Written questions by Perteghella.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of public assets in freeports has been acquired by private (a) companies and (b) corporations.

While the Department oversees the Freeports Programme, it does not collect data on the ownership of individual assets within Freeport areas. However, the vast majority of Freeport sites were in private ownership at the point of designation, reflecting the Programme’s aim to stimulate private investment and create jobs in parts of the country that see too little of it.

Communities and Local Government, what the target number of jobs was for UK (a) freeports and (b) special economic zones; and how many jobs UK (i) freeports and (ii) special economic zones have delivered to date.

As policies developed in partnership with local partners, MHCLG has not set specific targets for job creation in Freeports, nor in Investment Zones, its other major economic zone policy.However, Freeports have set out the economic impacts they expect to deliver through business cases, available on Freeports’ websites once approved by government. MHCLG-commissioned analysis projects that the 8 English Freeports alone will directly create 60,000 additional jobs and will support another 42,000 jobs across the supply chain. Local partners expect that Investment Zones across the UK will create over 90,000 jobs over the life cycle of the programme.The Department will track job creation by Freeports and Investment Zones, as a key indicator of their economic impact. To date, Freeports have attracted £6.4 billion in private investment, which is expected to create at least 7,200 jobs.

Whether she plans to publish guidance on restrictions on the use of national ID cards by holders of EU Settlement Scheme settled status for entry to the UK.

The current position for EUSS holders, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, is that EU citizens and UK nationals, and their respective family members, will continue to have the right to enter and leave their host state with a valid national identity card for five years after the end of the transition period (which will be 31 December 2025). Any decisions on arrangements after that date will be set out in the normal way in due course.

How many EU citizens with pre-settled status were considered for automatic upgrading to settled status between January and March 2025.

It is not possible to extract information from Home Office systems on how many EU citizens were considered for an automatic upgrade to Settled Status between January and March 2025. However, the latest published statistics relating to the EU Settlement Scheme noted that, between these dates, 6,287 automated grants of Settled Status were issued.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to allocate additional funding to upgrade sewage infrastructure in (a) rural and (b) suburban communities impacted by frequent overflows.

Ofwat’s final determinations for Price Review 2024 (PR24) set out a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector. Water companies are investing over £11 billion in PR24, a record amount, to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows across England and Wales over the next five years. For England, this equates to over £10bn to improve over 2,500 storm overflows. The PR24 investment package also includes £6 billion to remove nutrients from water bodies.

What steps he is taking to hold (a) NHS and (b) water providers to account for hospital sewage leaks.

National Health Service trusts are legally responsible for maintaining their estates and facilities, to ensure they support high-quality health and care services and minimise the risk of infrastructure-related incidents impacting delivery, including sewage leaks. They should work with all necessary partners to achieve this, including water providers. To support this, the Government has provided £750 million of capital funding in 2025/26 to address critical infrastructure and safety risks in NHS buildings, on top of the £4 billion in operational capital for systems to allocate to local priorities, including investment in maintenance and repairs. Information on clinical service incidents relating to infrastructure failure at individual NHS trusts, which would include incidents relating to sewage leaks, is collected and published by NHS England through the Estates Returns Information Collection, which is available online at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2023-24

What funding he is allocating to repair NHS estates in Warwickshire.

In 2025/26, the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) will benefit from the £750 million estates safety fund. The estates safety fund will begin addressing the poorest quality estates, delivering vital safety improvements, enhancing patient and staff environments, and supporting National Health Service productivity. Funding will be issued to NHS trusts on the basis of individual schemes. Descriptions of the planned works and funding allocations, including those in Warwickshire, can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68398c46c99c4f37ab4e86ef/estates-safety-fund-2025-to-2026.csv/preview This investment is in addition to the £38.6 million of operational capital provisionally allocated to the Coventry and Warwickshire ICB for 2025/26 to allocate to local priorities, including investment in maintenance and repairs.Funding for repairs to the NHS estate for future years will be confirmed following planning, allocation, and approval processes.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation in elections.

