Written Statements

Thursday 12th March 2026 Written Statements

Thursday 12 March 2026

National Security and Investment Act 2021: Notifiable Acquisition Regulations

Thursday 12th March 2026 Written Statements

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Darren Jones)]

I am today publishing the Government’s response to the consultation on the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (Notifiable Acquisition) (Specification of Qualifying Entities) Regulations 2021.

On 22 July 2025, the Government launched a 12-week consultation on the NARs, which set out the areas of the economy subject to mandatory notification under the NSI Act. The consultation provided stakeholders with the opportunity to share their views on our proposed updates to the NARs. Within each schedule of the NARs, our proposals sought to reduce scope where possible, increase scope where necessary and improve clarity for businesses. The consultation closed on 14 October 2025.

Respondents largely supported the proposed changes, including creating stand-alone semiconductors and critical minerals schedules and adding water as a new area. Many stakeholders suggested that some definitions, such as artificial intelligence and critical suppliers to Government, remained too broad or technically complex. Most respondents also requested clearer and more extensive guidance across the NARs.

I would like to thank all respondents for providing thoughtful, thorough and constructive feedback.

Following careful consideration of the feedback received, the Government will:

Make further drafting changes to the following updated schedules to reduce capturing low-risk notifications where possible: critical minerals, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and communications;

Make further minor amendments to the following updated schedules to clarify scope and definitions: critical suppliers to Government, data infrastructure, energy and suppliers to the emergency services;

Finalise the water schedule;

Keep the updated advanced materials and synthetic biology schedules broadly as they are, to ensure that emerging technologies and the diverse uses of these are captured; and

Provide updated and more detailed guidance for the majority of the schedules consulted on, alongside the defence schedule, to address topics frequently raised in feedback.

These reforms will ensure that the NARs continue to capture emerging national security risks proportionately while getting out of the way of secure investment, unlocking economic growth across the UK.

I intend to lay secondary legislation to update the NARs in due course.

[HCWS1394]

Service Police Complaints Commissioner Annual Report 2024: MOD Response

Thursday 12th March 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Veterans and People (Louise Sandher-Jones)]

I am pleased to place in the Library of the House today the Ministry of Defence’s formal response to the Service Police Complaints Commissioner’s annual report for 2024.

The commissioner’s report assesses the delivery of their functions and the work of the office in 2024. The response sets out the MOD’s comments on the report and approach to each of the four new recommendations made by the commissioner.

The MOD values the strong, independent oversight that the commissioner brings to the service police complaints process and is committed to having a system that our personnel can have trust and confidence in.

Attachments can be viewed online at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-03-12/HCWS1396

[HCWS1396]

IEA Co-ordinated Oil Stock Release: UK Participation

Thursday 12th March 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)]

My thoughts are with British citizens and those across the world affected by the events in the middle east of recent days. Since the conflict began, we have seen Iran target energy production and export infrastructure across the Gulf. Traffic in the strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas is shipped, has declined very significantly, and the Iranian regime has issued reckless and unjustified threats to all ships using it. As a result, we are seeing significant disruption to international fossil fuel markets. While the UK’s energy supplies remain resilient and stable because of our diversity of supply, we are exposed to global oil and gas prices. This is yet another example of why we must end our reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets and switch to clean, home-grown energy. We are accelerating towards clean power by 2030, which will protect bill payers from future fossil fuel shocks and bring down bills.

Over the last week, I have had multiple meetings with the executive director of the International Energy Agency, with counterparts in the Gulf and the G7, and with our major UK oil and gas companies. The G7 Energy Ministers’ meeting and the exceptional IEA governing board on 10 March were crucial opportunities to assess security of supply and market conditions, and the response available to Governments.

Following the IEA governing board, and reflecting the global market conditions, members, including the UK, decided to take co-ordinated action to release emergency oil stocks. IEA members will release a total of 400 million barrels to the market. The UK will contribute the requested 13.5 million barrels, reflecting our share of oil consumption across IEA members.

