Andrew Murrison

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, my noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, and other members of the Ministerial team at the department regularly meet with further education colleges and their representatives. There have been several recent meetings which have touched on funding.

The UK–Morocco Association Agreement provides the framework for our £4.6 billion annual bilateral trade relationship, including trade in agri‑food products. Under Article 18 of the Agreement, both parties committed to meet and consider further tariff liberalisation for agriculture and fisheries products. Three rounds of discussions have taken place, most recently in October 2025. Both sides have agreed to work towards a mutually beneficial and balanced outcome.

As part of the wider approach to strengthening agri‑food trade with North Africa, we are also engaging with partners such as Egypt and Tunisia to ensure our agreements remain modern, balanced and supportive of UK producers and consumers. These discussions reflect our commitment to deepening trade relationships across the region.

Any future changes to our trading arrangements will be designed to support UK producers, strengthen the resilience of our food supply chain and ensure that consumers continue to have access to a wide range of affordable, high‑quality food.

The UK–Morocco Association Agreement provides the framework for our £4.6 billion annual bilateral trade relationship, including trade in agri‑food products. Under Article 18 of the Agreement, both parties committed to meet and consider further tariff liberalisation for agriculture and fisheries products. Three rounds of discussions have taken place, most recently in October 2025. Both sides have agreed to work towards a mutually beneficial and balanced outcome.

As part of the wider approach to strengthening agri‑food trade with North Africa, we are also engaging with partners such as Egypt and Tunisia to ensure our agreements remain modern, balanced and supportive of UK producers and consumers. These discussions reflect our commitment to deepening trade relationships across the region.

Any future changes to our trading arrangements will be designed to support UK producers, strengthen the resilience of our food supply chain and ensure that consumers continue to have access to a wide range of affordable, high‑quality food.

The UK–Morocco Association Agreement provides the framework for our £4.6 billion annual bilateral trade relationship, including trade in agri‑food products. Under Article 18 of the Agreement, both parties committed to meet and consider further tariff liberalisation for agriculture and fisheries products. Three rounds of discussions have taken place, most recently in October 2025. Both sides have agreed to work towards a mutually beneficial and balanced outcome.

As part of the wider approach to strengthening agri‑food trade with North Africa, we are also engaging with partners such as Egypt and Tunisia to ensure our agreements remain modern, balanced and supportive of UK producers and consumers. These discussions reflect our commitment to deepening trade relationships across the region.

Any future changes to our trading arrangements will be designed to support UK producers, strengthen the resilience of our food supply chain and ensure that consumers continue to have access to a wide range of affordable, high‑quality food.

The Department plans to publish the third Road Investment Strategy in March 2026, and this will include the latest position and proposed next steps in response to findings of National Highways M4 Dorset Coast Strategic Study.

Most train operating companies publish on their website Delay Repay compensation data on the number of claims submitted, the number of claims approved and the value of these claims. Delay Repay compensation is paid for eligible delays regardless of the reason for the delay. See below, for the most recent rail period available, the relevant data for Southeastern, South Western Railway, Northern and TransPennine Trains and a link to their website.

We are unable to provide London North Eastern Railway’s (LNER’s) data as it is not something it currently publishes on its website. The figures provided below from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) covers a period longer than one month and is also the number of claims closed, not received, or approved. We have included its approval rate, along with the link to the ORR data.

LNER - 05/01/25 to 31/03/25 - 117,948 Claims Closed – Approval Rate of 79.5 per cent. https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/passenger-experience/delay-compensation-claims/.

The Government has no plans for enhancements to the West of England line at this time. Government investment priorities for rail enhancements in England and Wales will be set out following the conclusion of the Spending Review next month.

Services operated by South Western Railway, which operates the West of England line, will transfer into public ownership when their contract expires on 25 May 2025. Under public ownership, passenger services will be operated in the interests of passengers, not shareholders.

Bringing train operations into public ownership is the first step in the Government’s plans for wider rail reform. The Railways Bill will be introduced later this session, which will enable the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR). GBR will have the tools and operational independence it needs to plan and run the rail system on a long-term basis to deliver for passengers and freight customers.

Through these reforms we will deliver better quality services for passengers and freight customers, resulting in fewer delays and a timetable that better serves their needs.

The Oxford-Cambridge Arc represents a strategic growth corridor with the potential to facilitate sustainable economic, social, and environmental development for the region, and its impact on the transport system is multi-modal. It is recognised that additional analytical work will be necessary to comprehensively assess the interdependencies and areas of alignment with parallel studies, including the M4 to Dorset corridor study.

The apprenticeship ‘National achievement rate tables’ are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/

Apprenticeship retention and achievement rates for cyber security apprenticeships can be found here:

• 2021/22 to 2023/24 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c4ef515c-602b-41dc-8709-08de69749f74

• 2018/19 to 2020/21 academic years are published in an underlying file accompanying the release: Apprenticeship Achievement Rates Standards and Frameworks

We do not produce data on the number of employers who have offered cyber security apprenticeships.

The apprenticeship ‘National achievement rate tables’ are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/

Apprenticeship retention and achievement rates for cyber security apprenticeships can be found here:

• 2021/22 to 2023/24 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c4ef515c-602b-41dc-8709-08de69749f74

• 2018/19 to 2020/21 academic years are published in an underlying file accompanying the release: Apprenticeship Achievement Rates Standards and Frameworks

We do not produce data on the number of employers who have offered cyber security apprenticeships.

