Written questions by Wrigley.

What assessment her Department made of the potential impact of onboard connectivity and mobile signal coverage on productivity and passenger experience on long-distance rail services in the South West.

The Department is committed to improving on-train Wi-Fi for passengers, including on the Great Western Railways route, where poor connectivity remains an issue. That is why we have secured £57 million as part of the recent Spending Review to improve on train Wi-Fi using low earth orbit satellite connectivity on our mainline trains, which will include services on the Great Western Railways route. Officials have also been working with the Peninsula Taskforce and Motion Applied on the trial Peninsula Taskforce funded to test low earth orbit and 5G connectivity. The tests on the train itself have evidently been successful. Other operators, such as London North Eastern Railways, have also shown that low earth orbit technology provides high speeds – up to 200 megabits per second, enabling passengers to receive a much better mobile connection through the on-train Wi-Fi than they receive today. Network Rail's Project Reach will also address mobile connectivity in 57 key mainline tunnels, which include ones on the Great Western Railways route, and this will complement the low earth orbit solution.

Whether her Department plans to support the rollout of enhanced onboard Wi-Fi services across Great Western Railway routes.

The Department is committed to improving on-train Wi-Fi for passengers, including on the Great Western Railways route, where poor connectivity remains an issue. That is why we have secured £57 million as part of the recent Spending Review to improve on train Wi-Fi using low earth orbit satellite connectivity on our mainline trains, which will include services on the Great Western Railways route. Officials have also been working with the Peninsula Taskforce and Motion Applied on the trial Peninsula Taskforce funded to test low earth orbit and 5G connectivity. The tests on the train itself have evidently been successful. Other operators, such as London North Eastern Railways, have also shown that low earth orbit technology provides high speeds – up to 200 megabits per second, enabling passengers to receive a much better mobile connection through the on-train Wi-Fi than they receive today. Network Rail's Project Reach will also address mobile connectivity in 57 key mainline tunnels, which include ones on the Great Western Railways route, and this will complement the low earth orbit solution.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the pilot of enhanced onboard Wi-Fi services on Great Western Railway routes in the South West and South Wales.

The Department is committed to improving on-train Wi-Fi for passengers, including on the Great Western Railways route, where poor connectivity remains an issue. That is why we have secured £57 million as part of the recent Spending Review to improve on train Wi-Fi using low earth orbit satellite connectivity on our mainline trains, which will include services on the Great Western Railways route. Officials have also been working with the Peninsula Taskforce and Motion Applied on the trial Peninsula Taskforce funded to test low earth orbit and 5G connectivity. The tests on the train itself have evidently been successful. Other operators, such as London North Eastern Railways, have also shown that low earth orbit technology provides high speeds – up to 200 megabits per second, enabling passengers to receive a much better mobile connection through the on-train Wi-Fi than they receive today. Network Rail's Project Reach will also address mobile connectivity in 57 key mainline tunnels, which include ones on the Great Western Railways route, and this will complement the low earth orbit solution.

What criteria is being used to identify areas as critical mineral areas in Cornwall.

“Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK” was a 2023 study undertaken by the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade and delivered by the British Geological Survey. This report identifies target areas of potential for critical minerals within the UK, including in Cornwall. As a preliminary assessment, its findings do not mean that the prospective areas identified will necessarily be targeted for exploration and mining. The Government is working with the British Geological Survey to understand any possible next steps.

With reference to his Department’s award notice entitled UK5 - Transparency Notice, published 17 December 2025, what definition the Department uses for technical lock‑in.

The Ministry of Defence does not use a single formal definition of ‘technical lock in’. In the context of the referenced award, the term is used to describe situations where changing a supplier would create disproportionate operational technical difficulty, disruption, or incompatibility with existing systems.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of using real-time water quality monitoring on improving bathing water management.

The Government introduced the Water Special Measures Act (2025), requiring real-time monitoring at every emergency overflow so the public can see what is happening locally, including in many bathing waters.100% of storm overflows have been fitted with event duration monitors (EDMs) since the end of 2023, and since the 1st of January 2025, water companies have been required to publish this data in near real-time. The Environment Agency’s existing practices for monitoring and classification of bathing waters in England are based on the World Health Organisation’s recommendations for the management of recreational waters and exceed the minimum requirements of the Bathing Water Directive at all Bathing Waters. All sample results are made available to the public as soon as they are analysed via the Swimfo website, so the public can make informed decisions about bathing. Throughout the bathing season, the EA also makes daily pollution risk forecasts for bathing waters where water quality may be temporarily reduced due to factors such as heavy rainfall, wind or the tide.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that bathing water quality standards are not reduced.

The Government is committed to improving the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses it. The Environment Agency’s practice for monitoring water quality at bathing water sites reflects the European Commission’s Bathing Water Directive and the World Health Organisation’s recommendations for management of recreational waters. There are no plans to change this.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to maintain bathing water quality standards in line with international benchmarks, including those of the World Health Organisation and the Blue Flag programme.

