Written questions by Patel.

With reference to his Department's consultation document entitled Scheme design for bill discounts for transmission network infrastructure published on 8 August 2025, on what date will communities affected by the construction of new transmission network infrastructure projects that are approved no longer be eligible to receive payments; and if he will make an estimate of the total cost of providing community benefits in relation to the Norwich to Tilbury Great Grid Upgrade proposals.

We propose eligible households will start receiving a discount once main construction has begun and will receive a maximum of £250 per year for up to 10 years. It is our intention that the bill discount scheme will run for a set period of time, with a post-implementation review to be conducted 5 years into the scheme to determine whether it is working as envisioned. The aggregate cost associated with providing community benefits, both via the bill discount scheme and community funds, will be detailed in the Impact Assessment accompanying secondary legislation. The government does not comment on individual projects.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 66157 on A12: Repairs and Maintenance, what resources she has made available for small-scale interventions on the A12.

The necessary resources will be made available for the Department to continue to work with National Highways and relevant partners to explore what small-scale interventions could potentially address issues on the A12.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 66155 on A12: Repairs and Maintenance, how much funding she has allocated for the costs of ending the A12 widening scheme.

National Highways is moving to end the A12 widening scheme and will publish details on costs incurred in its Annual Report and Accounts in due course. The costs will be funded from resources made available to National Highways in the usual way.

Pursuant to her Department’s Annual Account 2024/25, with reference to page 19, (a) what funding she will be providing to each Mayoral Combined Authority in each financial year through to 2029/30, (b) what funding she is making available to the proposed Greater Essex Mayoral Combined County Authority in each financial year through to 2029/30, and (c) what her forecast is of the annual reduction in support for the services covered by Train Operating Companies in each year of the Spending Review period; with reference to page 19, what her estimate is of the increased levels of ridership required to cover the planned reductions in her Department’s support for Train Operating Companies in each year of the Spending Review period; and with reference to page 348, if she will publish the lines of expenditure incurred in the estimated £250 million to be written off in respect of the cancellation of the A12 Widening Scheme and the A47 dualling scheme.

On (a) and (b), at Spending Review 2025 ("SR25"), the government announced £15.6bn of funding for Transport for City Region settlements for 9 eligible Mayoral Combined Authorities ("MCAs") from 2027-28 to 2031-32. This funding builds on the funding allocated to eligible MCAs for years 2022-23 to 2026-27 via the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS). Mayoral allocations for TCR were published on gov.uk. Allocations for the final year of CRSTS (2026/27) are being confirmed with Ministers in the upcoming months.For MCAs and other local areas outside of CRSTS/TCR, the department secured £2.3bn of funding for the Local Transport Grant (LTG) at SR25 and multi-year allocations and formula methodology were published on gov.uk. These allocations were calculated using a formula based on population and deprivation. Allocations were published based on the current Local Authority structure. Essex’s Local Transport Authority’s allocation for LTG is summarised in table 1 below. When it is established as a new MCAs, their transport funding will compromise the total of their constituent authorities. Table 1 includes the LTG allocations for other MCAs, a full breakdown of all areas can be found on Gov.uk.Essex, and other areas, will also be eligible for other local transport grants and funding secured at SR25 such as funding for Buses, Highways Maintenance, Active Travel and Electric vehicle infrastructure. DfT Ministers are considering advice on these funds, and how they will be allocated across Local areas. Allocations will be released once Ministerial decisions have been made. Table 1 – LTG allocations for Essex LTA and MCAs in receipt of LTG (full local allocations can be found on gov.uk). Local AreaLTG Allocation2026/272027/282028/292029/30TotalEssexCapital6.7710.32514.14917.97349.217Resource1.081.081.08n/a3.24 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined AuthorityCapital4.9738.0311.00413.97937.986Resource0.8190.8190.819n/a2.457 Devon and Torbay Combined County AuthorityCapital5.0438.72511.95715.18940.914Resource0.8530.8530.853n/a2.559 Greater Lincolnshire Combined County AuthorityCapital31.87936.85441.07545.295155.103Resource1.0632.2592.2635.585 Hull & East Yorkshire Combined AuthorityCapital19.89522.87925.53828.19796.509Resource0.6341.4031.4073.444 Lancashire Combined County AuthorityCapital44.99850.84456.67662.507215.025Resource1.3493.1173.1237.589 York and North Yorkshire Combined AuthorityCapital20.40722.07224.52926.98593.993Resource0.7671.3531.3523.472

If she will publish the details of the construction phase funding for the A12 Chelmsford to A120 Widening scheme considered by her Department’s Investment Portfolio and Delivery Committee in 2023/24 and 2024/25.

The Department has no plans to publish papers considered by its Investment, Portfolio and Delivery Committee, as has been the usual practice of successive administrations.

If she has undertaken an assessment of the net present value using the Green Book methodology of (a) the A12 Widening Scheme, (b) each of the infrastructure schemes referenced in her Oral Statement of 8 July 2025 on Road and Rail Projects, Official Report, columns 815-837 and (c) proposals for the A120 Dualling Scheme.

The Department uses a five-dimension business case to inform decisions about transport investments, in line with the HM Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance. Within that, the Department considers benefits and costs in present value terms, as part of the overall business case. This includes strategic road schemes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department maintains a risk register of the UK-Mauritius Treaty over the future sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of activities by the Government of China in Mauritius on (a) future UK-Mauritius relations and (b) the future operations of the UK-Mauritius Treaty.

