Written questions by Patel.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has met with representatives of the Civil Military Coordination Center in Israel.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave her on 6 January to Question 101358.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much from her Department's budget will be used to fund the payments required by the UK-Mauritius Treaty in (a) the current financial year and (b) each of the next five financial years.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answers I gave her on 12 and 13 November 2025 in response to Questions 88232 and 88233.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the level of payments made by the Palestinian Authority under 'pay for slay' schemes.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 13 November 2025 in response to Question HL11575, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:In President Abbas' letter to President Macron, dated 9 June 2025, he set out his commitment to the principles of non-violence, the organisation of elections, the development of a school curriculum that is free from incitement, and the implementation of a new social security system, which will revoke so-called prisoner payments, and ensure that any future welfare payments are needs-based and delinked from violent actions. The Palestinian Authority must now ensure that an independent audit is conducted to verify that these reforms have been completed.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has held discussions with her Mauritian counterpart on whether nuclear weapons can (a) be stored and be present on Diego Garcia and (b) transported to and from Diego Garcia under the terms of (i) the UK-Mauritius Treaty on the Chagos Archipelago and (ii) in accordance with Mauritius obligations under the terms of the Pelindaba Treaty.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave her on 11 June 2025 in response to Question 57628.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help secure the disarming of Hamas in Gaza.

The UK is working closely with our international partners to ensure the implementation of the 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council on 17 November 2025, including Points 6, 13, 14 and 17, which relate to the issues raised by the Rt Hon Member.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with international counterparts on the extent of the tunnel network in Gaza used by Hamas; and what support she is providing to help dismantle those tunnels.

The UK is working closely with our international partners to ensure the implementation of the 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council on 17 November 2025, including Points 6, 13, 14 and 17, which relate to the issues raised by the Rt Hon Member.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has planned in her Department's budget resources to finance any expenditure required by the UK-Mauritius Treaty in the current financial year.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answers I gave her on 12 and 13 November 2025 in response to Questions 88232 and 88233.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2026 on Free Schools: Witham, UIN 101355, if she will publish a breakdown of the (a) details and (b) scoring of each school project evaluated; and if she will publish the evidence considered as part of her review into Lodge Farm Primary and Nursery.

The department is progressing projects that will meet the needs of communities and provide a unique offer for students who would otherwise not have access, without damaging the viability of existing local schools and colleges.We have written to trusts, local authorities and MPs setting out the position on individual projects as well as offering more detailed feedback.All projects were evaluated in line with consistent criteria set out in a Written Ministerial Statement in October 2024, including published school capacity data (SCAP24), in line with the department’s longstanding approach to assessing pipeline projects, as well as other data from local authorities, such as plans for future housing developments.Final decisions on projects where a ‘minded to cancel’ letter was issued will be made once trusts and local authorities have had the opportunity to submit any new evidence. Representations should be made by 30 January 2026.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will respond to the results of the survey conducted by the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee on Chagossian views on the UK-Mauritius Treaty.

I thank the International Relations and Defence Committee (IRDC) for its swift work in producing the report. As the report acknowledges, there is a wide range of views amongst the Chagossian community. We are considering the IRDC findings carefully and will respond in the usual way in due course.

What estimate she has made of the amount of business rates to be paid on hereditaments located in (a) Witham constituency and (b) Essex, in (i) 2025/26 and (ii) 2026/27; and the amount of business rates to be paid by businesses in the retail, leisure, and hospitality sector in (a) Witham constituency and (b) Essex, in (i) 2025/26 and (ii) 2026/27.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. Without this support, pubs would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. However, because of the support the Government has put in place, this has fallen to just 4%. More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, while ensuring that warehouses used by online giants will pay more. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

What estimate she has made of the number of additional people in (a) Witham constituency and (b) Essex who will be earning incomes that will be taxed by surpassing (i) the income tax threshold; and (ii) the higher rate of income tax threshold as a consequence of her policy to freeze those thresholds until 2030/31.

HMT/HMRC does not publish this information at constituency or local authority level. By 2025-26 there were an estimated 5.66 million individual income taxpayers in the South East region which includes the Parliamentary Constituency of Witham and the Ceremonial County of Essex. Regional breakdowns can be found in HMRC’s published Income Tax Liabilities Statistics in Collated Tables, Table 2.2. Link here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685a6bb541d77db4f68eb0c4/Collated_Income_Tax_liabilities_statistics_tables_-_2.1_to_2.6.ods This estimate is based on the 2022-23 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2025-26 using economic assumption consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

What estimate she has made of the total income tax receipts from income taxpayers in (a) Witham constituency and (b) Essex in (i) the current financial year and (ii) each of the next five financial years; and the additional income as a result of her policy to extend the freeze in income tax thresholds to 2030/31.

