Written questions by Race.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) promote and (b) support democracy in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The UK supports a thriving Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) within a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. Through our diplomatic engagements, we continue to encourage cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve outstanding issues, including around Kurdish representation in Iraqi politics.Elections are essential for the people of the KRI to express their voice and for the future of the region. We are monitoring the situation with long-overdue KRI elections closely and we are encouraging a solution that allows free and fair elections to take place as soon as possible.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help promote stability in (a) Kurdistan and (b) the surrounding area.

Through our diplomatic engagements, we continue to encourage greater cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve their outstanding issues, as well as between the political parties in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).Our focus remains on bolstering the region's stability through our bilateral programming and defence offer. As a leading member of the Global Coalition, the UK supports the Iraqi Security Forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga to tackle the threat from Daesh and promote stability. This is in addition to the UK's contribution to NATO Mission in Iraq.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Türkiye.

Our diplomatic missions are in regular contact with the authorities in Turkey, as a close NATO ally, and Iraq. We reiterate to all parties the need for dialogue and cooperation between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians.The UK recognises Turkey's right to self-defence but also fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. It is critical that Turkey and Iraq reach a way of addressing their security concerns that does not lead to greater regional instability.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve the quality of water in the River Exe.

The Secretary of State recently met with water company bosses, including South West Water, to make it clear that water firms will be held accountable for their performance for customers and the environment. During the meeting, water bosses signed up to the Government’s initial package of reforms to reduce sewage pollution and attract investment to upgrade infrastructure. The Government also announced a new Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will turn around the performance of water companies, in the King’s Speech. The Bill will strengthen regulation, give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increase accountability for water executives. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector. I would refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the levels of pollution in the River Exe.

The Secretary of State recently met with water company bosses, including South West Water, to make it clear that water firms will be held accountable for their performance for customers and the environment. During the meeting, water bosses signed up to the Government’s initial package of reforms to reduce sewage pollution and attract investment to upgrade infrastructure. The Government also announced a new Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will turn around the performance of water companies, in the King’s Speech. The Bill will strengthen regulation, give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increase accountability for water executives. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector. I would refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the levels of pollution in the River Exe and (b) what the sources of this pollution are.

This government is committed to tackling pollution. The Water (Special Measures) Bill, announced during the King’s Speech, delivers on our manifesto commitment to put water companies under tough special measures and begin the work of cleaning up our waterways. Water quality assessments are underpinned by Environment Agency monitoring programmes, focussing upon a broad range of biological, chemical and physico-chemical parameters. Monitoring and assessment are undertaken throughout the River Exe catchment, from the headwaters on Exmoor, to the bathing waters at Exmouth and Dawlish Warren. Water quality data is publicly available via Ecology and Fish Data Explorer and Open WIMS. These data are assessed against standards set under the Water Environment Regulations (WER) and Bathing Water Regulations, and are published on Catchment Data Explorer. In the River Exe catchment, there are 27 waterbodies. Of these, 10 are at good ecological status (under WER), 16 at moderate status and one at poor status. This equates to 37% of waterbodies in the River Exe catchment achieving good or higher status, compared to 16% nationally. Bathing waters at Exmouth and Dawlish Warren received a classification of ‘Excellent’ in 2023. I would refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament

What steps her Department is taking to tackle the criminal exploitation of children.

The Government is committed to preventing young people being lured into crime, drugs and criminal gangs. We will deliver on our Manifesto commitment and have already committed to bring forward new legislation to strengthen the law to tackle child criminal exploitation.