The Government takes the integrity and security of our democratic processes seriously, including from the threat posed by mis/disinformation.The UK’s Online Safety Act captures disinformation aimed at disrupting elections where it is a criminal offence in the scope of the regulatory framework. This includes the Foreign Interference Offence, which requires all in-scope companies to act against a range of state-linked disinformation and interference online.As the department responsible for managing the risk posed by online mis/disinformation targeting electoral processes, DSIT also supports ongoing work through the government’s Defending Democracy Taskforce to tackle the full scope of threats to democracy.

If he will publish an annual report on cyber resilience.

The Ministry of Defence has a strong cyber security governance function that reports annually to the Defence Board, Defence Executive Committee and the Defence Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee on the Department’s cyber security risk position. The Department also provides an annual return to the Cabinet Office using the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF), developed by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The Department does not routinely release an annual report on cyber resilience into the public domain due to National Security reasons.

What recent steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to help improve cyber resilience.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) works closely with the Cabinet Office and wider Government in many areas.The MOD cyber security function works closely with the Cabinet Office, Government Security, the National Cyber Security Centre and others.This includes formal boards, governance meetings, reports, returns, collaboration sessions and working groups.A key work strand is the MOD adopting GovAssure which includes reporting using the Cyber Assurance Framework (CAF), and the new Cyber and Digital Resilience Target Operating Model (TOM) led by Government Security.As announced in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), Defence will develop a Digital Warfighter Group: a highly skilled workforce that will conceive and develop warfighting capability in a digital age. This workforce will support all other SDR announcements. Our vision is the creation of a new type of operator, whose education, training and equipment supports digital operations across the entire range of Defence activity, from warfighting to Ministerial and strategic data-led decision support. The SDR also announced the establishment and creation of a Cyber and Electromagnetic (CyberEM) Command. This will bring the necessary coherence for Defence and the Armed Forces across the CyberEM Domain – which is highly contested, complex and vital to operational success in all types of operations including warfighting.

What steps she is taking to (a) reform e-lending rules and (b) enable digital interlibrary loans for university libraries.

Universities are autonomous institutions and therefore operate independently from government. As such, the responsibility for enabling digital interlibrary loans for university libraries rests with the individual institutions themselves. It is within their purview to develop and implement policies that best meet the needs of their students and faculty. The government supports the autonomy of these institutions and encourages them to collaborate and innovate in the provision of digital resources and services.

Innovation and Technology, if he will (a) grant libraries the right to archive eBooks and (b) ensure perpetual access to licensed works.

The Government has no plans to alter the copyright framework in relation to archiving at the present time. However, the Government keeps the UK copyright framework under constant review. This includes the archiving and preservation exception to copyright outlined in section 42 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.The Government welcomes continued developments from the public library sector on e-licensing and e-book lending. Arts Council England funded Libraries Connected to deliver a pilot project to explore mutual benefits of increasing the affordability and availability of eBooks in public libraries. A project summary report was published in February 2025.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the 10 Year Health Plan will help people with arthritis.

The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving arthritis care in all parts of the country.More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their long-term conditions, including arthritis, closer to home.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of support services available to women affected by vaginal mesh implants in (a) Warwickshire and (b) the West Midlands.

There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support. The mesh centre that serves the West Midlands is located in Nottingham.NHS England is working with these nine specialist mesh centres to review mesh centre outcomes and patient experience, to ensure they are supporting patients as planned. NHS England has been working with Sling the Mesh and the Rectopexy Mesh Victims and Support Group on this work.

What support her Department is providing to rural primary schools to provide breakfast club provision under the early adopter scheme.

I refer the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon to the answer of 03 June 2025 to Question 53170.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce call waiting times for claimants.

DWP reviews forecasted telephony demand and plans resourcing accordingly to keep wait times down. Wait time performance is frequently reviewed and where DWP’s telephony is delivered by an outsourced provider we use the Key Performance Indicator of percentage of calls answered. All DWP customer telephone lines are Freephone numbers. The Department is investing in a new capability that aims to better route customers to the right offer at the right time. This will help to reduce waiting times by supporting customers to utilise digital alternatives where appropriate, which enables telephony agents to speak to our customers that really need to speak to someone. If a customer indicates they may be at risk of physical or mental harm e.g. suicide, terminal illness, homelessness, and clinical mental health, they will be routed to a telephony agent in as short a journey as possible.

