Written questions by Patel.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with Prime Minister Ramgoolam of Mauritius on the UK’s (a) right to unilaterally extend and (b) authority to exercise sovereign rights over Diego Garcia for the duration of the lease.

We have been clear and consistent regarding the duration of the treaty. The treaty will last for an initial 99 years and may be extended for a further 40 years (and beyond) by agreement between the UK and Mauritius.Even if no agreement is reached, the UK will have the right to first refusal on the use of Diego Garcia which, if exercised, would prevent the use of the base by any other party.Under the terms of the agreement, the UK will exercise all rights and authorities which are required for the long-term, secure and effective operation of the base.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of providing (a) technical expertise to manage the Chagos Archipelago Marine Protected Area, (b) the provision of (i) training and (ii) institutional partnerships to (A) increase Mauritian maritime security capability and (B) protect fisheries, and (c) patrolling capability across the Chagos Archipelago.

Decisions on support and provision of training, technical expertise, and institutional partnerships on Maritime Security will be taken as part of the implementation of the Diego Garcia Base Deal with Mauritius. We will not be providing a running commentary on these implementation talks.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 8 July 2025 to Questions 64030 on Gibraltar: Sovereignty and 64027 on UN Special Committee on Decolonisation, if he will make it his policy to (a) reform and (b) abolish the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation.

The Government believes the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation is outdated and no longer has a relevant role to play with respect to the UK Overseas Territories. For those Territories who wish it, the UK will continue to support requests for the removal of the Territory from the United Nations list of non-self-governing Territories and to support the right of the people of the Overseas Territories to address the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation directly.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 64734 on Diego Garcia: Military Bases, if he will place a copy in the House of Commons Library of the terms of the lease extension clauses that were agreed at the time that he made his statement to the House of Commons on 7 October 2024; and if he will publish an explanatory note for the changes made in the version of the Treaty signed on 22 May 2025.

We have been clear and consistent regarding the duration of the treaty. The treaty will last for an initial 99 years and may be extended for a further 40 years (and beyond) by agreement between the UK and Mauritius.Even if no agreement is reached, the UK will have the right to first refusal on the use of Diego Garcia which, if exercised, would prevent the use of the base by any other party.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the government of Mauritius has requested a visit to (a) Diego Garcia, (b) Peros Banhos and (c) other islands on the Chagos Archipelago in 2025.

Any visits to Diego Garcia or the other islands in the Chagos Archipelago, including Peros Banhos, by the Mauritian government will be considered on a case-by-case basis until the Treaty enters into force, ensuring at all times the protection of the military base on Diego Garcia.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62582 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, what the annual payments were in dollars previously proposed; what the exchange rate was that the overall costs were estimated in; and and what estimate he has made of the net present value of those payments.

As per the answer to Question 62582, transferring the finance package into Sterling had no impact on overall cost but did reduce future foreign exchange rate risks for the UK.

What estimate he has made of the potential contribution of the Norwich to Tilbury Great Grid upgrade to his target for low carbon generation of electricity by 2030; and when he expects this infrastructure will be operational.

National Grid have now submitted their Development Consent Order application to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration. The Government does not comment on the merits of live planning applications, which, subject to the Planning Inspectorate’s decision to accept the application for examination, will be subject to rigorous, independent assessment and advice by the Examining Authority – to inform the Secretary of State’s final decision. The project currently has an earliest in-service date 2031, and NESO’s independent advice on 2030 Clean Power demonstrates that failing to bring this forward to 2030 will reduce clean power on the GB grid by 1% and could increase constraint costs by £2.8bn p.a.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have met Inter-Mediate since July 2024.

Details of the external meetings held by ministers in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are routinely published in the Department's quarterly transparency disclosures.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to have discussions with his Chinese counterpart on dissuading that country to collaborate with Iran on matters that are counter to UK security interests.

The Foreign Secretary recently met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit to discuss international security issues, including Iran. As P5 members of the United Nations Security Council, we must continue to engage China and all other relevant stakeholders as we try to find a diplomatic path to ensure Iran can never develop a nuclear weapon.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what lessons his Department has learnt from countering malicious Iranian cyber activity; and what discussions he has had with his (a) Middle Eastern and (b) international counterparts on this matter.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) assesses that Iran-based threat actors remain aggressive in cyberspace and continue to achieve their objectives through less sophisticated cyber techniques (including prolific use of spear-phishing), but also targeting industrial control systems.The NCSC continues to work closely with government, industry and international partners to understand and mitigate the cyber threat from Iran. This includes the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In September 2024, the UK and the US jointly issued a Technical Advisory focusing on attackers working on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps use social engineering to gain access to victims' online accounts. This Advisory provided network defenders with information to help mitigate these threats.Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ministers and officials raise the UK's concerns about the cyber threat regularly with their international counterparts, including the activities of particular states where appropriate. The UK works with international partners to ensure the perpetrators of malicious cyber activity are held to account, and will continue to expose and take action against such groups to make it clear that irresponsible behaviour in cyberspace will have serious consequences.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report entitled Iran, published on 10 July 2025, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on whether the Government plans to change its Counter State Threats Strategy to address the concerns in paragraph 12; what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the steps the Government plans to take to support the intelligence community in improving its understanding of the Iranian threats listed in paragraph 15; what steps his Department is taking to help support Israel to defend itself against Iranian threats; and what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps to counter the risk of an increased threat from the Iranian Intelligence Services to the Government as set out in paragraph 106.

