Daniel Francis

While advertising is a legitimate advantage which licensed operators have over illegal gambling firms, increased exposure to gambling advertising can have an impact on gambling participation and some forms of advertising can also have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children.

There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed and exploited. Gambling adverts cannot be targeted at children and cannot be of ‘strong appeal’ to children, for example they cannot feature Premier League footballers and celebrities popular with children.

However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.

The 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day are important opportunities for communities to come together to pay tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, telling the stories of those who fought and sacrificed in delivering lasting peace. 80 years on, we will come together through a series of national and local events to show our gratitude.

This week, the Government announced a UK-wide programme to mark the commemorations, with the early May Bank Holiday ushering in the beginning of the events to mark VE and VJ Day 80 for communities. The announcement included plans for the 5th May including street parties, barbecues and community get togethers across the UK, to be supported by the Big Lunch and Together Coalition, kicking off with an event on HMS Belfast. These events will echo the celebrations 80 years ago as the population welcomed the end of the war. Funding will be made available through the National Lottery Community Fund Awards for All for organisations across the UK to bid for grants to host community events, activities and exhibitions to help tell the stories of the Second World War at a local level, ensuring the legacy of the war and its impact on individuals and communities across the country is not forgotten.

There will be a service to mark the end of the war in the Far East on 15 August, and a nationwide engagement programme through Spring and Summer 2025 to recognise and honour all those who fought and sacrificed across the UK and Commonwealth.

Further details regarding community events and school resources will be announced soon.

We all owe our freedom to those who served during the Second World War.

It is important that 80 years on, we will come together as a nation to thank those who fought and remember those who lost their lives. The Government is committed to a series of national and local events to show our gratitude to all those who fought and sacrificed in delivering lasting peace including local communities up and down the country.

Each year, the Support for Families with Disabled Children (SFDC) programme provides individual grants to approximately 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child. The department is pleased to support the SFDC programme, and we expect applications to the scheme to re-open shortly.

Future funding decisions beyond this financial year are subject to the ongoing spending review.

The department collects and publishes information on disabled children, including through the school census, the SEN2 survey and in the children in need census. These returns provide multiple insights on disabled children and young people such as need and provision type, information recorded as part of the education, health and care (EHC) processes, children receiving support for their disability as a child in need and spending on services for disabled children.

Local authorities have clear statutory duties to provide support for disabled children including Section 17(1) of the Children Act 1989 which places a general duty on local authorities to provide services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need (which includes disabled children). The provision relating to the child or young person's specific needs can be recorded in an EHC and/or a family help plan which covers non-statutory targeted early help support and services provided to a child in need where requirements are set out in the department’s 2023 ‘Working together to safeguard children’ guidance.

This national and local data infrastructure enables government and local authorities to plan and deliver more effective services and support for disabled children and young people

The department keeps the content of all our data collections under review, including those which collect information on special educational needs and disabilities, whilst ensuring that the data we collect is necessary, feasible and minimises the data collection burden placed on the sector.

Accessibility and inclusivity are key considerations for the government as we seek to deliver against our key missions, including removing barriers to opportunity and delivering safer streets. The government wants disabled people to be able to travel easily, confidently, and with dignity, and we recognise the role of accurate and up-to-date information in making this possible.

The rail industry provides both static and real-time information to customers through a variety of channels. For example, live lift information and the location of accessible toilet facilities can be accessed via the National Rail Accessibility Map, as well as via the information and live-updates pages on the National Rail Enquiries website. The government also supports programmes such as Smarter Information, Smart Journeys which is working to ensure more information is available for customers on things like where BSL is available at stations, whether there are toilets on board trains and the live location of rail replacement transport.

The Department is undertaking discovery work to capture accessibility assets at bus stops within the National Public Transport Access Nodes (NaPTAN). NaPTAN is also introducing rail replacement data as a priority to align with the expiration of coach operator exemptions from the Accessible Information Regulations which will expire on 31 July 2026.

The Department also launched the Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group in November 2024, bringing together industry and consumer representatives, to consider the barriers to air travel for disabled passengers and to develop practical and achievable actions to improve aviation accessibility across the consumer journey.

Bexley London Borough Council approached Network Rail with a proposal to retrofit LED lighting to the underside of the footbridge handrails at Slade Green station. Network Rail has held meetings with Bexley Council representatives to discuss the proposal and has prepared and issued a Basic Asset Protection Agreement to the council.

