Will Stone

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 13th December is attached.

The Online Safety Act gives online platforms new duties to protect users from illegal content and safeguard children.

The Act stipulates that where there is a risk to children from the most harmful types of content (‘primary priority content), in-scope services including social media sites must use highly effective age assurance.

Ofcom’s draft codes also propose additional protections for under 18s to keep their accounts private and prevent them being contacted and groomed by strangers.

The Government is committed to improving access to sports and physical activity for everybody, wherever they live. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they are in the country, should have access to the best possible sports provision, facilities and opportunities to get active.

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Sport England programmes target the greatest resource to areas with highest inactivity levels and greatest need.

The Government has also committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities which will help ensure that everyone no matter their age, background or ability, should be able to play sport and be active.

Skills Bootcamps are an important offer in the skills landscape, supporting the development of crucial skills such as HGV driving.

Published statistics show that across the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years, there were 10,545 starts on HGV Skills Bootcamps, with 6,500 completions and almost 5,000 positive employment outcomes representing new jobs, promotions or increased responsibilities.

In line with our commitment to devolution, we will fund Skills Bootcamps through funding Mayoral Combined Authorities and local areas directly, supporting the government’s commitment to empower local leaders to have greater control of skills development, alongside an increased role in supporting people into work.

The department continues to support learners and employers in the HGV sector to benefit from a range of high quality skills training, including through apprenticeships such as the Urban Driver and Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) driver C + E apprenticeship standards.

Unlike 16-19 academies, sixth form colleges are part of the statutory further education (FE) sector.

The department does not set or recommend pay in FE providers, which have the freedom to make their own arrangements in line with their local circumstances.

We recognise the vital role that FE teachers and providers play in equipping learners with the opportunities and skills that they need to succeed in their education.

The October Budget set out the government’s commitment to skills, by providing an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department will set out in due course how this funding will be distributed.

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has published data for injuries, retirements and euthanasia of greyhounds from GBGB affiliated tracks and trainers each year since 2018. This data is published online at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/welfare-care/injury-and-retirement-data/(opens in a new tab).

The long-term trend for the total number of greyhounds that have died at racetracks has shown, with the exception of figures for 2023, a welcome decline. Defra will continue to monitor figures published by GBGB in the coming years to see whether any new trends are identifiable.

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has published data for injuries, retirements and euthanasia of greyhounds from GBGB affiliated tracks and trainers each year since 2018. This data is published online at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/welfare-care/injury-and-retirement-data/

The long-term trend for the total number of greyhounds that have died at racetracks has shown, with the exception of figures for 2023, a welcome decline. Defra will continue to monitor figures published by GBGB in the coming years to see whether any new trends are identifiable.

The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its Manifesto. We intend to deliver on this and are currently considering the most effective way to do so.

In September, Great Western Railway began a trial of direct services between Bristol, Bath, Swindon and Oxford. This trial is on Saturdays only with two direct services in each direction. It will run until May 2025, to understand levels of passenger demand for this service.

No decisions have yet been made on whether this service will continue beyond then and any expansion of the service would require additional rolling stock which is currently unidentified and unfunded.

Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to better understand how we can best reduce alcohol-related harms.

The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer National Insurance costs only. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central or local government.

This is the usual approach the Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional employer National Insurance contribution costs, as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.

The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care and wider local government spending as part of the Spending Review process.

The Government is providing a 6.8% cash terms increase in core council spending power in 2025/26. To support social care authorities to deliver key services in light of pressures, at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement we announced a further £200 million for adult and children’s social care. This will be allocated via the Social Care Grant, bringing the total increase of this grant in 2025/26 to £880 million, meaning that up to £3.7 billion of additional funding will be provided to social care authorities in 2025/26.

Following a procurement process, HCRG Care Group will lead an innovative partnership with the National Health Service, local authorities, and voluntary sector groups, and will take responsibility for community services from 1 April 2025, under a contract that will run for at least a seven-year period.

The performance of HCRG Care Group, both from a clinical and non-clinical perspective, will be subject to the same scrutiny as all other health and care providers commissioned by the integrated care board (ICB), which includes NHS and non-NHS organisations. The contract contains the usual safeguards and ability to issue notices, as is standard with all NHS contracts. There is a fixed financial envelope, and the provider is contractually required to deliver the services from within this funding. HCRG Care Group will also be required to undertake regular reporting regarding financial performance to the ICB.

