Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 62853 on National Security: Reviews, when he plans to introduce the State Threats Proscription-like Tool.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

Following a review of state threats and terrorism legislation by Jonathan Hall KC, the Home Secretary pledged to take forward his recommendations.

This included a proscription-style tool to tackle state-based security threats in the UK. The Home Secretary has committed to introduce legislation to this effect as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the scope of Project WAVELL is.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Project Wavell is the Army’s means to deliver force development transformation to 2030 and beyond towards an Army designed and organised for high-intensity warfighting. This is being implemented through an incremental approach that sequences delivery against the changing operational demand.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the scope of Project ASGARD is.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

ASGARD is working to deliver a step change in lethality for land forces through a software-defined, network enabled, targeting web that will directly link into the Defence Targeting web, driving targeting at a rate unmatched through traditional processes.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's news story entitled British Army to increase lethality over the next decade while Royal Navy steps up innovation in NATO, published on 5 June 2025, what metrics will be used to assess the Army’s baseline for its current lethality; and what the level of each metric will be in order for the Army to have achieved its target of increasing lethality ten-fold.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry gave him on 12 June 2025, to Question 57781.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether a Best Start Family Hub will be located within the (a) Huntingdon constituency and (b) Huntingdonshire District Council local authority area.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and thrive is the foundation of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

We will spend close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. We will fund Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to ensure that children and families who need support the most, especially those from low-income backgrounds or with additional vulnerabilities, can access it. These hubs will be open to all families but will be located in disadvantaged communities where support is most needed, ensuring services are both inclusive and targeted.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Sun-Ways project in Switzerland, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using photovoltaic panels between rail tracks for electricity generation.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is committed to working with industry to radically increase our existing solar capacity by 2030 through a variety of methods. Rail track solar could be a feasible solution. However, there are some current obstacles that may inhibit the deployment of this technology in all areas. We will continue to look into these issues with Network Rail to determine what is possible.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many switch-off orders have been issued to solar power generating facilities by the National Energy System Operator since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system, which includes managing constraints. NESO publishes total balancing costs.

Constraints are a natural part of operating an efficient electricity system and electricity systems around the world use the constraint payment model. Government is working to reduce constraints and improve energy security and resilience by accelerating the building of new electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity on the system.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many EHCPs were issued in Cambridgeshire in each year between 2014-15 and 2024-25 inclusive.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Information on the number of education, health and care (EHC) plans issued by Cambridgeshire is available as part of the statistical release which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.

This includes information at a local authority level and covers the calendar years from 2019 to 2024. Information for earlier years is available as part of the 2024 edition of the publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2024.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when (a) was the most recent and (b) is the next scheduled meeting of the George Cross Committee.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The most recent George Cross Committee meeting took place on Thursday 13 March 2025. We do not release the dates of committee meetings ahead of time. This ensures minimising the chance of lobbying of committee members.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 15669 on Ajax Vehicles, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of equipping infantry battalions with Ares.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Army continues to undergo a combined programme of work to ensure our Land Forces will have the lethality, protection and mobility to fight and win against any adversary; and to support the transformation of the Army's two divisions and Corps Headquarters committed to NATO's Strategic Reserve Corps. As part of this the Army intends to reorganise its Heavy Forces units in 3 Division, such that all four would become Armoured Infantry Units based on the Ajax and Boxer family of vehicles. Further detail will be provided in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the UK-France Nuclear Steering Group will be convened; and who the participants will be.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The UK France Nuclear Steering Group will be chaired by the Presidency of the Republic on the French side and by the Cabinet Office on the UK side. It will include participants from other Ministries and organisations as required. The first meeting will take place in the autumn.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the level of use of infra-red reflective number plates.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of infra-red number plates. Work is ongoing to quantify the number of illegal number plates that are in circulation. The evidence gathered will support future initiatives needed to address this issue.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications for the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund were made in Cambridgeshire in each year between 2014-15 and 2024-25 inclusive.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Since the 2017/18 financial year, all local authorities have been required to have a special educational needs inclusion fund (SENIF) for all eligible children for the entitlements and who have special educational needs.

Local authorities should establish their SENIFs using funding from the early years block and/or the high needs block of their dedicated schools grant, considering pressures on high needs and early years budgets locally.

The department gives local authorities the autonomy to set SENIF budgets and to decide on eligibility criteria locally, as they are best placed to meet local need. The department does not collect information on how many applications are made to local authorities.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 66727 on Military Alliances: France, which Ministers will attend the first meeting.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The UK-France Nuclear Steering Group meetings will be convened and attended by senior government officials representing the UK Cabinet Office and the Presidency of the French republic as well as other Ministries and organisations. The Steering Group will regularly update senior UK and French Ministers on the items under discussion. Ministerial discussions between the UK and France will take place as required.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2025 to question 64795 on MBR Acres, what are the nature of the national security concerns regarding the site.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

MBR Acres is a critical part of the UK’s preclinical research infrastructure, which in turn is crucial for domestic pandemic preparedness. Another pandemic is the top rated risk in the National Risk Register and discovery and development of therapeutics and vaccines, which relies on preclinical research, is one of the outcomes of the UK Biological Security Strategy.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the planned block 4 upgrade for F-35B will facilitate the carriage of the (a) Meteor missile system or (b) any other UK-built munitions.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Block 4 modernisation will include the integration of UK-unique weapons and upgrades to air-to-surface and air-to-air weaponry.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been relocated to the UK from Afghanistan under the (a) Afghan relocations and assistance policy, (b) Afghan citizens resettlement scheme and (c) Afghanistan Response Route schemes.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

When the Taleban seized control in 2021, many thousands of people who served and supported our British Armed Forces were left in Afghanistan.

