Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with her Belgian counterpart on regulating micro-transactions in video games as gambling.

Answered by Julia Lopez

The Government monitors the impact of microtransactions in video games on players, including children and young people. In 2020, we launched a call for evidence on loot boxes in video games which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling, although no causal link has been found.

We have since welcomed new industry-led guidance to improve protections for players and meet the following Government objectives that:

• purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian; and

• all players should have access to and be aware of spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.

We are working with industry and academics to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the new guidance and will provide an update following the 12-month implementation period, and independent academic scrutiny. We continue to keep our position on possible future legislative options under review. We monitor developments in other international jurisdictions, including Belgium, although no recent discussions with Belgian counterparts have taken place.

Whilst the new guidance relates to paid loot boxes specifically, a number of the measures are relevant to in-game microtransactions more broadly, particularly for children and young people. This includes driving awareness of and uptake of parental controls, and running a three-year £1 million public information campaign to provide information to players and parents about safe and responsible play

We have also published a Video Games Research Framework to improve the evidence base on the impacts of video games, including microtransactions and player spending. The Framework outlines the research topics and priorities which we have identified as core areas in need of further research. This includes better understanding of the impact of different monetisation features on players’ experiences, and the effectiveness of mechanisms to mitigate the risk of problematic spending behaviours.

While some microtransactions share similarities with traditional gambling products, we view the ability to legitimately cash out rewards as an important distinction. In particular, the prize does not normally have real world monetary value outside of the game, and its primary utility is to enhance the in-game experience. The Gambling Commission has shown that it can and will take robust enforcement action where the trading of items obtained from in-game microtransactions does amount to unlicensed gambling. Microtransactions within video games - including loot boxes - are also subject to consumer protection legislation that protects against misleading or aggressive marketing.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department (a) has and (b) plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of micro-transactions in video games on levels of spending among children and young people.

Answered by Julia Lopez

The Government monitors the impact of microtransactions in video games on players, including children and young people. In 2020, we launched a call for evidence on loot boxes in video games which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling, although no causal link has been found.

We have since welcomed new industry-led guidance to improve protections for players and meet the following Government objectives that:

• purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian; and

• all players should have access to and be aware of spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.

We are working with industry and academics to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the new guidance and will provide an update following the 12-month implementation period, and independent academic scrutiny. We continue to keep our position on possible future legislative options under review. We monitor developments in other international jurisdictions, including Belgium, although no recent discussions with Belgian counterparts have taken place.

Whilst the new guidance relates to paid loot boxes specifically, a number of the measures are relevant to in-game microtransactions more broadly, particularly for children and young people. This includes driving awareness of and uptake of parental controls, and running a three-year £1 million public information campaign to provide information to players and parents about safe and responsible play

We have also published a Video Games Research Framework to improve the evidence base on the impacts of video games, including microtransactions and player spending. The Framework outlines the research topics and priorities which we have identified as core areas in need of further research. This includes better understanding of the impact of different monetisation features on players’ experiences, and the effectiveness of mechanisms to mitigate the risk of problematic spending behaviours.

While some microtransactions share similarities with traditional gambling products, we view the ability to legitimately cash out rewards as an important distinction. In particular, the prize does not normally have real world monetary value outside of the game, and its primary utility is to enhance the in-game experience. The Gambling Commission has shown that it can and will take robust enforcement action where the trading of items obtained from in-game microtransactions does amount to unlicensed gambling. Microtransactions within video games - including loot boxes - are also subject to consumer protection legislation that protects against misleading or aggressive marketing.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of micro-transactions in video games on gambling behaviours among children and young people.

Answered by Julia Lopez

The Government monitors the impact of microtransactions in video games on players, including children and young people. In 2020, we launched a call for evidence on loot boxes in video games which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling, although no causal link has been found.

We have since welcomed new industry-led guidance to improve protections for players and meet the following Government objectives that:

• purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian; and

• all players should have access to and be aware of spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.

We are working with industry and academics to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the new guidance and will provide an update following the 12-month implementation period, and independent academic scrutiny. We continue to keep our position on possible future legislative options under review. We monitor developments in other international jurisdictions, including Belgium, although no recent discussions with Belgian counterparts have taken place.

Whilst the new guidance relates to paid loot boxes specifically, a number of the measures are relevant to in-game microtransactions more broadly, particularly for children and young people. This includes driving awareness of and uptake of parental controls, and running a three-year £1 million public information campaign to provide information to players and parents about safe and responsible play

We have also published a Video Games Research Framework to improve the evidence base on the impacts of video games, including microtransactions and player spending. The Framework outlines the research topics and priorities which we have identified as core areas in need of further research. This includes better understanding of the impact of different monetisation features on players’ experiences, and the effectiveness of mechanisms to mitigate the risk of problematic spending behaviours.

While some microtransactions share similarities with traditional gambling products, we view the ability to legitimately cash out rewards as an important distinction. In particular, the prize does not normally have real world monetary value outside of the game, and its primary utility is to enhance the in-game experience. The Gambling Commission has shown that it can and will take robust enforcement action where the trading of items obtained from in-game microtransactions does amount to unlicensed gambling. Microtransactions within video games - including loot boxes - are also subject to consumer protection legislation that protects against misleading or aggressive marketing.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to increase regulation of micro-transactions in video games.

Answered by Julia Lopez

The Government monitors the impact of microtransactions in video games on players, including children and young people. In 2020, we launched a call for evidence on loot boxes in video games which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling, although no causal link has been found.

We have since welcomed new industry-led guidance to improve protections for players and meet the following Government objectives that:

• purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian; and

• all players should have access to and be aware of spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.

