Written questions by Anderson.

What steps he is taking to ensure that clinical commissioning structures are prepared for changes arising from the HIV Action Plan.

The new HIV Action Plan (HIV AP), published on 1 December 2025, sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing and treatment, tackling stigma, and reaching our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030.National Health Service integrated care boards hold commissioning responsibility for adult HIV services in line with the relevant NHS England service specification. NHS England is supportive of the HIV AP and its recommendations and is committed to the implementation and delivery of the plan.The HIV AP asks local partners across the NHS and local authorities to carry out a HIV needs assessment which will inform the development and publication of local HIV plans across the country during 2026/27.Local areas will monitor uptake and outcomes to identify gaps and improve equity in access to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment. The UK Health Security Agency will continue to support this with robust data monitoring and reporting.

What steps he is taking to ensure the national HIV surveillance system remains compatible with international reporting standards.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and its predecessors have led HIV surveillance since the beginning of the epidemic in the early 1980s. In addition to continued collaboration and acting as expert advisors on HIV surveillance to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) European region, the UKHSA ensures that its data remains compatible by reporting standard data to ECDC/WHO European region and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS on an annual basis.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what mechanisms she uses to evaluate the performance of UK posts in delivering Indo-Pacific strategic priorities.

Building strong relationships in the Indo-Pacific is crucial to the UK's long-term economic growth. The global economic centre of gravity is already shifting - by 2050 the Indo-Pacific region will generate over half of global growth.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade, and other colleagues, to ensure that our work in the Indo-Pacific supports the delivery of the UK's Industrial and Trade Strategies, including securing the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and finalising UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. UK Diplomatic Posts in the Indo-Pacific incorporate relevant regional strategic priorities into their country plans, and all Posts provide twice-yearly updates against the objectives set out in those plans.

What plans he has to review guidance for local authorities on HIV support service commissioning.

The new HIV Action Plan, published on 1 December 2025, sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing and treatment, tackling stigma, and reaching our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030. Services to support people living with HIV are primarily the responsibility of National Health Service integrated care boards, who commission adult HIV care in line with the relevant NHS England service specification. Providers of HIV care are responsible for collaborating with local authority commissioned social care where needed.The HIV Action Plan also asks local partners across the NHS and local authorities to carry out a HIV needs assessment which will inform the development and publication of local HIV plans across the country during 2026/27. Local areas will monitor uptake and outcomes to identify gaps and improve equity in access to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment. The UK Health Security Agency will continue to support this with robust data monitoring and reporting.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK Indo-Pacific policy is aligned with domestic trade and investment objectives.

Building strong relationships in the Indo-Pacific is crucial to the UK's long-term economic growth. The global economic centre of gravity is already shifting - by 2050 the Indo-Pacific region will generate over half of global growth.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade, and other colleagues, to ensure that our work in the Indo-Pacific supports the delivery of the UK's Industrial and Trade Strategies, including securing the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and finalising UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. UK Diplomatic Posts in the Indo-Pacific incorporate relevant regional strategic priorities into their country plans, and all Posts provide twice-yearly updates against the objectives set out in those plans.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the staffing requirements needed to support expanded UK engagement in Indo-Pacific economic initiatives.

Building strong relationships in the Indo-Pacific is crucial to the UK's long-term economic growth. The global economic centre of gravity is already shifting - by 2050 the Indo-Pacific region will generate over half of global growth.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade, and other colleagues, to ensure that our work in the Indo-Pacific supports the delivery of the UK's Industrial and Trade Strategies, including securing the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and finalising UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. UK Diplomatic Posts in the Indo-Pacific incorporate relevant regional strategic priorities into their country plans, and all Posts provide twice-yearly updates against the objectives set out in those plans.

What metrics are used to evaluate UK participation in joint regulatory co-operation forums with the European Union.

The Government does not use a single fixed set of metrics. A range of data is utilised, including the importance of sectors impacted and the level of regulatory burden businesses are facing. The UK-EU Trade Cooperation Agreement (TCA) includes a series of Annual Trade Specialised Committees (TSCs). Agendas and minutes are published here. Regulatory cooperation takes place across these committees. More information on the UK-EU Trade Partnership Council can also be found here. The Domestic Advisory Group, which advises on implementation of the TCA, also monitors the TCA’s operation, including regulatory cooperation.

What criteria his Department uses to determine which sectors are prioritised for UK-EU regulatory co-operation.

The Government does not use a single fixed set of metrics. A range of data is utilised, including the importance of sectors impacted and the level of regulatory burden businesses are facing. The UK-EU Trade Cooperation Agreement (TCA) includes a series of Annual Trade Specialised Committees (TSCs). Agendas and minutes are published here. Regulatory cooperation takes place across these committees. More information on the UK-EU Trade Partnership Council can also be found here. The Domestic Advisory Group, which advises on implementation of the TCA, also monitors the TCA’s operation, including regulatory cooperation.

Innovation and Technology, what procedures are in place for cross-border data exchange within UK-EU institutional partnerships.

UK and EU organisations that transfer personal data in the context of institutional partnerships can rely on respective applicable arrangements that facilitate the free flow of such data. These are known as adequacy decisions Following EU exit, the UK legislated to deem the EU institutions adequate while in 2021 the EU also adopted its own adequacy decisions for the UK. Some exchanges of personal data are also governed by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement or arrangements for specific areas of cooperation.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has a framework for evaluating cyber-security workforce shortages within the public sector.

