Written questions by Baldwin.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal on her Department.

In May, the UK concluded a landmark economic deal with the US. This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK. In addition, an estimated 260,000 jobs are supported by the auto industry in the wider economy.The Government remains focused on making sure British businesses can feel the benefits of the deal as soon as possible.The Government is continuing discussions on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal which will look at increasing digital trade, enhancing access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal on her Department.

The Home Office always works closely with the Department for Business and Trade to assess the potential impact of trade agreements.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal on her Department.

In May, the UK concluded a landmark economic deal with the US. This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK. In addition, an estimated 260,000 jobs are supported by the auto industry in the wider economy.The Government remains focused on making sure British businesses can feel the benefits of the deal as soon as possible.The Government is continuing discussions on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal which will look at increasing digital trade, enhancing access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains.We are encouraged by the references in the Economic Prosperity Deal to potential future agreements to increase digital and services trade between the United States and the United Kingdom. My Department will continue to support the ongoing negotiations with the US, led by the Department for Business and Trade.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal on his Department.

In May, the UK concluded a landmark economic deal with the US. This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK. In addition, an estimated 260,000 jobs are supported by the auto industry in the wider economy. The Government remains focused on making sure British businesses can feel the benefits of the deal as soon as possible. Government is continuing discussions on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal which will look at increasing digital trade, enhancing access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains. My Department will continue to support the ongoing negotiations with the US, led by the Department for Business and Trade.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal on her Department.

In May, the UK concluded a landmark economic deal with the US. This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that employ over 320,000 people across the UK. In addition, an estimated 260,000 jobs are supported by the auto industry in the wider economy.The government remains focused on making sure British businesses can feel the benefits of the deal as soon as possible. The government is continuing discussions on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal which will look at increasing digital trade, enhancing access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains.The department will continue to support the ongoing negotiations with the US, led by the Department for Business and Trade.

What the value was of his Department's activities which (a) lapsed and (b)were cancelled as a result of the 2025 zero-based budget review.

DBT conducted a comprehensive zero-based review as part of SR25 to identify a range of savings and efficiencies, including agreeing bespoke technical efficiency targets and delivery plans for day-today budgets with the Office for Value or Money. Through this work, DBT has committed to meeting the 5% savings and efficiencies target.The department is now setting multi-year budgets, through which final decisions will be made on any activities which will be cancelled, or allowed to lapse.

What new Government contracts have been awarded to Fujitsu since 5 July 2024; and what the value was of those contracts.

In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – and it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has an existing customer relationship with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities. Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in correspondence deposited in the Houses of Parliament libraries on 4 March 2024 (DEP2024-0247). Details of public sector awards are publicly available on Contracts Finder & Find a Tender services. In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder and Find a Tender provide details of twelve new Fujitsu contracts since July 2024. These awards are compliant with Fujitsu's commitment not to bid for work with new customers. The majority are for services already provided by Fujitsu and were put in place as a direct award to ensure continuity of services whilst competitive procurements are being set up. The Government is determined to hold those responsible for the Horizon scandal to account, and will continue to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues which is being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Cabinet Office has been monitoring the situation, in addition to continuing its usual monitoring of Fujitsu as a strategic supplier. The Government will carefully consider volume 1 of the report, to be published on 8 July, which is limited in scope. Once the inquiry establishes the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, as appropriate.

What programmes in his Department were not (a) renewed and (b) cancelled as a result of the zero-based budget review.

DBT conducted a comprehensive zero-based review as part of SR25 to identify a range of savings and efficiencies, including agreeing bespoke technical efficiency targets and delivery plans for day-today budgets with the Office for Value or Money. Through this work, DBT has committed to meeting the 5% savings and efficiencies target.The department is now setting multi-year budgets, through which final decisions will be made on any activities which will be cancelled, or allowed to lapse.

With reference to paragraph 2.4 of the Spending Review Departmental Efficiency Plans, published on 11 June 2025, what the sickness absence rate was for NHS entities included in the NHS Productivity Plan as a percentage in each of the last five financial years.

Sickness absence rates are published monthly and are available on the NHS England Digital website, at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-sickness-absence-ratesThe NHS Productivity Plan referenced includes all National Health Service hospital and community health services (HCHS), which is the same remit as the published sickness absence rates.The following table shows the average annual sickness absence rates across all HCHS in England for the last five financial years for which full-year data is available:Financial yearAnnual sickness absence rate from April to March2023/244.9%2022/234%2021/225.4%2020/214.7%2019/204.5% There are some indications that sickness absence across the economy remained high throughout 2023/24 and 2024/25, though data for individual sectors of the economy is limited. Sickness absence in the NHS, however, is lower at present compared to the heights of 2022/23.

What the value was of inward investment deals for the Office of Investment in (a) October 2024 and (b) June 2025.

The Office for Investment (OfI) facilitates high-value, strategically important inward investment into the UK. As a dedicated concierge service, it provides a seamless journey for investors, unlocking high-impact opportunities and accelerating delivery of the government’s growth priorities.Recently expanded to enhance its capabilities, the OfI played a pivotal role in securing the £63 billion announced at the International Investment Summit in October 2024. Since then, it has helped attract billions more across key Industrial Strategy sectors, including from Universal, Vishay, Vantage, Knauf, Rheinmetall, and Lendlease.A full list of companies cannot be disclosed due to commercial sensitivities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that livestock can move freely between land in England and Wales.

