Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the UK is taking to combat international drug trafficking networks.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Drugs have a devastating impact on the health of individuals and communities.

The Home Office and UK Law Enforcement, particularly Border Force and the National Crime Agency, delivers a significant amount of operational activity to detect and seize illicit drugs being trafficked to the UK and to secure our border. Our strategy focuses on working closely with law enforcement partners upstream to stop drug trafficking at source and across the supply chain, targeting the gangs responsible, and bringing them to justice.

In the year ending March 2025, Border Force seized over 150 tonnes of illegal drugs from overseas; the highest amount on record and a 40% increase on the amount seized in the year ending March 2024.

Serious criminals are constantly developing their approaches to traffic drugs into the UK in response to our efforts at the border and we recognise that we must continue to adapt our approach.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The requested information is not centrally collated by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. All spending is subject to standard value for money assessments.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department is taking to improve research into (a) Ocular Melanoma and (b) other rare cancers.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and in 2024/25 spent £141.6 million on cancer research, signalling its high priority.

One example of a recent investment into rare cancers is the NIHR’s investment of £13.7 million in December 2025 to support ground-breaking research to develop novel brain tumour treatments in the United Kingdom, with significant further funding announcements expected shortly. Research specifically on Ocular Melanoma includes a study completed in 2022 to develop AI Techniques to Predict Eye Cancer Using Big Longitudinal Data. The NIHR is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with rare cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments, by working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including for rare cancers

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

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into less common cancers, including ocular 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 patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the national safeguarding guidelines for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Schools and colleges have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe. The department publishes statutory safeguarding guidance Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) which all schools and colleges must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

KCSIE is subject to regular review to ensure it is kept up to date and relevant. We are proposing to make changes to KCSIE 2026 and plan to launch a public consultation very soon.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department are taking to ensure rural communities can access in person banking services.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Banking is changing, with many customers benefitting from the convenience and flexibility of managing their finances remotely. However, Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to supporting sufficient access for customers in rural areas and across the country.

Through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, the Government gave the Financial Conduct Authority regulatory responsibility for access to cash. Its rules ensure cash continues to be a viable method of payment for the millions of people who depend on it by providing reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposit facilities for individuals and businesses, including free services for personal accounts.

In addition to traditional bank branches, the financial services industry is committed to rolling out 350 banking hubs across the UK by the end of this Parliament. Over 240 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 200 are already open. Government is working closely with industry on this commitment, including through regular ministerial engagement. Most recently, on 8 January, I chaired a roundtable with banks, Cash Access UK and UK Finance to discuss banking hubs.

Banking hubs are allocated based on independent assessments by LINK, which consider factors such as branch closures, cash reliance and community vulnerability. The criteria also differentiate between rural and urban areas. For example, LINK applies a wider three-mile catchment area in rural locations to recognise that villages often rely on nearby market towns.

Customers can also access everyday banking services at a nearby Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers of participating banks to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at over 10,000 Post Office branches across the UK. The Government protects the Post Office network by setting minimum access criteria. These include ensuring that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a Post Office and 90% of the population within one mile.

Beyond bank branches, banking hubs and Post Office banking services, some banks also provide points of access through initiatives such as pop-up services in libraries and community centres, or mobile banking vans serving remote areas. The Government supports initiatives which give customers access to in-person banking, as well as digital access.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of immigration on housing availability.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 62663 on 22 July 2025 and to Question UIN 51990 on 19 May 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce reoffending rates.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Reoffending in England and Wales costs taxpayers £22.7 billion per year (adjusted to 24/25 prices). Tackling reoffending is crucial to reducing crime, reducing demand on prison and probation services and protecting the public.

Working across Government, we are taking steps to tackle the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of interventions which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes, but is not limited to, education, employment, accommodation and substance misuse treatment services.

We have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to support prison leavers. We are expanding our community accommodation service to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness by providing up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation for those under probation supervision. And we have funded Incentivised Substance-Free Living units (ISFLs) in 85 prisons, where prisoners sign a behaviour compact, agree to be regularly drug tested and can access enhanced opportunities compared to a standard wing.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support independent museums.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This Government supports independent museums around the country through funding delivered via Arts Council England (ACE), with ACE investing over £80 million in museums in 2025/26 across its programmes. This funding includes £25 million to support museums across England with urgent infrastructure and maintenance backlogs through the Museum Estate and Development Fund, and a brand new £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, both announced last February, in addition to core programming funding for the over 200 museum sites forming part of the National Portfolio. As the National Development Agency for Museums, ACE also funds the Museum Development Network, providing expert advice to smaller museums across the country, and delivers Cultural Property functions that support museums with everything from insurance, to new acquisitions.

