Written questions by Mathew.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the reliability of train services (a) in Wiltshire and (b) from Melksham station.

We are working closely with all operators to improve performance as it is the key focus for the Secretary of State. The Department is also working with Great Western Railway to provide a more robust service for Wiltshire and Melksham through improved rolling stock reliability and train crew availability. Performance in the last couple of periods has improved since carrying out significant improvement works around Westbury and driver related cancellations on Sundays have also reduced.

If she will have discussions with Network Rail on the potential merits of a Devizes Parkway railway station.

Future rail infrastructure investment will be considered as part of the current Spending Review, which will conclude in June 2025.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure social media companies are accountable for content on their sites that may be harmful to children.

Our priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act so that children benefit from its wide-reaching protections. The Act requires all services in scope to protect all users, including children, from illegal content and criminal behaviour. Services likely to be accessed by children will also need to provide additional safety measures to protect them from harmful and age-inappropriate content. Services will need to start complying with their illegal content duties from March and the child safety duties by the summer.

What estimate she has made of the cost of the proposed local Thames Crossing funded as a private finance initiative.

Officials and National Highways are exploring all funding options for the Lower Thames Crossing, including private finance. As with all capital projects, spending decisions will be subject to the upcoming spending review. The assured cost estimate in line with the 2023 baseline for publicly funding the project is £8.95bn, but it is important to recognise that there is a normal level of uncertainty at this early stage of the development of a project of the size and complexity of the Lower Thames Crossing.

What steps he is taking to help prevent Russian interference in UK democratic processes.

I refer the honourable member to my previous answer dated 20/01/2025 [UIN 23400].

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of asking Avon Protection to produce a further 200,000 gas masks for soldiers in Ukraine.

Russia has publicly admitted to the use of Riot Control Agents on the battlefield against Ukraine, and there are multiple reports of the use of the toxic choking agent chloropicrin. In December last year, a Technical Report confirming the use of Riot Control Agents in Ukraine was published by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.The UK has been at the forefront of international support and assistance to Ukraine. In the first few months of Russia's illegal invasion, UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) provided respirators and decontamination kits to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as other protective measures to enhance Ukraine's protective capabilities against chemical weapons.In December 2024, following a direct request for UK Assistance by Ukraine, the MOD announced further funding for the procurement of respirators and other equipment to protect Ukraine's forces. This is being procured jointly with international partners through the G7 led Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction.Our commitment to Ukraine is unwavering and we continue to work closely with our international partners, both bilaterally and in multilateral forums, to coordinate counter-CBRN support and assistance to Ukraine.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure the enforcement of guidelines on air quality in schools.

The responsible body, relevant local authority, academy trust or voluntary-aided body, is responsible for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of pupils when in their care including meeting any relevant standards for internal environments.The department publishes non-statutory guidance on indoor air quality in ‘Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools’ (BB101), which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings. All new department-delivered schools are designed and constructed to the department’s school building standards. These standards cover ventilation and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-part-b-generic-design-brief.

If he will take steps to negotiate a six-month visa waiver scheme with the EU.

Both the UK and the EU allow for visa-free short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens short-term, visa-free travel for up to six months. Meanwhile, the Schengen Borders Code allows for certain third country nationals to travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; this is standard for third-country nationals travelling to the EU.  The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage (a) recycling, (b) composting organic waste and (c) chemically recycling film plastic; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of levying a charge on producers of film plastic to fund its recycling.

The Government has confirmed its commitment to delivering the Collection and Packaging Reforms to the announced timelines, subject to spending review. The reforms will mean that people across England will be able to recycle the same materials, whether at home, work or school. This will include a weekly food waste collection for every household and, from March 2027, kerbside collections of plastic film packaging. Separately, packaging Extended Producer Responsibility will place a charge on all household packaging that is placed on the market, including plastic film, to cover the local authority costs of its collection, treatment and disposal. Together with mechanical recycling, chemical recycling technologies play a role in enabling the transition towards a circular economy. The government is aware that some stakeholders with an interest in chemically recycling plastic film are keen that a mass balance approach is used to calculate chemically recycled content in plastic packaging for the purposes of the Plastic Packaging Tax. His Majesty’s Treasury consulted on the incorporating of mass balance into the Plastic Packaging Tax in October 2023 and are preparing to publish their response before the end of the year.