HMT/HMRC does not publish this information at constituency or local authority level. By 2025-26 there were an estimated 5.66 million individual income taxpayers in the South East region which includes the Parliamentary Constituency of Witham and the Ceremonial County of Essex. Regional breakdowns can be found in HMRC’s published Income Tax Liabilities Statistics in Collated Tables, Table 2.2. Link here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685a6bb541d77db4f68eb0c4/Collated_Income_Tax_liabilities_statistics_tables_-_2.1_to_2.6.ods This estimate is based on the 2022-23 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2025-26 using economic assumption consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

What estimate she has made of passenger numbers on Greater Anglia Services in each of the next five years; and what her estimate is of income from fare revenues on Greater Anglia Services in each of the next five years.

As detailed in the response to Question 91938, over each of the next five financial years I expect Greater Anglia to continue to grow passenger numbers and income. Exact income levels will be agreed during the rolling business planning process. Information on the operator's income will be published in the statutory accounts, available from Companies House, in due course.

What estimate she has made of the additional costs incurred by (a) each school in the Witham constituency and (b) across Essex, as a result of the increase in employers' National Insurance Contributions in (i) 2025/26 and (ii) 2026/27.

School funding has increased by £3.7 billion in financial year 2025/26, meaning that core school budgets total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25. This includes almost £1 billion in additional funding being provided to support schools and high needs settings, with the increases to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from April 2025.Our funding system is not designed so that every school and college receives funding that fully matches their precise spending, as this, including the NICs costs, varies from institution to institution because of the decisions each takes on its staffing.Through the dedicated schools grant, Essex, which allocates funding for Witham, is receiving £1.3 billion for mainstream schools in 2025/26. Essex will receive £6,128 per pupil on average, excluding growth and falling rolls funding.

How much capital funding he is making available to fund neighbourhood health centres in (a) the Witham constituency and (b) Essex, in each of the next ten years.

At the Autumn Budget, we announced our commitment to deliver 250 neighbourhood health centres (NHCs) through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme, helping to make real the commitment to creating a new neighbourhood health service over the next ten years. The NHCs will be delivered through a mixture of refurbishments, to expand and improve sites over the next three years, and new-build sites opening in the medium term. The first 120 NHCs are due to be operational by 2030, delivered through public private partnerships and public capital.In September 2025, we launched the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) in 43 places across England, including North East Essex. The NNHIP is a large-scale change programme for all partners involved in delivering neighbourhood health with a strong focus on co-production and working with the people and communities they serve. The shift to a neighbourhood health service will revitalise access to general practice and enable hospitals to focus on providing world-class specialist care to those that need it.Integrated care systems’ estates infrastructure strategies have been developed to create a long-term plan for future estate requirements and investment for each local area and its needs.The NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board has submitted plans for local investment in health facilities other than Neighbourhood Health Services, based on indicative allocations, and will be informed of its multi-year capital budget upon conclusion of the planning process.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the full cost of capitalising the Chagossian Trust Fund in the UK-Mauritius Treaty will be met from (a) her Department's budget; and (b) be categorised as ODA expenditure.

The costs of the Treaty will be split between the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and are non-ODA funded.

On what evidential basis she has indicated that she is minded to cancel the Department's support for the development of the proposed Lodge Farm Primary School, Witham; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the cancellation on (a) early years provision, (b) primary school places and (c) special educational provision places.

Mainstream projects were evaluated against consistent criteria on the need for places, value for money, and whether they would provide a distinctive or innovative education offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools. We will invest at least £3 billion over the next four years to create around 50,000 places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) across England. To support this investment, we are not proceeding with some mainstream free school projects. For Lodge Farm Primary and Nursery, the review found that current evidence does not show sufficient medium‑term need for a new school in the proposed Witham and Hatfield Peverel location. The trust and local authority can submit any further evidence for ministers to consider by 30 January 2026. The local authority has been offered just over £600,000 additional funding to provide the 12 special educational needs unit places that were planned for this school.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has held direct discussions with (a) General Frank, (b) British representatives and (c) representatives from other countries at the Civil Military Coordination Center.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defence are in regular contact with UK staff in the US-led Civil Military Coordination Centre to ensure that UK expertise can support the US-led planning efforts for Gaza post-conflict stability. The specific data the Rt Hon Member has requested on aid trucks is not centrally held by the FCDO.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has held direct discussions with representatives from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

The Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with her Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar. She has not held direct discussions with Major General Alian or any of his staff.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of trucks of aid entering Gaza since the establishment of the Civil Military Coordination Center from (a) the UN and (b) other sources.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defence are in regular contact with UK staff in the US-led Civil Military Coordination Centre to ensure that UK expertise can support the US-led planning efforts for Gaza post-conflict stability. The specific data the Rt Hon Member has requested on aid trucks is not centrally held by the FCDO.