Most recently, eligible independent museums could apply to the latest round of the £4 million DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, launched in September 2025 to support local and regional museums to improve displays, enhance collections care and make exhibitions more accessible to wider audiences. Independent museums are also supported through government schemes including the VAT Refund Scheme for museums and galleries, and the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Significant payments to companies, £25,000 and over, are published by month as part of the Department’s transparency data. This provides the most up to date data, including the companies used to deliver advertising and marketing. They are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/spending-over-25-000--2

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Total spend with our media buying and planning agencies for the last three financial years is as follows:

Financial years under the previous government

Financial years under the previous and current government

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Government marketing supports the effective communication of operational and policy objectives by effectively understanding and meeting the needs of citizens and businesses, changing behaviours for personal, societal and economic benefit.

Total advertising and marketing spend with the Department for Business and Trade’s media buying agency for the last three financial years is as follows:

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increasing water bills on households.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

It is important that customers get value for money from their water bills and that support is available for those who need it. I meet water companies frequently to discuss a range of issues, including customer bills.

As the independent economic regulator, it is Ofwat’s responsibility to scrutinise water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. It does this through its Price Review, every five years. Ofwat published the results of the 2024 Price Review in December 2024, this sets out company expenditure and customer bills for the next five years, up to 2030. These price controls came into effect on 01 April 2025.

Price Review 2024 will deliver substantial improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector - the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation. The average annual bill rise over the next 5 years will be £31 (or 36%). This will vary across households depending on their circumstances. Information on bills for each water company is available on Ofwat’s website.

All water companies have measures in place for customers who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support. Moreover, Government expects industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported.

The Government has committed to reforming the WaterSure support scheme which supports low-income households with high essential water use due to having a medical condition or three or more children living at home and has consulted on extending the list of qualifying benefits to include non-means tested disability benefits. This proposal is designed to provide better support for low-income households where a medical condition leads to high essential water use.

The proposed reforms would also increase support for existing households and update the regulations to reflect best practice adopted across the water sector. The department will publish the response to the consultation in the coming months.

Bill increases are necessary to make up for years of under-investment and make sure water companies can deliver a good service to customers and protect the environment.

The Government is also bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for billpayers and restore trust and accountability. This includes the creation of a powerful new consolidated regulator, which will work to ensure water company bills are fair and affordable for customers. These reforms are detailed in the Government’s Water White Paper.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support people with the cost of water bills.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

It is important that customers get value for money from their water bills and that support is available for those who need it. I meet water companies frequently to discuss a range of issues, including customer bills.

As the independent economic regulator, it is Ofwat’s responsibility to scrutinise water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. It does this through its Price Review, every five years. Ofwat published the results of the 2024 Price Review in December 2024, this sets out company expenditure and customer bills for the next five years, up to 2030. These price controls came into effect on 01 April 2025.

Price Review 2024 will deliver substantial improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector - the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation. The average annual bill rise over the next 5 years will be £31 (or 36%). This will vary across households depending on their circumstances. Information on bills for each water company is available on Ofwat’s website.

All water companies have measures in place for customers who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support. Moreover, Government expects industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported.

The Government has committed to reforming the WaterSure support scheme which supports low-income households with high essential water use due to having a medical condition or three or more children living at home and has consulted on extending the list of qualifying benefits to include non-means tested disability benefits. This proposal is designed to provide better support for low-income households where a medical condition leads to high essential water use.

The proposed reforms would also increase support for existing households and update the regulations to reflect best practice adopted across the water sector. The department will publish the response to the consultation in the coming months.

Bill increases are necessary to make up for years of under-investment and make sure water companies can deliver a good service to customers and protect the environment.

The Government is also bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for billpayers and restore trust and accountability. This includes the creation of a powerful new consolidated regulator, which will work to ensure water company bills are fair and affordable for customers. These reforms are detailed in the Government’s Water White Paper.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with water companies on the cost of water bills to customers.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

It is important that customers get value for money from their water bills and that support is available for those who need it. I meet water companies frequently to discuss a range of issues, including customer bills.

As the independent economic regulator, it is Ofwat’s responsibility to scrutinise water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. It does this through its Price Review, every five years. Ofwat published the results of the 2024 Price Review in December 2024, this sets out company expenditure and customer bills for the next five years, up to 2030. These price controls came into effect on 01 April 2025.

Price Review 2024 will deliver substantial improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector - the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation. The average annual bill rise over the next 5 years will be £31 (or 36%). This will vary across households depending on their circumstances. Information on bills for each water company is available on Ofwat’s website.

