Julian Lewis

The Department attaches great importance to providing timely responses to Member’s correspondence. Regrettably a processing error has severely delayed our response in this instance, for which the Department sincerely apologises. We are taking steps to correct this system to prevent further errors of this nature. We will provide a full response urgently.

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) already require organisations to process personal data lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely, unless certain limited exemptions apply. Organisations are also required to meet additional conditions and safeguards when processing ‘special category’ data, or data that is more sensitive, such as DNA data.

The UK’s data protection legislation does not automatically prohibit the selling or sharing of personal data with third parties. Instead, it sets out a framework within which data sharing may safely take place.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s Data Protection Regulator, has published a statutory Code of Practice on data sharing which contains practical guidance for organisations on how to share data fairly and lawfully, available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/data-sharing/data-sharing-a-code-of-practice/.

The ICO has also published guidance to help organisations processing special category data, available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/lawful-basis/a-guide-to-lawful-basis/special-category-data/.

The Online Safety Act 2023 places duties on social media companies and search services. These include duties to tackle illegal content on their services. These services will need to put systems and processes in place to reduce the risk that users post this illegal content. They will also need to take it down where it does appear. If companies fail to comply with any of these duties, Ofcom has a range of strong enforcement powers, including issuing fines and applying to the court to initiate business disruption measures.

Since 2010, the grant scheme has returned nearly £350 million to listed places of worship across the UK. This has helped protect our listed places of worship and enabled them to continue their work as centres of worship and community assets.

The scheme will now run until the end of March 2026. As was the case with previous Governments, further spending commitments are a matter for the Spending Review.

Responsible bodies are responsible for managing premises, including for health and safety. They should ensure risk assessments are conducted and measures taken to minimise known critical risks, following Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance.

Guidance on promoting good hygiene when taking part in physical activity is available to schools at: https://resources.thegma.org.uk/sportshygiene.

The department’s technical guidance, due to be updated early 2026, outlines alternative pitch materials. While primarily intended for new build schools, this advice is available for wider use and outlines the merits of each material.

The department continues to work with other government departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Culture Media and Sport, the UK Health Security Agency and HSE, to ensure any advice and guidance in this area aligns with best practice and the latest scientific evidence.

As a general rule, students are eligible for fee and maintenance loans only if they have settled status in the United Kingdom and have been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland for three years. Students resident overseas are not eligible for loans.

The department and the Office for Students (OfS) have a programme of investigations underway. Where these investigations have found abuse of the student finance system, there will be serious consequences. We have now also asked the Public Sector Fraud Authority to tackle this threat and take forward this work across government. The department will always take steps to recover student loans that have been paid to students who have not been attending their courses. Depending on the precise circumstances, recovery has been and will continue to be pursued either from the institution or the student.

The department is consulting until 4 April on subcontracted provision. The consultation proposes changes to the requirements for courses to attract student finance that will necessitate subcontracted providers with specific numbers of students to be registered and regulated by the OfS. Together with the work of the OfS, which is currently consulting on reforms to its registration requirements, the department’s consultation will ensure subcontracted provision is better protected from poor quality and the risk of the misuse of public funding.

The department will also take immediate action on the use of agents to recruit students. The government can see no legitimate role for domestic agents in the recruitment of UK students. We are taking urgent steps to prevent any further abuse of the system.

Higher education (HE) providers are independent and therefore responsible for decisions around pay, including for Vice-Chancellors and other senior staff. The government does not have a role in intervening in pay and staffing matters.

The department acknowledges that Vice-Chancellors manage large and complex organisations, and therefore, deserve a salary that reflects the responsibilities and challenges of their roles.

However, Vice-Chancellors' salaries should not be excessive or disproportionate. Where providers are facing financial challenges, we expect them to work with staff and unions to help identify how best to reduce unnecessary spend. All efficiency measures taken by the sector should provide better long-term value both for students and for the country.

In addition, transparency is crucial for students, staff, and the public. Therefore, the Office for Students, the independent regulator in England, requires HE providers to provide and publish justifications for Vice-Chancellors' remuneration. If concerns arise regarding senior staff pay, the Office for Students has the authority to conduct independent reviews to ensure that a provider’s governance arrangements are appropriate and effective.

The Government is conducting a full review of all Arm’s Length Bodies. This review is ongoing, and the outcomes will be published in due course.

However, as National Parks are not classified as Arm’s Length Bodies, they are not included in the review.

The Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Defra and MHCLG Secretaries of State and the Minister for Nature received a letter from the Campaign for National Parks on 7 October 2025 titled ‘Do not weaken the laws protecting National Parks and National Landscapes’. We will respond in due course.

The Government is working with a range of partners to consider the impact of the Protected Landscapes Duty. The duty is intended to facilitate better outcomes for England’s Protected Landscapes, which are in line with their statutory purposes.

The Government has published guidance on the Protected Landscapes duty to ensure public bodies operating in these areas, including water companies, deliver better environmental outcomes working together with Protected Landscape organisations.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave on 30 June 2025 to Question 62523. As a signatory of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the UK Government adheres to international maritime law and protects the innocent passage of vessels transiting through UK waters.

The UK Government consistently monitors UK waters to uphold the safety of mariners, the marine environment and the UK’s national security, which includes monitoring of tankers that are suspected of being associated with the movement of Russian oil.

As a signatory of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the UK Government adheres to international maritime law and protects the innocent passage of vessels transiting through UK waters.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as including companion passes, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.

The Department for Transport conducted a review of the ENCTS and is currently considering next steps. The review did not consider adding companion passes to the statutory criteria for the scheme.

Currently, local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations under the ENCTS and offer additional discretionary concessions, such as extending the travel time criteria for the ENCTS.

The government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Hampshire County Council has been allocated £14 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish. This could include extending the discretionary concessions available in the local area to include companion passes.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as extending the eligibility criteria, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.

Local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations under the ENCTS and offer additional discretionary concessions, such as offering companion passes for those travelling with someone eligible for the ENCTS.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and National Records Scotland (NRS) publish annual data on deaths by sex and age group on their websites.

The Department has made no such assessment.

The decision not to set up a compensation scheme is now subject to live litigation and the High Court has granted permission for a full hearing.

• No assessment has been made.
• Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill legislates for the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. This increase will be for new and existing customers and will benefit millions of households.
• This will build on the Fair Repayment Rate for Universal Credit, introduced on 30 April 2025, reducing the overall deductions cap from 25% to 15% of a customer’s standard allowance. This will help approximately 1.2 million of the poorest households retain more of their benefit award by an average of £420 a year.
• We also uprated benefit rates for 2025/26 in line with inflation, with 5.7 million Universal Credit households forecast to gain by an average of £150 annually.

In its response to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the AEA Technology case, the department agreed to consider the PAC recommendation to ‘ensure that people have an adequate route of appeal when considering complaints about their occupational and personal pensions, through a review of the Ombudsman’. Progress on the PAC and subsequent WPC recommendations were paused due to the General Election. The department remains committed to providing the PAC with an update once the Cabinet Office has considered how it would like departments to scope and schedule a new series of reviews for public bodies.