John Slinger

The trajectory of AI development is uncertain and evolving quickly. New AI technologies, including ‘chatbot’ style applications built on frontier AI models, offer both opportunities and risks. It is imperative that we to understand these impacts from a scientific perspective, especially where they have potential to impact the mental health of people in the UK.

The AI Security Institute is conducting a range of research projects to advance the evidence base around the impacts of AI, to ensure the government is prepared to realise opportunities and mitigate risks. It informs government’s ability to respond appropriately to the issue.

The Government is committed to consulting the best available evidence on gambling advertising from a wide range of sources when assessing next policy steps in this space. It is for the Betting and Gaming Council to decide whether to publish their report on gambling advertising.

The Government regularly engages with a range of stakeholders, including industry bodies, in the development and delivery of gambling policy.

The Government aims to improve media literacy through cross-government collaboration, educational initiatives and collaboration with Ofcom, civil society, and online platforms. This approach supports Ofcom's regulatory media literacy duties and promotes media literacy through broader policy initiatives and cross-sector collaboration.

As the lead department for media literacy, DSIT is committed to improving media literacy through coordinated cross-government work. DCMS contributes to this cross-government effort by supporting a free, sustainable and plural media landscape.

Operators providing gambling facilities to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the conditions of their operating licences. The Commission expects them to obey the laws of all other jurisdictions in which they operate, and requires them to report any regulatory investigation or finding into their activities in any other jurisdiction. Operators must inform the Commission if they have a substantial customer base outside of Great Britain and state why they consider they are legally able to offer facilities to those customers.

The Government recognises the impact harmful gambling can have on individuals and their families and, as stated in its manifesto, is committed to strengthening the protections for those at risk and working with industry on how to ensure responsible gambling.

The Gambling Commission’s new survey, the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, helps to show the wider picture of gambling activity across Great Britain, including the ways people gamble. We will consider the best available evidence from a wide range of sources, to inform decisions on how best to fulfil the manifesto commitment to reduce gambling-related harm.

All major sports have published their gambling sponsorship Codes of Conduct, setting minimum standards for gambling sponsorships, and the Premier League’s decision to ban front-of-shirt sponsorship by gambling firms will commence by the end of the 2025/26 season.

Regarding television advertising, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body responsible for regulating advertising in the UK and co-regulates broadcast advertising under contract with Ofcom. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the ASA, are responsible for codifying the standards for advertising to the marketing industry as part of their CAP and BCAP Codes. A wide range of provisions in the codes are designed to protect vulnerable adults from harm, including those prohibiting imagery or claims that might encourage problematic gambling behaviour.

We are considering the best available evidence from a wide range of sources to inform decisions on how best to fulfil our manifesto commitment to reducing gambling-related harm. We will provide further updates to the House soon.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, alongside the rest of the ministerial team, have responsibility for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy in England.

The department provides £76 million per annum for the Music Hub network that employs or contracts with over 9,000 peripatetic teaching staff across England. Music Hubs work with classroom teachers in over 90% of schools.

The Music Hub network provides continued professional development (CPD) for both peripatetic and classroom teachers, as well as services to schools, including whole class ensemble teaching, group tuition, one-to-one tuition of pupils and instrument loans.

The new National Centre for Music and Arts Education will provide an online CPD offer and support to access existing high-quality teacher development to support delivery of the new music curriculum from September 2028.

Mobile phones have no place in school and school leaders already have the power to ban them. The department’s guidance on mobile phones in schools, published in February 2024, is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.

The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.

Research from the Children’s Commissioner, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools (99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools) already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.

The department recognises that industry experience is vital in the high quality teaching of vocational and technical education.

The national further education teacher recruitment campaign, “Share Your Skills”, targets those with industry skills to think about a career in FE teaching. Through Taking Teaching Further (TTF), a two-year programme that supports FE providers to recruit and provide early career support to those with industry knowledge and experience, we are supporting colleges to equip new teachers with the skills they need. In addition the Teacher Mentoring Programme is helping to improve retention of early career teachers providing mentoring and wellbeing support.

We are delivering payments worth up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career teachers in key STEM and technical subjects in FE colleges, which could include those transitioning to teaching from industry. Furthermore, we continue to offer financial incentives for those undertaking teacher training for the FE sector in priority subject areas. For the academic year 2024 to 2025, training bursaries are worth up to £30,000 each, tax free.

