Sarah Dyke

Ofcom is responsible for assessing the 4G coverage improvements delivered by the Shared Rural Network. Its latest published figures show that 4G now reaches over 95% of UK landmass. This means that the Shared Rural Network met its overarching target a year ahead of schedule. The delivery of the programme was always due to continue until January 2027, at which point Ofcom will assess further coverage improvements from the publicly-funded parts of the programme.

It is shocking that the last government published no digital inclusion strategy for 10 years. This Government is determined to remedy that and I hope to be able to say more soon.

The latest published data shows that between April 2022 and March 2023, 90% of premises benefiting from publicly-subsidised broadband rollout, including Project Gigabit, were rural.

Almost £2 billion of contracts have been signed to connect over a million more premises with gigabit-capable broadband. These are premises that would otherwise not be reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout, and fall predominantly in rural areas.

The issue of illegal gambling is a concern for this Government and we are committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission, the statutory regulator for gambling in Great Britain, to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will grant the Gambling Commission with new powers to more quickly and effectively take down illegal gambling websites.

Estimating the size of the illegal gambling market is difficult due to the changing nature of the sites and channels through which customers are able to access illegal activity. While research in this space is improving, further research is required to robustly estimate the extent of illegal gambling within Great Britain, who is engaging with it, and the impact that it is having on issues such as horseracing and tax revenues. This is a priority area of research for the Gambling Commission. We will continue to monitor the latest evidence in this area to improve our understanding of the illegal market.

The issue of illegal gambling is a concern for this Government and we are committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission, the statutory regulator for gambling in Great Britain, to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will grant the Gambling Commission with new powers to more quickly and effectively take down illegal gambling websites.

Estimating the size of the illegal gambling market is difficult due to the changing nature of the sites and channels through which customers are able to access illegal activity. While research in this space is improving, further research is required to robustly estimate the extent of illegal gambling within Great Britain, who is engaging with it, and the impact that it is having on issues such as horseracing and tax revenues. This is a priority area of research for the Gambling Commission. We will continue to monitor the latest evidence in this area to improve our understanding of the illegal market.

Gallantry awards, amongst them Victoria and George Crosses, honour exceptional acts of bravery and courage. The stories they tell form an important part of our national history. The Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, which houses a significant number of these medals, has been well-loved since its creation in 2010 and has been invaluable to the public’s understanding of these acts of heroism.

The Government recognises the importance of these medals and their significance to the recipients, their families and the wider public. The Imperial War Museum has delayed the original date of the Gallery closure until the end of September to allow visitors to see the collection of medals for as long as possible. Following the closure at the end of this month, the Imperial War Museum plans to redisplay their own collection of Victoria Cross and George Cross medals at their sites across the country, meaning public access to them will be maintained and new audiences will be able to engage with these stories.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) works closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on ensuring heritage delivers on this Government's core missions including planning reform. Ministers and officials have regular engagement with MHCLG on topics such as the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the Government’s review of Statutory Consultees, and wider planning reform.

DCMS works with Arm's-Length Bodies, such as Historic England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and other partner organisations to support owners of listed buildings in a range of ways including through advice, guidance, and supporting heritage skills which are required to make some repairs.

The owners of heritage buildings are ultimately responsible for the condition of their property, but there are wider schemes available in certain cases, particularly where there are wider public benefits:

Historic England’s Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk Scheme which provides grants for the repair and conservation of listed buildings, scheduled monuments, and registered parks and gardens. This funding is specifically aimed at sites on the Heritage at Risk Register, focusing on urgent repairs to prevent the loss or damage of important features.

• The National Lottery Heritage Fund offers grants between £10,000 and £10 million to projects that connect people and communities to the UK’s heritage. This could include covering repair work as part of a wider project.

• The up to £23 million Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme gives grants of up to £25,000 covering the VAT on repairs to listed buildings used as places of worship.

• The Museum Estate and Development Fund is funded by DCMS and delivered through Arts Council England. This provides funding towards urgent infrastructure and maintenance needs which are beyond the scope of day-to-day budgets. The fund is for accredited museums in England, many of which are in landmark, listed buildings. Round 5 of the fund is currently in progress, with £25m of funding available.

It is a legislative requirement that milk is provided free of charge to children who meet the free school meal criteria.

We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals putting £500 back in families’ pockets.

We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover additional meal costs. This includes milk. This is on top of £1.5 billion we already spend annually supporting schools to deliver free school meals and milk.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education (HE) sector. These data are shared with the department and include a wide range of information on student courses.

In the 2023/24 academic year, across all levels and modes of study, there were 12,880 student enrolments in the subject area ‘Veterinary sciences’ across all UK HE providers. The following table presents numbers of HE students by subject area and sex for each academic year from 2019/20 to 2023/24: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb271/figure-13.

The government recognises the importance of ensuring that children and young people are taught about and understand sustainability and the circular economy, which is why this topic can already be covered across a range of subjects, including science and design and technology. The national curriculum in England provides a broad framework within which schools have the flexibility to develop the content of their own school curriculum.

The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report is due to be published this autumn, along with the government’s response. The Review is looking at where the evidence suggests that curriculum and qualifications content needs to be updated to reflect rapid social, environmental and technological change, including a greater focus on sustainability.

The loan for living costs is a contribution towards a student’s living costs while attending university, with the highest levels of support for students who need it most.

The government recognises the impact that the cost-of-living crisis has had on students. All funding decisions must be carefully balanced to ensure the system targets students who need support the most, while also making it sustainable.

The government has increased maximum loans for living costs for full-time and part-time undergraduate students by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year. A 3.1% increase is in line with forecast inflation based on the RPIX inflation index.

I refer the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton to the answer of 5 September 2025 to Question 71911.