Written questions by MacDonald.

What discussions she has had with her Scottish counterparts on ensuring the sustainability of high-quality biology teaching.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had any discussions with her Scottish counterpart specifically regarding supporting teaching in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. However, Ministers have had valuable discussions at four nations meetings and officials maintain contact around issues of mutual interest, including STEM education.

What discussions she has had with her Scottish counterparts on supporting engineering science teaching.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had any discussions with her Scottish counterpart specifically regarding supporting teaching in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. However, Ministers have had valuable discussions at four nations meetings and officials maintain contact around issues of mutual interest, including STEM education.

What discussions she has had with her Scottish counterparts on supporting Mathematics teaching.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had any discussions with her Scottish counterpart specifically regarding supporting teaching in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. However, Ministers have had valuable discussions at four nations meetings and officials maintain contact around issues of mutual interest, including STEM education.

What discussions she has had with her Scottish counterparts on support for physics teaching.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had any discussions with her Scottish counterpart specifically regarding supporting teaching in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. However, Ministers have had valuable discussions at four nations meetings and officials maintain contact around issues of mutual interest, including STEM education.

What discussions she has had with her Scottish counterparts on the sustainability of high-quality Practical Electronics teaching.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had any discussions with her Scottish counterpart specifically regarding supporting teaching in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. However, Ministers have had valuable discussions at four nations meetings and officials maintain contact around issues of mutual interest, including STEM education.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Latvia.

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Latvia across a broad range of bilateral files. We work closely together as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies, and are deepening cooperation at the United Nations as Latvia prepares to join the Security Council for the first time in 2026-27. The Prime Minister met Prime Minister Siliņa in Oslo in May at the JEF Leaders Summit, and the Minister for the Cabinet Office met Foreign Minister Braže in March. I hosted State Secretary Viļumsons in March.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with (a) Blue Cross and (b) other animal welfare organisations on (i) greyhound welfare and (ii) the regulation of greyhound racing.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department is engaging with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of our overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more details on this in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Greyhound Board of Great Britain on (a) injury and (b) fatality rates among racing greyhounds.

Each year since 2018 the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has published the sport’s annual injury, fatality and retirement statistics from GBGB affiliated tracks and trainers. This data is published online at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/welfare-care/injury-and-retirement-data/ GBGB wrote to Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 25 June with the sport’s annual injury, fatality and retirement statistics for 2024. The Greyhound Forum, of which Defra officials and GBGB are members, discussed the 2024 figures during the June 2025 meeting of the Forum.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Greece.

The UK-Greece relationship is strong and deep across many shared interests. From our work together in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to tackling shared the challenge of migration, to joint efforts to resolve and deescalate the crisis in the Middle East and war in Ukraine.The UK and Greece signed a Strategic Bilateral Framework in 2021 to strengthen cooperation in twelve areas including foreign policy, defence, trade, migration and maritime security. The Government has engaged with Greece regularly at leader and Foreign Ministerial level to progress this cooperation. I met with my counterpart, Minister Papadopoulou, most recently through a productive bilateral meeting in New York in the margins of Cyprus 5+1 talks, where we discussed cooperation as co-guarantor powers on Cyprus, and as NATO allies in supporting Ukraine. I also met Foreign Minister Gerapetritis.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Ireland.

The UK and Ireland are uniquely linked through shared geography and history: we have undergone a reset of our relationship, restoring a partnership of trust. Our relationship continues to go from strength to strength.This was cemented at the UK-Ireland Summit in March, where the Prime Minister and Taoiseach agreed an ambitious vision for UK-Ireland relations through to 2030, covering areas including growth, security, energy, conflict prevention, cyber, research, and culture, that will bring our two Governments even closer together in delivering for our citizens. The Foreign Secretary visited Dublin in October 2024, spoke to Tánaiste Simon Harris by telephone on 27 January and met him at the G20 summit on 21 February. On 3 July 2025, I met with my counterpart Minister Thomas Byrne in Dublin to discuss further opportunities to enhance UK-Ireland cooperation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Andorra.

The UK and Andorra have a close bilateral relationship, and celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations in 2024 with an event where Andorran Prime Minister Espot spoke alongside our Ambassador to Andorra. We agreed a Youth Mobility agreement in 2024, and in February 2025 signed a Double Taxation Agreement which should come into force in 2026. We continue to explore further areas of cooperation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Belgium.

The UK has a strong and enduring relationship with its close neighbour and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, Belgium. The strength of this relationship was reaffirmed by the visit of Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot on 2 July to London where he met the Foreign Secretary, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Minister for Africa. We are deepening our foreign policy collaboration to intensify pressure on Russia, reinforce our support for Ukraine, promote peace and stability in the Middle East and Central Africa, tackle irregular migration, increase law enforcement cooperation and promote economic growth.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Austria.

