Written questions by Carmichael.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, a) what assessment he has made of the average time required to secure the recognition and enforcement in the United Arab Emirates of civil fraud judgments of the High Court of England and Wales; and b) what representations he has made to his UAE counterparts since September 2025 regarding enforcement cooperation in such cases, including Njord Partners SMA-Seal LP & ors v Astir Maritime & ors [2024].

The UK regularly engages with the UAE authorities on a range of judicial and legal cooperation issues through established bilateral channels. As a longstanding policy, the Government does not comment on individual legal cases.

A) how many asset recovery cases involving cooperation with the United Arab Emirates have resulted in funds being returned to UK victims since 2020; b) what metrics are used to measure the operational effectiveness of the UK–UAE illicit finance partnership; and c) whether that partnership is being applied to support recovery in cases including the High Court judgment in Njord Partners SMA-Seal LP & ors v Astir Maritime & ors [2024].

The UK–UAE Partnership to Tackle Illicit Financial Flows is focused on strengthening how we work together on illicit finance, fraud and asset recovery, including the return of the proceeds of crime.Since it was established in 2021, the UK and the UAE have worked closely to improve cooperation between our law enforcement agencies, to share information more effectively, and to put in place stronger arrangements to support joint operational work.The effectiveness of the partnership and these objectives are kept under regular review through established operational and governance arrangements that support this cooperation.Decisions on asset sharing are taken on a case‑by‑case basis. Asset sharing allows recovered funds to be shared with other jurisdictions where there has been joint effort to recover criminal proceeds, and helps to encourage continued international cooperation in this area.The UK publishes annual statistics on domestic and international asset recovery through the Asset Recovery Annual Statistical Bulletin, which includes data on completed international asset sharing arrangements. The Home Office is not able to comment on, or make assessments in relation to, individual cases.

A) what role the enforceability of UK court judgments plays in the Government’s assessment of financial services cooperation and market access discussions with the United Arab Emirates; and b) whether the non-enforcement to date of the High Court judgment in Njord Partners SMA-Seal LP & ors v Astir Maritime & ors [2024] has been raised in that context.

HM Treasury takes a range of factors into account when discussing financial services cooperation and market access with overseas jurisdictions, including the regulatory framework in those jurisdictions and the competitiveness of the UK market. HM Treasury has not discussed with the UAE in that context the High Court judgment in Njord Partners SMA-Seal LP & ors v Astir Maritime & ors [2024]. Civil and commercial judgments from courts in the UK may be enforceable in other countries if permitted by the domestic law of the country concerned. Additionally, by joining the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention, the Government took an important step in strengthening the UK’s framework for the recognition and enforcement of such judgments. The Convention entered into force for the UK on 1 July 2025 and may provide greater certainty, reduced costs and quicker resolution in relevant cross‑border disputes. Being Party to the Convention offers a clearer route to the enforcement of in-scope UK civil judgments, including those based on fraud, in other Contracting Parties. The UAE is not Party to the 2019 Hague Convention. Whether a particular UK civil judgment is enforceable in the UAE is therefore determined by UAE domestic law.

A) how many mutual legal assistance requests relating to the enforcement of civil fraud judgments have been made to the United Arab Emirates since 2022; b) in how many cases those requests have resulted in enforcement action; c) and whether mutual legal assistance has been sought in relation to the High Court judgment in Njord Partners SMA-Seal LP & ors v Astir Maritime & ors [2024].

The UK Central authority within the Home Office leads on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. This question would be for the Foreign Process Section at the Royal Courts of Justice who are the Central Authority for mutual legal assistance in civil matters.

A) what assessment she has made of the potential impact on the international competitiveness of UK financial and legal services of instances in which High Court fraud judgments are not enforced overseas; and b) whether her Department has considered the potential implications of the High Court judgment in Njord Partners SMA-Seal LP & ors v Astir Maritime & ors [2024] for investor confidence in cross-border enforcement.

HM Treasury takes a range of factors into account when discussing financial services cooperation and market access with overseas jurisdictions, including the regulatory framework in those jurisdictions and the competitiveness of the UK market. HM Treasury has not discussed with the UAE in that context the High Court judgment in Njord Partners SMA-Seal LP & ors v Astir Maritime & ors [2024]. Civil and commercial judgments from courts in the UK may be enforceable in other countries if permitted by the domestic law of the country concerned. Additionally, by joining the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention, the Government took an important step in strengthening the UK’s framework for the recognition and enforcement of such judgments. The Convention entered into force for the UK on 1 July 2025 and may provide greater certainty, reduced costs and quicker resolution in relevant cross‑border disputes. Being Party to the Convention offers a clearer route to the enforcement of in-scope UK civil judgments, including those based on fraud, in other Contracting Parties. The UAE is not Party to the 2019 Hague Convention. Whether a particular UK civil judgment is enforceable in the UAE is therefore determined by UAE domestic law.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the total value of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will be allocated to England in the 2026-27 financial year.

