Written questions by Fox.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment regarding the potential risks posed to Commonwealth Caribbean states of increases in military activity between the US and Venezuela.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement to the House made by the Foreign Secretary on 5 January, and her responses in that debate.

Pursuant to answer of 24 June 2025 to Question 60160 on Victim Support Schemes: Finance, how much ringfenced funding for Domestic Violence and Domestic Abuse Support will be provided in the (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27 financial year.

Ensuring victims receive the right and timely support is a key part of this Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls.We provide funding to all 42 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) which includes ringfenced funding for domestic abuse and sexual violence services. These services are commissioned based on local need.I have protected dedicated VAWG victims spending in the Department by maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced domestic abuse and sexual violence support this year. This includes combined ringfenced funding for PCCs to spend on domestic abuse and sexual violence support services.As announced on 2 December 2025, Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years of this Spending Review period – the biggest investment in victim support services to date. This includes a 2% uplift year on year for the next two years to funding for PCCs. The breakdown of grant funding is also publicly available on the Government Grants Information System (GGIS), which is released annually in March covering the previous financial period of grant spending.

Pursuant to answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 60158 on Victim Support Schemes: Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offences, whether the funding announced for the 2025-26 financial year to help prevent such crimes is ringfenced.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), including domestic abuse and sexual violence, is a top priority for this Government with a manifesto mission to halve VAWG in a decade. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach, underpinned by a new strategy which we aim to publish as soon as possible.Ringfences are an important tool in supporting specific policy priorities. However, the use of ringfences must be balanced against the need for departments to retain sufficient flexibility to allocate funding within their settlements and respond effectively to emerging issues, ensuring the best use of public resources. Home Office funding announced for VAWG in the financial year 2025-26 was not ring-fenced by HMT as part of phase one of the 2025 Spending Review settlement, and the Home Secretary retained discretion over budget allocations for VAWG funding.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of how imported plastic from Saudi Arabia might impact on the viability of domestic recycled plastic production.

The Department for Business and Trade has not made any specific assessment of the impact of plastic imports from Saudi Arabia on domestic recycled plastic production. We are, however, working to ensure the viability of domestic production. This year marks the start of DEFRA’s collection and packaging reforms and a Deposit Return Scheme which will provide feedstock certainty through guaranteeing supply of materials for recycling, whilst also stimulating private investment in infrastructure. Government departments also continue to work closely together to identify interventions necessary to stabilise the sector and set it up for success.

What financial support his Department provides to the recycled plastic industry.

Government is committed to improving the business environment for the recycled plastic industry. This includes support for eligible firms through the Energy Intensive Industry relief schemes, depending on scheme eligibility criteria and firm levels of electricity usage. Other mechanisms include the market-based Packaging Waste Recycling Notes (PRN) system that provides direct funding to the reprocessing sector. DEFRA’s collection and packaging reforms will also stimulate investment in recycling services and provide feedstock certainty, and while we cannot endorse individual technologies, Government have a range of funding sources available to support innovative and emerging technologies within this space through Innovate UK.

Pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 74930 on Midwives: Recruitment and Training, if he can outlines measures his Department is taking to increase the number of jobs available for newly qualified midwives.

On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The Graduate Guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions this year for every newly qualified midwife in England. Vacant maternity support worker posts will be temporarily converted to Band 5 midwifery roles, backed by £8 million to create new opportunities specifically for newly qualified midwives and to further ease the recruitment strain.Furthermore, the Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

If his Department has carried out an assessment of the potential merits of providing childcare support for midwives in training.

The Department for Education provides the primary funding support package for English domiciled students in higher education through the student loans system. Eligible students can also apply for the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance.The Department of Health and Social Care provides eligible healthcare students, including midwifery students, with supplementary, non-repayable support via the NHS Learning Support Fund. This includes a non-repayable grant of £5,000 per academic year and, for eligible students with childcare responsibilities, an additional £2,000 per academic year for parental support. These funding arrangements are reviewed ahead of the start of each academic year.Midwifery apprentices can access childcare support schemes available to working parents, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help tackle deaths among homeless people caused primarily by drug use.

People dying whilst homeless is devasting and we must do all we can to prevent avoidable deaths.The government’s £61.7 million Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment programme funds drug and alcohol treatment services to improve substance misuse and recovery outcomes, reduce the number of people sleeping rough due to substance misuse, and prevent deaths from drug and alcohol poisoning.We are also tackling the root causes of homelessness, including delivering 1.5 million homes over this Parliament and the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding for a generation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department issued guidance to (a) travel and (b) aviation companies on continuing flights to Jamaica after the Jamaican Government issued a hurricane warning.

It is expected that airlines, travel operators and travellers will routinely consider the latest Travel Advice provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) before taking their travel decisions. The FCDO provided regularly updated information and advice in relation to Hurricane Melissa between 22 October and 2 November.The FCDO arranged for one commercial charter flight to support British nationals and other eligible persons who wanted to return from Jamaica to the UK during that period, which departed from Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport on Saturday 1 November. Commercial options were available shortly thereafter resulting in low demand for further FCDO flights.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many flights were arranged to bring UK citizens home from impacted areas following Hurricane Melissa.