The department is supporting colleges in their recruitment and training of teachers, including those with industry experience.

The department is delivering Taking Teaching Further, which is a two-year programme that supports further education (FE) providers to recruit and provide early career support to those with the relevant knowledge and/or industry experience to retrain as FE teachers, with the aim to boost the quality and industry-relevance of teaching. We are supporting early career teachers with the Teacher Mentoring Programme, which aims to increase the retention rates of early career teachers by improving the package of support for new and inexperienced teachers, including mentoring and wellbeing support.

The department will be delivering payments worth up to £6,000 to eligible early career teachers in key science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and technical subjects in FE colleges, which could include those transitioning to teaching from industry.

The national FE teacher recruitment campaign, Share Your Skills, targets those with industry skills to think about a career in FE teaching. The campaign raises awareness and increases consideration by encouraging industry professionals to think about using their skills to teach in FE. Potential FE teachers can get information and support on their next steps toward a career in FE teaching from a dedicated campaign website, phone, and email service.

Defra has published best practice guidance to support local authorities to make better use of their power to seize vehicles suspected of fly-tipping. This guidance explains the circumstances in which overt and covert surveillance may be used in fly-tipping investigations.

The Government is committed to improving opportunities and outcomes for young people.

We are working to ensure that every young person has access to learning, training or employment support to help them progress into good work. This forms part of a broader cross-government approach to supporting young people and improving their life chances.

With around one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy.

This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn, including through expanded network of Youth Hubs, earlier intensive support in Jobs Centres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and a fully funded six month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds.

The Government is committed to ensuring patients in Rugby have access to timely, high-quality urgent and emergency care services. The Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is developing and delivering an Integrated Urgent and Emergency Care programme to improve access to care closer to home, reduce avoidable pressure on hospital services, and provide more joined-up care.

Improvements have already been made at Rugby Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC), including access to general practice (GP) support outside normal practice hours where clinically appropriate. This is helping more patients receive care locally without needing to attend an emergency department.

The ICB is now progressing the next phase of its programme, which will develop an integrated urgent care model to strengthen UTC provision, including evening and weekend services, and establish a single point of access for healthcare professionals to help patients access the most appropriate care.

The new model will also ensure UTCs meet national standards, including provision for patients of all ages and access to GP-led care. The new model is anticipated to be in place by autumn 2027. In the meantime, the ICB will continue to support improvements at Rugby UTC and maximise the use of available GP out-of-hours appointments at Rugby St Cross Hospital.

Craniocervical instability (CCI) is a complex presentation that can arise in the context of a range of underlying conditions. At present, there is no agreed national diagnostic definition or evidence base to support a distinct National Health Service pathway. This makes the development of a single national NHS pathway challenging. At present, clinical assessment and management are undertaken through existing recognised specialties, such as neurology, rheumatology, spinal surgery and pain services, based on the individual symptoms and needs of each patient.

The NHS has established safeguards to protect patients, including the requirement that any investigations or interventions offered within the health service must meet nationally accepted standards of clinical safety, evidence and value for money. NHS England supports clinicians through relevant professional guidance, and patients who have concerns about their care can raise these with their clinical team, local service providers, or through the NHS complaints process to ensure that issues are fully addressed.

Patient experience remains central to service development, and feedback gathered through clinical services, commissioners, and patient organisations will continue to inform work to improve care for people with complex connective‑tissue and spinal conditions. As the evidence base develops, the Department will continue to work with NHS England to consider how services for people with suspected CCI can evolve, including whether changes to pathways or models of care are warranted in the future to improve consistency, safety and patient experience.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.

On 25 February 2026, the Department began a consultation with Community Pharmacy England to consider any proposed changes to the reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors across 2026/27.

The Department invests over £1.6 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.

We are committed to furthering our investment in brain cancer research and have already taken steps to stimulate scientific progress and build scientific capacity to do research on brain cancer.

In January 2026, the NIHR announced increased investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children, and their families, who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer. As part of the consortium’s work, patients will be enrolled to a ‘Real World’ study tracking their progress in everyday medical settings, before matching them to new clinical trials based on their cancer subtype.

The Government supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on rare cancers such as glioblastoma to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.

On 7 April 2025 the Prime Minister announced that the Government and the Wellcome Trust will invest up to £600 million to create a new Health Data Research Service (HDRS). This future HDRS will super-charge research, bringing new treatments and cures to patients, by safely enabling access to patient health data from multiple sources via a single point of access.

