Written questions by Braverman.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Prevent programme in the case of Ali Harbi Ali.

Prevent has been an integral part of our counter-terrorism machinery for the last twenty years, supporting over 5,000 people away from radicalisation since the introduction of the Prevent duty in 2015.  Of course, we must continue to identify where Prevent has failed. However, significant improvements have been made to Prevent over the years since this Prevent case, and we continue to drive further change.The Prevent Learning Review and Lord Anderson’s review were both published by Government earlier this year, and can be found on GOV.UK (Prevent learning review: Sir David Amess attack - GOV.UK and Lessons for Prevent - GOV.UK). These show clearly where Prevent, policing and law enforcement partners must take action to strengthen their approach. Lord Anderson’s review in particular sets out the position in relation to Prevent and the Security Service and identifies some key areas of focus for further review.Sir David Amess was a valued colleague and a friend to many, and it is right that we seek to ensure such a terrible loss cannot happen again. The Home Secretary and I will work closely with the reviewer conducting the further overarching review to ensure that every avenue has been explored. It is important that the voice of the family is central to this process, and the Home Secretary will ensure they are kept up to date with the progress of the review.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2025 to Question 69736 on Counter-terrorism, if she will take steps to ensure that the senior figure who is scrutinising all the previous reviews will (a) have access to documentation and (b) be able to interview people involved in (i) the Prevent programme and (ii) security services who dealt with Ali Harbi Ali.

Prevent has been an integral part of our counter-terrorism machinery for the last twenty years, supporting over 5,000 people away from radicalisation since the introduction of the Prevent duty in 2015.  Of course, we must continue to identify where Prevent has failed. However, significant improvements have been made to Prevent over the years since this Prevent case, and we continue to drive further change.The Prevent Learning Review and Lord Anderson’s review were both published by Government earlier this year, and can be found on GOV.UK (Prevent learning review: Sir David Amess attack - GOV.UK and Lessons for Prevent - GOV.UK). These show clearly where Prevent, policing and law enforcement partners must take action to strengthen their approach. Lord Anderson’s review in particular sets out the position in relation to Prevent and the Security Service and identifies some key areas of focus for further review.Sir David Amess was a valued colleague and a friend to many, and it is right that we seek to ensure such a terrible loss cannot happen again. The Home Secretary and I will work closely with the reviewer conducting the further overarching review to ensure that every avenue has been explored. It is important that the voice of the family is central to this process, and the Home Secretary will ensure they are kept up to date with the progress of the review.

If the Government will meet with the family of Sir David Amess to discuss the potential merits of a public inquiry into his murder; and what recent assessment has been made of the potential merits of such an inquiry.

Prevent has been an integral part of our counter-terrorism machinery for the last twenty years, supporting over 5,000 people away from radicalisation since the introduction of the Prevent duty in 2015.  Of course, we must continue to identify where Prevent has failed. However, significant improvements have been made to Prevent over the years since this Prevent case, and we continue to drive further change.The Prevent Learning Review and Lord Anderson’s review were both published by Government earlier this year, and can be found on GOV.UK (Prevent learning review: Sir David Amess attack - GOV.UK and Lessons for Prevent - GOV.UK). These show clearly where Prevent, policing and law enforcement partners must take action to strengthen their approach. Lord Anderson’s review in particular sets out the position in relation to Prevent and the Security Service and identifies some key areas of focus for further review.Sir David Amess was a valued colleague and a friend to many, and it is right that we seek to ensure such a terrible loss cannot happen again. The Home Secretary and I will work closely with the reviewer conducting the further overarching review to ensure that every avenue has been explored. It is important that the voice of the family is central to this process, and the Home Secretary will ensure they are kept up to date with the progress of the review.

What information was held by the security services regarding Ali Harbi Ali from the five years between his engagement with Prevent and the murder of Sir David Amess.

Prevent has been an integral part of our counter-terrorism machinery for the last twenty years, supporting over 5,000 people away from radicalisation since the introduction of the Prevent duty in 2015.  Of course, we must continue to identify where Prevent has failed. However, significant improvements have been made to Prevent over the years since this Prevent case, and we continue to drive further change.The Prevent Learning Review and Lord Anderson’s review were both published by Government earlier this year, and can be found on GOV.UK (Prevent learning review: Sir David Amess attack - GOV.UK and Lessons for Prevent - GOV.UK). These show clearly where Prevent, policing and law enforcement partners must take action to strengthen their approach. Lord Anderson’s review in particular sets out the position in relation to Prevent and the Security Service and identifies some key areas of focus for further review.Sir David Amess was a valued colleague and a friend to many, and it is right that we seek to ensure such a terrible loss cannot happen again. The Home Secretary and I will work closely with the reviewer conducting the further overarching review to ensure that every avenue has been explored. It is important that the voice of the family is central to this process, and the Home Secretary will ensure they are kept up to date with the progress of the review.

What social media checks were carried out on Ali Harbi Ali (a) during and (b) after his involvement with the Prevent programme.

