Written questions by Anderson.

Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of the value of research and development projects to be launched under the Tech Prosperity Deal in the next 12 months.

During the unveiling of the UK-US Technology Prosperity Deal in September 2025, over £31 billion worth of investments and partnerships into the UK were unveiled. These will focus on building new data centres and growing AI start-ups, cutting edge tech as well as developing advanced quantum computers.In the accompanying MoU, the UK and US committed to collaborate on further initiatives across AI, quantum and nuclear technologies. We are still in the process of scoping out these collaborations with US counterparts; it is too early to comment on their value.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to measure the effectiveness of the Tenant Farmers Commissioner’s work.

The Commissioner for the Tenant farming sector will report to the joint Defra and industry Farm Tenancy Forum on delivery of the Commissioner’s services, including on insights from engagement with the sector and the number and type of informal and formal complaints the Commissioner has received (unattributed and redacted). This will enable ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of and demand for the Commissioners services.

What estimate he has made of the number of 3-5 year olds who will join the supervised toothbrushing scheme in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency in each of the next five years.

The requested information is held at upper tier local authority rather than at constituency level. The national supervised toothbrushing programme targets 1,830 people aged between three- and five- years old living in the 20% most deprived Lower Super Output Areas of Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council (ONS Indices of Multiple Deprivation mid-2020 population estimates). The final number of children participating in schemes will be determined by rates of local participation at individual settings.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) visa, (b) work-permit, (c) transport and (d) administrative costs under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on UK touring artists.

This government recognises that touring in Europe has become more difficult for UK artists. We closely monitor the impact of current arrangements on the ability of UK performers and their crews to work and tour in Europe, including the additional time, cost and complexity involved in securing visas and permits and transporting equipment and goods between the UK and EU. These barriers make it harder for UK performers to plan and deliver tours, particularly for smaller and emerging artists for whom European tours present a crucial stepping stone to forge professional connections and establish careers. The UK and EU share a strong interest in ensuring that artists and audiences on both sides continue to benefit from cultural exchange. European audiences gain from the access to British artists, and venues, festivals and business across Europe benefit from the talent, local economic activity and cultural benefits that touring generates. As agreed at the inaugural UK-EU Summit, we are committed to deepening UK-EU cultural exchange, including the activities of touring artists. We are carefully considering the most effective ways to do this, and continue to engage with the European Commission, European Member States, and the arts and creative sectors. Addressing the challenges faced by our sectors is a key part of our broader strategy to strengthen and grow the UK’s creative industries, as set out in our Creative Industries Sector Plan.

What the role Great British Energy will be in energy (a) planning and (b) consenting when acting as a co-developer.

Great British Energy (GBE) will invest in, own, and develop clean energy projects throughout all stages of their life cycle, from early development through to successful operation. This will include leading on developing projects itself, as well as being an engaged and proactive co-developer with the private sector, public landowners, devolved and local government, community energy groups, and wider public finance institutions and bodies. Projects that GBE develops will be taken forward through the planning and consenting system in the same way as any other commercial project.

How her Department will allocate the £1 billion additional funding for HMRC across tax gap initiatives.

HMRC will allocate the additional funding at Autumn Budget 2024 and Spring Statement 2025 to close the tax gap predominately to frontline staff and digital services, including: 5,500 additional frontline compliance officers2,400 additional debt management staffinvestment in debt case management systemsplacing additional tax debts with private debt collection agenciesdelivering Making Tax Digital for income tax self-assessmentdigitalising the Inheritance Tax service to provide a modern, easy-to-use system, that makes submitting returns and paying tax simpler and quicker As well as these investments, we introduced measures to:Increase the interest rate on unpaid taxChange the tax rules on liquidations of Limited Liability PartnershipsPrevent non-compliance from the transfer overseas of UK tax-relieved pension fundsModernise and mandate registration of tax practitioners interacting with HMRC