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including brain cancer. 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 the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

Patients should be recalled based on their clinical need. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on recall intervals states that a healthy adult with good oral health should see a dentist once every two years, and a child once every year.

On 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on improvements to the National Health Service dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments, and will reduce clinically unnecessary check-ups.

Through the consultation, we sought feedback on alternative approaches or strategies that could best support practices to adhere to evidence-based recommendations on the time between routine examinations. The Government will consider further how best to implement the preferred options to support clinically appropriate check-ups that are also aligned to NICE guidance, noting that public education and the introduction of a risk assessment tool were the most popular options respondents to the consultation selected. The Government also intends to introduce ‘clinically appropriate patient recalls’ as the first topic of the quality improvement initiative, which was also proposed through the recent consultation. Further information is available from the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms

Through our diplomatic presence, we regularly engage with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. We continue to encourage constructive dialogue and cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve their outstanding issues, including around the federal budget, security cooperation, and the oil and gas sector. Priorities for the UK in Iraq include Parliamentary ratification of the UK-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which establishes a framework for deepening the UK-Iraq partnership across areas of common interest such as security, people smuggling, environmental protection, and trade.

Although the Foreign Secretary has not made any direct representations to his Iraqi counterpart on the suspension of budget transfers to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), the UK Government continues to encourage through our regular diplomatic engagement cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve outstanding issues, including budget payments. It is important that both sides negotiate to find a sustainable solution that secures regular and consistent salary payments for public servants in the KRI.

The UK was pleased to welcome the Kurdistan Region of Iraq's parliamentary election which took place on 20 October 2024. This election was an essential opportunity for the people of the Region to have their voices heard, as demonstrated by the high turnout (72%). After two-years of delays, this election contributes to the renewal of the Kurdistan Regional Government's democratic legitimacy.

We look forward to the resumption of the regional parliament and the formation of a regional government as soon as possible.

The UK continues to support a thriving Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) within a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. Through our diplomatic engagements with the KRI's political parties, we still urge greater cooperation between them to confront shared economic, political and security challenges.

The consultation on the visitor levy has closed and the Government will publish a response in due course. It will be for strategic authorities to decide whether a levy is the right choice for their region and how funds should be reinvested within their areas to drive growth.

A cross-Government taskforce is co-ordinating the response to the risk synthetic opioids, including nitazenes, pose to the UK. The Taskforce includes officials from the Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care, National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chiefs’ Council and Border Force.

Additionally, the NCA, working closely with policing, Border Force and international partners is ensuring that all lines of enquiry are prioritised and vigorously pursued to stem any supply of nitazenes to and within the UK. The NCA and Home Office international networks are in key source and transit countries to work with other governments to identify and disrupt cartels who seek to exploit the UK. On top of this, the UK are also active in international fora such as the US led Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, the United Nations and the G7.

The UK’s early warning and surveillance system has been enhanced and captures multiple data sets of data including ambulance data, post-mortem toxicology, drug seizures and wastewater analysis among other sources. Findings will be shared with law enforcement and public health agencies, at national and local level, meaning that rapid action can be taken in communities where harmful substances such as nitazenes are detected.

On 2 September, in line with recent advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, we laid an Affirmative Order to introduce a generic definition for nitazenes as well as to control 22 substances (including Xylazine). Subject to parliamentary processes, these amendments should come into force in early 2025.

A cross-Government taskforce is co-ordinating the response to the risk synthetic opioids, including nitazenes, pose to the UK. The Taskforce includes officials from the Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care, National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chiefs’ Council and Border Force.

Additionally, the NCA, working closely with policing, Border Force and international partners is ensuring that all lines of enquiry are prioritised and vigorously pursued to stem any supply of nitazenes to and within the UK. The NCA and Home Office international networks are in key source and transit countries to work with other governments to identify and disrupt cartels who seek to exploit the UK. On top of this, the UK are also active in international fora such as the US led Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, the United Nations and the G7.

The UK’s early warning and surveillance system has been enhanced and captures multiple data sets of data including ambulance data, post-mortem toxicology, drug seizures and wastewater analysis among other sources. Findings will be shared with law enforcement and public health agencies, at national and local level, meaning that rapid action can be taken in communities where harmful substances such as nitazenes are detected.

On 2 September, in line with recent advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, we laid an Affirmative Order to introduce a generic definition for nitazenes as well as to control 22 substances (including Xylazine). Subject to parliamentary processes, these amendments should come into force in early 2025.