Prevent has been an integral part of our counter-terrorism machinery for the last twenty years, supporting over 5,000 people away from radicalisation since the introduction of the Prevent duty in 2015.  Of course, we must continue to identify where Prevent has failed. However, significant improvements have been made to Prevent over the years since this Prevent case, and we continue to drive further change.The Prevent Learning Review and Lord Anderson’s review were both published by Government earlier this year, and can be found on GOV.UK (Prevent learning review: Sir David Amess attack - GOV.UK and Lessons for Prevent - GOV.UK). These show clearly where Prevent, policing and law enforcement partners must take action to strengthen their approach. Lord Anderson’s review in particular sets out the position in relation to Prevent and the Security Service and identifies some key areas of focus for further review.Sir David Amess was a valued colleague and a friend to many, and it is right that we seek to ensure such a terrible loss cannot happen again. The Home Secretary and I will work closely with the reviewer conducting the further overarching review to ensure that every avenue has been explored. It is important that the voice of the family is central to this process, and the Home Secretary will ensure they are kept up to date with the progress of the review.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of inheritance tax on the viability of intergenerational farming businesses.

Ministers from several Government departments have met with various representative organisations to discuss the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief. These discussions have involved the National Farmers’ Union, the Tenant Farmers’ Association, the Country Land and Business Association, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, the Ulster Farmers’ Union, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Farmers’ Union of Wales. The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data. The recent report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) supports the Government’s analysis of these reforms, including the number of estates affected in 2026-27, and concludes that half of these estates will see an increase in their effective inheritance tax rate of less than 5 percentage points, and almost 90 per cent of these estates could pay their entire inheritance tax bill out of non-farm assets. The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This includes the largest financial investment into nature-friendly farming ever.

What recent discussions her Department has had with farmers on the impact of (a) Agricultural Property Relief and (b) inheritance tax on succession planning for family farms.

Ministers from several Government departments have met with various representative organisations to discuss the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief. These discussions have involved the National Farmers’ Union, the Tenant Farmers’ Association, the Country Land and Business Association, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, the Ulster Farmers’ Union, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Farmers’ Union of Wales. The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data. The recent report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) supports the Government’s analysis of these reforms, including the number of estates affected in 2026-27, and concludes that half of these estates will see an increase in their effective inheritance tax rate of less than 5 percentage points, and almost 90 per cent of these estates could pay their entire inheritance tax bill out of non-farm assets. The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This includes the largest financial investment into nature-friendly farming ever.

Whether her Department plans to review the (a) scope and (b) application of Agricultural Property Relief in the context of the requirements of modern farming.

Ministers from several Government departments have met with various representative organisations to discuss the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief. These discussions have involved the National Farmers’ Union, the Tenant Farmers’ Association, the Country Land and Business Association, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, the Ulster Farmers’ Union, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Farmers’ Union of Wales. The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data. The recent report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) supports the Government’s analysis of these reforms, including the number of estates affected in 2026-27, and concludes that half of these estates will see an increase in their effective inheritance tax rate of less than 5 percentage points, and almost 90 per cent of these estates could pay their entire inheritance tax bill out of non-farm assets. The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This includes the largest financial investment into nature-friendly farming ever.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) reduce input costs and (b) increase labour levels in the agricultural sector.

Investment in agricultural R&D and innovative practices through the Farming Innovation Programme is helping farmers and growers increase productivity, reduce input costs, and adopt more sustainable practices. In the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, we announced at least £200 million to the programme up to 2030 so underlining our continued commitment to supporting innovation in agriculture, including reducing inputs. Defra is also working closely with The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) which is encouraging young people and new entrants into farming in its capacity as an industry led professional body for the farming industry. This includes leading a cross-industry initiative to address common negative misconceptions about the sector and providing free TIAH membership for students.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support domestic food production and (b) reduce reliance on imports.

To ensure a consistent supply of food, the UK relies upon a combination of strong domestic production from the UK’s agricultural and food manufacturing sectors, and a diverse range of overseas supply sources. Trade supports UK food supply resilience. This is due to the UK having diverse trade routes, strong international supply and purchasing power. At home, the Government’s recently published Food Strategy identifies priority outcomes for resilient domestic production for a secure supply of healthier food, and also to create conditions for the food sector to thrive and grow sustainably, including investment in innovation and productivity, and fairer more transparent supply chains. We have allocated £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the UK’s food security.

The UK has a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply. The Food Sector is one of the UK's 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors. Defra and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are joint Lead Government Departments (LGDs), with Defra leading on supply and the FSA on food safety. We work closely with the Cabinet Office and other LGDs ensuring food supply is fully incorporated as part of emergency preparedness, including consideration of dependencies on other sectors.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of (a) trends in the level of illegal hare coursing and (b) the potential impact of illegal hare coursing on rural communities.

