Written questions by Dhesi.

How many vacancies are currently within HM Prison and Probation Service.

HM Prison and Probation Service holds required staffing levels which are subject to regular amendment and managed at a local and regional level. As a result of this discretion HMPPS does not present vacancy data due to variability in required staffing levels.HM Prison and Probation does, however, publish indicative vacancies in the HMPPS Workforce stats: HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: June 2025 - GOV.UK.

What the median length of service was for prison officers in the latest period for which data is available.

The median length of service for all band 3-5 prison officers in post on 30 June 2025 was 5.2 years.The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS, and therefore the median presented excludes experience in other roles, including in private prisons. Band 3-5 officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a screening programme to detect undiagnosed heart defects in young people.

In the United Kingdom, national screening programmes are introduced based on the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population and targeted screening and which supports implementation.The UK NSC last reviewed screening for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in people under the age of 39 years old in 2019 and concluded that population screening should not be offered. Further information is available at the following link:https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/The UK NSC is currently examining the evidence for SCD screening and will open a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on this in due course.

What the average number of (a) prisoners held and (b) staff employed by HM Prison Service was in each of the last eight years.

Detailed statistics on the number of offenders in custody are published quarterly, including for the last eight years, and are available here: Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK. The average annual population can be found in Table 1_A_3 of the Annual Prison Population tables, published each July, and the June 30 snapshot population (typically used to represent the population in a particular calendar year) can be found in table 1_A_1.The quarterly HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) workforce statistics includes headcount and Full Time Equivalent figures, as well as annual average staff in post figures for HMPPS staff. The latest data in the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics covers the period up to the end of June 2025, and figures back to 2010 are available here: HM Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics - GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has been made of the potential impact of fireworks on the welfare of (a) livestock and (b) pets.

No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of fireworks on animal welfare. However, the Government is continuing to engage with animal welfare stakeholders, businesses, consumer groups and charities on the impacts of fireworks, to inform any future action.

What steps she is taking to help reduce crimes against (a) endangered species and (b) other wildlife.

Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime, including in rural areas, and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.This financial year, we are continuing to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit who provide intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to forces and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime.They are also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity, tackling the illegal trade of endangered species.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has taken steps to help support residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands in their response to Hurricane Melissa.

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement published on 4 November on the UK's response to Hurricane Melissa.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy for the UK to advocate against a policy of Ukrainian appeasement towards Russia in diplomatic discussions with all other countries, for as long as it remains Ukraine's position to oppose appeasement.

The UK is focussed on ensuring Ukraine gets the support it needs to defend itself against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, and on ramping up the pressure on Putin to force him to engage in meaningful talks that result in a just and lasting peace. We are united with partners that the fighting should stop immediately, that the current line of contact should be the starting point for negotiations, and that international borders must not be changed by force.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the UK Government will continue it’s policy not to place pressure on Ukraine to adopt a policy of appeasement against Russia.

The UK is focussed on ensuring Ukraine gets the support it needs to defend itself against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, and on ramping up the pressure on Putin to force him to engage in meaningful talks that result in a just and lasting peace. We are united with partners that the fighting should stop immediately, that the current line of contact should be the starting point for negotiations, and that international borders must not be changed by force.

What steps he is taking to help increase trade between the UK and Canada.

Canada is a close ally and valued partner of the UK, with the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) underpinning our bilateral trade, which was worth £30 billion in the 12 months to June 2025, up 15% in current prices on the previous 12 months. In June, our Prime Ministers issued a Joint Statement making it clear we want to enhance this important relationship in a number of areas – including on trade, defence, digital, quantum, and critical minerals. They established the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group with the objective of growing bilateral trade, including by addressing existing market access barriers and building on existing arrangements.

If he will list the media organisations given advance sight of the Strategic Defence Review prior to its publication.

As the hon. Member will be aware, the Secretary of State for Defence has been determined to reset the relationship between Parliament and the Ministry of Defence, increasing transparency and openness. The Department sought to reflect this determination for the publication of the Strategic Defence Review, and to build on the approach made for previous defence reviews. On the day of the launch, we offered embargoed copies of the Strategic Defence Review to key stakeholders, including the House of Commons Defence Committee, media organisations and others. This was done in good faith, reflecting the contribution by stakeholders to the first-of-its-kind review. We therefore invited the Defence Correspondents Association and several additional outlets to cover UK national media.

What steps he is taking to increase the provision of real time information on a) civilian and b) emergency services air traffic to military jets during low altitude training exercises.

