Luke Myer

Significant progress has been made since I last answered a question on this subject. All major Safeguarding Policies have been completely revised, or are being revised, as Statutory Codes of Practice. These Codes are co-produced with victims, survivor groups and safeguarding professionals. The next step is to create an easily accessible resource for parishes and create guides to support the work of our safeguarding officers and volunteers, who are doing excellent work across the country at parish and diocesan levels.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 30 January is attached.

The Department does not produce such specific estimates. For new free trade agreements (FTAs), the Government publishes impact assessments to support the parliamentary scrutiny process of FTAs, which include an assessment of the UK’s regions and nations. We expect all English regions and UK nations to benefit from from the new FTAs we have already signed. The Department’s latest impact assessment for the UK-India FTA (published July 2025) estimated that the gross-value added (GVA) in the North East of England could grow by £70 million (0.12%) in the long run due to the FTA.

Estimates by local authority and parliamentary constituency are not always available due to data reliability constraints.

Around 140,000 workers in the North East were expected to benefit from a direct pay rise following National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) increases in April 2025; and around 130,000 workers following the increases in April 2026. The 2026 NLW uplift is worth around £900 annually for a full-time worker, and over £1,500 for 18–20-year-olds on the NMW.

Further details can be found in the The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

In the 12 months to February 2026, the UK trade deficit (excluding precious metals) was £14.8bn, comprising a £210.1bn trade in services surplus, and a £225.0bn trade in goods deficit. The UK trade deficit (excluding precious metals) has remained broadly similar year-on-year, and stood at £14.9bn in the 12 months to February 2025 (ONS, 2026).

The Department for Business and Trade’s primary objective is to promote economic growth. As set out in Industrial and Trade Strategies published in 2025, we seek to improve UK productivity and competitiveness, strengthen our export capability, attract inward investment, and support resilient supply chains.

This government recognises the importance of secure and resilient supply chains to the UK’s growth and economic security. DBT is strengthening the UK’s resilience both through sector programmes and the upcoming Trade and Industrial Strategies. These Strategies, which are unreservedly pro-business, will outline more on our plans for resilience-building, including in the growth and foundational sectors targeted by the Industrial Strategy.

In collaboration with business, we are already acting to bolster the resilience of key UK industries, for example reviewing all options to ensure a secure future for our domestic steel industry and building a globally competitive electric vehicle supply chain through the Automotive Transformation Fund.

We support the Automotive sector via the Automotive Transformation Fund to build a globally competitive electric vehicle supply chain, including gigafactories and their supply chains. The Budget committed over £2 billion of capital and R&D funding to 2030 for zero emission vehicle manufacturing and supply chains. We will set out more information on this in due course as part of the Industrial Strategy.

Low carbon ammonia could play a role in reaching net zero as part of a diversified energy mix, as a flexible energy carrier or fuel. Ammonia can also be used as an industrial feedstock for essential products such as fertiliser.

However, the scale of future UK demand for low carbon ammonia is uncertain, with a key factor being the decarbonisation pathways chosen by sectors such as maritime.

DESNZ is working closely with other departments, including the Department for Transport, to understand the potential demand for low carbon ammonia, the role for domestic production, and whether further Government intervention may be required.

The next stage of the Hydrogen Allocation Round 2 process is the Invite to Offer stage, and we are working hard across government to begin this as soon as possible. We will be in touch with projects when this commences. We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that certainty is important to support business planning, resource management and engagement with third parties.

The Government knows how important the use of UK made steel is to communities across the country. We are ambitious about increasing the use of UK made steel in UK energy and infrastructure projects where possible. We will publish a steel strategy this year which will set out our vision for a bright and sustainable future for steel in the UK.

UK company William Hare, alongside Chinese company Modern Heavy Industries, was awarded the contract for fabricated steel structures following a competitive procurement process by NZT Power’s Tier 1 contractor.

The procurement is not public procurement. Specific contract information is a commercially sensitive matter for NZT Power and their Tier 1 contractor.

I have met with the project developer to understand more about the use of UK made and non-UK made steel, as well as the wider use of UK local content, in the NZT project. They confirmed their voluntary commitment to achieve more than 50% UK content across the value chain, with around £1billion UK-based sub-contracts already awarded.

My officials and I will continue to actively engage and work collaboratively with the CCUS industry to promote an industry-led voluntary ambition of 50% UK local content. We are also actively looking at ways to drive further investments into UK CCUS supply chains.

The Department will receive independently verified sales data after the conclusion of the first scheme year, in summer 2026, and data on the full compliance cycle for that scheme year in late 2026.

The government is continuing to assess the options for publishing certain Clean Heat Market Mechanism scheme data, for instance aggregate verified annual data, taking into account the commercial sensitivities of different approaches.