I understand from the ICB that social value contributions will be monitored as part of the contract monitoring process. As part of procurement evaluation, 10% of the score was weighted to social value benefits in line with central guidance. The commitments made by HCRG Care Group within their bid form part of their contract.

Furthermore, the ICB report that they had a legal duty to proceed to procurement because existing contracts were ending and there was no scope to legally extend them further. Reprocuring the contract could not be subject to consultation as it was not optional. The procurement was carried out in line with the requirements of the process, and therefore, commissioners are required to abide by the outcome.

Engagement with patients and the public took place on the ICB’s Health and Care model and elements of the ICB’s Integrated Care Strategy, which gave a framework of the priorities that fed into market engagement events with providers. These events shaped the primary and community questions response from the ICB’s Delivery Plan, and subsequent transformation priorities and key outcomes for integrated community-based care, which formed the basis of the Integrated Community Based Care programme, and the procurement.

The FCDO supports the principle of spouses, partners or dependents overseas taking up employment outside the Mission, in accordance with the law of the receiving State. Where local laws or regulations impose restrictions on such employment, we encourage Posts to make representations to the receiving State to try to assist the efforts of accompanying family members to seek outside employment, ideally through a formal bilateral arrangement (where no formal arrangement is already in place) but also on a case-by-case basis.

The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer National Insurance costs only. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central or local government.

This is the usual approach Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional employer NICs costs, as was the case with the previous government’s Health and Social Care Levy.

The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care and wider local government spending as part of the Spending Review process.

The Government is providing a 6.8% cash terms increase in council’s Core Spending Power in 2025-26. To support social care authorities to deliver key services in light of pressures, we announced at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement a further £200 million for adult and children’s social care. This will be allocated via the Social Care Grant, bringing the total increase of this grant in 2025-26 to £880 million, meaning that up to £3.7 billion of additional funding will be provided to social care authorities in 2025-26.

Under our Health Mission, this government is committed to prioritising public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives.

We are continuing to work closely across government to better understand what can be done to address the drivers of alcohol-related harms.

Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Home Office has withdrawn the Country Policy Information Notes and Guidance relating to Syria, and has temporarily paused all asylum interviews and decisions from Syrian nationals.

We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review, so we can respond to emerging issues. When there is a clear basis upon which to make decisions on Syrian claims, we will resume the processing of them.

The Home Secretary confirmed on 30 July that we will be retaining the salary threshold increase brought in by the previous government. Further details can be found in her Written Ministerial Statement here: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.

The government is committed to making sure homes are safe, decent and warm.

Local housing authorities have powers to take a proactive approach to enforcement against unacceptable conditions in rented housing.

Improvement notices are just one of the types of enforcement action that can be taken by local authorities in respect of hazards. Local authorities can use informal as well as formal methods to secure compliance following inspections. Through the Renters’ Rights Bill we are strengthening local authorities’ enforcement powers, including a new power to issue fines of up to £7,000 where a landlord has not taken reasonably practicable steps to remove category 1 hazards from the property.

A review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) was published in September 2022. The government is considering the outcomes of this review, in line with wider recommendations from the Grenfell Inquiry Report to make sure that the guidance is as effective and accessible as possible.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 32068 on 5 March 2025.

The Department recognises the importance of good quality data on enforcement in the Private Rented Sector to support good decision making at both national and local level, and the monitoring and evaluation of Renters’ Rights Bill implementation.

The Bill places a new duty on local authorities to report to the Secretary of State on their activities under the legislation. We expect to start formally collecting data from local authorities on enforcement activity in the 2026/27 financial year.

The Private Rented Sector Database will operate alongside selective licensing to drive improvement in standards in the private rented sector, not as a replacement for these schemes.

We will continue to review the use of selective licensing as we implement the Private Rented Sector Database, including how data may be shared to improve efficiency.

My Department engages regularly with local authorities and other stakeholders on how enforcement against rogue landlords in the private rented sector might be strengthened. Local authorities have a range of tools they can use to support the collection of unpaid fines imposed on rogue landlords, including charging orders and bankruptcy proceedings. The Department will continue to engage with local authorities and consider how best practice can be shared as part of supporting the effective implementation of the Renters’ Rights Bill.