Written questions by Shastri-Hurst.

When he expects a new Chief Digital Officer to be appointed in NHS England.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements of the team required to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.

In what month this year he expects the National Cancer Plan to be published.

The National Cancer Plan will be published in the second half of 2025, after the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan. To help inform the content of the National Cancer Plan, on 4 February 2025, the Department launched a Call for Evidence, inviting people from across the country to share their views on what they think should be included within the plan. The Call for Evidence will close on 29 April 2025. We will provide updates on the development of the plan, including on publication dates, in due course. Those who wish to share their views can do so on the new online platform. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of commercial providers being used to implement the UK's defence space capabilities on the resilience of those capabilities.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to investing £6.5 billion over 10 years to ensure the UK is a competitive force in the Space domain. The National Space Strategy makes clear that to meet the Government's goals, the UK requires a flexible approach to determining where space capabilities can be most useful and where multi-use capabilities can best meet civil and defence needs. The Defence Space Strategy delivers this flexibility by fully embracing the own-collaborate-access (OCA) framework making informed decisions to protect sovereign requirements (own), whilst maximising shared force output (collaborate, access). All capabilities within the Defence Space Portfolio incorporate a robust level of scrutiny to ensure the appropriate level of security and resilience is applied.

With reference to section 1 of the Down Syndrome Act 2022, when his Department plans to publish the guidance.

Officials have been working to develop the Down Syndrome Act 2022 statutory guidance, including engaging with sector partners and the relevant departments.We expect to issue the draft guidance of the public consultation by the summer of 2025. The guidance will be published at the earliest opportunity following the consultation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of British diplomats posted to China have language proficiency in Chinese at CEFR level C1 or higher.

As of March 2025, 64 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) staff have achieved qualifications in Mandarin at C1 or C2 level (in the Common European Framework Reference scale) over the past five years. FCDO language qualifications are valid for 5 years.

Whether he plans to implement the Defence Drone Strategy, published on 22 February 2024.

The Defence Drone Strategy was released in February 2024 to provide a strategic approach to drive delivery across Defence and support Frontline Command Drone capabilities. With over £4.5 billion of funding already being invested in Drones, the Ministry of Defence is committed to implementing the Defence Drone strategy, learning lessons from the conflict in Ukraine.

What progress his Department has made on delivering the Ukraine-UK uncrewed systems initiative.

Since February 2022, the UK has provided over 10,000 drones to Ukraine covering a broad range of capabilities including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, logistical and strike drones for both the land and maritime domain. This includes 400 drones funded via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine, and 5,000 via the Drone Capability Coalition which the UK co-leads with Latvia. This Government is steadfast in our commitment to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. On 10 July 2024, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will provide Ukraine with £3 billion a year of military support for as long as needed. This year support totals £4.5 billion.

What estimate he has made of the additional resources that will be available for the development of space capabilities in the 2027-28 financial year, in the context of increases in defence spending.

The hon. Member and I share a passion for space, and he will know that the Ministry of Defence has invested £6.5 billion over ten years in space, including £5 billion in satellite communications through the SKYNET programme and £1.5 billion in innovative Defence space technologies. Through the Strategic Defence Review, we are assessing the strategic landscape and threat picture to inform long-term decisions on investment in future capabilities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of British diplomats posted to Russia have language proficiency in Russian at CEFR level C1 or higher.

Around 70 members of staff of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office currently have valid exam passes in Russian at C1 level or above. Exam passes are valid for five years.

With reference to the Defence Drone Strategy, published on 22 February 2024, how much of the £4.6 billion has been spent so far; and if he will publish an estimated profile of future spending over the remaining years of the commitment.

I will write to the hon. Member once the information is available. Any future spend profile for Uncrewed Systems is subject to the outcomes of the Strategic Defence Review.

Innovation and Technology, how many meetings his Department has had with representatives of the civilian space sector since 5 July 2024.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders representing the civilian space sector.Details of ministerial meetings, including the purpose of meetings, are published quarterly on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dsit-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings

How many meetings his Department has had with representatives of the defence space sector since 5 July 2024.

As discussed during my meeting with the hon. Member on 10 March 2025, the Ministry of Defence engages substantially with the space sector as they are critical to the UK’s status as a global player on space. The Department holds a wide variety of meetings with the space industry. While the exact number of such meetings is unrecorded as records are not kept for all, they range from ad hoc meetings to more formal engagements with industry representatives. These relate to existing contracts for services and equipment as well as other topics such as the opportunities of new space technology. I have also held meetings with officials regarding the space industry. We will continue to engage across the sector to ensure the best approach to achieving growth.

What steps she is taking to improve the retention of coroners.

Whilst the Ministry of Justice has responsibility for coroner and inquest law and policy, coroner services are locally funded and administered by individual local authorities. In line with this framework, coroners are appointed by the lead local authority for a coroner area, with the consent of the Lord Chancellor and the Chief Coroner.In its response to the Justice Committee in December 2024, the Government endorsed the Committee’s view that the coroner service in England and Wales “is staffed with highly skilled and dedicated people performing a difficult but essential service”. We are therefore committed to continuing to work with the Chief Coroner to ensure consistency, high standards and better resilience across coroner services​.In addition, we support steps taken by the Chief Coroner to improve the system of regional governance in her office, including enhancing the role of regional leadership coroners and creation of a diversity and inclusion lead and wellbeing lead. These leadership coroners work alongside the Chief Coroner and the deputy Chief Coroners to encourage consistency of approach at a regional level and to support the link between the Chief Coroner, her Office and the coroner judiciary as a whole.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the retention of judges in the High Court.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce personal injury claims being block listed in the County Courts.

Listing decisions, including whether a claim is suitable for a block list, are a matter for the independent judiciary.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the retention of judges in the Crown Court.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve the retention employment tribunal judges.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the retention of district judges and circuit judges in the County Court.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve the retention of Supreme Court judges.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve retention of judges in the Business and Property Courts.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.