The UK has an established environmental regulatory regime in place to protect human health and the environment, with the Environment Agency (EA), and Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), and Natural Resource Wales (NRW) for projects based in Wales, all evaluating the environmental impacts of CCUS projects. The Statutory Nature Conservations Bodies are also consulted as part of this process. The UK ETS Authority has also consulted on proposals to requiring ships transporting CO2 for offshore storage to monitor and report emissions.

As my Honourable Friend will know, AI Growth Zones a priority for this government and central to our plan for growth.

The application process for AI Growth Zones opened in February. We received over 200 expressions of interest from across the country. And following the launch of formal applications in April, we have received 56 proposals to date.

I understand the Honourable member is as ambitious and impatient to hear what this means for his constituency as I would be for mine.

We’re going through the bids thoroughly now – and that process is not just locked up in Whitehall; we're talking to local authorities and potential investors, right across the country. So we’ll be able to say more soon.

These zones will be the key to making sure that tech and AI are not just for a few people at the top – but for every person. For people who most need jobs, and most need growth.

The Government continually assesses online service providers’ duties to tackle harmful content and activity on their services, including content relating to sexual exploitation. Under the Online Safety Act, social media platforms need to assess the risk of their services being used to facilitate several kinds of priority illegal harms. These include sexual exploitation. Where there is a risk, platforms need to take steps to mitigate it. Ofcom is the regulator for this regime. It sets out steps that providers can take in codes of practice. This includes steps relating to the design and operation of their services, as well as content moderation steps.

UK product safety law is clear that all products placed on the market must be safe. However, the Government keeps regulatory frameworks under regular review. The Department for Business and Trade has recently introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill to update the UK’s regulatory framework on product safety. It will support business and economic growth whilst providing greater protection for consumers.

As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government is committed to supporting the growth of the UK video games sector. In April this year we launched the £30 million Games Growth Package, doubling funding to invest in UK games businesses and develop future talent.

Under competition law, responsibility for investigating the impact of mergers and acquisitions on competition falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s independent competition authority sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade. The Government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers and expertise to investigate the benefits and risks of mergers in relation to competition, including those that may impact the video games sector.

The Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including deaf people.

Through our arm's length body, Sport England, we have provided £1.2 million to support the work of UK Deaf Sport.

Our consultation on the impact of AI on the copyright regime, which was published on 17 December and closed on 25 February, received over 10,000 responses. We will now consider the full range of responses we have received and will continue to develop our policy approach in partnership with creative industries, media and AI stakeholders. Addressing this is an urgent priority for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, but no decisions will be taken until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers for the creative industries.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) also works closely with the Department for Education (DfE) on skills policy affecting the creative sector. This includes DfE’s work on the reformed growth and skills levy, which will help more people learn new high-quality skills at work, including digital skills, and create routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries.

Many video games studios already use AI tools to streamline development processes and enhance game-play experience.

I routinely hold discussions with a range of stakeholders in the sector where we cover matters relevant to sports and television, including free-to-air access to sporting events.

The Government wants major sporting events to be made available on free-to-air television so that they can be enjoyed by a wide audience. However, this must also be balanced with the ability of sporting organisations to generate revenues to invest in their sports, at all levels.

The department is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. There are 34 schools already on the programme within the Tees Valley region.

Early adopter schools opened free breakfast clubs for the first time in April 2025, and the total departmental expenditure on free breakfast clubs in the Tees Valley region was £245,107.23 in the 2025/26 financial year. In the current financial year, total departmental expenditure in the region amounts to £161,156.13.

Details on total spend for the financial year and on future years’ spending are to be confirmed.

The department does not collect data on children placed in households where an individual is a registered sex offender.

We collect data on children’s serious incidents that involve death or serious harm to a child where abuse or neglect is known or suspected and any death of a looked after child. At the notification stage, the data collection system does not include an option to record whether a child was placed with a registered sex offender, and information provided at this point may not clearly identify the perpetrator. More detailed and verified information regarding abuse or neglect incidents, is established through subsequent rapid reviews. The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, which oversees these reviews, may hold such information.

​Regulation 26 of the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 requires providers to obtain specified information about applicants and adult household members. This includes an enhanced criminal record certificate under section 113B of the Police Act 1997, which contains suitability information relating to children.

​For fostering, an enhanced criminal record certificate with a check of the children’s barred list is mandatory. If a person is on the children’s barred list, they are legally prohibited from working in regulated activity with children and would commit a criminal offence if they did so. ​

​Enhanced certificates may also include relevant local police information, such as allegations or investigations. In addition, services must consider the outcomes of any previous fostering or adoption applications involving the applicant or household members.

The department does not collect data on children placed in households where an individual is a registered sex offender.