The Government thanks the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) for its independent report on Iran. The Government will respond fully to the recommendations and conclusions in the report, in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to paragraph 442 of the Intelligence and Security Committee's report entitled Iran, published on 10 July 2025, what steps he is taking to update the Government's strategic approach to Iran.

The Government thanks the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) for its independent report on Iran. The Government will respond fully to the recommendations and conclusions in the report, in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Intelligence and Security Committee's report entitled Iran, published on 10 July 2025, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on steps to help counter threats from Iran to compromise UK academic institutions.

The Government thanks the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) for its independent report on Iran. The Government will respond fully to the recommendations and conclusions in the report, in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question UIN 66153 on Housing: Construction, if she will publish (a) the evidence, (b) criteria and (c) methodology used to assess the A12 widening scheme; and the scoring outcome of the A12 widening scheme against that criteria.

As set out in the answer of 14 July 2025 to Question UIN 66153, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded and the decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme was based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria including housing growth impacts and in line with the HM Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance. As examples of evidence, the Rt Hon Member for Witham has advocated for the A12 Widening Scheme in the House and in correspondence over many years and detailed information about the Scheme was published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, available here: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/TR010060.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he made an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking a public consultation with the Chagossian community prior to the (a) announcement of the agreement with Mauritius over the future sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory and (b) signing of the UK-Mauritius Treaty on 22 May 2025.

The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia. The UK Government regularly engages Chagossian groups and representatives at both official and Ministerial levels on a range of issues and will continue to do so.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the decision to cancel the A12 Widening Scheme on (a) business investment, (b) job creation, (c) economic growth, (d) apprenticeship creation and (e) the construction supply chain.

As announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded, therefore the Secretary of State for Transport had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme. The decision was based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria, including economic growth impacts, and in line with the HM Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance. Detailed information on the economic impact of the A12 Widening Scheme was set out in the application for planning consent published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. Information on the economic appraisal is available here: https://nsip-documents.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/published-documents/TR010060-000378-HE551497-JAC-LDC-SCHW-RP-TR-0109.pdf.

What funding for maintenance of the A12 will be made available in the (a) current and (b) next five financial years; and what proportion of that funding will be allocated for maintenance between junctions 19 and 25.

In total, over £5.6 million has been earmarked for improving various aspects of the A12 in the current financial year (2025/26) and about 7% of this is designated for works around junctions 19 to 25. It is too early to set out what funding for maintenance of the A12 will be earmarked in the next five financial years (2026/27-2030/31). Over this period, National Highways will maintain a proactive approach to monitoring the condition and performance of the A12. Key activities will include weekly safety inspections to ensure the immediate safety of the network, annual visual condition inspections and machine-based surveys which will assist with identifying asset renewal needs. These activities form part of National Highways’ ongoing asset management strategy to ensure the A12 continues to meet performance standards and remains fit for purpose throughout the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) period.

Which rail infrastructure schemes on the Great East Main Line she will plans to implement; and which she has cancelled since July 2024.

The Secretary of State updated Parliament on the 7th of July regarding those rail infrastructure schemes which will progress following completion of the Spending Review. We’re prioritising the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and freight and drive economic growth as soon as possible. The previous government had announced a number of schemes that were unfunded. The new station at Beaulieu Park is due to open on the Great Eastern Main Line by the end of this year.

With reference to her statement of 8 July 2025 on Road and Rail Projects, column 815, what is the forecast annual expenditure for each of the 50 schemes in each of the next ten financial years; and what is the total estimated cost of each scheme.

We are committed to providing transparency about our investment plans, to provide certainty and stability for industry and other stakeholders.For schemes on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) and Major Road Network (MRN), £24 billion of capital funding is being provided between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads. Scheme costs for the SRN schemes will be confirmed as part of the setting of the third Road Investment Strategy, planned to be published by the end of March 2026.For MRN schemes, individual financial details cannot be provided as doing so would jeopardise procurement exercises and contract negotiations.All rail projects referenced in the Secretary of State’s statement are fully funded from the £10.2bn allocated to enhancements over 2026/27-2029/30. We expect to provide further detail on scheme profiles in due course.The National Infrastructure and Services Transformation Authority (NISTA) has also now published a first version of the Infrastructure Pipeline. All of the projects referred to in the Secretary of State’s statement are included in the Pipeline, although at a portfolio level. The Pipeline will be updated and improved every six months.

On what date she plans to bring the Greater Anglia franchise under public ownership; and when she plans to publish her (a) business plan for the management of the Greater Anglia franchise, (b) income and expenditure forecasts for the Greater Anglia franchise for each of the next five years, (c) plans for ticket pricing for each of the next five years, (d) plans for ticket office opening hours for each of the next five years, (e) the performance standards and targets for each of the next five years and (f) funding plans for (i) railway stations, (ii) tracks and signalling and (iii) rolling stock for each of the next five years.

Greater Anglia’s services will transfer into public ownership on 12 October 2025. A Services Agreement setting out Secretary of State requirements will be put in place for the new publicly owned operator, and this will be made available on the Department for Transport’s website in due course. The Services Agreement will require train operating companies to publish information on targets, outturn performance, and the ongoing development of the customer offer on a regular basis at stations, on their website and in other formats on request.