What baseline data his Department holds on the number of hospital tooth extractions among 5-9 year olds in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) publishes annual official statistics on tooth extractions, which include five- to nine-year-olds, that take place in a National Health Service hospital setting in England. The following table shows the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) for all tooth extractions and for tooth extraction with dental caries, also known as tooth decay, as the primary diagnosis code, for the 2023/24 financial year, for children aged five to nine years who reside in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes: All tooth extractionsTooth decay-related tooth extractionsBuckinghamshire11595Milton Keynes4035Source: OHID’s annual statistics on tooth extractions for zero to 19 year olds that take place in an NHS hospital setting in England, available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hospital-based-tooth-extractions-in-0-to-19-year-olds Notes:Buckinghamshire refers to the local authority, Buckinghamshire Council;Milton Keynes refers to Milton Keynes lower tier local authority, Milton Keynes City Council;al sub-national FCE counts are rounded to the nearest five as per NHS Digital’s disclosure controls;figures show the number of FCEs, not the number of individual children who received these treatments, and therefore one child may have had more than one FCE; anda quality note on the data is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/analysis-of-tooth-extractions-in-hospital-methods-and-data-quality/data-quality-and-disclosure-control-for-hospital-based-tooth-extraction-data

How many and what proportion of the 23 million (a) toothbrushes and (b) toothpastes will be provided to early years settings in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The information is not available at constituency level. In 2025/26, Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council have received 5,544 toothbrushes for use in early years settings, 4,812 toothpastes and 3,660 toothbrushes for children to take home. This equates to a proportion of 0.3% of the total allocation of products from our partnership with Colgate-Palmolive for this year. Product allocations are based on the number of 3-to-5-year children living in the 20% most deprived areas in England. Allocation of products for subsequent years will be confirmed in partnership with the councils and Colgate-Palmolive.

Food and Rural Affairs, how she plans to assess progress towards establishing the proposed UK–EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary zone under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

This autumn we expect to start the detailed negotiations on the SPS agreement, as well as the other commitments from our summit in May Defra has established a programme to deliver the work required to implement a UK-EU SPS agreement. This is already part of the Government Major Projects Portfolio, with regular progress reporting into the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of pesticides used under emergency authorisations will be subject to risk assessments under the new guidance.

The new guidance applies to all applications for emergency authorisation of pesticides. All such applications will therefore be subject to assessments of risks to people, animals and the environment, including risks to pollinators.

What trade barriers his Department has identified in the Chinese market in (a) healthcare, (b) automotive and (c) professional services sectors.

We have identified the following challenges: in healthcare, complex regulatory approval processes for medicines and medical devices; in automotive, certification requirements, consumption taxes and tariffs; and in professional services firms face restrictions on business operations, onerous licencing, data localisation requirements, and limited recognition of qualifications. We regularly raise market access issues with Chinese authorities through diplomatic channels and ministerial engagements, including during the Secretary of State's recent visit to China.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of allowing lenders to offer mortgages of over 4.5 times buyers’ income on the financial stability of mortgage lenders.

The loan-to-income (LTI) flow limit restricts the share of new mortgages that lenders can issue at or above 4.5 times a borrower’s income. It is set by the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC), which is responsible for identifying and addressing systemic risks to UK financial stability. In July 2025, the FPC judged that the system-wide cap—limiting high-LTI mortgages to no more than 15 per cent of all new owner-occupier lending—continues to provide appropriate protection against the build up of unsustainable household debt which could pose risks to financial stability in an economic downturn. However, to ensure the LTI flow limit is implemented proportionately and efficiently, the Committee recommended that the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) amend implementation of the flow limit to allow individual lenders to increase their share of high-LTI lending, provided the aggregate flow remains consistent with the 15 per cent limit. Details on this recommendation can be found in the FPC’s July Financial Stability Report. The government supports the FPC’s changes, maintaining resilience of the financial system while supporting responsible access to home ownership.

How many small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) the UK and (b) Buckingham and Bletchley constituency have exported to China in the last three years.

HMRC releases information as Official Statistics called the Trade in Goods by Business Characteristics, which is available via gov.uk. (www.uktradeinfo.com). Trade in Goods by Business Characteristics includes exports to certain pre-selected Partner Countries that includes China. This data includes exports by Business Size (Number of employees) broken down by the following categories: 0; 1 to 9; 10 to 49; 50 to 249; 250+; Unknown. The user will be able to work out SME by aggregating the first four categories in this list. Links to the relevant releases for 2021, 2022, and 2023 are below (see tab “2. Business Size” on each release): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/637ce265d3bf7f5a0b33f87f/UK_TIG_by_Business_Characteristics_2021_Country_Tables.xlsxhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6554d441d03a8d001207f9a7/UK_TIG_by_Business_Characteristics_2022_Country_Level_Tables.xlsxhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6734b5f4f6920bfb5abc7a75/UK_TIG_by_Business_Characteristics_2023_Country_Level_Tables.xlsx The release for 2024 data will be published on 27 November 2025. The breakdown by Business Size (Number of Employees) is not available for areas smaller than UK as a whole.