Defra works closely with the Devolved Governments with the aim of providing, where possible, a consistent and coordinated response across the UK. A key forum for this is the Animal Disease Policy Group, which is a UK-wide policy decision making group. Defra and the Devolved Governments also engage closely with industry to inform policy development and implementation through the Livestock Core Group. Nevertheless, disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the Devolved Governments to assess the disease risks and impacts in relation to their national herds, alongside the impacts of controls, and respond accordingly. From 1 July 2025 the restricted zone (RZ) for bluetongue will be extended to include all areas of England and the current movement restrictions for live animals within England will be lifted. Given the availability now of safe and effective BTV-3 vaccines, low prevalence of severe clinical signs in affected domestic animals, and the impact of restrictions, sustaining or increasing controls on BTV-3 into the future is neither sustainable nor proportionate. The Welsh Government will allow livestock to be moved from England to Wales subject to licences, qualifying vaccination and pre-movement tests at the keeper's expense. Farmers will need to make commercial decisions regarding the costs associated with this.

Which businesses have used the Office for Investment since October 2024.

The Office for Investment (OfI) facilitates high-value, strategically important inward investment into the UK. As a dedicated concierge service, it provides a seamless journey for investors, unlocking high-impact opportunities and accelerating delivery of the government’s growth priorities.Recently expanded to enhance its capabilities, the OfI played a pivotal role in securing the £63 billion announced at the International Investment Summit in October 2024. Since then, it has helped attract billions more across key Industrial Strategy sectors, including from Universal, Vishay, Vantage, Knauf, Rheinmetall, and Lendlease.A full list of companies cannot be disclosed due to commercial sensitivities.

What the conversion success rate for inward investment deals managed by the Office for Investment is since October 2024.

The Office for Investment (OfI) facilitates high-value, strategically important inward investment into the UK. As a dedicated concierge service, it provides a seamless journey for investors, unlocking high-impact opportunities and accelerating delivery of the government’s growth priorities.Recently expanded to enhance its capabilities, the OfI played a pivotal role in securing the £63 billion announced at the International Investment Summit in October 2024. Since then, it has helped attract billions more across key Industrial Strategy sectors, including from Universal, Vishay, Vantage, Knauf, Rheinmetall, and Lendlease.A full list of companies cannot be disclosed due to commercial sensitivities.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the (a) science and (b) technology sectors.

The UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD) includes a number of provisions that will in future benefit UK science and technology sectors. These include, for example, provisions on future negotiations on significantly preferential tariff treatment for pharmaceutical products, and an ambitious set of digital trade provisions.Given detailed negotiations on these provisions have not yet concluded, it is not possible to undertake an impact assessment at this point.As the Prime Minister has said, the Economic Prosperity Deal “opens the way to a future UK-US technology partnership through which our science-rich nations will collaborate in key areas of advanced technology”.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the energy sector.

On 16 June, we announced concrete progress towards the implementation of the UK-US trade deal as agreed on 8 May. We continue to work closely with the energy sector to understand the impacts of the UK-US trade deal.The government is committed to supporting the UK’s energy sector, including through our Industrial Strategy in which Clean Energy Industries is one of the eight growth sectors.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the (a) environment and (b) food sectors.

On 8 May, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump.  This delivers on the commitment by the Prime Minister and the President on 27 February to agree an economic deal in our respective national interests. This deal has created a reciprocal agreement to lower tariffs for British beef exporters to the US, while acting in the UK’s national interest by ensuring that we uphold our rigorous food standards while protecting our farmers. The agreement on beef means that around 1.5% of the UK beef market could come from the United States, and the same quantity of British beef can be exported to them. We have always been clear that this Government will protect British farmers, secure our food security and uphold our high food, animal welfare and environmental standards in trade deals. That is exactly what we have done and will continue to do.

Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the (a) culture, (b) media and (c) sport sectors.

The deal does not have direct or immediate implications for the culture, media or sports sectors, but the UK and US have a long mutually beneficial relationship embracing our thriving cultural, media and sports sectors and we will continue to monitor the situation, and take action where needed to protect and promote these sectors' interests.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the health and social care sectors.

The Department continues to work closely with United Kingdom pharmaceutical firms, life sciences trade associations, and other Government departments to assess the potential impact of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal on the health and social care sectors. The Government is clear that we will only ever sign trade agreements that align with the UK’s national interests, and that the National Health Service will never be on the table for any trade agreement.

How much of the £209 million of reallocated HS2 Funding for Better Local Transport was allocated to Worcestershire for each of the seven years following the announcement.

The previous government made several unfunded commitments. This government is committed to long-term sustainable funding settlements to support local authorities in building credible delivery plans for local transport improvements. Worcestershire County Council will receive a capital allocation of £66.9m, in addition to the £13.6m capital allocated for 2025/26 through the LTG and Integrated Transport Block. Allocations are published on gov.uk. In addition to the £0.5m resource funding it is receiving in 2025/26, Worcestershire will also receive a share of the £104m LTG resource funding that was announced at Spending Review 2025. Individual allocations will be confirmed in due course. All allocations beyond 2029/30 are subject to future Spending Review processes.

How much Local Transport Grant funding has been allocated to Worcestershire in each year of the Spending Review 2025.

Spending Review 2025 confirmed a £2.3 billion investment in local transport through the Local Transport Grant (LTG) for smaller cities, towns and rural areas, outside London which do not receive City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) or Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding. Capital funding allocations for all eligible local authorities are published on gov.uk Worcestershire County Council will receive a total LTG capital allocation of £66.9m between 2026/27 and 2029/30, consisting of £13.8m in 2026/27, £16m in 2027/28, £17.7m in 2028/29 and £19.5m in 2029/30. In addition, Worcestershire will receive a share of the £104m LTG resource funding that was announced at Spending Review 2025. Individual allocations of resource funding will be confirmed in due course.