We collect data on children’s serious incidents that involve death or serious harm to a child where abuse or neglect is known or suspected and any death of a looked after child. At the notification stage, the data collection system does not include an option to record whether a child was placed with a registered sex offender, and information provided at this point may not clearly identify the perpetrator. More detailed and verified information regarding abuse or neglect incidents, is established through subsequent rapid reviews. The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, which oversees these reviews, may hold such information.

​Regulation 26 of the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 requires providers to obtain specified information about applicants and adult household members. This includes an enhanced criminal record certificate under section 113B of the Police Act 1997, which contains suitability information relating to children.

​For fostering, an enhanced criminal record certificate with a check of the children’s barred list is mandatory. If a person is on the children’s barred list, they are legally prohibited from working in regulated activity with children and would commit a criminal offence if they did so. ​

​Enhanced certificates may also include relevant local police information, such as allegations or investigations. In addition, services must consider the outcomes of any previous fostering or adoption applications involving the applicant or household members.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Schools are responsible for providing meals and meeting the School Food Standards. They may enter individual contracts with suppliers and caterers to meet this duty. Our guidance on the School Food Standards, available on GOV.UK, includes practical advice to support schools in areas such as menu planning and procurement.

The department has published guidance for schools participating in the Early Adopter Breakfast Clubs Programme, which sets out what support is available in relation to food procurement, including the ‘buying for schools service’.

The department’s ‘Get help buying for schools’ has a range of approved frameworks that can help schools to buy food with peace of mind that they are getting good value, in terms of cost, quality and time. These resources are accessible at: https://get-help-buying-for-schools.education.gov.uk/categories/catering.

Polyhalite satisfies a proportion of the UK’s sulphur demand, but it is not a direct substitute for nitrogen or phosphate-based fertilisers. It can, however, be blended with other fertilisers to increase nutrient use efficiency and provide a balanced nutrition for plants.

The UK sources fertiliser both domestically and through diverse imports, helping keep supply chains flexible and maintain a diverse nutrient supply.

The consultation on the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 closed on 23 December 2024. Many organisations have called for the Regulations to be updated to reflect the modern ways in which the public uses bathing waters so that they continue to support public health outcomes.

This Government published our formal response on 12 March 2025. The consultation results show a large majority in favour of the two wider reforms to expand the definition of a ‘bather’ and introducing the use of multiple monitoring points at designated bathing sites.

We are now progressing policy development and research to determine how best to implement the wider reforms. We will consider any potential environmental, societal, and access Impacts. We will work closely with local and national stakeholders, seeking their views on these reforms.

Private drinking water supplies are regulated by local authorities, who receive scientific and technical advice from the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI). To ensure water is safe to drink, local authorities sample and identify water quality risks, can serve notices to correct any issues identified, and have remedial powers if those responsible for the supply do not comply with the notice.

To secure a reliable and sufficient supply, legislation allows a water company to charge for the cost of making a new connection. As the independent economic regulator, Ofwat ensures companies are acting responsibly and transparently in the services they provide and set charges that reflect the cost of undertaking the work.

The DWI regularly publishes research on private water supplies, which helps local authorities to conduct risk assessments and to fulfil their regulatory responsibilities. Defra also works closely with DWI to ensure the provision of safe, clean drinking water.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will continue to review and improve the driving test booking system to make sure that learner drivers can book their test easily and efficiently.

On 28 May, DVSA launched a public consultation on improving the rules for booking car driving tests. Views are being sought from the driver training industry, learner drivers and other interested parties on changes which aim to prevent learner drivers from being exploited by those who resell tests at a higher price.

The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 23 July.  In line with the consultation principles, DVSA will aim to publish a summary of responses, including the next steps, within 3 months of the consultation closing.

While the selling of tests for profit is not illegal, DVSA deploys enhanced bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly, but these applications are constantly evolving and changing. DVSA continues looking for ways to ensure the safest and fairest way to book a driving test is for a legitimate candidate to use its services. DVSA has zero tolerance for those who exploit learner drivers and is committed to tackling the reselling of driving tests.

Investment in the North’s transport infrastructure continues to be a priority for this government and has a key role to play in unlocking regional growth. The Government has already committed £310m in capital grants to Tees Valley in the current financial year, via the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS). We are currently examining all future spending commitments through a Spending Review, and any future funding will be confirmed in due course.

Good reliable and affordable local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. The Government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them right across England, including in rural parts of Teesside.

In addition, 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. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent, protect crucial bus routes or introduce initiatives to reduce fares for local communities.  Tees Valley Combined Authority has been allocated £7.2 million of this funding.