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Austria. A Joint Vision Statement was signed in 2023 to deepen cooperation across foreign and security policy, on economic issues and in encouraging people-to-people links. Consultations between the UK and Austria on the Vision Statement are held annually, with the last such meeting held in June 2025. Cooperation on migration and security has also been formalised over the last two years, including following up on the Joint Statement on tackling illegal migration in May 2024. The Prime Minister wrote to his opposite Chancellor Stocker on his appointment in March 2025, the Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Meinl-Reisinger in March and I engaged Europe Minister Plakolm in May.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Slovakia.

Slovakia is a valued partner and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally of the United Kingdom, and we work closely on shared priorities, highlighted by our declaration of intent on law enforcement cooperation. As with any bilateral relationship, differences exist, in particular in our respective approaches to Russia and Ukraine. Where we have concerns we address them openly, and the UK Government maintains regular contact with its Slovak counterparts. The Prime Minister recently met President Pellegrini at the NATO Summit in The Hague in June. The Foreign Secretary last engaged with Foreign Minister Blanar in December, and I have held several discussions this year with State Secretary Marek Eštok.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the potential impact of climate-related events on household costs in the next five years.

The third Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) was published in 2022 and sets out 61 climate risks and opportunities to the UK up to the year 2100. These risks cover a range of sectors that impact household costs, such as risks to our energy infrastructure, risks from flooding, and risks to agriculture and supply chains. The Government’s fourth CCRA is due in 2027. It will be informed by the Climate Change Committee’s Independent Assessment (CCRA4-IA) Technical Report, which will consider climate risks to household finances. The Government will set out the actions it will take to address the most recent assessment of climate risks from CCRA4 in the fourth National Adaptation Programme in 2028.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of regulations on greyhound welfare in the racing industry.

The Government regards greyhound racing as a well-regulated sport. The welfare of racing greyhounds in England is covered by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 (the 2010 Regulations). The 2010 Regulations include a number of welfare requirements, such as requiring all greyhound tracks to have a veterinary surgeon in attendance to ensure that every greyhound is fit to run. In addition to these statutory protections, the sport’s main regulatory body – the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) enforces welfare standards (including those in the 2010 Regulations) at GBGB affiliated tracks, as well as at GBGB licensed trainers’ kennels. Independent, external oversight of GBGB’s regulatory work at tracks and trainers’ kennels is provided by the UK’s National Accreditation Body - the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Switzerland.

The UK and Switzerland enjoy a close and dynamic relationship underpinned by our democratic traditions, our shared values and our strong commitment to innovation and to science and technology. The Foreign Secretary met with the Swiss Foreign Minister in Kuala Lumpur on 11 July and will meet again soon to discuss our priorities on Russia/Ukraine, Iran and the Middle East, European Security, growth and partnering on illicit finance and fighting corruption.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Lithuania.

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Lithuania across a broad range of bilateral files. We work closely together as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies. The Prime Minister met President Nausėda in Oslo in May at the JEF Leaders Summit, and the Foreign Secretary hosted Foreign Minister Budrys in London in March. I also hosted Foreign Minister Budrys in March.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help improve the UK’s relationship with Slovenia.

Slovenia remains a key partner and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally for the United Kingdom, and we cooperate on many key priorities including Russia-Ukraine and the Western Balkans. We signed a Joint Statement of Intent signed in 2022 and we maintain a yearly Strategic Dialogue with Slovenia, last held on 27 March 2025, which provides an opportunity to discuss a range of bilateral and international priorities. The Foreign Secretary met Foreign Minister Fajon on 21 November 2024 where they discussed the full range of the bilateral relationship. Foreign Minister Fajon also met with the Minister for Africa to discuss UN Security Council cooperation, and with the Minister for the Cabinet Office to discuss the EU reset. This built on my visit to Slovenia for the Bled Strategic Forum in September 2024. I have regularly engaged with and met my counterpart Marko Stucin.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is providing funding for research into puffin conservation.

Defra provides funding through JNCC to the UK-wide Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP), and the JNCC-led Seabirds Count census which provide UK-wide monitoring for seabirds, including puffins. The results are publicly available and will inform future conservation actions. The most recent Seabirds Count census (2023) counted 474,679 pairs of puffins. Where comparable data were available, they indicated declines of 23% since 2000, reinforcing the importance of collaboration on seabird conservation. The devolved Governments are implementing their respective seabird conservation strategies, so we continue to work together to coordinate action and data sharing.