Written questions by Shelbrooke.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to decide on the English Whisky Geographical Indication application.

Awaiting answer.

What plans he has to introduce a public consultation before a decision is made to use former RAF Linton-on-Ouse for asylum accommodation.

Awaiting answer.

Can she confirm that she will submit a formal planning application to North Yorkshire Council should the she decide to use former RAF Linton-on-Ouse for asylum accommodation.

Awaiting answer.

What is the total spend to date on the Tempest project, including pre-concept and early concept phases.

Since its inception, the UK Government has invested over £2 billion on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) Tempest project. In addition to this, the project has attracted over £700 million of private investment since the programme began.

What is the total spend to date on the Type 83 Destroyer project, including pre-concept and early concept phases.

We inherited an underdeveloped concept for Type 83 when we took office. The Type 83 Destroyer forms part of a wider Future Air Dominance System (FADS) capability concept, making specific costs for the Type 83 element hard to differentiate from the wider w...

Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Charity Commission regarding Iran-linked charities operating in the UK.

The Charity Commission has published guidance for charities with links to Iran to be clear that charities must ensure any activity furthers their charity’s purposes and complies with the law and its guidance, or else face regulatory consequences.Governmen...

Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Charity Commission regarding antisemitism in the arts sector.

All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable and have no place in our arts charities. The Secretary of State recently met with the Charity Commission for England and Wales to discuss how to make sure it has the powers it ne...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to pages 19 to 20 of the Sixth Special Report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights of Session 2024-26 on Transnational repression in the UK: Government Response, HC1405, published on 30 October 2025, when she intends to publish a refreshed Human Rights and Democracy report.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is working on a Human Rights and Democracy Report and will confirm publication timeframes in due course.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of heavier vehicles on the durability of materials used in the repair of road potholes.

The Government recognises that heavier vehicles can accelerate road surface wear. While the Department has not undertaken a specific assessment of this effect, we are actively considering the implications of greater numbers of zero emission heavy goods vehicles on UK roads, including the potential for additional road wear. The main guidance for local highway authorities on asset management is the Code of Practice for Well-Managed Highways Infrastructure, published by the UK Roads Leadership Group and funded by the Department for Transport. The guidance, sets out a national framework for how local highway authorities should manage their networks using a risk-based, evidence-led approach, taking account of current and expected highways usage. The Department is currently reviewing the Code of Practice, including to ensure it considers the implications of heavier vehicles on road maintenance. An updated version will be published by the end of this year. In addition, through the £30 million Live Labs 2 programme, the Department is helping local authorities trial innovative approaches to road maintenance, including the use of more durable materials for resurfacing.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support is available for UK-based not-for-profit organisations developing innovative health technologies for use in the developing world.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) routes funding for the development of innovative health technologies for use in low and middle income countries through public-private Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) or similar organisations. These organisations work in partnership with academia, the public and private sectors (including not-for-profit) to develop products where commercial markets fail. Our portfolio includes support to the Liverpool based Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC), TB Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). FCDO research funding opportunities, including for new health technologies, are advertised through the usual government procurement channels. PDPs collaborate with numerous UK partner organisations. CEPI alone has over 20 UK partners in academia and industry.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2026 to Question 115363, if she will provide the underlying data used to calculate the impact of the Personal Allowance freeze on those of state pension age.

Information on the methodology used to estimate the impacts of maintaining the personal income tax thresholds can be found in HM Treasury’s Policy Costing paper. Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf The Chancellor has said that those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax over this Parliament. At the Budget, the Government announced that it will achieve this by easing the administrative burden for pensioners so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027/28. The Government will set out more details in due course.

If he will set out the oversight mechanisms in place to hold private custody and prisoner transport providers accountable for delays in delivering prisoners to court.

Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) are performing strongly, despite continuing pressures across the criminal justice system. In 2025, overall criminal justice system delivery to court was timely in 98.19% of cases; PECS suppliers met contractual expectations by delivering prisoners to court on time in 99.91% of cases.HM Prison & Probation Service’s Contract Management Team (CMT) provides rigorous oversight through a clear contractual and governance framework, applying commercial levers where delays are attributable to provider actions. The CMT works closely with stakeholders through quarterly Strategic Partnership Boards and monthly Contract Management Boards to drive improvement, address system-wide challenges, and ensure suppliers are held fully to account. If a contractor’s performance falls below the required standard, financial service credits will be applied, in accordance with the contract mechanism. Any persistent or systemic issues can trigger formal improvement notices, rectification plans or other contractual remedies.We are assessing the potential impact of current reform policies on delivery timeliness, to ensure that the system remains resilient and effective.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of council tax exemption and discount rules for families required to live away from their homes for extended periods due to a child undergoing prolonged hospital treatment.