The Revenue Certainty Mechanism is intended to support both greenhouse gas reductions and UK production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) by providing revenue certainty to encourage investment in the construction of SAF plants. The SAF Mandate will need c1.2 million tonnes of SAF and reduce aviation emissions by 2.7MtCO2e annually in 2030. A UK supply of SAF will help fulfil the SAF Mandate, delivering carbon savings.

Monthly statistics showing the number of people on Universal Credit by local authority, from November 2013 to February 2026, are published in the People on Universal Credit dataset on Stat-Xplore.

The department regularly publishes benefit expenditure and caseload tables and the latest benefit expenditure by local authority tables include Universal Credit expenditure from 2019/20 to 2024/25. These figures do not include forecasts of future spending. Further figures will be published in due course.

No assessment has been made.

Universal Credit is paid for the whole month based on the circumstances on the last day of a customer’s Assessment Period (AP). In the sad circumstances where a customer dies, and the death occurs before the last day of the Assessment Period, there is no entitlement to Universal Credit in that month.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides a range of specific support for people with asbestos-related conditions.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) provides a non-contributory, “no-fault”, weekly benefit for disablement because of an accident at work, or because of one of over 70 prescribed diseases known to be a risk from certain jobs. DWP also provides one-off lump-sum compensation payments under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 (the ‘1979 Act scheme’) to individuals who suffer from one of the dust-related diseases covered by the scheme, subject to the wider eligibility criteria being satisfied. This scheme is designed to cover people who are unable to claim damages from any relevant employers because they have gone out of business.

Asbestos-related diseases covered by IIDB and the 1979 Act scheme include pneumoconiosis (including asbestosis), diffuse mesothelioma, unilateral or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening and asbestos-related primary carcinoma of the lung.

Eligible individuals with diffuse mesothelioma who are not entitled under the 1979 Act scheme, for example those whose exposure was not work-related, may instead be entitled to a one-off lump-sum compensation payment under Part 4 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (“the 2008 Act Scheme”).

The value of weekly IIDB awards were uprated by 1.7 per cent from April this year. Awards under the 1979 and 2008 Act Schemes were also uprated by 1.7 per cent and new rates apply to those who first become entitled to a payment on or after 1 April 2025. The Department recognises the importance of providing support to customers with asbestos-related conditions and we continue to work with stakeholders to identify improvements where possible.

There are no plans to review the rules relating to competent states. The EU Regulation 883/2004 only applies to those in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement. The role of these regulations is to coordinate the differing EU social security systems. The UK is bound by these international agreements and cannot change how the competent state is determined.

The Office for National Statistics estimate that 110 thousand working-age people in Tees Valley are economically inactive. This is similar to the pre-pandemic level. This government has ambitious plans to devolve more power to local areas to help more people get into work.

The Department is fully committed to setting up the Statutory Public Inquiry into the serious harms that have taken place at the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

The Department has begun work to set up the inquiry, the Inquiry Secretary is in post, and we anticipate announcing the Chair soon. The Terms of Reference are the responsibility of the Chair once in post.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the planning and commissioning of National Health Service healthcare services. In doing so ICBs must take into account the needs of their local population, which includes meeting the healthcare needs of their rural populations and population demographics.

University Hospitals Tees provides a number of services at East Cleveland Primary Care Hospital in Brotton, including in the Tocketts Ward and a wide range of outpatient clinics.

In line with the 10-Year Health Plan for England, University Hospitals Tees, comprising of the South Tees Hospitals and North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trusts, continues to explore the best possible ways in which to continue the transformation of services and optimise patient experience. This includes looking at how services are best delivered across the area and this may involve exploring different models of care, including the Neighbourhood Health Framework.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is carrying out research to understand if there are potential health risks from exposure to micro and nano plastics through inhalational and oral routes. This work is in collaboration with Imperial College under the Health Protection Research Unit Environmental Exposures and Health. These research projects assist in the understanding of the potential risks from exposure to micro- and nano plastics through inhalational and oral routes and enhance UKHSA capability in understanding the risks from microplastics.

The potential impact of microplastic materials on human health has been assessed by the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment. The most recent statement was published in 2024 and can be found at the following link:

https://cot.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-02/Microplastics%20inhalation%20final%20draft%20statement%20Acc%20V%20SO.pdf

In October 2025, the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants published a statement summarising the evidence for a potential risk to health from exposure to airborne nano- and microplastics, and the uncertainty and gaps in this evidence. This statement can be found on the GOV.UK website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/comeap-statement-on-airborne-nano-and-microplastic-particles-and-fibres

No assessment has been made by the Department of the potential merits of requiring Disclosure and Barring Service checks for tattoo artists as part of existing local authority registration and licensing processes. On 7 August we announced our plans to introduce a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England. There are no current plans to include tattooing as part of this scheme, as registration and licensing schemes already exist for tattooing under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.

The myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, final delivery plan will be published shortly. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.