What steps he is taking to help improve post diagnostic support for people diagnosed with young onset dementia.

Everyone with dementia should have meaningful care following their diagnosis. This includes information on local services and access to relevant advice and support on what happens next.The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines. It is the responsibility of ICBs to work within their geographical area to offer services that meet the needs of their population.Local authorities are required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population under the Care Act 2014. The Government is committed to improving dementia care and empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including those with young onset dementia.This is why we have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia, including those with young onset dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool is available at the following link:https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-tool

What training is provided to NHS continuing healthcare assessors to support their understanding of the health needs associated with dementia.

The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care sets out the process for determining eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC). This statutory guidance is clear that the multidisciplinary team involved in CHC assessments should include someone with specialist knowledge of the individual’s condition, such as dementia, or have information available to them from the relevant specialists.It is important that those contributing to the assessment process have the relevant skills and knowledge. To support staff working in health and social care to apply the principles of the national framework, NHS England has developed and published a comprehensive set of online learning resources.CHC eligibility is not determined by diagnosis or condition. It is assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the totality of an individual’s needs, including the ways in which these needs interact with one another.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the number of physics teachers on post-16 physics uptake in schools in disadvantaged areas.

High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child or young person’s outcome in school and college. This government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, especially in physics. In 2023/24, we recruited 31% of our postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) target for physics trainees. This is why the government’s Plan for Change has committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.Our Plan for Change is starting to deliver, with the 2024 school workforce census showing that secondary and special school teacher numbers increased by 2,346 compared to the 2023 census. This is in addition to 2,000 more prospective teachers undertaking initial teacher training this year compared to last as this government is getting on and delivering the teachers our children need.To deliver on the pledge, the department has so far invested around £700 million across schools and further education (FE), including £233 million for initial teacher training financial incentives, which provides a £29,000 tax-free bursary and £31,000 scholarship to physics trainees, increased targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 per year for early career physics teachers and developed resources to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing.In addition, the department announced a 4% pay award for teachers in maintained schools from September 2025. This builds on the 5.5% pay award for 2024/25, resulting in a nearly 10% pay award since this government came to power, and ensure teaching is once again a valued and attractive profession.The department also provides significant support to trainees and teachers without the relevant qualifications to become physics teachers. This includes funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses and the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching (SKPT) programme to support non-specialist teachers of physics to enhance their subject knowledge.We know high-quality physics teaching is important to support post-16 physics study. In addition to the targeted retention payment received by sixth-form physics teachers in schools, nearly 100 more physics teachers across FE colleges and 16-19-only schools have received a payment of up to £6,000 this year to keep more physics teachers in post-16 education.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of steps taken to (a) recruit and (b) retain specialist physics teachers in state schools.

High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child or young person’s outcome in school and college. This government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, especially in physics. In 2023/24, we recruited 31% of our postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) target for physics trainees. This is why the government’s Plan for Change has committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.Our Plan for Change is starting to deliver, with the 2024 school workforce census showing that secondary and special school teacher numbers increased by 2,346 compared to the 2023 census. This is in addition to 2,000 more prospective teachers undertaking initial teacher training this year compared to last as this government is getting on and delivering the teachers our children need.To deliver on the pledge, the department has so far invested around £700 million across schools and further education (FE), including £233 million for initial teacher training financial incentives, which provides a £29,000 tax-free bursary and £31,000 scholarship to physics trainees, increased targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 per year for early career physics teachers and developed resources to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing.In addition, the department announced a 4% pay award for teachers in maintained schools from September 2025. This builds on the 5.5% pay award for 2024/25, resulting in a nearly 10% pay award since this government came to power, and ensure teaching is once again a valued and attractive profession.The department also provides significant support to trainees and teachers without the relevant qualifications to become physics teachers. This includes funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses and the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching (SKPT) programme to support non-specialist teachers of physics to enhance their subject knowledge.We know high-quality physics teaching is important to support post-16 physics study. In addition to the targeted retention payment received by sixth-form physics teachers in schools, nearly 100 more physics teachers across FE colleges and 16-19-only schools have received a payment of up to £6,000 this year to keep more physics teachers in post-16 education.