Abtisam Mohamed

It is crucial that trans people are safe and protected from discrimination. This government is committed to breaking down barriers by ending the politics of division.

Work is underway on the various manifesto commitments that will enhance legislative protections for all LGBT+ individuals, including those who are trans. In particular, the government is committed to delivering a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices; ensuring that all existing strands of hate crime constitute an aggravated offence and reforming the legal gender recognition process to remove indignities for trans people while upholding the Equality Act.

The Prime Minister and the president of the European Commission met in Brussels on 2 October and agreed to strengthen the relationship between the EU and the UK, putting it on a more solid, stable footing.

We are committed to finding constructive ways to work together and deliver for the British people.

We are not going to give a running commentary on youth mobility. We will obviously look at EU proposals on a range of issues, but there are no plans for a Youth Mobility Scheme, and we will not return to freedom of movement.

UPOV provides a global system of plant variety protection trusted by plant breeders with the aim of encouraging the development of new varieties of plants for the benefit of society. Whether or not a country signs up to UPOV91 is subject to their own policy-making process including impact assessments, so the UK has not assessed impact in India.

As stated in the Kings Speech this government is committed to establishing an industrial strategy council on a statutory footing. Growth is this Government's number one priority. To achieve growth and create secure, well-paid jobs across the country, we will get businesses investing again through a clear, credible, long-term modern Industrial Strategy. To succeed, the Strategy will need to be designed and delivered in partnership with business, unions, local leaders and wider stakeholders. The Strategy will be published in the coming months and I will update the house in due course.

The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will transform homes across the country by making them cheaper and cleaner to run, rolling out upgrades from new insulation to solar and heat pumps. We have already announced the new Warm Homes: Local Grant to help low-income homeowners and private tenants with energy performance upgrades including insulation, as well as the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, to support social housing providers and tenants. More detail will be provided next spring.

Support for boosting energy efficiency in homes is currently available through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Scheme, Home Upgrade Grant, Energy Company Obligation Scheme and the Great British Insulation scheme. These schemes are available across the country, including to those based in Sheffield.

The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills. We will partner with combined authorities and local and devolved governments to roll out this plan.

Community energy will play an essential role in meeting our mission for clean power by 2030, and Government recognises the important role community groups, including those in Sheffield play. Great British Energy will provide support to deliver the Local Power Plan, putting local authorities and communities at the heart of restructuring our energy economy. The Local Power Plan will help crowd‑in investment while ensuring benefits flow directly back into local communities.

Community energy will play an essential role in meeting our mission for clean power by 2030, and Government recognises the important role community groups, including those in Sheffield play. Great British Energy will provide support to deliver the Local Power Plan, putting local authorities and communities at the heart of restructuring our energy economy. The Local Power Plan will help crowd‑in investment while ensuring benefits flow directly back into local communities.

The government’s primary focus is on continuing efforts, both domestically and in collaboration with the EU, to boost UK participation in Horizon Europe (FP9). That must be the immediate priority.

However, the government will of course closely observe the development of any future programmes with interest. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides a long-term basis for cooperation in areas of shared interest, such as science, research, and innovation.

The Science and Technology Framework provides a holistic picture of the critical levers to target science and technology to drive growth and improve the lives of citizens. Work under the Science and Technology Framework has shown the benefit of taking a cross-HMG, systems approach to science and technology. The Framework will act as a policy tool to support the delivery of core priorities, such as the five Missions and Industrial Strategy.

The government will set ten-year budgets for certain R&D activities, giving certainty to form long-term partnerships with industry and stay at the forefront of global innovation.

Further details will be announced in due course.

The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) and Football Association (FA) require that in the case of teams comprising players all under the age of 18, gambling logos do not appear on any item of kit or clothing, and football bodies’ gambling sponsorship Code of Conduct requires that academy teams with players predominantly under the age of 18 do not play in kit featuring gambling logos.