The agreement between the UK and Mauritius secures the important UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, and is backed by our 5 Eyes partners, including the United States of America. This government secured all necessary safeguards within the treaty, including a prohibition on other foreign security forces, civilian or military - including those of China - from operating or otherwise establishing themselves on the outer islands. I refer the Rt. Hon Lady to the many answers she has received on this topic in the House and in answer to her previous questions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Article 5 of the treaty entitled UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia (CS Mauritius No.1/2025), when he last discussed with his Mauritian counterpart the future of the Marine Protected Area around the Chagos Archipelago; what discussions he has had with his Mauritian counterpart on the potential future fisheries opportunities in the waters of the Chagos Archipelago; what technical expertise the UK Government has provided to the Government of Mauritius on the future of the Marine Protected Areas around the Chagos Archipelago since 22 May 2025; whether the ODA budget will be used to provide the resources necessary to fulfil the UK’s obligations under Article 5 to provide support and assistance to Mauritius for the establishment and management of the Marine Protected Area in the Chagos Archipelago; and whether he has discussed with his Mauritian counterpart the (a) Mauritian domestic processes to establish a Marine Protected Area around the Chagos Archipelago and (b) the timescale within which the Government of Mauritius anticipate establishing a Marine Protected Area.

Prime Minister Ramgoolam has reaffirmed Mauritius' support for a Chagos Marine Protected Area (MPA), including most recently in his conversation with the then Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at the Oceans summit in Nice on 9 June. UK support and expertise for MPA establishment is part of discussions with Mauritius about implementation of the Treaty. We do not intend to provide a running commentary on these discussions, but, as per the answer to the Hon Member's question 64024, the UK will not be making any additional direct payments to Mauritius as part of this activity.

Whether her Department has made a forecast of the GDP deflator index for each of the next 100 years.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including assessments of the impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). To support their five year forecasts for the UK economy and public finances, the OBR produces long-term projections which cover the next 50 years, including for the GDP Deflator. The OBR’s latest long-term projections can be found here: Long-ptterm economic determinants – March 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 64731 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, if he will list the full rights and authorities the UK (a) is authorised to exercise in respect of Diego Garcia under the terms of the UK-Mauritius Treaty agreed on 22 May 2025 and (b) was authorised to exercise in respect of Diego Garcia in the proposals at the time of his statement to the House on 7 October 2024.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to her previous question, 56761, on changes to the Treaty.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to make the first payment under the UK-Mauritius treaty in the Mauritian fiscal financial year to 30 June 2026.

The first payment will be made the first of the month following the month of entry into force of the Agreement. An entry into force date will be confirmed once both Parties have finalised all domestic procedures necessary and exchanged letters of ratification.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what was discussed between the UK High Commission to the Mauritius and (a) the Mauritian Minister of Foreign Affairs and (b) the President of Mauritius at their meeting in July 2025.

The newly appointed British High Commissioner to Mauritius, Paul Brummell CMG, met Mauritius President Dharam Gokhool on 21 July to present his credentials. The conversation covered the bilateral relationship between the two countries. The High Commissioner met Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful twice in July, on 21 and 28 July, and discussed the UK/Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia and Strategic Partnership Framework signed in May between Minister Ramful and the Foreign Secretary, as well as the broader bilateral agenda between the UK and Mauritius.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the technical committee between the UK and Mauritius (a) has met since 22 May 2025 and (b) plans to meet in (i) 2025 and (ii) 2026; and whether the (A) agendas and (B) minutes of those meetings will be published.

The UK will not be providing a running commentary on the implementation of the Agreement.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the agenda was of the meeting between the Mauritian Attorney General and representatives of the UK and Mauritian Governments on 12 June 2025; and what was discussed at that meeting.

The UK will not be providing a running commentary on the implementation of the Agreement.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Mauritian counterpart on the potential impact of Section 76B of the Mauritian criminal code on Chagossians.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Explanatory Memorandum for Mauritius's Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill 2021 (https://mauritiusassembly.govmu.org/mauritiusassembly/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/bill1621.pdf) .It is clear that legislation applies only to persons acting under the authority or instructions of a foreign state in the production, distribution, supply or marketing of any coin, stamp, official map or official document.

Whether (a) value for money assessments and (b) comparative value for money assessments for alternative proposals will be material planning considerations when determining applications covered by the proposed National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure.

Draft updated National Policy Statements were published for consultation and laid before Parliament earlier this year. There are no proposed changes in regard to value for money assessments. Development proposals enter the planning system at different times (at the discretion of developers), and require decisions on development consent orders to be made within statutory timeframes accordingly. The planning system does not compare projects; each decision is based on the merits of each proposal.

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, whether he has made representations to his Mauritian counterpart on the potential merits of UK representation on the board of the Chagossian Trust Fund for British Chagossians.

We have committed to capitalise a Trust Fund for the benefit of Chagossians, and are engaging with Mauritius on the design and parameters of the Fund, including potential UK representation on its Board. The Government has committed to update the House on the operation of the Trust Fund before ratification of the Treaty.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with Prime Minister Ramgoolam of Mauritius proposals to issue (a) fisheries and (b) trawler licences for the Chagos Archipelago.

The UK Government continues to engage with Mauritius on the parameters, and support the establishment of, the proposed Mauritian Marine Protected Area. The terms of this support and assistance will be agreed in a separate process which is already underway.

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.