Network Rail is working closely with Bexley Council to finalise the outstanding agreements required to move forward with the proposals and remains supportive. The timeframe for the works is influenced by several factors, including the scope of the project, track access, design reviews, and more. We anticipate being able to provide a clearer timeline once the outstanding agreements with the council have been finalised.

There have are no active discussions between officials in my Department and Network Rail regarding maintaining ownership of the northern part of Hornbeam Lane. If the hon member provides details, my Department would be happy to support the resolution of any issues.

We appreciate the strategic and economic benefits of new transport infrastructure programmes in London like the DLR extension to Thamesmead.

This government remains committed to supporting London and the transport network on which it depends and regularly engages with TfL to understand its capital portfolio for the long-term.

We continue to work with the Mayor of London and Transport for London on funding for transport in the capital as part of the Spending Review and it will then be for them to decide which projects to take forward.

The Government engages regularly with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to discuss a range of matters and officials meet routinely to discuss the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority (CTSA) and ORR’s regulatory activities concerning Eurotunnel. The Government fully supports efforts to continually improve accessibility on Le Shuttle services.

The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out a cross-government strategy to address key labour market challenges, especially tackling the increase in economic inactivity over recent years. It is part of wider government action to spread opportunity and fix the foundations of our economy.

This White Paper focuses on support for people who are economically inactive, people who are looking for work or want to progress, and people who are at risk of economic inactivity despite having a desire to stay in work. This includes disabled people, people with a long-term health condition, older people, young people, and those with caring responsibilities.

Additionally, in the Pathways to Work green paper we announced that we will be introducing a new guarantee that anyone who is claiming out of work benefits and is disabled or has a health condition will be able to access specialist work, health and skills support. This will be underpinned by additional funding of £1 billion a year by 2029/30. Following the conclusion of the green paper consultation period we will publish more detail on how the government will deliver the guarantee of access to work, health and skills support. We are working closely with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Secretary of State for Education on this.

On 3 December 2024, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I announced the appointment of Lead Ministers for Disability in every government department. The Lead Ministers for Disability will represent the interests of disabled people and champion disability inclusion and accessibility across each Department as they drive forward progress on the Government’s manifesto commitments and the five Missions.

The fee that has been put in place to underpin the service is aligned to other fees paid for domiciliary sight testing services. NHS England has committed to investing up to £12.7 million annually on the provision of sight tests and the associated optical vouchers in special educational settings. This provides the potential for these services to reach approximately 165,000 children and young people in over 2,000 educational settings, ensuring sight tests are provided in a familiar environment whilst minimising disruption to the school day.

NHS England has engaged with key stakeholders throughout the life of the programme and continues to work closely with local integrated care board commissioners, and the ophthalmic and voluntary sector, to scale up and roll out sight tests for patients in a special educational setting.

NHS England is in the process of publishing a final service specification for sight testing in special educational settings that will provide for comparable health and education outcomes to the proof of concept. A process is also being established for ongoing reporting against service delivery which will be confirmed with integrated care boards shortly.

We are determined to transform the NHS into a neighbourhood health service. As a downpayment we have announced the biggest boost to GP funding in years - an extra £889 million.

However, the reform needed to shift health care from hospital to community will come through our 10 year plan.

We are also making the biggest investment into hospices in a generation, boosting the Disabled Facilities Grant by £86 million and implementing an Elective Reform Plan that will see more tests and scans delivered in the community.

This government has increased homelessness and rough sleeping funding by £233 million in 2025/26, taking total investment to nearly £1 billion. This includes a further £3.5 million for the Night Shelter Transformation Fund extension in 2025-26. NSTF projects that were in receipt of revenue funding in 2024/25 were eligible to apply for additional funding in 2025/26. Successful applicants will be informed about the outcome of their applications, and all allocations be published on gov.uk website in the new financial year.

This government has increased homelessness and rough sleeping funding by £233 million in 2025/26, taking total investment to nearly £1 billion. This includes a further £3.5 million for the Night Shelter Transformation Fund extension in 2025-26. NSTF projects that were in receipt of revenue funding in 2024/25 were eligible to apply for additional funding in 2025/26. Successful applicants will be informed about the outcome of their applications, and all allocations be published on gov.uk website in the new financial year.