Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

What is the total cost to the public purse of the decision to extend the statutory override for the cost of SEND to 2027-28.

The statutory override is an accounting measure, designed to keep Dedicated Schools Grant deficits separate from local authorities’ wider financial position. The extension of the override to the end of the 2027/28 financial year does not affect local authorities’ statutory duties to provide support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), nor does it change how much they spend to fulfil those duties. As these duties remain unchanged and, as with the previous government’s decision to extend the statutory override to the end of 2025/26, the extension itself does not result in any additional cost to the public purse.The government recognises many local authorities are likely to continue to accrue deficits due to their spending on high needs, as we have seen in recent years, as they ensure that there are sufficient resources to secure provision for children and young people with SEND in mainstream or in specialist education. We will set out our plans to support local authorities with historic and accruing deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.

What assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the submissions from (a) Greece, (b) Slovakia, (c) Romania and (d) Czechia on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through the EU TRIS process.

The Technical Regulatory Information System notification is a standard process which applies under the Windsor Framework. It is not an approval process. The Government’s position remains that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will apply in Northern Ireland and is consistent with both our domestic and international obligations.

With reference to his comment given to British Forces Broadcasting Service following reporting of medical discharges relating to operating in Ajax vehicles that Medical discharges are not attributed to individual vehicles or pieces of equipment, what assessment has he made of the correlation between medical discharges and use of Ajax.

As a former member of the Armed Forces the hon. Member will know that the nature of military service exposes Service personnel to a wide range of hazards. For example, noise from weapons systems, Armoured Fighting Vehicles and helicopters over a full career often make a ‘condition’ attributable to service in general, rather than a specific cause or event. It is therefore inherently difficult to make direct linkages or define what is reasonably attributable to Ajax, or any other specific contributing factor, and medical discharge. We are currently undertaking reviews into the medical injuries sustained by Ajax crews and more details on the findings will be published in due course.

What is the full scope of the five point action plan to tackle release inaccuracy announced by him on 11 November 2025.

Releases in error are never acceptable, and we are bearing down on those errors that do occur. Releases in error have always existed, and are another long-term symptom of the prison system crisis this Government inherited. While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are taking decisive action to address this issue to reduce the risk of future mistakes. On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan. This includes:a new Justice Performance Board which will give a comprehensive view of performance across the criminal justice system;the introduction of an urgent query process to allow prisons to quickly escalate warrant-related queries;a multi-million pound investment in new technology to reduce human error;the simplification of release policy to reduce the scope for errors through the implementation of the Sentencing Bill; andan independent system-wide review, led by Dame Lynne Owens, which will report its recommendations in spring next year.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mitigating the financial risk of the removal of the statutory override from local authorities regarding the requirement to balance budgets in 2028.

At Autmn Budget 2025, the government clarified that ambitious Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform plans will be set out early in the new year and that funding for SEND will be managed within the government’s overall departmental spending limits from 2028-29. Therefore, we do not expect local authorities to need to fund future SEND costs from general funds, once the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027-28. We recognise that local authorities are continuing to face significant pressure from the impact of historic and accruing DSG deficits on their accounts. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government engages regularly with local authorities and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on the impact of the deficits and the extent to which they are expected to grow. We will set out further details on our plans to support local authorities with their historic and accruing deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 94926 on Ajax Vehicles: Health and Safety, when the review into the Ajax programme will a) start and b) conclude.

On 22 November, during a routine training exercise, around 30 soldiers operating in Ajax reported being affected by noise and vibration exposure. As a result, I directed the Army to pause all use of Ajax for training and exercising, while a safety investigation is carried out into the events. Those investigations are ongoing and I will update the House at an appropriate point. I am putting in place a Ministerial led review into the Ajax programme, which will assess how effective the Department has been at implementing the actions of previous reviews, and seeking anything further that is required regarding safety. It will be conducted by experts who are not part of the AJAX programme, including Malcolm Chalmers, to provide a more independent view. It will be overseen by me and report to the Defence Secretary. It will be conducted at pace, but it will not be rushed. We will have the Terms of Reference before Christmas.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the growth in the availability of open source Chinese AI platforms on the UK.

The Government continues to monitor global developments in AI, including open-source platforms. Open-sourcing AI models decentralises control, enabling more developers to innovate, experiment and deploy systems for diverse purposes.This approach can deliver significant benefits by fostering innovation, competition and transparency. However, decentralisation also introduces security risks. Open model releases may allow malicious actors to remove safeguards and fine-tune models for harmful purposes.Consumers and businesses should choose the AI system most suitable for their purpose, considering whether they trust the organisation hosting the model and handling of potentially sensitive queries. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published guidance to help individuals use AI tools safely, including advice on understanding how personal information is processed and shared.As part of its research to understand the capabilities and impacts of advanced AI and develop and test risk-mitigations, the AI Security Institute (AISI) takes a leading role in safety-testing open and closed AI models wherever they come from.

What the deadline is for the submission of a development consent application for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

It will be for scheme promoters to decide when to submit a development consent order application for a third runway scheme.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies on funding SEND provision of the mainstream school spending per pupil on page 122 of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic Financial Outlook.

The government has set out its position on page 105 of the budget document, confirming that special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pressure will be absorbed within the overall government Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) budget from the financial year 2028/29 onwards such that we would not expect local authorities to need to fund future special educational needs costs from general funds. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) have illustrated the impact in the funding required for this, estimated at £6 billion, if these costs were met by diverting mainstream schools funding. However, that is only an indicative example and does not reflect government policy. We have confirmed that SEND pressure will be absorbed within the overall government DEL budget from 2028/29 onwards, not that it will be absorbed within the core schools budget. Furthermore, the £6 billion figure quoted by the OBR is based on current spending trajectories and does not take account of future government decisions on reforms to the SEND system, details of which will be set out in the Schools White Paper in the new year. Budgets from 2028/29 onwards, including the core schools budget, will be confirmed at the 2027 Spending Review.