It is expected that airlines, travel operators and travellers will routinely consider the latest Travel Advice provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) before taking their travel decisions. The FCDO provided regularly updated information and advice in relation to Hurricane Melissa between 22 October and 2 November.The FCDO arranged for one commercial charter flight to support British nationals and other eligible persons who wanted to return from Jamaica to the UK during that period, which departed from Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport on Saturday 1 November. Commercial options were available shortly thereafter resulting in low demand for further FCDO flights.

Whether she plans to include neurodiversity awareness on the curriculum at (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report and the government’s response were published on 5 November. The Review sought to identify and focus on addressing the most significant and pressing issues facing curriculum and assessment without destabilising the system.A key focus of the Review was inclusion and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), explored through dedicated inclusion work strands that were embedded across all areas of the panel’s work. Throughout the Review, the experiences and outcomes of children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and with special educational needs were considered to ensure the reformed curriculum works for every child.In 2025 the department invested in multi-million-pound programmes, such as Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) and Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC), that bring together central and local government, schools and parents to test and learn new ways to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

What training is available for teachers on supporting neurodivergent children in the classroom.

The department is committed to supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).From September 2025, the department implemented the revised initial teacher training and early career framework, adding more content related to adaptive teaching and improving inclusivity for SEND pupils. The department also enhanced the requirement on providers to develop SEND training materials.Beyond the first few years of teaching, national professional qualifications (NPQs) are available to education professionals at all levels. In 2024 we began delivery of the NPQ for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs). This is the mandatory qualification for SENCOs in mainstream schools. Participants will develop the knowledge and skills needed to set the strategic direction of special educational needs policy and the conditions for pupils with SEND to thrive.The department has committed to a full review of both NPQs and early career teacher training, which will include a focus on SEND.The Universal SEND Services programme helps the school and further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND earlier and more effectively. It also helps them to successfully prepare children and young people for adulthood, including employment.The Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme is a national programme backed by £22 million of investment. It is a cross-government collaboration between the department, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, supported by the National Network of Parent Carer Forums. PINS deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children in mainstream primary schools.

What steps he is taking to replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.

I introduced the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill on 14 October – a significant step in fulfilling our commitment to repeal and replace the Legacy Act. The Bill received its Second Reading yesterday, and I look forward to continued debate and scrutiny as it progresses through Parliament.

What steps his Department is taking to support cross-border businesses with the potential impacts of the inclusion of glass in the deposit return scheme in Wales.

The Government demonstrated in our recent review of the UK Internal Market Act our commitment to work with devolved governments to manage effectively the UK internal market for the benefit of business and citizens across the country. The UK government’s regulations for a Deposit Return Scheme enable the Deposit Management Organisation to work in an interoperable way with other deposit return schemes in the UK.We continue to engage with industry and the Welsh Government to consider how the proposed Welsh deposit return scheme may impact on businesses across the UK.

What assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of net zero policies on Scotland's oil and gas sector.

I’m due to be in Aberdeen next week to meet a range of North Sea oil and gas operators.The Government is clear that Scotland’s oil and gas industry will remain part of our energy system for decades to come.We are also strengthening our energy security and making Scotland home to the green jobs of the future by investing in homegrown clean power through GB Energy.GB Energy is already investing in Scottish renewables. This includes an investment of £200 million in solar and renewable energy projects on public buildings across the country, and in June, GB Energy also pledged £300 million of investment in offshore wind supply chains, as part of a £1 billion package in collaboration with industry and the Crown Estate.

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Welsh government on the potential impact of including (a) glass and (b) a reuse element in its deposit return scheme on cross-border businesses.

The UK Government has regular discussions with the Welsh Government on the deposit return scheme, including through the Resources and Waste Common Framework.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the inclusion of glass in the Welsh government's deposit return scheme on businesses in other parts of the UK.

The UK Government acknowledges the concerns raised by businesses in relation to differences in approach to Deposit Return Scheme across the UK. We will continue to engage with the Welsh Government on this matter as they finalise their policy positions and legislation. The Welsh Government will be responsible for developing an impact assessment of their scheme.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of the deposit return scheme that will be used in (a) Wales and (b) the rest of the UK on the (i) economy and (ii) environment.

The Government published a Final Impact Assessment for the deposit return scheme (DRS) in England and Northern Ireland alongside the regulations in January 2025.

What discussions he has had on the future role of Nursing Associates within the NHS.

The Secretary of State has not had any discussions on the future role of Nursing Associates specifically. The Government is committed to publishing a 10-Year Workforce Plan which will create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. We are working through how the Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Welsh government on the interoperability of its deposit return scheme with the schemes in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland.

I and my officials remain in close working partnership with the Welsh Government as they develop further details of their scheme, with particular consideration of interoperability with DRS in the rest of the UK.