Councils are responsible for administering the council tax system, including considering the circumstances applying to a household and its eligibility for a discount or exemption. As well as the mandatory 25% discount where a household only has one adult occupant, councils have discretion over the level of discount provided in respect of unoccupied or second homes, which may be relevant where a family or family member is temporarily absent for medical reasons. Councils are able to design their working age council tax reduction schemes to ensure that households continue to receive support during periods of absence. In addition, councils have discretionary powers to provide a discount to taxpayer for any reason where they consider this appropriate. The government recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration council tax. This included seeking views on any other groups which should be considered for council tax disregard/discounts. The consultation has now closed, and we are currently reviewing all responses. The government will publish its response to this consultation in due course.

What estimate she has made of the cumulative number of pensioners who will be liable for income tax between 2026 and 2031 as a result of the the Personal Allowance threshold being frozen; and what assessment she has made of the total additional tax revenue from those of pensionable age over this period.

The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below: https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511 The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028 and this is reflected in the numbers.The Chancellor has said that those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax over this Parliament. At the Budget, the Government announced that it will achieve this by easing the administrative burden for pensioners so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027/28. The Government will set out more details in due course.

What consultation has his Department undertaken with vending and automated retailing businesses and other relevant stakeholders before proposing restrictions on the sale of high-energy caffeine drinks.

The Department engaged with relevant stakeholders, including representatives of the vending and automated retail sector, prior to publishing its proposals for banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks.Building on initial engagements, the Department ran a 12 week consultation, which was open from 3 September 2025 to 26 November 2025. This formal consultation invited views from all interested parties, including businesses operating in the vending and automated retailing sectors, on the proposed age restriction and its implementation.The Department is currently reviewing all consultation submissions and will set out a formal consultation response in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to implement a sustainable funding model for independent adult hospices.

We have provided a £125 million capital funding boost for eligible adult, and children and young people’s, hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.Officials are working closely with a number of stakeholders from the hospice sector in the development of the MSF.Additionally, the recently published Medium-Term Planning Guidance and the Model ICB Blueprint set out that ICBs should act as strategic commissioners with core functions including: understanding current and projected total service utilisation and costs; identifying underserved communities; assessing quality, performance, and productivity of existing provision; and significantly reducing avoidable unplanned hospital admissions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of Palestinian civilian deaths since the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza.

We urge all parties to respect the terms of the ceasefire that came into effect on 10 October 2025, and we continue to press for the implementation in full of the 20-point peace plan endorsed by the United Nations Security Council on 17 November 2025.

If she will review the scope of the Plastics Packaging Tax to exempt EN 13432–certified compostable materials; and what assessment has been made of the potential impact of including compostable materials within the tax on growth and innovation in the biodegradable and biobased materials industry and on the delivery of the UK’s circular economy objectives.

The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policymaking process. The Plastic Packaging Tax provides a price incentive for businesses to use recycled plastic in the manufacture of plastic packaging.

Whether his Department made an assessment of trends in the levels of current waiting times for cancer treatment in NHS Humber and North Yorkshire and NHS West Yorkshire sub-ICBs prior to funding decisions for the forthcoming National Cancer Plan.

Cancer patients are waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment on the National Health Service, including in Humber and North Yorkshire and NHS West Yorkshire. The Government is investing an extra £26 billion in the NHS and opening up community diagnostic centres at evening and weekends, to help diagnose cancer earlier.We have also invested £70 million of funding into new radiotherapy treatment machines to replace older, less efficient machines. These new machines are currently being rolled out to trusts throughout the country. These newer machines will reduce treatment times, boost productivity, and allow more patients to be seen over the same period.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.

What mechanisms exist to ensure public safeguarding of victims when police investigations into child sexual exploitation are paused due to the mental health needs of those victims.

It is crucial police and law enforcement have the capabilities and skills to effectively tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation and take robust action to better safeguard children, ensuring victims and survivors receive appropriate care and support throughout the process.The Government is investing in a range of significant measures to ensure that the police can respond to victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation with empathy, compassion and professionalism, investigating thoroughly and working with other services to reach the best possible outcome in every case. This includes investing in the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce which is working with forces to improve how they investigate child sexual abuse and exploitation, providing practical, expert, on the ground support, including on how to embed trauma-informed approaches to their investigations and engagement with victims and survivors.We are also investing in the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection (NCVPP) which launched in April 2025 to improve the policing response to VAWG and child sexual abuse and exploitation. Centralising policing expertise to tackle these crimes will drive national coordination, with the development of strengthened specialist training for officers ensuring they offer consistent protection for victims and survivors.