Written questions by Lewis.

How much the Government has received from foreign military sales of F-35s.

Partner Nations within the F-35 programme who contribute to F-35 development can recoup elements of those development costs from foreign military sales of the F-35. To date this has resulted in $94.83 million in recoupment costs for the Department.

What data his Department holds on retention rates for prison officers.

The Department does not publish a ‘retention rate’ for prison officers. The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics includes resignation rates for prison officers, which refers to the percentage of staff with a permanent contract of employment who resigned from HMPPS, and leaving rates, which refers to the percentage of staff with a permanent contract of employment who left HMPPS, including individuals who have retired early, but excluding staff who left due to voluntary early departure schemes and redundancy.The latest data in the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics covers the period up to the end of June 2025 and are available here: HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: June 2025 - GOV.UK.We remain committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain levels of experience, both of which are fundamental to delivering quality outcomes in prisons. To help increase retention, HMPPS has created a retention strategy which is linked to wider activities around employee experience, employee lifecycle and staff engagement at work. Alongside the strategy, a retention toolkit has been introduced which identifies local, regional and national interventions against the drivers of attrition, which are utilised by establishments to ensure that they are embedding individual Retention Plans.

What data the Government holds on the percentage of prison officers employed via the worker visa route.

Published visa data is available at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

What assessment she has made with the Secretary of State for Justice of the potential impact of recent changes to the eligibility criteria for skilled worker visas on prison staff.

On 12 May, the Government published our Immigration White Paper, outlining our future approach to legal migration routes. On 22 July the first phase of changes took effect, including raising the threshold for Skilled Worker visas to graduate level occupations.Prison service officers are classed as a medium skilled role and are not on the Temporary Shortage List (TSL) or Immigration Salary List (ISL). Therefore, workers with general work rights will not be able to switch to the Skilled Worker route.Those on Skilled Worker visas before 22 July 2025 and who need to extend their stay can continue to apply in medium skilled roles and will have to meet the salary requirements in place at the time they apply.It is our intention to publish an Impact Assessment (IA) at the earliest opportunity. A technical annex (www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-technical-annex) was published alongside the Immigration White Paper setting out the impact of some of the key policy changes.

What steps he is taking to (a) train and (b) recruit staff in the prison workforce.

We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prisons. We remain committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain and build levels of experience.HMPPS believes that having a high-quality training offer for prison officers ensures that they feel competent in their roles, and that they can do their vital job of reducing reoffending and protecting the public. All new entrants are expected to undergo 10 weeks of initial training, comprised of an induction process that aims to familiarise them with the prison environment by meeting their line manager and colleagues and learning about security procedures. This is followed by face-to-face training at a central or local learning venue of 7 weeks for staff going into the adult male estate, 8 weeks for staff going into the female estate or 9 weeks for those going into the Youth Custody Service. They then return to their establishment for a final week of consolidation and shadowing.HMPPS is committed to improving prison officer training. Through the ‘Enable Programme’, a dedicated workforce transformation programme, HMPPS is leading a full redesign of prison officer training, aiming to strengthen the training offer through more robust, evidence-based approach. This will include a new 12-month modular package of learning which will support the development of the knowledge, skills, behaviours and confidence needed for the modern prison officer role.Substantive recruitment efforts will continue at all prisons where vacancies exist or are projected, with targeted interventions applied to those prisons with the most need. We closely monitor staffing levels across the estate and look to provide short-term support where needed. All prison expansion projects, whether new prisons or smaller builds, are factored into our staffing forecasts to ensure we recruit on time and build up the experience needed to continue to deliver safe and secure regimes.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policy on LNG imports to the UK of the report entitled Energy, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of U.S. LNG Exports, published in 2024 by the US Department of Energy.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is aware of the report published in 2024 by the US Department of Energy. DESNZ monitors developments in the global Liquified Natural Gas market closely and considers a wide range of sources in doing so. The USA is, and will continue to be, an important supplier of LNG for the UK.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) the number of contracts for imports of US Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and (b) LNG import infrastructure.

Liquified natural gas (LNG) is bought and sold on the global market by commercial organisations and, as such, the government does not play a role in securing or assessing contracts. The government works closely with the gas system operator and is confident that they have the tools they need to effectively balance supply and demand in a wide range of scenarios, as they have done in previous years. The government annually reviews the availability of gas for meeting the reasonable demands of consumers in Great Britain (GB), considering the short and long-term, through the Statutory Security of Supply Report. This includes an assessment of the adequacy of LNG import infrastructure, and notes that GB will continue to benefit from a diverse set of import routes and the second largest LNG import infrastructure capacity in Europe.

If he will publish the (a) start date, (b) end date, (c) annual gas volume, (d) contract value, (e) supplying country, (f) supplying company and (g) importing company of contracts for the import of gas to the UK.

This is not information the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero owns.

Whether UK-US agreements have been made on trade in Liquified Natural Gas.