The primary measure in open airspace remains airmanship and the 'see and avoid' principle. There are a range of measures already in place to provide additional real time information on civilian air traffic during low level training. This includes communication with Air Traffic Control and the Low Flying Booking Service, datalinks, information from aircraft transponders and increasingly sophisticated on-board sensors and surveillance equipment.

What criteria were used to determine which (a) private companies and their representatives and (b) media organisations and journalists received advance sight of the Strategic Defence Review.

We invited the Defence Correspondents Association and several additional outlets to cover UK national media. We also invited companies and associations who are part of the joint Ministry of Defence-Cabinet Office Strategic Partnering Programme, alongside a larger set of key industry stakeholders.

What information her Department holds on the number of arrests that have been made following police use of facial recognition technology.

The Home Office does not hold data on the number of arrests made following the police’s use of facial recognition technology. The department is, however, funding national evaluation to understand the impact of facial recognition on police and crime outcomes, and its relationship to public trust and confidence.Where police forces are using live facial recognition technology, the number of arrests made following each deployment are published on their respective websites.

If he will list the private sector organisations given advance sight of the Strategic Defence Review prior to its publication.

As the hon. Member will be aware, the Secretary of State for Defence has been determined to reset the relationship between Parliament and the Ministry of Defence, increasing transparency and openness. The Department sought to reflect this determination for the publication of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), and to build on the approach made for previous defence reviews. On the day of the launch, we offered embargoed copies of the SDR to key stakeholders, including the House of Commons Defence Committee, certain industry representatives and others. This was done in good faith, reflecting the contribution by stakeholders to the first-of-its-kind review. The list of industry representatives that read the SDR in this manner is below:Group 1MBDA ThalesLeidos Rolls-RoyceAirbus Defence & Space BAE SystemsLeonardo BabcockLockheed Martin ADSBoeing Defence UK techUKQinetiQ MakeUK Group 2Adarga Ltd Lockheed MartinADS Make UKAirbus MDBAAnduril MicrosoftAsia Group MitreAtlas-Elektronik Newton EuropeBabcock NortalBAE Systems Northrup GrummanBoeing PalantirCallen-Lenz QinetiQCapewell RaytheonCGI RheinmetallChemring Rolls RoyceDecision Analysis Services SAABDXC SercoElbit Systems Society of Maritime InstitutesFujitsu Spirit AerosystemsGeneral Dynamics TechUKGinkgo Bioworks Tetra TechHanwha ThalesHelsing AI The MTCHVM Catapult UK DSCL3 Harris Ultra MaritimeLeidos Leonardo

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to establish new statutory action standards for PFAS in drinking water.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate published a report on 26 February 2025 recommending revisions to some of the parameters listed in the drinking water regulations; this included a new standard for PFAS. Defra and the DWI will work together to consider potential regulatory updates to England’s drinking water quality legislation based on these recommendations. DWI have issued guidance to water companies on PFAS. Concentrations of ‘sum of 48 PFAS’ reported as greater than 0.1 micrograms (or 100 nanograms) must be reported to the DWI as a water quality event and all necessary actions to reduce concentrations below this value must be taken. There is no evidence of PFAS above 0.1 micrograms (or 100 nanograms) in drinking water supplies.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to produce a chemicals strategy.

The delivery of a Chemicals Strategy was a commitment included in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) 2023. Defra’s future approach to chemicals management will be set out in the revised EIP.

What steps his Department is taking to improve public preparedness for emergencies.

Advice for the general public on how to prepare for emergencies is published at GOV.UK/Prepare, which provides simple and effective steps that individuals, households and communities can take to be more prepared for a range of emergencies. The Prepare website was included in the message sent to tens of millions of mobile devices across the country in September as part of the successful test of the Emergency Alerts systems. The Government is currently considering what further public communications activities might support improvements to public preparedness for emergencies. We published the first annual UK Public Survey of Risk Perception, Resilience and Preparedness in July 2025. The results are being used to inform the development of future public preparedness communications and to monitor trends.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to create a national inventory to (a) capture and (b) report sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

This Government is actively considering its approach to managing the risks posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and progressing work on PFAS measures. To better understand legacy PFAS pollution, the Environment Agency (EA) has undertaken a risk screening project to identify potential PFAS sources which provides crucial information for the EA and its stakeholders to investigate and mitigate these risk issues.

If she will ask the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Kenton Beasley.

Unfortunately, although the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency had prepared a reply to the coroner, an oversight meant it was not sent as intended. I can confirm that the DVLA has now responded to the coroner on 24 October.