the expected Exchequer impacts of this measure at the Budget. The Government will publish a full Tax Impact and Information Note later this year. HMRC recently launched a comprehensive guidance tool, ‘work out pay from an umbrella company’, that agencies and umbrella company workers can use to better understand umbrella company pay and ensure tax compliance. The tool automatically flags discrepancies between submitted payslip information and calculated estimates that could indicate hidden deductions or tax avoidance. Earlier this month, HMRC published guidance with examples of how umbrella companies can demonstrate good practice. This guidance aims to raise standards across the umbrella company sector, creating a fairer market and helping workers and businesses understand what good practice looks like. This guidance can be found online at www.gov.uk/guidance/examples-of-good-practice-for-umbrella-companies-in-the-temporary-labour-market. The measures in the Employment Rights Bill will bring the activities of umbrella companies in scope for future regulation to ensure individuals working through them can access the rights they are legally entitled to and can receive greater transparency in the terms of their employment.

Whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding for clinical homecare.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has made no recent assessment of the merits of providing additional funding for clinical homecare. The Department and NHS England recognise the importance of strengthening homecare medicine services, and continue to prioritise improvements in this area following the House of Lords Public Services Committee’s report, Homecare medicines services: an opportunity lost.Work is ongoing to explore a range of options to improve homecare services, including through the implementation of the recommendations accepted by the Department and NHS England. An update on this will be provided to the House of Lords Public Services Committee later this year.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in levels of (a) customer service and (b) phone call response times across Government departments on people seeking to engage with Government departments.

Departmental contact lines are not managed or run centrally. Therefore, each department is responsible for their own contact line, as well as customer service and response times.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with international partners to ensure that free and fair elections are held in Syria.

We welcomed the formation of the Syrian Government last month and the commitment of interim President al-Sharaa to hold free and fair elections. We are working closely with the Syrian Government, the UN and international partners to support an inclusive transition that represents Syria's diversity and protects the rights of all its citizens. We continue to call on the Syrian Government to prioritise inclusivity and representation in the building of state institutions and in further appointments, and to set out a clear timeline for the next phases of the transition. I discussed these issues with Foreign Minister al-Shaibani on 17 March.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the targeting of media workers in Gaza on global (a) press freedom and (b) journalist safety.

The government continues to monitor the reports of journalists and media workers killed in Gaza. This conflict has already become the deadliest conflict for journalists and media workers ever recorded and we remember all those who have lost their lives in the name of press freedom. All parties to a conflict must avoid deliberate attacks against journalists. Reporters covering conflicts are protected under international humanitarian law. We have called on the Government of Israel to do more to protect civilians, civilian infrastructure, and to allow the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid. We continue to call for a return to the ceasefire and we call on Hamas immediately to release all the remaining hostages. The United Kingdom co-founded the Media Freedom Coalition with Canada in 2019 and has joined Media Freedom Coalition statements calling for the protection of journalists in conflicts.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Stockport District Heat Network on energy costs for households in fuel poverty.

Stockport Council have applied for support from our Green Heat Networks Fund for their district heating network. To be eligible for support from the scheme, applicants must demonstrate that their networks will cause no detriment to domestic customers. This means that householders in fuel poverty should be no worse off. We are also taking action to strengthen consumer protection by introducing Ofgem regulation of heat networks from January 2026, providing protections for vulnerable customers, and ensuring fairer pricing.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to provide a multi-year funding settlement for early intervention services in local government.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 40059 on 27 March 2025.

What steps his Department is taking to support research into the use of digital cognitive assessments to improve early diagnosis of dementia.

The Department funds dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has invested nearly £11 million of funding to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia via the Invention for Innovation programme.In addition to NIHR funding, the Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme has provided funding to develop several digital cognitive assessments. For instance, through Innovate UK, the programme has awarded four United Kingdom based companies a share of the £4 million of funding to enable their biomarkers to be tested and validated in a large, diverse group of people, as part of the Bio-Hermes-002 study, which includes a series of tests which look at memory, language, and other cognitive skills.The programme has also committed to investing £2 million into a quick and easy digital test of patients’ cognitive functions, to be included in the READ-OUT study, which could lead to more accurate diagnoses when administered with blood biomarker tests for Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia. Some of these innovations could support improved diagnosis in the future, if validated for clinical use.The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including dementia. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on dementia to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Football Association on increasing funding for Futsal to pre-pandemic levels.

The Football Association is the recognised National Governing Body for futsal. As they are independent of Government, it is ultimately their responsibility to address issues related to the funding and profile of the game.To date, this Government has not had any discussions with the FA relating to futsal or its funding.