Written questions by MacDonald.

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

The Government is committed to strengthening its close partnership with France, a commitment that was reaffirmed during President Macron's State Visit on 8-10 July and the UK-France Summit with groundbreaking agreements on migration, defence, growth and culture. We are further enhancing foreign policy cooperation to increase pressure on Russia and support Ukraine, support stability in the Middle East, increase coordination in the Western Balkans, Moldova, and the Indo-Pacific, and combine efforts on development and global issues.I attended the UK-France Summit with the Prime Minister and President of France on 10 July. Please see the joint declaration (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-france-leaders-declaration) for further details.

What steps her Department is taking to protect HMRC-held personal data from unauthorised access.

HMRC have strict security standards, and have appropriate technical, physical and managerial procedures in place to safeguard and secure personal information. HMRC limit access to personal information to those persons, or agents who have a business or legal need to do so. For customer-facing services, this includes identity checking procedures and access controls, such as voice biometrics and multi-factor authentication. Fraudsters use the HMRC brand to target individuals with fake correspondence, phishing emails, text messages and telephone calls. We publish phishing and scams guidance on GOV.UK, showing how to recognise scams, report issues and stay safe online.

What discussions she has had with her Scottish counterpart on ensuring the sustainability of high-quality chemistry 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.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has had discussions with representatives of the beekeeping sector on improving public safety measures during hive management.

Ensuring public safety is of great importance to Defra and beekeeping groups. Defra and representatives of the beekeeping sector work closely to raise awareness of the safety measures that should be in place during hive management.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has issued guidance to beekeepers on the use of (a) temporary signage and (b) other public warnings during hive inspections in areas accessible to the public.

Beekeepers generally keep their bees on their property and away from areas that are accessible to the public. Defra advises beekeepers that apiaries should be sited away from neighbours, footpaths or public areas to minimise the risk of members of the public being stung. Bees can be encouraged to fly above potential hazard areas by having high walls or hedges around an apiary to minimise interaction between bees and neighbours or farm animals. When Inspectors from the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit carry out hive inspections, they follow specific procedures and have a Risk Assessment that provides guidance, considerations, and control measures with regards to public health.

What the total annual cost of aircraft leasing arrangements is; and how many such contracts involve offshore-registered companies.

The information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing minimum public safety requirements for beekeepers operating near (a) residential and (b) publicly accessible land.

Defra provides guidance to beekeepers advising that apiaries should be sited away from neighbours, footpaths or public areas to minimise the risk of members of the public being stung. Beekeeping groups also encourage beekeepers to work with their bees in such a way that risks to the general public are kept to a minimum.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the devolved Administrations on coordinated approaches to monitoring puffin populations.

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.

Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on cross-government plans for digital identity systems.

The Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA), within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is working to enable the use of secure and trusted digital verification services (DVS) across the UK economy for those who want to use them.OfDIA regularly engages with cross-government colleagues regarding DVS, including seeking feedback on the Government’s standards for digital identity and work to remove regulatory barriers to adoption in different use cases where these exist. OfDIA also facilitates technical working groups for cross-government collaboration.GOV.UK One Login is the government’s sign-in and identity verification solution, for accessing central government services. All major government departments have committed to onboarding their services to GOV.UK One Login, and are actively developing delivery plans. They are supported by an Onboarding and Engagement team to enable technical service teams to onboard their services smoothly.

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

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Portugal across a broad range of bilateral files. The Foreign Secretary last met with his Portuguese counterpart Foreign Minister Rangel when he visited Lisbon in March earlier this year. I last met with my Portuguese counterpart Secretary of State Domingos when I visited Lisbon in January. Both visits discussed how we can continue to effectively implement the UK-Portugal Joint Declaration.

Whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the the potential impact of digital identity systems on (a) policing and (b) other forms of law enforcement.

The Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA), within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is working to enable the use of secure and trusted digital verification services across the UK economy for those who want to use them.

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

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Denmark across a broad range of bilateral files. We work closely together as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies, and cooperation has deepened further following Denmark's accession to the United Nations Security Council (2025-26). Most recently, the Prime Minister met Prime Minister Frederiksen in Oslo in May at the JEF Leaders' Summit; the Foreign Secretary met Foreign Minister Rasmussen at the NATO Informal in May; and I hosted Danish State Secretary Machon in March. We continue to engage our Danish counterparts regularly at all levels.

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

The UK and Spain have a strong and wide-ranging relationship, particularly on people-to-people, trade, climate and energy, and security. The Foreign Secretary met his counterpart in Brussels on 11 June for Gibraltar negotiations and in the margins of the NATO summit in The Hague on 25 June. He visited Madrid on 31 March to attend Weimar+. The Minister for Development attended the Financing for Development Conference in Seville from 30 June to 1 July. I met with my Spanish counterpart Secretary of State Sampedro in Madrid on 7 May and on 11 June in Brussels. I also visited Spain on 21 February for a meeting on the Gibraltar negotiations and on 17 January for bilateral meetings.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has had discussions with the private sector on the use of digital identity for accessing financial services.

The Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA), within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is working to enable the use of secure and trusted digital verification services across the UK economy for those who want to use them. OfDIA has engaged with organisations who are interested in adopting digital identity technology, including those within the financial services sector.

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

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Poland across a broad range of bilateral files. During the Prime Minister's visit to Poland in January he and Polish Prime Minister Tusk announced the start of negotiations for an ambitious UK-Poland Defence and Security Treaty. The Foreign Secretary met with his Polish counterpart on 7 May in Warsaw where they discussed the threat to European security from Russia and our commitment to work together. I attended the Belvedere Forum in Warsaw on 16 June to discuss strengthening cooperation on security, growth, and migration. At the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) held in Italy on 10-11 July we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Poland on collaboration in support of Ukraine's recovery.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of data surveillance on recipients of Universal Credit.

No assessment has been made as the DWP does not currently or have any plans to use data surveillance to regulate, police or monitor the actions of individuals or groups in receipt of benefits.

Whether the forthcoming (a) NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and (b) National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme will include policies on staffing in rural areas.

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will be published later this year. We will work with partners to make sure we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills, to ensure the National Health Service has access to the workforce it needs to treat those that require care, treatment, and diagnosis across all our communities, including remote, rural, and coastal communities.The National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme was launched on 3 July 2025, to support systems across the country to test new ways of working, share learning, and scale what works. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, or deprived inner cities.

What assessment she has made of the potential role of data surveillance in welfare policy.

No assessment has been made as the DWP does not currently or have any plans to use data surveillance to regulate, police or monitor the actions of individuals or groups in receipt of benefits.

What steps he is taking to provide sustainable (a) funding and (b) commissioning of (i) hospice and (ii) palliative care services in rural areas.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment. The statutory guidance also outlines areas for consideration when commissioning, including improving equity of access and reducing inequity in outcomes and experiences.Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to ensure that the future state of services reduces variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.The Department is currently exploring how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining how to operationalise the required shifts in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.

For what reason her Department has withdrawn funding for journalism courses through the Strategic Priorities Grant from the 2025–26 academic year onwards.

I refer the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire to the answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 63373.