By what date she plans to complete the review into airport funding.

There is no current review into airport funding.

What assessment she has made of the feasibility of new terminals for the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport being built and operated in competition with those run by the airport.

Information about terminals and other airport infrastructure would be provided as part of a development consent order application.

Whether the Attorney General has had recent discussions with his Cabinet colleagues on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill’s legal compatibility with the Windsor Framework in relation to Northern Ireland.

The Attorney sits on the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee. As part of the process of approving a government Bill for introduction, as set out in the published Guide to Making Legislation, a legal issues memorandum is prepared for this Committee. This will set out all relevant legal issues.Whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice outside of the PBL process is covered by the Law Officers' Convention. This Convention provides that whether or not the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.This protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full and frank legal advice and provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.

How many staff within the HM Prison & Probation Service reliant on visas for employment have been employed since 5 July 2024.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold the requested information requested data in an easily accessible format. Right to Work data is collected during the vetting stage but is not retained within the employment record. As a result, extracting this information would require a manual review of individual vetting files, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of funding the cost of SEND provision from RDEL allocations on local authorities.

The government has set out its position on page 105 of the budget document, confirming that special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pressure will be absorbed within the overall government Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) budget from the financial year 2028/29 onwards such that we would not expect local authorities to need to fund future special educational needs costs from general funds. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) have illustrated the impact in the funding required for this, estimated at £6 billion, if these costs were met by diverting mainstream schools funding. However, that is only an indicative example and does not reflect government policy. We have confirmed that SEND pressure will be absorbed within the overall government DEL budget from 2028/29 onwards, not that it will be absorbed within the core schools budget. Furthermore, the £6 billion figure quoted by the OBR is based on current spending trajectories and does not take account of future government decisions on reforms to the SEND system, details of which will be set out in the Schools White Paper in the new year. Budgets from 2028/29 onwards, including the core schools budget, will be confirmed at the 2027 Spending Review.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 94926 on Ajax Vehicles: Health and Safety, whether vehicles within the Ajax programme will be available for use prior to the a) conclusion and b) implementation of recommendations of that review.

On 22 November, during a routine training exercise, around 30 soldiers operating in Ajax reported being affected by noise and vibration exposure. As a result, I directed the Army to pause all use of Ajax for training and exercising, while a safety investigation is carried out into the events. Those investigations are ongoing and I will update the House at an appropriate point. I am putting in place a Ministerial led review into the Ajax programme, which will assess how effective the Department has been at implementing the actions of previous reviews, and seeking anything further that is required regarding safety. It will be conducted by experts who are not part of the AJAX programme, including Malcolm Chalmers, to provide a more independent view. It will be overseen by me and report to the Defence Secretary. It will be conducted at pace, but it will not be rushed. We will have the Terms of Reference before Christmas.

Pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025 to question 94541 on Ministry of Defence: Asbestos, what the cost was of the 119 awards for mesothelioma.

To provide the cost of the 119 War Pension Scheme awards for mesothelioma or any asbestos-related condition made 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 would require a manual review of each case to determine the exact money paid and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.As reported in the War Pensions Scheme Accredited Official Statistic, 96 lump sum awards for mesothelioma were paid out in the 2024-25 financial year at a cost of £13.2 million.The latest WPS Annual Statistics can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/war-pensions-scheme-statistics-2025As there is a delay between a mesothelioma claim being awarded and being paid, those paid out in 2024-25 could have been awarded in either 2023-24 or 2024-25.Since 16 December 2015, veterans diagnosed with service-attributable mesothelioma have had the choice between a one-off, tax-free lump sum of £140,000 or regular, smaller payments in the form of an ongoing disablement pension. Disablement pensioners already in receipt of an ongoing pension on 16 December 2015 were entitled to receive a lump sum payment of £140,000 less any monies already received. Lump sum payments have been made since 11 April 2016. Further details on the policy change can be found on GOV.UK website.

On what date did Project Matcha (a) start and (b) end.

The then Secretary of State for Defence granted approval for Project MATCHA in May 2021. The final programme activity occurred through a Closure Board in November 2024.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 93242 on Military Alliances: Space, what is included under the banner of space services.

The space services to which the UK assures access to include the following: (1) Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, (2) Position, navigation and timing, (3) Satellite communications, (4) Missile warning and tracking and (5) Environmental monitoring.Maintaining assured access to these services is crucial as they provide critical support to the UK's joint force, thus enabling and enhancing the UK's military effectiveness.

What the projected cost is of the abolition of NHS England, including staff redundancy packages, consultancy fees, administration and restructuring costs.

The abolition of NHS England will involve some upfront costs associated with organisational change. £1 billion is the estimated overall cost of redundancy exits across the Department, NHS England, and the integrated care boards. In the 2025 Autumn Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that HM Treasury would bring forward £860 million of the Department’s SR25 settlement to support with the upfront costs. By reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication, the Government will unlock savings of £1 billion per year by the end of the Parliament, equivalent to the cost of over 115,000 extra hip and knee operations.The Government is committed to ensuring that Parliament and the public are appropriately informed of exit costs, as well as material consultancy, administration, and restructuring costs. Information will be published at the appropriate time, in line with established reporting mechanisms, to ensure transparency and accountability. The Department will continue to provide updates as the reforms progress.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has she made in fulfilling the UK contribution to the Child Nutrition Fund in 2025-26.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 25 November to Questions 91556 and 91557, which sets out the UK's contribution to the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF). In 2025-26, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has so far disbursed £1 million to the CNF.