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) places duties on employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises (the Responsible Person) to report work-related fatalities, certain injuries, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses). Reports are made via a dedicated RIDDOR submission form.

An electrocution that occurred during window cleaning being carried out as a ‘work activity’ (as opposed to by the homeowner) would be reportable under RIDDOR as a work-related fatality.

HSE collects information on deaths from contact with electricity in the category of ‘building and industrial cleaning activities’. However, it does not collect specific information relating to electrocutions caused by the use of water-fed poles in window cleaning.

I refer the hon. Member to the previous reply PQ 5554

There are no plans to make such an assessment.

The precise treatment of compensation payments depends on the details of the individual scheme (whether industrial, military or other) will depend on the benefit concerned. Tax treatment is a matter for HMRC not DWP.

The Department’s expenditure with external suppliers of translation or interpretation services from 1 October 2024 to 1 October 2025 was £32,442.

New artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are being developed that have the potential to improve healthcare delivery and to provide significant cost savings to the National Health Service. One example is the use of automated voice to text tools, which use generative AI to listen to and transcribe patient notes.

Currently, there are ongoing assessments of the use of these tools in the NHS as these technologies could help ease the administrative burden faced by staff and make systems more efficient. Several NHS trusts are running trials, including a multi-site assessment of the impact of using automated transcription software. The NHS AI team is monitoring these developments and developing guidance for the responsible use of these tools. This guidance will be informed by the Government’s broader guidance on the use of Generative AI in the public sector.

There are strict safeguards in place throughout the NHS to protect data. All providers of services which handle patient data must protect that data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Data Protection Act 2018, and every health organisation is required to appoint a Caldicott Guardian to advise on the protection of people’s health and care data, and ensure it is used properly. This includes where AI is used in relation to patient records.

To mitigate the likelihood and severity of any potential harm to individuals arising from use of data in AI, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has developed detailed AI guidance which provides an overarching view of data protection, including Data Protection Impact Assessments and UK GDPR. It has also produced an AI toolkit to support organisations auditing compliance of their AI-based technologies. NHS bodies are expected to make use of this guidance and toolkit.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 February in response to Question 110708.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 February in response to Question 110708.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 February in response to Question 110708.

The UK has a long history of providing assistance to other nations in the security and justice fields and continues to do so around the world. UK training courses promote British values, including human rights, democracy, and compliance with international humanitarian law.

The Ministry of Defence decided to pause future Israeli participation on UK training and education courses until the situation in Gaza and the West Bank had been satisfactorily addressed. Since the ceasefire we have continued to monitor the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, and the Government will keep this decision under review.

All appointees for Ambassador and High Commissioner roles are subject to the same standard of background and vetting procedures. Pre-posting processes, including security vetting, are conducted for each appointment. We do not comment on the details of individual clearances or national security as a matter of course.

The Chancellor has recently announced the government’s commitment to unlock growth in the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor and the high potential sectors within it, building on the proposed route of East West Rail, as part of the government’s Plan for Change to kickstart economic growth.

The Oxford-Cambridge region is home to world leading universities and globally renowned science and technology firms. But the region's true potential is being held back by several constraints, including poor transport connections and unaffordable housing and we need to go further to address the key barriers to growth across this region to deliver benefits for the whole country. This region already accounts for over 7% of total UK GDP, contributing over £40 billion to the UK economy, and fully realising its potential could add a further £78 billion by 2035 according to industry experts.

More broadly, the government has extended the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for a further year, providing £900 million for local authorities to invest in local priorities right across the UK. This includes almost £1.9 million for Wiltshire in 2025-26.

The UK and Ireland work closely together on shared security challenges, but the UK does not provide defence cover for Ireland, nor does it deploy security assets to protect Irish subsea infrastructure. The Ministry of Defence has not received any requests from Ireland for security support during their presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Matters relating to Ireland's defence posture and expenditure rest with the Irish authorities, and any enquiries on those issues should be directed to them.

The Ministry of Defence remains firmly committed to ensuring that our Service personnel are equipped with appropriate and sufficient protective equipment. As part of this commitment, we are delivering an update to body armour for UK personnel through the Tactical Ballistic Plates (TBP) project.

Anthropometric data was used in the design of TBP. Plates will be available in four sizes, to better fit a broader range of personnel, including women.

A comprehensive range of options will be assessed ahead of the TBP contract award, which is currently scheduled for December 2026. This evaluation will ensure that the new armour achieves the optimal balance between fit and the protection required for all our personnel. In-service dates will be confirmed once the contract has been awarded and the delivery schedule is finalised.

Data on UK defence exports is published annually by UK Defence and Security Exports (UK DSE), now National Armaments Directorate (NAD). They present export figures only at regional level, with no disaggregated data available for Ireland specifically.

The UK and Ireland work closely together on shared security challenges, but the UK does not provide defence cover for Ireland, nor does it deploy security assets to protect Irish subsea infrastructure. The Ministry of Defence has not received any requests from Ireland for security support during their presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Matters relating to Ireland's defence posture and expenditure rest with the Irish authorities, and any enquiries on those issues should be directed to them.

Since 2017, a total of 158 members of the Irish Defence Forces have undertaken training on UK Ministry of Dfence-run courses. All costs have been fully funded by Ireland, including course fees and associated expenses.