All water companies have measures in place for customers who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support. Moreover, Government expects industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported.

The Government has committed to reforming the WaterSure support scheme which supports low-income households with high essential water use due to having a medical condition or three or more children living at home and has consulted on extending the list of qualifying benefits to include non-means tested disability benefits. This proposal is designed to provide better support for low-income households where a medical condition leads to high essential water use.

The proposed reforms would also increase support for existing households and update the regulations to reflect best practice adopted across the water sector. The department will publish the response to the consultation in the coming months.

Bill increases are necessary to make up for years of under-investment and make sure water companies can deliver a good service to customers and protect the environment.

The Government is also bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for billpayers and restore trust and accountability. This includes the creation of a powerful new consolidated regulator, which will work to ensure water company bills are fair and affordable for customers. These reforms are detailed in the Government’s Water White Paper.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to review the suitability of Turkey as a recipient of foreign aid.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Decisions on allocations of Official Development Assistance for the next three years are currently under consideration, and will be announced in the usual way.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to reopen local magistrate courts that have been closed to help clear the court case backlog.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

50% of magistrates’ courts were closed under previous Governments between 2010 and 2020.

Estate capacity is not a limiting factor to sitting the funded days in the magistrates courts. In other words, we are investing in more court staff, legal aid and judge time so that magistrates can hear more cases - up to £450 million in additional courts funding per year. There is therefore a difference between system capacity and physical capacity of courtrooms. Running courtrooms requires not just available courtrooms, but judicial time, and sufficient numbers of legal professionals.

We continue to keep the court estate under review to ensure it meets operational priorities. Projects to boost court capacity across the country include a new Magistrate’s Court in Blackpool and an additional 18 court rooms in the City of London.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) identify and (b) detain Islamic extremists.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

This Government takes extremism seriously. We are committed to ensuring we have the required tools and powers to counter the activities of extremists. This includes challenging extremist narratives by taking a more muscular approach to identifying and watchlisting extremists, and ensuring dangerous overseas hate preachers and extremists are unable to enter the UK to spread their divisive rhetoric.

Islamist extremism continues to be one of the biggest threats we face and is at the heart of our approach to countering extremism and terrorism. We focus on the individuals, groups and environments, online and offline, which foster and enable hatred, and those who reject the fundamental values of our society and whose purpose is to divide and to terrify communities. These extremists must be challenged, and where their activities fall foul of our laws on hate speech, on public order, or on terrorism they will rightly be investigated and prosecuted.

The UK has one of the most robust counter-terrorism frameworks in the world which is deliberately widely drawn to capture the ever-diversifying nature of the terrorist threat that we face. This includes a wide range of terrorist offences and specialised powers for the police and Security Service to investigate and disrupt terrorist activity, support prosecution, and manage terrorist offenders, where activity meets appropriate thresholds. It is a matter for the operationally independent Police, Crown Prosecution Service and courts to decide if a crime has been committed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made about the readiness of the NHS to tackle co-ordinated cyber attacks.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In the past year, we have invested £37.6 million across health and social care, building on the £338 million invested since 2017. Through our ambitious Cyber Improvement Programme, we are tackling the changing cyber risk head-on, expanding protection and services to better protect the health and care system.

NHS England’s Cyber Operations team provides 24/7 monitoring and expert support to National Health Service organisations who have been impacted by cyber-attacks. This includes specialist, on the ground, certified incident response services free of charge to NHS organisations who have been severely impacted by cyber incidents as well as technical and operational support to contain, investigate, and remediate incidents. Furthermore, we have developed guidance for leaders involved in cyber incidents to ensure there is a clear policy and process for how to respond across all elements of incidents.

We have a process in place to identify lessons and implement improvements following cyber incidents. Following the Synnovis cyber-attack in 2024, the Department and NHS England have made improvements to critical communications processes, added additional measures to improve resilience in the supply chain, and have set out clearer roles and responsibilities in incident management.

In 2023, a Health and Care Cyber Security Strategy was launched. Pillar 5 of the strategy focuses on exemplary response and recovery, as set out in the strategy health and care organisations should run annual cyber exercises to ensure there is a well-practiced and rapid response when incidents do occur.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The table below details Defra’s advertising and marketing costs for the 22/23, 23/24 and 24/25 financial years. Defra publishes details on spend on a monthly basis on GOV.UK as part of routine government transparency arrangements.

The current Government came into power within the 2024/25 financial year and completed a review of all 131 public campaigns with spend of over £100k.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with UK fishers on (a) challenges and (b) support required.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra Ministers meet with representatives of the fishing industry regularly to discuss a wide variety of issues including to understand their perspectives on challenges and support they need.