As part of the Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising, gambling operators cannot allow their logos or any other promotional material to appear on any commercial merchandising designed for children, including on children’s replica shirts. The Code of Conduct also requires that gambling sponsorship must be designed to limit its reach and promotion to those under the age of 18, such as ensuring that no gambling sponsor logos or other promotional materials relating to gambling sponsorship appear on sections of their website which are designed to be viewed and used specifically by children. The Department will closely monitor the implementation of the Codes to ensure they have a meaningful impact.

Additionally, in line with the advertising rules prohibiting top-flight footballers and celebrities from appearing in gambling adverts to limit their appeal, from the end of the 2025/26 season Premier League clubs have agreed to remove front of shirt sponsorships by gambling firms.

This Government recognises the vital role that charities play up and down the country, including in Sheffield, by providing crucial support to different groups and communities. This Government is committed to resetting the relationship with civil society and treating them as an equal, expert partner who are integral to delivery of the Government’s vision for national renewal.

DCMS is currently supporting charities in several ways. This includes delivery of a number of grant schemes, such as the £25.5m VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme, which is supporting frontline organisations across England to improve their sustainability. This scheme is part of a wider £101.5 million package to support organisations struggling with cost of living pressures, along with the £76 million Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund; a full list of recipients of that Fund is available online, with recipients from Sheffield listed under Yorkshire and the Humber.

DCMS is supporting voluntary youth services in the Sheffield Central area through the Million Hours and Youth Investment fund. The Million Hours Fund is investing £22 million into youth organisations up to March 2026, to deliver more than a million extra hours of youth work in areas across England where young people may be at risk of anti-social behaviour. The Youth Investment Fund enables local, not for profit youth providers to invest in capital projects that expand the reach, number and range of services they currently offer. A list of recipients of this funding is available online for phase one and phase two, with a range of recipients based in Sheffield.

DCMS is also supporting organisations with other forms of funding, including through growing the social investment market (which provides access to grants, repayable finance and a blend of the two) and providing advice on competing for public sector contracts through the £900,000 Contract Readiness Fund.

This Government recognises the vital role that charities play up and down the country, including in Sheffield, by providing crucial support to different groups and communities. This Government is committed to resetting the relationship with civil society and treating them as an equal, expert partner who are integral to delivery of the Government’s vision for national renewal.

DCMS is currently supporting charities in several ways. This includes delivery of a number of grant schemes, such as the £25.5m VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme, which is supporting frontline organisations across England to improve their sustainability. This scheme is part of a wider £101.5 million package to support organisations struggling with cost of living pressures, along with the £76 million Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund; a full list of recipients of that Fund is available online, with recipients from Sheffield listed under Yorkshire and the Humber.

DCMS is supporting voluntary youth services in the Sheffield Central area through the Million Hours and Youth Investment fund. The Million Hours Fund is investing £22 million into youth organisations up to March 2026, to deliver more than a million extra hours of youth work in areas across England where young people may be at risk of anti-social behaviour. The Youth Investment Fund enables local, not for profit youth providers to invest in capital projects that expand the reach, number and range of services they currently offer. A list of recipients of this funding is available online for phase one and phase two, with a range of recipients based in Sheffield.

DCMS is also supporting organisations with other forms of funding, including through growing the social investment market (which provides access to grants, repayable finance and a blend of the two) and providing advice on competing for public sector contracts through the £900,000 Contract Readiness Fund.

This Government is committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential and recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving their life chances and wellbeing.

As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. This is funded from the local government settlement

Additionally, as a government we are keen to ensure that there is appropriate youth provision to stop young people being drawn into crime and facing other poor outcomes. This is why we are creating the Young Futures programme, which will see the establishment of Prevention Partnerships in every local authority and the rollout of youth hubs across England and Wales. These Partnerships, supported by a network of hubs, will bring local services together and deliver support for young people to help them live safe and healthy lives.

This will build on the DCMS funding to invest £500 million in youth services to ensure every young person will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer.

The government recognises that UK higher education (HE) creates opportunity, is an engine for growth in our economy and supports local communities. We are determined that the HE funding system should deliver for our economy, for universities and for students. This government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university. The student finance system removes upfront financial barriers so that everyone with the ability and desire to enter HE can do so. We recognise the impact that the cost of living crisis has had on students.