We are working with industry and academics to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the new guidance and will provide an update following the 12-month implementation period, and independent academic scrutiny. We continue to keep our position on possible future legislative options under review. We monitor developments in other international jurisdictions, including Belgium, although no recent discussions with Belgian counterparts have taken place.

Whilst the new guidance relates to paid loot boxes specifically, a number of the measures are relevant to in-game microtransactions more broadly, particularly for children and young people. This includes driving awareness of and uptake of parental controls, and running a three-year £1 million public information campaign to provide information to players and parents about safe and responsible play

We have also published a Video Games Research Framework to improve the evidence base on the impacts of video games, including microtransactions and player spending. The Framework outlines the research topics and priorities which we have identified as core areas in need of further research. This includes better understanding of the impact of different monetisation features on players’ experiences, and the effectiveness of mechanisms to mitigate the risk of problematic spending behaviours.

While some microtransactions share similarities with traditional gambling products, we view the ability to legitimately cash out rewards as an important distinction. In particular, the prize does not normally have real world monetary value outside of the game, and its primary utility is to enhance the in-game experience. The Gambling Commission has shown that it can and will take robust enforcement action where the trading of items obtained from in-game microtransactions does amount to unlicensed gambling. Microtransactions within video games - including loot boxes - are also subject to consumer protection legislation that protects against misleading or aggressive marketing.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what progress he has made on preparing legislation to transpose into UK law the provisions of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement; and when he plans to ratify that treaty.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK signed the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement at the first opportunity on 20 September 2023 and laid the Agreement before Parliament on 16 October, the first Parliamentary sitting day after signature. The scrutiny process has now been completed. The Government aims to implement and ratify the BBNJ Agreement by the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice in June 2025. In line with this ambitious deadline, work is in hand on the legislation and other measures needed to translate the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement into UK law before we can ratify the Agreement.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce levels of in-work poverty in (a) Lanark and Hamilton East constituency, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK.

Answered by Jo Churchill

The latest available statistics show that working age adults living in workless households were around 7 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than working age adults in households where all adults work.

The Government is committed to supporting individuals who are stuck in low paid work to progress, helping them increase their earnings. We have introduced a voluntary In-Work progression offer for low-paid Universal Credit customers which focuses on removing barriers to progression, such as considering skills gaps and overcoming practical barriers such as childcare costs.

To deliver effective progression support to customers, Jobcentres are being supported by a network of 37 District Progression Leads across Great Britain who work with key partners to develop local opportunities.

To help parents on Universal Credit who are moving into work or increasing their hours, the Government is providing additional support with upfront childcare costs and, from April 2024, we will increase the childcare costs that parents on Universal Credit can claim back to over £1,000 a month for one child and to over £1,700 a month for two or more children.

The Government is also increasing the number of people on Universal Credit who receive intensive support to help them earn more by raising the Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET). At the Spring Budget we announced that the AET would increase to the equivalent of 18 hours at the National Living Wage from 13 May.

From April 2024, the Government increased the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the operation of the rule of law in Rwanda.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

Conclusions from FCDO experts fed into the Home Office's policy statement on evidence of the safety of the Republic of Rwanda, published on 11 January 2024, which assessed the Rwanda's legal framework. The World Justice Project's Rule of Law index ranks Rwanda top in sub-Saharan Africa and amongst low-income countries for order and security. The UK encourages Rwanda to uphold and champion Commonwealth values of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants have been assessed as unfit for work due to mental health issues in 2024.

Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)

No one has been assessed as unfit for work as the assessment for Personal Independence Payment does not assess a claimant’s capacity for work or work-related activity.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that PIP assessments accurately assess claimants with mental health issues.

Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment identifies the needs arising from physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive issues, or any combination of these. The assessment criteria were developed over a decade ago in conjunction with independent health, social care, and disability experts.

All health professionals performing PIP assessments receive comprehensive training in disability analysis including specific training on mental health conditions and how to identify their impact on claimants’ ability to carry out the activities in the assessment.  Our assessment providers have Mental Health Function Champions (MHFC) to support assessors when reviewing evidence and provide advice to DWP Case Managers. MHFCs are specialist practitioners who have at least 2 years of post-registration clinical experience in a mental health or learning disability role.

No assessment has been made of the potential mental health impact of PIP assessments, although customer experience is something that is continually monitored. It would be extremely difficult to objectively separate the specific impact of assessments on mental health from other contributory factors.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of PIP assessments on the mental health of claimants.

Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment identifies the needs arising from physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive issues, or any combination of these. The assessment criteria were developed over a decade ago in conjunction with independent health, social care, and disability experts.

All health professionals performing PIP assessments receive comprehensive training in disability analysis including specific training on mental health conditions and how to identify their impact on claimants’ ability to carry out the activities in the assessment.  Our assessment providers have Mental Health Function Champions (MHFC) to support assessors when reviewing evidence and provide advice to DWP Case Managers. MHFCs are specialist practitioners who have at least 2 years of post-registration clinical experience in a mental health or learning disability role.

No assessment has been made of the potential mental health impact of PIP assessments, although customer experience is something that is continually monitored. It would be extremely difficult to objectively separate the specific impact of assessments on mental health from other contributory factors.

Essentials guarantee and minimum income guarantee

Lanark United, West of Scotland Football League Third Division champions

Hamilton Academical and the Scottish Championship

ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map

Scientific hearing on animal experiments

Scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and arms exports to Israel

Work Capability Assessment reforms

Lesbian Visibility Week

Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023

Found: It was heartening to have a proposal put forward by Angela Crawley and her team, and to have the conversation