The total investment announced in the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund was £360m over 12 years. The fund has been devolved with funding allocated using the Barnett formula. In the 2026-27 financial year, £22.6 million is allocated to England.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's White Paper entitled A New Vision for Water, published on 20 January 2026, if she will set out what (a) working groups were established to consult on that paper and (b) which organisations were included in each working group.

A wide range of stakeholders were consulted on reforms through the Independent Water Commission’s Call for Evidence, which received over 50,000 responses. Whilst there was not a formal working group for the White Paper, ahead of publication we engaged with stakeholders across the water system, including investors, water companies, consumer groups, regulators and environmental groups. We will continue to work constructively with interested parties on reforms and consult on specific measures as needed.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will set out when her Department's timetable for when (a) the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will open for applications; and (b) details of the (i) eligibility, (ii) application process and (iii) assessment for that Fund will be published.

In its first year the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will be delivered in England through the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme. We expect the scheme to open in April and will publish details on eligibility, application and assessment processes at the time of launch. Future updates to the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme will be published on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/fisheries-and-seafood-scheme.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she will raise with President Tinubu of Nigeria the safeguarding of democratic institutions and ensuring free and fair elections in Nigeria in 2027 during the his forthcoming state visit.

The State Visit will provide an important opportunity to strengthen the UK-Nigeria Strategic Partnership across growth, security, migration, and foreign policy. As the largest democracy in Africa, Nigeria has an important role to play in upholding democratic norms, including ensuring a free, fair and credible Presidential election in 2027. The UK is supporting key legislative and institutional reform processes in the Nigerian National Assembly, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Judiciary and other key institutions to strengthen Nigeria's democracy.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's guidance entitled Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund, published on 19 February 2026, for what reason the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will not be launched as a standalone scheme in England until 2027; and for what reason payments will be made through the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme in financial year 2026-27.

The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme is an established scheme that is popular with stakeholders in England –and will enable us to deliver funding as soon as possible. Using this scheme will maximise the level of support available to the fishing and seafood sector in the first year of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund.

Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of plans to replace the copper wire communications network.

The modernisation of the UK’s telecoms networks is essential as the older networks are deteriorating and becoming unreliable. However, it is vital that customers are safely migrated off the old analogue Public Switched Telephone Network to modern digital networks. To strengthen industry’s plans, in November 2024, this Government secured additional safeguards - including identifying vulnerable people, the provision of free battery back-ups, and free engineer visits if needed.

Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the (a) full results and (b) evaluation reports from all Environment Land Management and Trials; and whether these will be made publicly available.

The Department is not yet able to provide a detailed estimate of when evaluation reports from all Environment Land Management (ELM) Tests and Trials will be published, as the programme is expected to continue throughout this Parliament. Findings from the Tests and Trials undertaken to date have been summarised in evidence reports published on GOV.UK (Dec-22, Jun-22, Dec-21, Jun-21, Sep-20, Jul-20) with further reports expected to be published later this year.

Whether his Department will consider setting a £40m tidal stream ringfence in Allocation Round 7 of the Contracts for Difference mechanism.

The Government is undertaking analysis of the technology pipeline available for Contracts for Difference Auction Round 7 against our legal obligations. We are considering the appropriate parameters for all technologies, including tidal stream. Final parameters will be published in the Budget Notice by December 2025.

Whether his Department will consider setting a £7m wave energy ringfence in Allocation Round 7 of the Contracts for Difference mechanism.

Allocation Round 7 (AR7) budget details will be published shortly, before the bidding window opens. Any decisions regarding the AR7 budget, including any minima, maxima or ringfences, are based on a wide range of factors, including an assessment of the pipeline of projects that could participate in the auction. The budget is set to help support effective competition in the CfD auction with the aim of delivering low carbon electricity deployment at low-cost to the consumer and supporting investment in emerging technologies.

What recent assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the adequacy of the security provisions for energy and telecommunications infrastructure in the UK's exclusive economic zone.

The UK Government constantly monitors and regularly assesses the security of critical national infrastructure, including energy and telecommunications assets in the UK's Exclusive Economic Zone. This is a whole-of-Government effort involving multiple Departments, including the Ministry of Defence.

What estimate the Office for Budget Responsibility made of revenues for spirits excise duty in the 2024-25 financial year; and what those revenues are to date.

The Office for Budget Responsibility spirits alcohol duty receipts forecast can be found in table 3.9 of the ‘detailed forecast tables: receipts’ publication accompanying the Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2024: OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook Detailed Forecast Table Receipts - OBR (obr.uk) The year-to-date spirits duty receipts for April to August 2024 can be found in the statistics table accompanying HMRC’s ‘tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK’ publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk The OBR will be publishing updated forecasts on 30 October 2024.