The UK’s participation in this co-ordinated action demonstrates our commitment to the stability of global energy supplies and protecting consumers. This is an appropriate measure, taken alongside IEA partners, to protect bill payers and our economy while the situation in the middle east continues. Although co-ordinated action on an oil stock release is an important step towards stability, we are clear that ensuring the safe transit of tankers through the strait of Hormuz is the crucial enduring solution.

I would like to thank the IEA for its co-ordination and expert analysis, underlining its vital role in global energy security, and fellow IEA members for their allyship and collective resolve.

[HCWS1395]

NHS Mental Health Spending

Thursday 12th March 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

Today, I am publishing the annual statement for NHS mental health spend. The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a statutory requirement to publish a statement setting out expectations for NHS mental health services spending before the end of each financial year.

The Government are committed to improving and supporting the nation’s mental health, focused on delivering better outcomes rather than just inputs—giving people the right support, at the right time. This priority runs consistently through our manifesto, the 10-year health plan and NHS England’s medium-term planning framework. We recognise that more must be done to reduce unacceptable waits and ensure services meet the needs of the population. That is why the medium-term planning framework sets such ambitious goals for integrated care boards over the next three years to drive improvements across mental health services, including putting mental health support in every school by 2029, expanding NHS talking therapies and individual placement support, and reducing the number of inappropriate out-of-area placements by the end of March 2027.

The Government have already taken action to improve mental health care, including through the Mental Health Act 2025, which ensures more personalised and compassionate care for people with severe mental illness. I have also launched an independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, so that we can build an improved system that prevents mental ill health and delivers improved outcomes. Later this year, we will publish a new modern service framework that will set out what excellent care should look like for people with severe mental illness. Alongside this, we are confronting the root causes of mental ill health through cross-Government action, including through our suicide prevention strategy and men’s health strategy, and I fully support the efforts of the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology to make the online world safer for children.

On funding, real-terms spending on mental health continues to increase year on year, reflecting this Government’s commitment to improving mental health services. For 2026-27, mental health spending is forecast to reach a record £16.1 billion, up from £15.7 billion in 2025-26. This represents a real-terms increase of around £140 million compared with 2025-26. Real-terms growth in budgets will enable continued delivery of the ambitions set out in the 10-year health plan and the medium-term planning framework.

Spending for 2026-27 also includes ringfenced service development funding: firstly, to expand access to NHS talking therapies and individual placement and support, ensuring we reach those most in need while also supporting economic growth; and secondly, for accelerating the expansion of mental health support teams in schools and colleges to 100% coverage by 2029.

We are also making significant capital investment over the spending review period. Some £473 million of mental health capital funding has been made available over 2026-27 to 2029-30, as set out in NHS England’s capital guidance, published in November. This funding is available to systems to invest in community-based mental health centres, establish mental health emergency departments and reduce inappropriate out-of-area placements and locked inpatient rehabilitation.

Critically, financial safeguards remain in place. I am pleased to update the House that in 2025-26, all integrated care boards are forecast to meet the mental health investment standard, which sets a minimum rate of growth in annual spend on mental health services. These figures are based on data up to December, as full-year data are not yet available. To maintain this progress, the Government are requiring all integrated care boards to meet the mental health investment standard over the next three years. As this statement must be issued before the start of the new financial year, the figures for 2026-27 represent the best current estimates, based on projections that take account of the medium-term planning framework allocations published on 17 November 2025.

The proportion of overall NHS spend allocated to mental health in 2026-27 is forecast to be 8.4%, 0.28 percentage points lower than in 2025-26. This is a consequence of significant additional investment in other core areas, including those that benefit mental health services such as the substantial amounts going into NHS technology and digital transformation, general practice, community-based services, and neighbourhood health centres. These system-wide improvements are focused on fixing the fundamentals of the NHS and, although they are not counted in pure mental health service spend, will deliver significant benefits for mental health services and patients. There are also important areas of mental health-related expenditure not captured in the share of spend figure, such as prescribing mental health medication, continuing healthcare and NHS England’s investment in training the mental health workforce.