The Government is committed to improving the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses it. The Environment Agency’s practice for monitoring water quality at bathing water sites reflects the European Commission’s Bathing Water Directive and the World Health Organisation’s recommendations for management of recreational waters. There are no plans to change this.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of locally developed bathing water frameworks that differ from national and international standards.

The Environment Agency has an ongoing statutory duty to monitor the water quality at designated bathing water sites in England in line with the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. I would encourage any local authority that is interested in developing a local framework to share their plans with Defra officials so that Defra can understand any interaction with national legislation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste at the University of Exeter on bathing water monitoring and standards.

The Chief Scientist of the Environment Agency presented at the ‘Safe to Swim Forum’ meeting at the Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste in September 2025 on the Environment Agency’s science relating to bathing waters. Existing practices for monitoring and classification in the UK mirror the European Commission’s Bathing Water Directive which is based on the World Health Organisation’s recommendations for management of recreational waters.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with Torbay Council on its development of a localised bathing water framework.

The Chief Scientist of the Environment Agency was present at the Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW) ‘Safe to Swim Forum’ in September 2025, where the Director of Operations for Devon and Torbay combined County Authority presented on the economic and social importance of bathing waters in the region.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of local bathing water monitoring frameworks developed by local authorities on national policy.

The Environment Agency has an ongoing statutory duty to monitor the water quality at designated bathing water sites in England in line with the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. I would encourage any local authority that is interested in developing a local framework to share their plans with Defra officials so that Defra can understand any interaction with national legislation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions has she had with voluntary organisations and citizen science groups play in monitoring bathing water.

The Environment Agency has carried out a number of initiatives involving citizen scientists. For bathing waters it has recently rolled out the ‘Hello lamppost’ initiative where people can scan QR codes at specific bathing waters to provide it with information on the number of bathers at that location as well as get access to customised AI driven responses to any questions they have. It is also considering how to develop the Blueprint initiative which allows anyone with a smartphone to provide it with information linked to the water body they are at.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to increase the involvement of voluntary and citizen science groups in bathing water monitoring programmes.

The Environment Agency has carried out a number of initiatives involving citizen scientists. For bathing waters it has recently rolled out the ‘Hello lamppost’ initiative where people can scan QR codes at specific bathing waters to provide it with information on the number of bathers at that location as well as get access to customised AI driven responses to any questions they have. It is also considering how to develop the Blueprint initiative which allows anyone with a smartphone to provide it with information linked to the water body they are at.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help support the expansion of real-time bathing water quality monitoring.

The Government introduced the Water Special Measures Act (2025), requiring real-time monitoring at every emergency overflow so the public can see what is happening locally, including in many bathing waters.100% of storm overflows have been fitted with event duration monitors (EDMs) since the end of 2023, and since the 1st of January 2025, water companies have been required to publish this data in near real-time. The Environment Agency’s existing practices for monitoring and classification of bathing waters in England are based on the World Health Organisation’s recommendations for the management of recreational waters and exceed the minimum requirements of the Bathing Water Directive at all Bathing Waters. All sample results are made available to the public as soon as they are analysed via the Swimfo website, so the public can make informed decisions about bathing. Throughout the bathing season, the EA also makes daily pollution risk forecasts for bathing waters where water quality may be temporarily reduced due to factors such as heavy rainfall, wind or the tide.

How many people have been waiting more than 4 months for UPE phase 1 extension.

A range of processing data including case outcomes on Ukraine visa applications, can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK and Migration transparency data - GOV.UK

What date did the partnership between Palantir and the UK armed forces start.

The Ministry of Defence’s relationship with Palantir Technologies has developed over the last decade. The first formal Enterprise Agreement between Defence and Palantir was signed in November 2022 under the previous government following earlier operational use of Palantir software within Defence.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2026 to Question 115602, for what reasons Wolborough Fen SSSI is not included among the catchments selected by Natural England for early Environmental Delivery Plans, regarding a) the criteria used by Natural England when identifying catchments for initial Environmental Delivery Plans, and, b) the factors considered when determining whether a hydrologically sensitive site such as Wolborough Fen SSSI should fall within an early Environmental Delivery Plan area.

The first Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) have been prioritised for designated sites where nutrient neutrality advice applies on the basis that it is a known environmental pressure where strategic solutions already exist. Wolborough Fen SSSI is not a designated site which nutrient neutrality currently applies to. The Government committed to return to Parliament after the first nutrients EDPs are made to issue a statement on the initial lessons learned from their development and implementation before introducing further EDPs covering other issues.

Food and Rural Affairs, what national policy framework governs the protection of hydrologically sensitive Sites of Special Scientific Interest where Environmental Delivery Plans are not in place.

The protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest, including those that are hydrologically sensitive is governed principally by section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and paragraph 193(b) of the National Planning Policy Framework.

What steps his Department is taking to help support residents that cannot access routine NHS dental care prior to full implementation of dentistry contract reform.

The Government is committed to ensuring people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, integrated care boards have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of National Health Service dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election.We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament.  As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. Further information is available at following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms