Written questions by Lowe.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the cost-benefit ratio in relation to (a) maintaining current shoreline management policy outcomes at Hemsby and (b) alternative policies involving additional coastal defences.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for the Hemsby area. They are best placed, using local knowledge and data, to undertake detailed assessments of risk management options along with their costs and benefits. In 2018/19, the Anglian Regional Flood and Coastal Committee provided local levy funding to Great Yarmouth Borough Council to undertake a high-level study of options for the Hemsby coastal erosion issues.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the steps her Department is taking to consider (a) displacement costs, (b) temporary accommodation costs and (c) local authority rehousing pressures when deciding on new coastal erosion management projects.

Coastal management is delivered through collaboration between the Environment Agency, local authorities and a range of partners. Defra retains overall policy responsibility for flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) in England, while local authorities lead on managing coastal erosion. Projects within the Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme are assessing the costs and benefits of proactive coastal transition measures in coastal communities. This includes evaluating socio-economic benefits such as reduced temporary accommodation costs, lower mental health impacts, and decreased financial pressures on councils. Under the Government’s new funding policy, economic assessments of FCERM projects may include additional by-product benefits beyond flood or erosion reduction. In addition, the Environment Agency’s FCERM appraisal guidance recommends that, when assessing the economic impacts of a project, indirect damages avoided should be taken into account. Indirect damages typically include costs such as displacement and temporary accommodation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) coastal modelling, (b) geomorphical studies and (c) monitoring programmes the Environment Agency has commissioned in relation to Hemsby since 2020.

The Environment Agency was a partner in the development and publication of the Shoreline Management Plan for northeast Norfolk: Kelling Hard to Lowestoft SMP6 | Shoreline Management Plans. In 2018/19, the Environment Agency worked with the Anglian Regional Flood and Coastal Committee to provide local levy funding to Great Yarmouth Borough Council to undertake a high-level study of options for the Hemsby coastal erosion issues. The Environment Agency’s Anglian Coastal Monitoring Programme (ACMP) undertakes detailed coastal monitoring of the coastline which began in 1991. The ACMP team works closely with Risk Management Authorities, including Great Yarmouth Borough Council staff, to refine monitoring to meet their local needs. In January 2025 the Environment Agency published an update to the National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping online.  The new mapping includes data from the National Coastal Monitoring Programme (NCMP), which includes coastal assets, beach profiles, bathymetry, aerial photography, LiDAR and coastal habitats.   All coastal monitoring data, reports and analysis are available as open data on the coastal monitoring website ( Programmes - Welcome).

Food and Rural Affairs, what the most recent estimate is of the number of businesses in Hemsby at risk of loss to coastal erosion within (i) 5 and (ii) 10 years.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for the Hemsby area. They are best placed, using local knowledge and data, to continue making detailed risk assessments, including for the potential economic impacts. To support all RMA’s, the Environment Agency have developed and published the new National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping which has been in place since 2011, updated in 2017 and most recently received a major update in 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the most recent estimate is of the number of residential properties in Hemsby at risk of loss to coastal erosion within (i) 5 and (ii) 10 years.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for the Hemsby area. They are best placed, using local knowledge and data, to continue making detailed risk assessments, including for the potential economic impacts. To support all RMA’s, the Environment Agency have developed and published the new National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping which has been in place since 2011, updated in 2017 and most recently received a major update in 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the current and projected rate of coastal affecting Hemsby, Norfolk over the next (i) 5, (ii) 10 and (iii) 25 years.

In January 2025 the Environment Agency published the new National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping (NCERM) on ‘Check coastal erosion risk for an area in England’ and Shoreline Management Plan Explorer. The new NCERM dataset is openly accessible via data.gov.uk. It provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date national overview of current and future coastal erosion risks across England. The Environment Agency worked with local authorities, who supplied local data and verified outputs across the country. The mapping for properties located at Hemsby can be accessed here: Winterton-on-Sea (South of Beach Road) to Scratby 6.14 | Shoreline Management Plans. Erosion projection lines can be added to the map, both with present day climate change projections and those with upper/higher projections to 2055 and 2105. The ‘customise map display’ button allows access to this spatial data, and the desired projection can be selected for display on the map.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the potential economic impact of coastal erosion in Hemsby on (a) tourism, (b) local employment and (c) local tax revenues.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for the Hemsby area. They are best placed, using local knowledge and data, to continue making detailed risk assessments, including for the potential economic impacts. To support all RMA’s, the Environment Agency have developed and published the new National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping which has been in place since 2011, updated in 2017 and most recently received a major update in 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of how her Department's proposed funding reforms will impact coastal communities with high proportions of (a) small businesses, (b) seasonal tourism employment, and (c) non-standard housing such as holiday chalets.

On 14 October 2025, following consultation, the Government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. The reforms will make it quicker and easier to deliver flood defences by simplifying our funding rules, and optimising funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences. Under the new rules, projects will be prioritised by their benefit-to-cost ratios to drive value for money. Projects are developed in line with HM Treasury Green Book guidance and FCERM Appraisal Guidance and capture a wide range of benefits including those related to private properties (including holiday chalets with a fixed address), businesses, heritage, environment, recreation, and tourism. All schemes must achieve a benefit cost ratio of greater than one to receive Defra grant in aid. The new rules give equal weighting to different types of benefits, which will help coastal areas where under the old rules, benefits such as those from recreation attracted lower weightings. The list of projects to receive Government funding will be agreed in the usual way, on an annual basis, through the Environment Agency’s annual refresh process, with local representation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the current Shoreline Management Plan policy is for the Hemsby coastline; and what the evidential basis was for selecting that policy.

In January 2025 the Environment Agency published the new Shoreline Management Plan Explorer.  The documentation associated with preferred policies can be found in the SMP Main Report: Kelling Hard to Lowestoft SMP6 | Shoreline Management Plans. The management approach for Hemsby’s coast is “managed realignment”. This has been developed locally by the East Anglia Coastal Group and included local consultation. The policy development and engagement documents can be found in the appendices. Appendix A, SMP Development Stages 2 and 3, pages 9-17, provide detailed information regarding the policy development process.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to assess the potential impact of new flood and coastal erosion risk management schemes on (a) primary residences, (b) second homes, (c) holiday chalets and (d) small businesses.

On 14 October 2025, following consultation, the Government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. The reforms will make it quicker and easier to deliver flood defences by simplifying our funding rules, and optimising funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences. Under the new rules, projects will be prioritised by their benefit-to-cost ratios to drive value for money. Projects are developed in line with HM Treasury Green Book guidance and FCERM Appraisal Guidance and capture a wide range of benefits including those related to private properties (including holiday chalets with a fixed address), businesses, heritage, environment, recreation, and tourism. All schemes must achieve a benefit cost ratio of greater than one to receive Defra grant in aid. The new rules give equal weighting to different types of benefits, which will help coastal areas where under the old rules, benefits such as those from recreation attracted lower weightings. The list of projects to receive Government funding will be agreed in the usual way, on an annual basis, through the Environment Agency’s annual refresh process, with local representation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with (a) Great Yarmouth Borough Council, (b) Norfolk County Council and (c) the Environment Agency on long-term coastal erosion management options for Hemsby, including managed realignment and engineered defences.

The Environment Agency has a strategic overview of the management of all sources of flooding and coastal change. Local authorities take the lead in managing coastal erosion. In Hemsby, Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the lead authority for coastal erosion. Great Yarmouth Borough Council is a partner in the £8 million Resilient Coast Project – part of the Government’s £150 million Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme. This project is working with communities, including Hemsby, to develop new, innovative methods to build resilience and help communities adapt to flooding and coastal erosion. The Environment Agency are working closely with Great Yarmouth Borough Council as they consider and implement options for the management of the area. The Environment Agency’s Local Operations Area Leadership team meets frequently with Council representatives and regularly attends Hemsby Stakeholder Group meetings hosted by the Council.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 95752 on Offenders and Undocumented migrants, if she will increase the amount of staff to 6,500.

The 65 staff are directly involved in tracing and resourcing for this activity is regularly reviewed. They work in partnership with the police, other government agencies, and commercial companies to identify information on a person that may help to progress the case.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 95752 on Offenders and Undocumented migrants, what the roles of those 65 staff are.

The 65 staff are directly involved in tracing and resourcing for this activity is regularly reviewed. They work in partnership with the police, other government agencies, and commercial companies to identify information on a person that may help to progress the case.

What role the Prevent strategy currently plays in identifying and disrupting Islamist radicalisation; and whether changes are planned to improve its effectiveness.

Prevent aims to limit exposure to radicalising narratives, both online and offline, and to create an environment where radicalising ideologies are challenged and are not permitted to flourish.The Prevent Duty Guidance sets out how local partners should address this issue by identifying and considering opportunities to disrupt those who use extremist narratives to spread hatred and division and radicalise others to terrorism.This includes information sharing, risk assessment, and developing operational plans to proactively address the influences and narratives that may foster permissive environments within the community.

Whether she has considered suspending visa routes from countries assessed as high-risk for terrorism;

The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess, based on a visa application and following background checks, whether an individual will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.This Government will not stop at anything to protect border and national security, and the UK keeps its visa system under regular review. This is conducted on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements. However, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific operational security matters.

What criteria are used to designate a country as high-risk for terrorism and extremist activity for the purposes of visa policy.

The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess, based on a visa application and following background checks, whether an individual will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.This Government will not stop at anything to protect border and national security, and the UK keeps its visa system under regular review. This is conducted on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements. However, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific operational security matters.

What oversight mechanisms exist to monitor institutions where extremist ideology may be promoted.

The Prevent duty requires specified authorities such as education, health, local authorities, police and criminal justice agencies (prisons and probation) to help prevent the risk of people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism which includes the need to reduce permissive environments.It sits alongside long-established safeguarding duties on professionals to protect people from a range of other harms, such as substance abuse, involvement in gangs, and physical and sexual exploitation.The duty helps to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are supported as they would be under safeguarding processes.

How many referrals to counter-extremism programmes have been made in each of the last five years, broken down by ideology.

i) Individuals referred to the Prevent programme Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities are protected against radicalising influences.The Home Office publishes statistics annually on individuals referred into Prevent, which can be found here.Links to the data on individuals referred in by the type of concern, or ideology, can be found below.ii) Years 2024-2025, broken down by ideology. Table 16.iii) Years 2023-2024, broken down by ideology. Table 6.iv) Years 2022-2023, broken down by ideology. Table 6.v) Years 2021-2022, broken down by ideology. Table 6.vi) Years 2020-2021, broken down by ideology. Table 6.

Pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2025 to question 95741 on Offenders and Undocumented Migrants, if he will commit to collating and verifying the requested data to publish on a regular basis.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user requests, the public resources required to compile the statistics, and importantly the quality and availability of data. The Home Office does not publish data on subjects where the information held is known to not be sufficiently robust or of high enough quality.

Which visa routes are currently open to nationals of countries designated as high-risk for terrorism-related activity.

The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess, based on a visa application and following background checks, whether an individual will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.This Government will not stop at anything to protect border and national security, and the UK keeps its visa system under regular review. This is conducted on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements. However, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific operational security matters.