A cross-Government taskforce is co-ordinating the response to the risk synthetic opioids, including nitazenes, pose to the UK. The Taskforce includes officials from the Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care, National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chiefs’ Council and Border Force.

Additionally, the NCA, working closely with policing, Border Force and international partners is ensuring that all lines of enquiry are prioritised and vigorously pursued to stem any supply of nitazenes to and within the UK. The NCA and Home Office international networks are in key source and transit countries to work with other governments to identify and disrupt cartels who seek to exploit the UK. On top of this, the UK are also active in international fora such as the US led Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, the United Nations and the G7.

The UK’s early warning and surveillance system has been enhanced and captures multiple data sets of data including ambulance data, post-mortem toxicology, drug seizures and wastewater analysis among other sources. Findings will be shared with law enforcement and public health agencies, at national and local level, meaning that rapid action can be taken in communities where harmful substances such as nitazenes are detected.

On 2 September, in line with recent advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, we laid an Affirmative Order to introduce a generic definition for nitazenes as well as to control 22 substances (including Xylazine). Subject to parliamentary processes, these amendments should come into force in early 2025.

The Government has committed to restoring confidence in policing, so it is vital that we rebuild the connection between the police and the communities they serve.

Research shows there is strong evidence that community engagement is important for building trust in the police and that higher visibility of local police increases public confidence, see for example the Home Office Public perceptions of policing: A review of research and literature.

That is why the Government has committed to strengthening neighbourhood policing as part of its Safer Streets Mission. We will be working with policing to introduce a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, restoring patrols to town centres, recruiting thousands of extra police officers, PCSOs and Special Constables, and providing every community with a named local officer to turn to.

It is essential that the public can have confidence in the police; the government has committed to restoring confidence in policing to record levels, alongside halving violence against women and girls and halving knife crime over a decade. These are core aims of the government's mission to take back our streets.

The government is also committed to improving police standards by strengthening the police misconduct system and introducing mandatory national vetting standards.

A substantial programme of work is underway across Defence to improve procurement performance and efficiency. This includes implementing acquisition reform to speed up routes to contract, strengthen contractual levers, improve delivery discipline, and implementing the vision set out in the Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy.

Meanwhile use can help maintain footfall on high streets while providing opportunities for creative use of space that would otherwise be empty between tenancies or before redevelopment. There is no dedicated fund for meanwhile use but local authorities have broad powers to subsidise such schemes, and areas receiving funding through the Pride in Place programme could use some of it to support meanwhile use.

The Government’s Private Parking Code of Practice will outline specific requirements for the operation and management of all private parking facilities, including motorway service area car parks.

We know that men make up the majority of those who come into contact with the criminal justice system and are disproportionately represented among offenders committing the most serious crimes. As these offences are more likely to attract custodial sentences and longer periods in custody, men make up the overwhelming majority of the prison population.

We are committed to addressing the drivers of offending and reducing reoffending to protect the public and build safer communities. Our approach is guided by the evidence on what works to reduce reoffending, and we work with local services and partners across government to support offenders in custody and the community to secure employment and stable accommodation, access treatment for drug and alcohol misuse, and develop the skills and behaviours needed to move away from crime.

More broadly, the Government’s work to improve outcomes for men and boys across the country is continuing, including in areas such as education, employment, mental health and wellbeing. Supporting positive outcomes across these areas can help address some of the wider factors associated with offending and reoffending.

The UK is a proud signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights which underpins many international agreements on trade, security and migration, as well as the Good Friday Agreement.

That Agreement also required domestic incorporation of the ECHR into Northern Ireland law which was enacted through the Human Rights Act 1998.

The Government has no plans for a general review of the role of MPs who, as elected representatives, play an important scrutiny role at a national level. MPs are accountable to their constituents and as office holders are able to perform their role as they see appropriate.

In the Cabinet Statement on 'Rewiring the State' published in July, the Government set out its ambition to deliver growth and the benefits of local empowerment across all parts of the country, while also ensuring “that there is a clear role for Members of Parliament in local accountability, working with mayors and local councillors." The Government will provide further details on this policy in due course.

The Government does not have plans to provide individual budgets to MPs for local causes. There is an established process for parliamentary approval of local funding via the Estimates process, and IPSA independently of Parliament is responsible for administering MPs’ pay and allowances associated with their parliamentary duties.