That is why the government is increasing the maximum maintenance loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, in line with the forecast rate of inflation, to ensure that more support is targeted at students from the lowest income families.

Upfront tuition fee loans allow students, including disadvantaged students, to access HE who would otherwise not be able to. Students undertaking nursing, midwifery and allied health profession courses qualify for additional grant support through the NHS Learning Support Fund. Students undertaking tuition fee based Initial Teacher Training courses leading to Qualified Teacher Status may qualify for bursaries or scholarships depending on their subject and/or previous qualifications.

The government provides funding through the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) on an annual basis to support teaching and students in higher education (HE), including expensive to deliver subjects such as science and engineering, students at risk of discontinuing their studies and world leading specialist providers.

The total recurrent SPG funding to be distributed by the Office for Students (OfS) for the 2024/25 academic year is £1.426 million. This comprises £1.402 million in recurrent grant for providers and £24 million in funding for national facilities and regulatory initiatives.

The department made £281 million of funding available to providers for the 2024/25 academic year in the form of student premiums and mental health support to promote successful outcomes for students, including for disadvantaged students.

For the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25, the SPG multi-year capital funding was set at £450 million to support investment in teaching and learning facilities. The outcomes for the distribution of capital grant funding by the OfS to eligible HE providers is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/capital-funding-for-financial-years-2022-23-to-2024-25/.

On 29 July 2024, the OfS published the outcomes of their decision on how the 2024/25 academic year SPG recurrent funding would be allocated to eligible HE providers. The full summary of their decision-making can be accessed here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/467e28b4-7bc4-4223-bfbc-33de5836c349/funding-for-2023-24-ofs-decisions.pdf.

On 25 October 2024, the OfS also published the latest edition of the funding allocations for each provider for the 2024/25 academic year. The breakdown for each HE provider is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/recurrent-funding-for-2024-25/.

The department is aware that higher education (HE) providers will have to pay increased national insurance contributions. As my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out in the Budget, raising the revenue required to fund public services and restore economic stability requires difficult decisions, which is why the government has asked employers to contribute more.

The department understands that universities are under financial pressure, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to announce a tuition fee rise of 3.1% which will take effect at the start of the 2025/26 academic year.

The tuition fee limit increase represents an increased investment from students for the sector and will support HE providers in managing the financial challenges they are facing.

In return for higher investment, the government is calling for universities to strengthen efforts to improve access and outcomes for disadvantaged students.

The government will be boosting support for disadvantaged learners with an inflation-linked increase to maintenance loans for those facing cost of living pressures.

The department will explore how best we can continue to improve access to HE, widening opportunity for our students and learners, while driving the HE system to play a bigger role in our ambitions for national growth.

The department understands that universities are under financial pressure, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to announce a tuition fee rise of 3.1% which will take effect at the start of the 2025/2026 academic year.

The tuition fee limit increase represents an increased investment from students for the sector and will support higher education (HE) providers in managing the financial challenges they are facing.

In return for higher investment, the government is calling for universities to strengthen efforts to improve access and outcomes for disadvantaged students.

The government will be boosting support for disadvantaged learners with an inflation linked increase to maintenance loans for those facing cost of living pressures.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has already taken the important first step of appointing Sir David Behan as interim Chair of the Office for Students (OfS) to oversee the important work of refocusing the OfS role to concentrate on key priorities, including the HE sector’s financial sustainability. The department continues to work closely with the OfS as the independent regulator of HE in England to understand the changing financial landscape.

​The department will also explore how to best continue improving access to HE, widening opportunity for students and learners.

The government recognises that UK higher education (HE) creates opportunity, is an engine for growth in our economy and supports local communities. We are determined that the HE funding system should deliver for our economy, for universities and for students. This government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university. The student finance system removes upfront financial barriers so that everyone with the ability and desire to enter HE can do so. We recognise the impact that the cost of living crisis has had on students.

That is why the government is increasing the maximum maintenance loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, in line with the forecast rate of inflation, to ensure that more support is targeted at students from the lowest income families.

