Written questions by McDonald.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 3 April 2025 entitled Local Government Best Value, HCWS576, whether her Department's quarterly engagement with the Tees Valley Combined Authority includes consideration of the management of the Transport for City Regions funding allocation.

While individual funding programmes are managed and assured independently by their respective departments, an ongoing assessment of the authority's progress against the best value notice will be based on a holistic judgement of all available information and considered engagement with the authority

With reference to the Written Statement of 3 April 2025 on Local Government Best Value, HCWS576, what assessment her Department has made of the capacity of the Tees Valley Combined Authority to (a) manage and (b) account for the use of the Transport for City Regions funding allocation between 2027-28 and 2031-32.

The Chancellor announced the £15.6 billion Transport for City Regions settlements on 4 June 2025. The settlements provide long-term funding certainty, including revenue funding, ensuring city regions have the resources they need to effectively manage programmes. The Department will also work closely with Mayoral Strategic Authorities on a governance framework to monitor delivery progress and expenditure. Any relevant findings from the Best Value process will be duly considered as appropriate.

With reference to the Written Statement of 3 April 2025 on Local Government Best Value, HCWS576, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of Tees Valley Combined Authority's (a) management of and (b) accounting for the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement funding allocation between 2022-23 and 2026-27.

The City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) play a key role in improving local networks across the country. Alongside significant capital investment, CRSTS provides revenue funding to help places manage delivery effectively. Tees Valley’s programme business case was assessed by Government, and the Department works closely with Mayoral Combined Authorities to monitor delivery progress and expenditure through an agreed governance framework. Any relevant findings from the Best Value process will be duly considered as appropriate.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of 4 June 2025 on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Official Report, Column 338, what steps his Department is taking to deter Israel from supporting further settlement building in the West Bank.

The UK is clear that settlements are illegal under international law and undermine the prospects for peace. We have condemned the 22 new settlements announced by Israel on 29 May 2025 and we regularly urge Israel to halt settlement expansion in our diplomatic engagements. This government is committed to a two-state solution. It remains the only viable framework for a just and lasting peace.

With reference to his oral contribution of 4 June 2025, Official Report, column 338, whether (a) his Department and (b) any F-35 partner nation requested a (i) policy and (ii) technical working group review of export licenses for any foreign military sales customer's F-35 use in the last 12 months.

Further to the oral contribution of 4 June 2025 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Middle East (Hamish Falconer) conversations with F-35 Partners occur regularly and cover a range of issues; however, I am unable to disclose details of confidential conversations held within an international programme. Export control measures are the responsibility of their relevant national authorities.

With reference to his oral contribution of 4 June 2025, Official Report, column 338, whether (a) his Department and (b) any F-35 partner nation requested a (i) discussion and (ii) technical assessment of the international humanitarian law implications of any foreign military sales customer's F-35 use at an F-35 Joint Executive Steering Board meeting in the last 12 months.

Conversations with F-35 Partners occur regularly and cover a range of issues; however, I am unable to disclose details of confidential conversations held within an international programme.

With reference to his oral contribution of 4 June 2025, Official Report, column 338, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of suspending a foreign military sales customer who is not a partner nation from the F-35 global supply pool on the continued operation of the F-35 programme.

All F-35 Foreign Military Sales customers are managed directly by the US Government.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs' oral contribution of 4 June 2025 in response to a question from the hon. Member for Eltham and Chislehurst, Official Report, column 344, what recent discussions he has had with his Norwegian counterpart on Israel's access to the F-35 Global Supply Pool.

Conversations with F-35 partners occur regularly and cover a range of issues, however we are unable to disclose details of confidential conversations held within an international programme.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of 4 June 2025 on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Official Report, Column 338, whether the Israeli Defence Force have used UK-supplied military equipment in Gaza since September 2024.

There are no export licences currently being used for military operations in Gaza. This is subject to the specific measures taken to protect the global F-35 programme.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs' oral contribution of 4 June 2025 in response to a question from the hon. Member for Eltham and Chislehurst, Official Report, column 344, what recent discussions he has had with his Canadian counterpart on Israel's access to the F-35 Global Supply Pool.

Conversations with F-35 partners occur regularly and cover a range of issues, however we are unable to disclose details of confidential conversations held within an international programme.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his oral contribution of 4 June 2025, Official Report, column 338, if he will make an estimate of the value of the humanitarian relief funded by his Department that has reached Palestinians in Gaza in the 2025-26 financial year.

The UK is doing all we can to alleviate suffering. On 28 April, the UK announced a package of support for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including £101 million for humanitarian aid, support for Palestinian economic development, and strengthening Palestinian Authority governance and reform. Our aid has supported over 465,000 patient consultations, provided at least 647,000 people with food and almost 300,000 people have improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene services. Due to the complex operating environment and limited real-time data, it is difficult to quantify the volume of aid that has been supplied and aid that is currently awaiting entry.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of 4 June 2025 on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Official Report, Column 338, (a) how and (b) when his Department will review the impact of actions announced on 20 May 2025; and whether he has a deadline for Israel to cease military action in Gaza before further action is taken.

We continue to review our policy in relation to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. On 20 May 2025, the UK sanctioned three individuals, two illegal outposts and two organisations that have supported, incited and promoted violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. On 10 June the UK, acting alongside Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway, went on to sanction Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, in their personal capacities, in response to their repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities. As I have been clear, we urgently need to see a return to a ceasefire and a rapid and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and I continue to press Israeli counterparts on this.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of 4 June 2025 on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Official Report, Column 338, who will carry out an independent investigation into mass casualty incidents at aid sites in Gaza; and when that independent investigation will be completed.

