Written questions by Holden.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans her Department has to hold (a) discussions and (b) summits with the Government of South Africa on providing it with (i) aid and (ii) development.

Ministers and officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continue to work closely with their South African counterparts on a wide range of issues.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps HM Government is taking to prepare for the G20 Summit in 2027.

Work is progressing in the normal way and further details will be confirmed in due course.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of contrails on its Airspace Modernisation Strategy.

The Airspace Modernisation Strategy supports the aviation sector in reducing emissions through aircraft flying more direct routes. Contrails arise from a combination of jet fuel combustion, air particles, water vapour and atmospheric conditions, and as such are considered through the Department’s work with the sector via the Jet Zero Strategy and Taskforce, which look at aviation decarbonisation holistically.

How many times the Aerospace Growth Partnership has met since 4 July 2024; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential economic merits of the Aerospace Growth Partnership .

Since 4 July 2024 the Aerospace Growth Partnership Board has met 12 times. Through our Industrial Strategy, government has committed to supporting the sector to increase its share of the global market from 10% to 15% and secure at least £35billion of additional private investment to industrialise technologies by 2050. The Aerospace Growth Partnership is a unique forum that helps bring together all parts of the UK's aerospace ecosystem with a common goal of delivering growth in the UK.

Which companies the Department is aware are exporting dual-use components from the United Kingdom to the Russian Federation; what dual-use components are being exported to the Russian Federation; and what representations have been received from (a) Ukraine and (b) NATO member states to HM Government on those exports.

The comprehensive sanctions put in place by HMG under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 following Russia's illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine mean that UK companies have been banned from exporting military or dual-use goods to Russia since February 2022. Any companies doing so would be subject to criminal penalties unless the goods are expressly exempted under Part 7 of the Regulations. Any representations from the Government of Ukraine, or NATO allies are the province of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.

On what date (a) Mark Wild’s contract as Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd was signed, (b) his appointment was publicly announced and (c) he took up his role.

Mark Wild’s contract with HS2 Ltd was signed on 10 May 2024, his appointment was announced on 24 May 2024, and he started the role on 2 December 2024.

With reference to the written ministerial statement of 23 March 2026 on Rail Infrastructure, HCWS1433, when she next plans to publish an update on the progress of the HS2 reset.

As the Secretary of State indicated in her interim parliamentary report of 23 March 2026, the government intends to publish a more detailed update on the progress of the HS2 reset shortly.

With reference to the written ministerial statement of 23 March 2026 on Rail Infrastructure, HCWS1433, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing the operating speed of HS2 on passenger capacity.

The Secretary of State has requested that Mark Wild look at ways to remove gold plating and complexity from the HS2 project, and if a slightly reduced specification could save time and money. We will not make the same mistakes of the past of making changes to scope without understanding all of the impacts, including on passenger capacity. We will not take any decisions until this work is complete.

How many social and affordable homes are planned as part of the redevelopment of land at and around Euston associated with the HS2 programme.

We are working at pace with our Master Development Partner, Lendlease, on a Masterplan for Euston, with an emphasis on growth and delivering much needed housing, and will set out a clear plan in due course. Further, the government has appointed Bek Seeley as the Chair to the Euston Housing Delivery Group, to understand the opportunities for thousands of new homes in the wider Euston area. The Euston Housing Delivery Group is not pre-supposing the number of homes achievable but will robustly assess the scale of opportunity for housing around Euston.

How many times has the Drone Task Force met since 4 July 2024, which Ministers in Government Departments and private sector companies constitute it, and which a) countries and b) companies are they engaged with in seeking guidance on best practice from regarding the use of drones.

The Department does not recognise any body titled the “Drone Task Force”.

When she expects the procurement of the Washwood Heath Depot for HS2 to conclude.

The Department is going through their governance approval to conclude the procurement for Washwood Heath Depot (WWH). We expect to award the contract in the coming weeks.

How many staff are employed by the HS2 Ltd Helpdesk.

Twenty FTE (Full Time Equivalent) staff are employed on the HS2 Ltd helpdesk.

Whether he has had discussions with his Ukrainian counterparts regarding the fit of a) uniform and b) body armour for female soldiers in combat operations, and whether his Department has discussed lessons learnt from the Government of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence remains firmly committed to ensuring that all service personnel are equipped with appropriate and effective protective equipment. As part of this commitment, we are delivering an update to body armour for UK personnel through the Tactical Ballistic Plates project.Procurement experts within the National Armaments Director group work closely with the Ministry of Defence's Op INTERFLEX Handling and Processing team, which collates feedback from Armed Forces of Ukraine personnel. This includes lessons from operational experience and female user feedback, which help to inform UK capability development.

Whether her Department has held discussions with the Royal Aeronautical Society since July 2024.

My officials routinely engage with a broad range of aviation stakeholders, including the Royal Aeronautical Society, to support strong and effective collaboration between government and industry on aviation related matters.

When she plans to respond to Question 119499 from the Rt Hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay.

The Rt Hon Member received a response to PQ UIN 119499 on 20th April 2026.

Whether her Department held discussions with representatives from the motorbike industry on the Motor Insurance Taskforce Final Report prior to its publication.

The taskforce secretariat met regularly with interested parties, including consumer groups and industry representatives. However, the taskforce did not meet with motorcyclist stakeholders specifically.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116554. whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the analysis conducted by Thatcham Research on behalf of the insurance industry.

The findings of Thatcham Research’s analysis align with the Department's wider understanding of the issues considered. The Department will continue to consider this analysis, and wider evidence sources, in its ongoing work to develop future policy and uphold the highest vehicle safety standards. The research indicates that the risk of fire is comparatively the lowest in battery electric vehicles - 1 per 100,000 per year.

Whether her Department plans to reopen or replace the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme for new applicants in 2026.

The Government is not planning to re-open the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator to new applications. On 25 March, Government announced £1 billion in funding to support the rollout of zero emission HGVs up to 2030, including the Zero Emission Truck and Van grants and the Depot Charging Scheme.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120645 on Competition and Markets Authority: Costs, whether the Competition and Markets Authority holds internal management information on the resource or cost associated with its Sustainability Taskforce.

The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) holds internal management information on the resource and costs associated with its Sustainability Taskforce since its establishment:FYStaff CostsNon-Staff CostsTotal CostFull-Time Equivalent2023-24£418,715.01£3,335.36£422,050.375.42024-25£342,306.01£677.18£342,983.193.9Non-staff costs cover other programme expenditure such as travel and subsistence. The CMA is not able to provide an estimated annual cost for the Sustainability Taskforce for 2025/26 before its accounts for the financial year are finalised.

Whether her Department has had discussions with garage owners on the potential impact of the cost of taking EV cars to have their pay per mile mileage checked for eVED on motorists.

As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, to create a fair tax system whilst also taking steps to ensure that driving an electric vehicle (EV) remains an attractive choice for consumers. The Government published a consultation which set out further detail on how eVED will work and sought views on its design and implementation. This included a commitment to engage with garages on the costs of mileage checks and MOT fees. As part of the consultation process, the government has undertaken a programme of engagement involving a range of stakeholders, including garages, and is committed to continuing to engage closely on the implementation of eVED in the lead up to April 2028.The consultation closed on 18 March 2026. The government is considering responses and will publish a response in due course.