Upfront tuition fee loans allow students, including disadvantaged students, to access HE who would otherwise not be able to. Students undertaking nursing, midwifery and allied health profession courses qualify for additional grant support through the NHS Learning Support Fund. Students undertaking tuition fee based Initial Teacher Training courses leading to Qualified Teacher Status may qualify for bursaries or scholarships depending on their subject and/or previous qualifications.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. That is exactly what we will do, and we will be outlining more detail in due course.

This is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and Northern Ireland; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales only.

The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law. Enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police.

In addition, the Government made a manifesto commitment to ban Trail Hunting as part of a set of measures to improve animal welfare. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing. Further announcements will be made in due course.

The Government has taken immediate and substantial action to address water companies who are not performing for the environment or their customers. In July, we announced swift action to begin resetting the water sector, including ringfencing vital funding for infrastructure investment and placing customers and the environment at the heart of water company objectives.

In September, the Government introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill to give regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies damaging the environment and failing their customers. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector.

I would also refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July, HCWS3.

The Government keeps all policies under review and is aware of stakeholder concerns about the current legislative and regulatory framework for taxis and private hire vehicles, including cross-border working. The Government is considering how to improve the current regulatory position, whilst still enabling the sector to deliver safe and accessible services that meet a wide range of passenger needs.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 October 2024 to Question UIN 8747

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 October 2024 to Question UIN 5883.

DWP pays close attention to the evidence base on the extra costs faced by disabled people; including academic research, analysis by Scope, and DWP’s own commissioned research on the Uses of Health and Disability Benefits from 2019. In order to understand more, DWP is now undertaking a new survey of Personal Independence Payment customers to understand more about their disability related needs. This project has an advisory group of experts including representatives of the disability charity Scope and academic experts.

Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish the child poverty strategy in the Spring.

Our publication on 23 October ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’ sets out how we will develop the Strategy, harnessing all available levers to deliver a reduction in child poverty this Parliament.

The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

The Taskforce will hear directly from experts on each of the Strategy’s themes including children and families living in poverty and work with leading organisations, charities, and campaigners.

To support struggling families, we have already boosted the Household Support Fund by a further £421 million in England. The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to roll out free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, create 3,000 additional nurseries, as well as deliver our plan to make work pay to turn the minimum wage into a real living wage.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is aimed at supporting people, who have a long-term physical or mental health condition, with extra disability-related costs. Entitlement is based on how the condition affects mobility and daily living needs, rather than the condition itself.

There are currently no specific document requirements, other than the evidence gather questionnaire (PIP2), so we cannot reduce the number of documents required.

We do, however, encourage claimants to provide supporting evidence/documentation to help DWP better understand claimant needs and how their condition or disability affects or restricts their ability to carry out various activities.

There are no plans to change this, but we do appreciate that some claimants can find it challenging so flexibility is applied:

• Where more time is needed to gather additional evidence/documentation, claimants can contact the PIP Helpline and request an extension.

• Where it might take a while to collect evidence/documentation, this can be sent separately, after the questionnaire has been submitted, and will be included in the assessment.

• Where claimants simply cannot obtain, attach or send documents, Assessors can ask supplementary questions during the consultation or request further medical evidence where necessary or appropriate.

We are committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases. This includes children, teenagers, and young adults.

The Department is taking steps to improving waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment, across all cancer patient groups in England. We will start by delivering an extra 40,000 scans, appointments, and operations each week to ensure that patients are seen as quickly as possible.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has set out detailed guidance for general practitioners on the symptoms of cancer in children and young people, recommending referral within 48 hours for those presenting with a range of potential cancer symptoms.

To support timely investigation after referral, we are working with the NHS to maximise the pace of the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres, with capacity prioritised for cancer.

Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the NHS highlighted that there is more to be done to increase the speed at which patients are diagnosed with and treated for cancer. His report will inform our 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS, which will include further details on how we will improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.

On 21 October 2024, the Department launched a national engagement exercise to inform the plan. We encourage people and organisations who would like to share their views on the priorities of children and young people with cancer to do so. People can share their views at the following link:

http://change.nhs.uk/

Following the engagement exercise, the Department will carefully consider how the priorities of this group should be reflected in the plan and any subsequent work.

We are committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases. This includes children, teenagers, and young adults.