We are appalled by repeated reports of mass casualty incidents at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid sites. On 2 June, the UN Secretary-General called for an immediate and independent investigation into these incidents. We have echoed this call, including during a meeting of the UN Security Council on 4 June. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has stated it is conducting investigations into some incidents. We continue to push for any investigations to be thorough, transparent and for perpetrators to be brought to account. We are unaware of any other investigations underway at present. The UK does not support any aid mechanism that seeks to deliver political or military objectives or puts vulnerable civilians at risk.

Whether her Department holds data on the work destinations of (a) existing and (b) past Universal Credit claimants by (i) industry and (ii) sector.

The requested information is not held systematically in administrative data.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of trends in levels of confidence of workforce unions in public health sector pay review body processes.

This specific assessment has not been made. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has met regularly with unions to help rebuild the relationship between the Government and National Health Service staff.Whilst we will continue to use the Pay Review Bodies to set pay, we have listened to union concerns about the process, which is why we have committed to remitting in July this year, with an ambition to announce and implement uplifts as early as possible in 2026/27.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the real terms value of wages set by Government pay awards in the (a) Dentists and Doctors Pay Review Body and (b) NHS Pay Review Body for 2025-26 on trends in the levels of (i) recruitment and (ii) retention of public sector workforce staff.

This specific assessment has not been made. Pay is an important factor in the National Health Service being able to continue to attract and reward talented staff. Pay review bodies are required to take careful account of the economic and financial evidence submitted by the Government, trades unions, representatives of NHS employers, and others to reach their recommendations on pay.When considering evidence in order to make pay recommendations, the Dentists and Doctors Pay Review Body and the NHS Pay Review Body pay due regard to many factors, including the potential impact of pay on staff recruitment and retention, as a core component of the terms of reference for pay review bodies.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of agreeing a long-term strategy with the (a) Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration and (b) NHS Pay Review Body to help improve pay in the NHS.

There are no current plans to make these specific assessments. The Government is committed to a credible, independent Pay Review Body (PRB) process as the right mechanism to recommend annual pay increases for most public sector staff. In her statement on the public finances on 29 July 2024, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that the Government wished to continue to use the PRB process.The role of the NHS Pay Review Body and the Dentists and Doctors Pay Review Body is to make recommendations to the Prime Minister and ministers on the annual pay award for National Health Service staff and other related matters within their remit. They act independently of the Government.The PRBs lay out in their reports the reasoning for their recommended awards based on their terms of reference. In reaching their recommendations, the review bodies have regard to recruitment and retention and are required to take careful account of the economic and other evidence submitted by the Government, trades unions, representatives of NHS employers, and others.The Government is not bound by PRB recommendations, and it's for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to decide how to respond to the recommendations of PRBs for the NHS in England.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits for recruitment and retention of agreeing a long-term strategy to improve pay in real terms for the workforces covered by (a) the Dentists and Doctors Pay Review Body and (b) the NHS Pay Review Body.

There are no current plans to make these specific assessments. The Government is committed to a credible, independent Pay Review Body (PRB) process as the right mechanism to recommend annual pay increases for most public sector staff. In her statement on the public finances on 29 July 2024, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that the Government wished to continue to use the PRB process.The role of the NHS Pay Review Body and the Dentists and Doctors Pay Review Body is to make recommendations to the Prime Minister and ministers on the annual pay award for National Health Service staff and other related matters within their remit. They act independently of the Government.The PRBs lay out in their reports the reasoning for their recommended awards based on their terms of reference. In reaching their recommendations, the review bodies have regard to recruitment and retention and are required to take careful account of the economic and other evidence submitted by the Government, trades unions, representatives of NHS employers, and others.The Government is not bound by PRB recommendations, and it's for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to decide how to respond to the recommendations of PRBs for the NHS in England.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the real terms value of pay awards through the School Teachers Pay Review Body process on teachers in each year since 2010.

Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) based on a range of evidence, including the real terms value of teacher pay.While in power, this government has accepted their recommendations in full.This year’s pay award of 4% exceeds forecasts for inflation and provides a competitive salary for both new and existing teachers. Based on forecasts for inflation across the 2025/26 academic year, this is a real-terms increase of around 1.5%.The department wants teaching to be an attractive and expert profession, to ensure that our children have the expert teachers they need to achieve and thrive and tackle recruitment and retention issues. That is also why we are committed to delivering the manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament and there are already signs that our Plan for Change is working.The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools over the last year. Additionally, our future school teacher pipeline is growing. As of May 2025, there are 11% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary subjects, including in priority subjects such as physics, where we have seen a 43% increase in acceptances compared to last year.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a long-term strategy to improve school teachers’ pay in real terms through the School Teachers' Pay Review Body process.

Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) based on a range of evidence, including the real terms value of teacher pay.While in power, this government has accepted their recommendations in full.This year’s pay award of 4% exceeds forecasts for inflation and provides a competitive salary for both new and existing teachers. Based on forecasts for inflation across the 2025/26 academic year, this is a real-terms increase of around 1.5%.The department wants teaching to be an attractive and expert profession, to ensure that our children have the expert teachers they need to achieve and thrive and tackle recruitment and retention issues. That is also why we are committed to delivering the manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament and there are already signs that our Plan for Change is working.The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools over the last year. Additionally, our future school teacher pipeline is growing. As of May 2025, there are 11% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary subjects, including in priority subjects such as physics, where we have seen a 43% increase in acceptances compared to last year.