DSIT has a number of different mechanisms for evaluating the public sector’s cyber workforce. DSIT completes an annual Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market Survey, which identifies key challenges facing the public sector’s cyber security workforce, including skills gaps. Additionally, DSIT expects to publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this Winter which will set out our approach to tackling cyber skills across Government. To develop this approach, DSIT considered a range of data sources, such as the cross government Security Profession Workforce Commission, the People Survey, the recent National Audit Office report on Government Cyber Resilience, and Civil Service Jobs databases to understand where we are facing cyber workforce shortages, why these shortages exist, and how best to tackle them.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what methodology the Department uses to assess the financial sustainability of long-term UK-funded capacity-building projects.

The Department assesses the financial sustainability of long-term UK-funded capacity-building projects through its business case process, annual reviews and Project Completion Reviews. During delivery, sustainability is monitored through quarterly progress reports and annual reviews, which include checks on financial performance, risk management and alignment with agreed objectives. Programme Responsible Owners (PROs) apply the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to ensure ongoing viability, using tools such as risk registers, results frameworks and value-for-money assessments throughout the project lifecycle.UK support to aided Overseas Territories contributes to economic diversification and local capacity-building in line with our commitment to the prosperity of the whole UK family. Various metrics such as visitor numbers and overall GDP growth are used to track outcomes, as appropriate for each territory and in line with programme operating framework requirements.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has formalised reporting requirements for departments that experience repeated cyber incidents.

The Government Cyber Security Policy Handbook sets clear expectations for departments to follow in the event of a cyber incident, including the communication plans that departments need to have in place to notify relevant bodies and organisations. The Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3) will shortly publish the Government Cyber Incident Response Plan (G-CIRP) which reiterates departmental responsibilities during cyber incidents, including reporting. Furthermore, DSIT expects to publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this Winter, which sets out clear structures and actions to improve our collective response to fast-moving incidents. It also articulates how the Government Cyber Coordination Centre will provide departments with more support in understanding, detecting and responding to threats.

Food and Rural Affairs, what framework the Department uses to evaluate rural supply-chain resilience projects funded by public programmes.

The effectiveness of public programmes is reviewed according to standard Government evaluation guidance. This usually includes process, impact and value for money criteria against the stated objectives of each grant scheme.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment criteria are used for evaluating applications to food industry investment programmes.

Investment is through grants to sustainable farming and food production businesses and prioritised in terms of where it delivers most value. Applications are assessed against published criteria.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Department records skills gaps identified by rural enterprises applying for Government support.

Defra provides funding to rural businesses via the Rural England Prosperity Fund. The fund is devolved to local authorities, and each individual eligible local authority are responsible for running their own rounds of funding. Defra does not record skills gaps identified by rural enterprises applying for Government support.

Food and Rural Affairs, what performance indicators are used to review the effectiveness of food sector capital incentives.

Investment is through grants to sustainable farming and food production businesses and prioritised in terms of where it delivers most value. Applications are assessed against published criteria.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has agreed trackable benchmarks for UK-EU security collaboration programmes.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, working with Cabinet Office, Ministry of Defence and other partners are closely tracking and assessing delivery of the UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership. We hold six-monthly dialogues with the EU led by the Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary, along with regular dialogues at official level on a range of areas. Cooperation has already intensified on priorities such as support to Ukraine, tackling hybrid threats, and stability in the Western Balkans.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Department has established metrics for tracking economic diversification outcomes in supported Overseas Territories.

The Department assesses the financial sustainability of long-term UK-funded capacity-building projects through its business case process, annual reviews and Project Completion Reviews. During delivery, sustainability is monitored through quarterly progress reports and annual reviews, which include checks on financial performance, risk management and alignment with agreed objectives. Programme Responsible Owners (PROs) apply the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to ensure ongoing viability, using tools such as risk registers, results frameworks and value-for-money assessments throughout the project lifecycle.UK support to aided Overseas Territories contributes to economic diversification and local capacity-building in line with our commitment to the prosperity of the whole UK family. Various metrics such as visitor numbers and overall GDP growth are used to track outcomes, as appropriate for each territory and in line with programme operating framework requirements.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Department has established measurable targets for rural business productivity improvements supported by public funding in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

We have not set productivity targets specifically for businesses in rural areas. Defra provides funding to rural businesses via the Rural England Prosperity Fund. Each individual eligible local authority is responsible for running their own rounds of funding and establishing their own delivery targets based on local priorities. The Fund is devolved to local authorities, and they have been given responsibility for delivery of REPF – including setting priorities and delivery targets for the funding they have been allocated, assessing and approving project applications, processing payments and the day-to-day monitoring of delivery. Each eligible local authority reports every 6 months on spend and outcomes via the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, who administer the Fund on Defras’ behalf. The Department provided Buckinghamshire with an allocation of £1.828m in financial years 2023/24 & 2024/25 and a further £548k in financial year 2025/26 via the Rural England Prosperity Fund.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what reporting requirements exist for Overseas Territories accessing UK technical assistance programmes.

The Department assesses the financial sustainability of long-term UK-funded capacity-building projects through its business case process, annual reviews and Project Completion Reviews. During delivery, sustainability is monitored through quarterly progress reports and annual reviews, which include checks on financial performance, risk management and alignment with agreed objectives. Programme Responsible Owners (PROs) apply the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to ensure ongoing viability, using tools such as risk registers, results frameworks and value-for-money assessments throughout the project lifecycle.UK support to aided Overseas Territories contributes to economic diversification and local capacity-building in line with our commitment to the prosperity of the whole UK family. Various metrics such as visitor numbers and overall GDP growth are used to track outcomes, as appropriate for each territory and in line with programme operating framework requirements.