The Department is taking steps to improving waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment, across all cancer patient groups in England. We will start by delivering an extra 40,000 scans, appointments, and operations each week to ensure that patients are seen as quickly as possible.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has set out detailed guidance for general practitioners on the symptoms of cancer in children and young people, recommending referral within 48 hours for those presenting with a range of potential cancer symptoms.

To support timely investigation after referral, we are working with the NHS to maximise the pace of the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres, with capacity prioritised for cancer.

Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the NHS highlighted that there is more to be done to increase the speed at which patients are diagnosed with and treated for cancer. His report will inform our 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS, which will include further details on how we will improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.

On 21 October 2024, the Department launched a national engagement exercise to inform the plan. We encourage people and organisations who would like to share their views on the priorities of children and young people with cancer to do so. People can share their views at the following link:

http://change.nhs.uk/

Following the engagement exercise, the Department will carefully consider how the priorities of this group should be reflected in the plan and any subsequent work.

We are committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases. This includes children and young people.

In Spring 2024, the Department ran workshops with colleagues in the health system which identified a range of options to improve outcomes for this group. We are committed to further exploring these areas, including by considering the wider support available to children and young people with cancer and their families.

We are in the process of considering next steps for taking forward this important area of work and will share further information in due course.

We are committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases. This includes children and young people.

In Spring 2024, the Department ran workshops with colleagues in the health system which identified a range of options to improve outcomes for this group. We are committed to further exploring these areas, including by considering the wider support available to children and young people with cancer and their families.

We are in the process of considering next steps for taking forward this important area of work and will share further information in due course.

The Mental Health Bill announced in the King’s Speech will deliver the Government’s commitment to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983. The bill will be published when Parliamentary time allows.

On day one in office, the Foreign Secretary commissioned a thorough review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), given the grave concerns about the conduct and consequences of the war in Gaza for civilians. The UK's robust export licensing criteria states that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL. Given the conclusions of the review, on 2 September the Government suspended around 30 export licences to Israel, effectively covering all arms exports for use in the current conflict in Gaza, exempting components for F-35 aircraft which, for reasons outlined in the Foreign Secretary's Statement and the Business and Trade Secretary's Written Ministerial Statement, have been excluded from the suspension.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is intolerable. The UK condemns Israel's restrictions on aid - as the Prime Minister has said, the world will not tolerate any more excuses from Israel on humanitarian assistance. The Prime Minister stressed the importance of getting much more aid into Gaza in a call with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on 19 October; the Foreign Secretary reiterated this in his call with Foreign Minister Katz on 27 October. The UK is committed to alleviating the suffering in Gaza and we provide significant funding to partners to support those most in need, including matching up to £10 million of public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Middle East humanitarian appeal.

The International Humanitarian Law (IHL) assessment process gathers information from a wide range of sources, including reporting from international and multilateral bodies, NGOs on the ground, open-source evidence and internal reporting. We do not comment on individual pieces of evidence.

IHL assessments consider the three aspects of Israel's compliance: conduct of hostilities; humanitarian access and relief; and detainees. A lack of sufficient verifiable evidence applies only to the conduct of hostilities. This is in part due to the opaque and contested information environment in Gaza and the challenges of accessing specific and sensitive information, such as intended targets and anticipated civilian harm. However, the assessment's findings on Israel's compliance and commitment in the areas of humanitarian relief and treatment of detainees give cause for concern about its attitude and approach to the conduct of hostilities, as does the scale of the destruction and the number of civilian deaths. The Foreign Secretary has raised these concerns with the Government of Israel.

More information on the process can be found at: Summary of the IHL process, decision and the factors taken into account - GOV.UK.

The plight of sick, injured and disabled people in Gaza is deeply distressing. We have pressed Israel at senior levels to urgently establish sustained, safe and timely passage for patients who need medical or surgical interventions not available in Gaza. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories raised the issue of medical evacuations for injured Palestinians with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The UK is supporting the provision of essential healthcare to Palestinian civilians, including through field hospitals operated by UK-Med in Gaza, and through WHO Egypt to support medically evacuated Palestinians.