We cannot comment on the specifics of live trade negotiations. However, we are continuing talks on a wider UK-US economic deal which will look at increasing digital trade, enhancing access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains.The UK already imports liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US under existing commercial arrangements. In 2024, US LNG imports (measured in TWh) fell 41% compared to 2023. While the US was our largest LNG supplier in 2024, Norway remained the dominant source of overall natural gas - both play an important role in supporting our energy security.

If he will confirm whether UK cooperation with the Five Eyes Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Caucus is ongoing.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 5 September 2025 to Question 69989.

Whether his Department has (a) conducted and (b) commissioned studies into unidentified anomalous phenomena since 2013.

The Department has not conducted or commissioned any studies into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.

What information his Department holds on unidentified aerial phenomena.

In over 50 years, no sighting reported to the Department has indicated the existence of any military threat to the UK and for this reason, the MOD ceased to investigate reports of UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) in 2009. All relevant materials created and held by the MOD up to 2009 were passed to the National Archives and are available to the public. The broad term UAP may be contained within documents such as ships logs, Defence Air Safety Occurrence Reports (DASORS) or correspondence from members of the public.

Whether the Government has participated in any international groupings focused on unidentified aerial phenomena since May 2023.

The Ministry of Defence has not participated in any international groupings specifically focused on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) since May 2023.

Whether his Department receives a share of funds from every F-35 sold to (a) foreign military sales customers and (b) Israel.

A key part of the overall funding approach for the F-35 is that all F-35 partners who contributed to development costs for the platform are able to recoup elements of the that original expenditure from foreign military sales, relative to their level of investment in programme development.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for the publication for the update Greening Government commitments.

I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave on 30 April 2025 to Question 45716.

Whether Ministry of Defence staff embedded in the F-35 Joint Program Office in Washington D.C. can track where UK-made spare parts are sent.

The Department does not provide the breakdown of individual UK roles within international programme offices.

If he will list the roles held by Ministry of Defence staff embedded with the F-35 Joint Program Office in Washington DC.

The Department does not provide the breakdown of individual UK roles within international programme offices.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals relating to police use of (a) AI and (b) machine learning technology.

It is for operationally independent Chief Constables to decide when and how they deploy AI systems. They are accountable to elected Police and Crime Commissioners.AI deployment must be lawful, transparent, ethical and underpinned by robust data and governance arrangements. These principles are set out in the ‘Covenant for Using AI in Policing’ which all Chief Constables have signed. The Home Office is working closely with the AI portfolio of the National Police Chief’s Council and the Police Chief Scientific Advisor to ensure policing has the resources and support it needs to abide by these principles consistently. This includes working with a range of academics from leading universities on a ‘responsible AI checklist’ and producing a detailed ‘AI playbook for policing’, akin to those produced for other government departments.AI-enabled technologies like facial recognition are valuable tools in modern policing, helping the police to quickly identify suspects and keep our communities safe. While existing laws provide a framework for its use, we recognise the need for clarity and are engaging closely with stakeholders to ensure facial recognition operates on a firm legal footing. We will set out our plans in the coming months alongside a broader package of reforms in our forthcoming White Paper on policing.

What discussions her Department has had with Palantir on the use of its technology by law enforcement.

It is for operationally independent Chief Constables to decide when and how they deploy AI systems. They are accountable to elected Police and Crime Commissioners.AI deployment must be lawful, transparent, ethical and underpinned by robust data and governance arrangements. These principles are set out in the ‘Covenant for Using AI in Policing’ which all Chief Constables have signed. The Home Office is working closely with the AI portfolio of the National Police Chief’s Council and the Police Chief Scientific Advisor to ensure policing has the resources and support it needs to abide by these principles consistently. This includes working with a range of academics from leading universities on a ‘responsible AI checklist’ and producing a detailed ‘AI playbook for policing’, akin to those produced for other government departments.AI-enabled technologies like facial recognition are valuable tools in modern policing, helping the police to quickly identify suspects and keep our communities safe. While existing laws provide a framework for its use, we recognise the need for clarity and are engaging closely with stakeholders to ensure facial recognition operates on a firm legal footing. We will set out our plans in the coming months alongside a broader package of reforms in our forthcoming White Paper on policing.

Whether Bedfordshire Police consulted her Department on appointing Palantir for a pilot scheme trialling AI technology.

The Government is committed to ensuring that law enforcement has the resources it needs to tackle crime effectively. AI presents an opportunity to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policing and law enforcement – from automating back-office tasks freeing up time for officers to be on the front line and live language translation enabling better interactions with those unable to speak English, through to applications like facial recognition and CCTV analysis, helping police to catch more criminals and speed up investigations to bring offenders to justice.Bedfordshire Police consulted the Home Office on appointing Palantir for a pilot scheme trialling AI technology, and this was agreed. While it remains the responsibility of individual police forces to comply with the ‘Covenant for Using AI in Policing’, the Home Office received assurances that Bedfordshire Police are meeting these requirements.