Written questions by Turner.

How much was spent on improving the accessibility of railway stations for disabled people under Network Rail's Access for All scheme in each region in each year of Control Period (a) 5 and (b) 6.

During Control Period 5 (CP5, 2014/15 to 2018/19), the total spend under the Access for All programme across Great Britain was £88.762 million.During Control Period 6 (CP6, 2019/20 to 2023/24), the total spend under the Access for All programme across Great Britain was £291.246 million. Annex A (attached) will provide the Honourable Member with spend for each specific year of Control Period 5 and Control Period 6.

What recent assessment he has made of the (a) scale and (b) effectiveness of North Korea's contribution to Russia's war against Ukraine.

We are seeing evidence that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has sent troops to Russia. This is a deeply concerning development, which risks prolonging the war, and augments the DPRK's already significant support to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, which includes the provision of artillery munitions and short-range ballistic missiles. This further illustrates Russia's growing reliance on third country support and a deepening relationship with the DPRK which has serious security implications for Europe and the Indo-Pacific. I can reassure the hon. Member that the Ministry of Defence keeps this area under close review.

With reference to publication entitled Government and Agenda for Change trade unions offer in principle, published by NHS Employers on 16 March 2023, whether it remains his Department's policy to implement the measures listed under the sub-section of that document entitled Pay setting process.

The Department is progressing work on all non-pay commitments covered in the 2023/24 Agenda for Change pay deal, including reviewing aspects of the pay setting process. Recommendations from this work will be considered at the earliest opportunity.

Representing the House of Commons Commission, what the average cost was to the public purse of administering an Early Day Motion in the latest 12 months for which data is available.

It is difficult to provide an accurate figure for the cost of administering an Early Day Motion as staff in the Table Office and the Procedural Publishing Unit who process EDMs have a wide range of other responsibilities and time spent exclusively on EDMs is not recorded.We are able to provide a broad estimate based on staff time alone, but it should be noted that this takes no account of other fixed costs such as office accommodation and, notably, the cost of developing and maintaining the digital systems used to process EDMs.The Table Office estimates that processing an EDM takes about five minutes of staff time if it is submitted electronically, 10 minutes if submitted by email and 15 minutes if submitted in hard copy.The approximate staff costs (based on 2023 payscales) for processing EDMs by the Table Office are:Submission methodTable Office staff costElectronically (via MemberHub)£2.70By email£4.10Hard copy£5.50Although the Table Office does not record how many signatures it adds to EDMs through hard copy signatures and by email each day, we estimate that it takes approximately one minute to add each signature (at a staff cost of approximately £0.27). In 2023, there was an average of 11 signatures for each EDM.After EDMs have been processed by the Table Office, they are published by the Procedural Publishing Unit. This involves downloading script, moving the information into a template, checking the content and publishing to the website. The process costs approximately £6.90 in staff time. The additional time for publishing each EDM is low – i.e. the cost is likely to be very similar whenever more than one EDM is published in a day. In 2023, on average eight EDMs were published on every sitting day. The average cost for publishing each EDM to the website was therefore £0.86.In 2023, the average daily cost for printing paper copies of all EDMs tabled on each sitting day was £43.Therefore, the average cost of administering an EDM submitted electronically in 2023 is estimated to be £11.90, which as noted above does not include certain fixed costs or expenditure on digital systems.

If she will have discussions with the Standards and Testing Agency on its planned timetable for responding to the representation made by King Edwards VI Balaam Wood Academy on 10 September 2024.

The Standards and Testing Agency received an allegation of maladministration from King Edwards VI Balaam Wood Academy on 10 September. It is currently carrying out an investigation in line with its standard procedures. The outcome of the investigation will be communicated to the headteacher of King Edwards VI Balaam Wood Academy once it is complete. The Standards and Testing Agency will respond as quickly as it can.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect the welfare of greyhound dogs within the greyhound racing industry.

The welfare of greyhounds in England is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The 2006 Act allows action to be taken where there is evidence of cruelty to an animal or a failure to provide for that animal’s welfare needs. This includes where greyhounds are raced at greyhound racing tracks, kept at trainers’ kennels, or kept elsewhere as pets, for example. Further to these general provisions, specific welfare standards at all greyhound racing tracks in England are laid out in the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010. Requirements in the 2010 Regulations include having a veterinary surgeon in attendance while dogs are running (with all greyhounds inspected by the vet before being allowed to run); requiring all greyhounds to be microchipped and earmarked before they can race or trial; and requiring records to be kept by the track of all dogs run or trialled at the track and any dogs injured. Standards in the 2010 Regulations are enforced by either the track’s local authority or the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). The role of the GBGB as a regulator of these standards is independently scrutinised by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). In addition to its role as an industry regulator, GBGB has also undertaken a number of welfare reforms, including publishing a long term, national welfare strategy in May 2022– ‘A Good Life for Every Greyhound’. The strategy focuses not only on reducing risks of injury but also developing and implementing new management practices to improve the welfare of greyhounds throughout their lives, including after they have finished racing. The Government is monitoring GBGB’s progress in delivering the strategy and should further measures and protections be required the Government will, of course, consider options which are targeted, effective, and proportionate.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the welfare of greyhound dogs.

The welfare of greyhounds in England is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The 2006 Act allows action to be taken where there is evidence of cruelty to an animal or a failure to provide for that animal’s welfare needs. This includes where greyhounds are raced at greyhound racing tracks, kept at trainers’ kennels, or kept elsewhere as pets, for example. Further to these general provisions, specific welfare standards at all greyhound racing tracks in England are laid out in the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010. Requirements in the 2010 Regulations include having a veterinary surgeon in attendance while dogs are running (with all greyhounds inspected by the vet before being allowed to run); requiring all greyhounds to be microchipped and earmarked before they can race or trial; and requiring records to be kept by the track of all dogs run or trialled at the track and any dogs injured. Standards in the 2010 Regulations are enforced by either the track’s local authority or the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). The role of the GBGB as a regulator of these standards is independently scrutinised by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). In addition to its role as an industry regulator, GBGB has also undertaken a number of welfare reforms, including publishing a long term, national welfare strategy in May 2022– ‘A Good Life for Every Greyhound’. The strategy focuses not only on reducing risks of injury but also developing and implementing new management practices to improve the welfare of greyhounds throughout their lives, including after they have finished racing. The Government is monitoring GBGB’s progress in delivering the strategy and should further measures and protections be required the Government will, of course, consider options which are targeted, effective, and proportionate.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the (a) findings and (b) recommendations of the report entitled Detention in the context of the escalation of hostilities in Gaza (October 2023-June 2024), published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 31 July 2024.

As the Foreign Secretary outlined in his statement to the House of Commons on 2 September, the UK's concern about the treatment of detainees was one of the factors determining the UK's decision to suspend certain arms export licences to Israel that could be used in the conflict in Gaza. We have read the recommendations produced by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. We urge Israel to reinstate immediate and unfettered access for the International Committee of the Red Cross into detention centres as required by international law. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary continue to press Israeli leaders on the importance of upholding International Humanitarian Law. We want to see an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the protection of all civilians, much more aid entering Gaza and a path to long-term peace and stability.