Written questions by MacDonald.

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

The UK has a good relationship with San Marino founded on shared values and interests which we promote bilaterally and through our common membership of multilateral fora. Earlier this year our Ambassador to Italy and San Marino led a senior Embassy delegation to San Marino to launch a new UK-San Marino structured bilateral dialogue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This dialogue focusses on important areas of co-operation such as foreign and security policy and growth, and builds on our existing Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Cooperation to further strengthen diplomatic relations.

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

The UK has a close bilateral partnership with Albania as a likeminded North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally. The Prime Minister visited Albania on 15 May and agreed an updated strategic partnership to strengthen cooperation on defence and security, justice, culture and economic growth. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Permanent Under-Secretary visited Albania on 16 and 17 July to further bilateral relations, advance UK growth objectives and support continuing joint operational collaboration to tackle the shared challenge of organised immigration crime. The Foreign Secretary and I have met on a number of times with Foreign Minister Hasani in the last year to discuss shared priorities. The UK looks forward to hosting Albania at the Berlin Process Summit this autumn.

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

Moldova is a valued partner of the United Kingdom. Since the start of this parliament, we have strengthened our relationship through the conclusion of agreements on defence and security, the mutual recognition of driving licences, and returns. In May, we held the fourth UK-Moldova Strategic Dialogue and an inaugural Illicit Finance Dialogue, reaffirming our commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation across key sectors. The UK is providing support to Moldova to tackle foreign interference in the run up to their parliamentary elections. This includes providing election observers, countering disinformation, and addressing the flows of money used for vote-buying and illegal funding of political parties.In the past year, the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretary and I have all visited Moldova. The Prime Minister has met with President Sandu on four occasions, most recently when she visited the UK on 23 July. I met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Popsoi in Antalya in April to discuss a range of issues.

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

Romania is a vital bilateral and NATO partner for the United Kingdom, including on tackling the threat posed by Russia, supporting Ukraine, and addressing serious organised crime. In 2023, we signed a Strategic Partnership and held the inaugural Strategic Dialogue committing us to further cooperation across geopolitics, energy security, trade and people-to-people links. We plan to hold the next dialogue later this year. In November 2024, the Prime Minister hosted his counterpart in London where we signed a new defence treaty and double taxation agreement. The Prime Minister also met the newly elected President Dan at the NATO Summit in June. The Foreign Secretary and I have also engaged our counterparts several times in the last year, discussing the breadth of our bilateral relationship.

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

The UK maintains a strong relationship with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), working closely on improving BiH's defence capabilities, tackling organised crime, and facilitating reconciliation. We engage intensively, including through the Peace Implementation Council, to support the country's security and stability. Most recently, in May, the Foreign Secretary and UK Special Envoy to the Western Balkans visited BiH and met key leaders to underline our support. I reaffirmed this when I met BiH Foreign Minister Konaković at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in April, and with Presidency members Komšić and Bećirović in London on 17 June. The UK looks forward to hosting BiH at the upcoming Berlin Process summit.

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 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.

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 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.

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, 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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.