Wildlife crimes such as hare coursing are not ‘notifiable’ so there are no official Home Office statistics or identifiable trends to judge robustly whether such crimes are increasing or decreasing across the country. Decisions on whether to make wildlife crimes notifiable sit with the Home Office. It is reasonable to assume that measures introduced in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, along with improved police tactics, intelligence and information sharing as well as the use of community protection notices (CPN) and criminal behaviour orders (CBO), has had an effect in terms of reducing levels of hare coursing.

Food and Rural Affairs, what changes she plans to make to the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme in the next financial year.

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that will better target the SFI in an orderly way towards our priorities for food, farming and nature. Information and plans for the next iteration of the scheme will be published in due course.

Whether she plans to allocate additional resources to rural police forces to help tackle rural crime.

The Government is committed to giving police the resources they need to tackle a range of different crimes. The Chancellor has announced a real terms increase in police spending power over the next three years. The allocation of funding to police forces remains an important consideration and as with previous years, more details on force funding allocations for 2026-27, including decisions on police force funding allocations, will be made via the provisional police funding settlement later in the year.It is the responsibility of Chief Constables and locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), including Mayors who exercise PCC or equivalent functions, to take decisions around their resourcing. They are best placed to make decisions with their communities based on their local knowledge and experience.Through our Safer Streets Mission, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping. The Home Office have worked closely with the National Police Chief’s Council to deliver their updated Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy for 2025-2029. The strategy will set out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling crimes that predominantly affect rural communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what representations her Department has received from farmers on the accessibility of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that will better target the SFI in an orderly way towards our priorities for food, farming and nature. Information and plans for the next iteration of the scheme will be published in due course.

What recent discussions his Department has had with independent pharmacies on (a) funding, (b) supply chain reform and (c) workforce levels.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England, which represents all pharmacy contactors including independent pharmacies. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, namely over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.The resilience of United Kingdom supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. On 15 August 2025, the Government published a policy paper, Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines. We will continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other stakeholders across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver these actions. Regarding the pharmacy workforce, as private businesses pharmacy employers have a clear role to ensure staff levels are adequate to deliver commissioned NHS services. The annual community pharmacy workforce survey provides data on current workforce levels. The survey is an important tool to help inform workforce planning for employers and NHS integrated care boards. The Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey data is available at the following link:https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/09aa8f38-547a-46b7-a117-2cb710ad939b/https-www-hee-nhs-uk-our-work-pharmacy-community-pharmacy-workforce-surveyWe will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan by the end of 2025. This will look at how healthcare professionals can work at the top of their skills, and ask what workforce we need, what they should do, where they should be deployed and what skills they should have.To support pharmacy employers develop their staff and deliver quality NHS services, NHS England provides several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes independent prescriber training, clinical examination skills, and training the next generation of education supervisors.

Whether his Department plans to introduce an updated long-term funding model for community pharmacies.

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities. They provide an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS at the time, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Any future funding arrangements will be subject to Spending Review allocations to the Department and, as customary, consultation with Community Pharmacy England.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding levels for community pharmacies.

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities. They provide an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS at the time, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Any future funding arrangements will be subject to Spending Review allocations to the Department and, as customary, consultation with Community Pharmacy England.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of workforce levels on the ability of community pharmacies to meet service demands.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England, which represents all pharmacy contactors including independent pharmacies. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, namely over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.The resilience of United Kingdom supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. On 15 August 2025, the Government published a policy paper, Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines. We will continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other stakeholders across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver these actions. Regarding the pharmacy workforce, as private businesses pharmacy employers have a clear role to ensure staff levels are adequate to deliver commissioned NHS services. The annual community pharmacy workforce survey provides data on current workforce levels. The survey is an important tool to help inform workforce planning for employers and NHS integrated care boards. The Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey data is available at the following link:https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/09aa8f38-547a-46b7-a117-2cb710ad939b/https-www-hee-nhs-uk-our-work-pharmacy-community-pharmacy-workforce-surveyWe will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan by the end of 2025. This will look at how healthcare professionals can work at the top of their skills, and ask what workforce we need, what they should do, where they should be deployed and what skills they should have.To support pharmacy employers develop their staff and deliver quality NHS services, NHS England provides several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes independent prescriber training, clinical examination skills, and training the next generation of education supervisors.

What steps his Department is taking to reform the (a) procurement and (b) supply chain of medications to (i) ensure timely availability and (ii) reduce shortages at community pharmacies.

The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages.As outlined in our recently published policy paper, ‘Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines’, the Government is committed to building on the important actions already underway across the system to minimise disruption for patients and enhance resilience in our supply chains. The publication includes a number of actions, including:consulting on better reporting of supply issues;consulting on pharmacist flexibilities to allow pharmacists to supply an alternative if they do not have the exact prescribed item available, under certain circumstances;publishing information guides for patients, community pharmacies and general practices about what to do when faced with supply issues; andproviding shortage information at the point of prescribing in general practice.We will continue to engage with community pharmacy, industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver these actions.