Food and Rural Affairs, what methodology her Department plans to use to assess the effectiveness of the revised emergency authorisation guidance in reducing harm to bee populations.

Defra has developed a Pesticide Load Indicator which combines data on quantities used with data on the properties of each pesticide. The indicator illustrates trends in the potential pressure on the environment arising from the use of pesticides. The metrics for bees indicate a very substantial reduction in load in recent years, due in large part to the end of widespread use of three neonicotinoid pesticides which carry risks to bee populations.The National Honey Monitoring Scheme supports estimates of honeybee exposure to pesticides. Defra also contributes funding for the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, which tracks changes in numbers across the UK.Defra will continue to monitor trends in these metrics and other data to ensure that risks from pesticides to bees, including the risks of any pesticides given emergency authorisation, are being kept to acceptable levels.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has set any quantitative targets for the reduction in emergency-authorised pesticide applications that risk harming pollinators, following the publication of the revised guidance.

The new guidance makes clear that risks to people, animals and the environment, including risks to pollinators, will be taken fully into account. No pesticide will be granted an emergency authorisation unless the benefits outweigh those risks. The legislation governing emergency authorisations for pesticides requires that each application is assessed against strict criteria. As each application is considered on its own merits and on the basis of the relevant evidence, it is not appropriate to set a target for the number of emergency authorisations.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that new affordable housing built under the plan for 1.5 million homes will be accessible to first-time buyers whose deposit is less than 10 per cent.

The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership. In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the government is supporting people into home ownership, including through the shared ownership scheme and the Lifetime ISA. The government has also introduced a new, permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, available to support and sustain availability of low deposit mortgage products for prospective buyers. Additionally, the Bank of England is easing the loan-to-income limit, enabling up to 36,000 additional first-time buyers in the first year. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ongoing review of the mortgage market means many buyers can now borrow 10% more towards a property purchase. The government looks forward to ambitious proposals from the FCA’s paper. First-time buyers may also benefit from home ownership initiatives offered at the local level.

What estimate her Department has made of how many small businesses in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency are losing all Small Business Rates Relief when opening their second premises.

We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026-27 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.The Government does not hold data on how many businesses are eligible for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) in individual constituencies. It is worth noting that, if a business expands to a second property, it retains SBRR on the first property for 12 months, and may retain it longer if certain conditions are met.The Transforming Business Rates: Interim Report published on 11 September sets out the Government’s next steps to deliver a fairer business rates system. This includes exploring a number of reforms to incentivise investment and improve the operation of the business rates system, including how SBRR could be enhanced to more effectively support investment and expansion among small businesses.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential economic impact of proposed business rates reforms on the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026-27 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.The Government does not hold data on how many businesses are eligible for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) in individual constituencies. It is worth noting that, if a business expands to a second property, it retains SBRR on the first property for 12 months, and may retain it longer if certain conditions are met.The Transforming Business Rates: Interim Report published on 11 September sets out the Government’s next steps to deliver a fairer business rates system. This includes exploring a number of reforms to incentivise investment and improve the operation of the business rates system, including how SBRR could be enhanced to more effectively support investment and expansion among small businesses.

What the average reduction in waiting time achieved through the Advice and Guidance scheme was for patients registered with GP practices in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency in April 2025.

No assessment has been made of the average reduction in waiting time as a result of Advice and Guidance in April 2025 for patients in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Whether he has established a (a) monitoring and (b) evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness of (i) Defence Growth Deals and (ii) Defence Technical Excellence Colleges.

Each Defence Growth Deal will be bespoke to their location and we will work with devolved and local Governments, industry and academia to shape the Deals in a way that is best for that area. This includes developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks that align with the Government’s Plan for Change. The Department for Education, working with the Ministry of Defence, Defence Technical Excellence Colleges and partners in the skills system, will design a monitoring and evaluation framework that helps support successful delivery of key objectives. This includes boosting defence related skills provision and ensuring clear pathways into defence sector jobs; high quality teaching practice and curricula in defence-related courses; and leveraging employer engagement and investment in defence-skills provision.