The UK made a commitment to honour the moral obligation we owe to those Afghans who stood with us, there was cross party support for this at the time.

In February 2022, under the previous Government a spreadsheet with names of individual applicants for ARAP – the resettlement scheme for Afghan citizens who worked for or with the UK Armed Forces in Afghanistan – was emailed outside of official government systems.

This was mistakenly thought to contain the names of a small number of applicants, but in fact the email contained personal information linked to c18700 applicants of ARAP and its predecessor scheme, the Ex-Gratia Scheme (EGS). The data related to applications made on or before 7 January 2022.

A very small section of this spreadsheet appeared online on 14th August 2023, which is when the Government first became aware that the MOD's ARAP case working spreadsheet had been mistakenly included with the original email.

The previous government decided to seek an injunction concerning the breach on 25^th August 2023. The High Court granted a super injunction as a result. The previous Government also set up a new secret resettlement route to bring those affected to the UK. Former Ministers started work on this in Autumn 2023 and it was up and running by April 2024.

This Secretary of State then commissioned an independent Policy Review from ex Deputy chief of Defence Intelligence Paul Rimmer. This began earlier this year and concluded and was presented to Ministers in June. The review examined the overall policy context in spring 2025, three years since the data incident and concluded that it appears “highly unlikely” that merely being on the dataset would be grounds for targeting.

As the Defence Secretary outlined in his oral statement dated 15 July 2025, the Rimmer review was a very significant element in the Government’s decision to change policy to close the ARR, though not the sole element. This was not a decision taken lightly. We have now made the matter public so it can be subject to full Parliamentary scrutiny.

From 2021 to the end of June 2025, under the Afghan Resettlement Programme, there have been 13,200 arrivals through the ACRS, 19,000 through ARAP and 3,400 through the ARR. The number of ARR arrivals are included in the overall figures for ARAP, so previous published statistics have presented an accurate picture of total arrivals.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of adopting the 6.8mm calibre on the personal weapon system infrastructure of the Army.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 April 2025 to Question 45196, which explains that Project GRAYBURN is in its concept phase with the aim of identifying and understanding capability requirements. As part of this phase, various rifle calibres are being considered. The implications of a potential calibre change, including infrastructure, will be balanced against performance requirements.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 66338 on George Cross Committee, when the decisions of the George Cross Committee are notified to applicants.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The George Cross Committee assesses all recommendations for civilian gallantry awards. The Committee's recommendations are submitted by the Prime Minister to The King, who awards the honour. If an award is recommended and subsequently approved, those nominated for gallantry awards are asked if they are willing to accept. Unlike the King’s Birthday and New Year Honours Lists, there is no set timeline for notification and publication of gallantry lists.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of approving the use of beyond-line-of-sight drones by police forces.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Drone technology is developing at a rapid pace and decisions on operational equipment are made independently by police forces, who are best placed to assess their own operational needs.

The Home Office and operational partners are working closely across government, including with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport, to support police use of drones and explore the benefits that future drones’ capabilities may provide to police operations. This includes standardising police operations, trialling innovative use of drones to improve police productivity, and supporting the progression of a future operating model for police aviation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 66728 on Ajax Vehicles, which units within 3 Division will be equipped with Ares in the infantry troop carrying role.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Army intends to equip the Regular Infantry Units within 3 (UK) Division with Ares in the infantry troop carrying role: 1 MERCIAN, 1 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, 1 Royal Welsh and 5 Rifles.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has visited (a) Samlesbury and (b) Wharton assembly facilities for (i) F-35 and (ii) Typhoon aircraft since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

These aircraft are an important part of providing security for this country and providing jobs for industry across the UK, and the Secretary of State for Defence hopes to visit these facilities in the near future.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) phones, (b) laptops and (c) other electronic devices have been lost by their Department since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The following table includes the number of lost department-issued devices by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs since 5 July 2024.

Please see below further information relating to lost/stolen devices. To note these figures are provided by Calander year. Also to note, Defra only started separating out Lost/stolen out in 2023.

We are continuing to take steps to reduce the number of instances of lost devices including reviewing our current processes and policies to ensure that devices are handled securely, recorded accurately and returned promptly when no longer required, whilst providing users with the right tools for their job.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 63151 on F-35 Aircraft: In-flight Refuelling, whether the 12 F-35A aircraft ordered have been specified with (a) solid boom and (b) probe-and-drogue refuelling capability.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 4 July 2025 to Question 63066.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many injunctions have been filed by government departments since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

This information is not held by the Cabinet Office.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 65665 on Project ASGARD, what his planned timetable is for delivery of capability through Project ASGARD.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

ASGARD is working to deliver a step change in lethality for land forces through a software-defined, network enabled, targeting web that will directly link into the Defence Targeting web, driving targeting at a rate unmatched through traditional processes.

ASGARD is the British Army's flagship Transformative Capability Initiative. Elements of a prototype software defined deep recce strike complex were tested in May this year. The next iteration of ASGARD, focused at Corps level operations, will be tested in Quarter 2 2026.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential indirect impact of duty harmonisation on the horseracing industry.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The tax treatment of remote gambling is a matter for HM Treasury. Following the conclusion of its recent consultation, we expect that any legislative changes made to gambling duty will be accompanied by a tax information and impact note from HM Treasury, as is standard practice.

The Government recognises the significant contribution horseracing makes to our regional economies and our country’s cultural life. DCMS will continue to meet with racing stakeholders to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for the sport.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of affordability checks on online betting turnover on racing since its introduction.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Gambling Commission introduced financial vulnerability checks in August 2024. These checks use only publicly available data, such as bankruptcy orders, to assess risk of significant financial harm. Financial risk assessments, which will look at a more nuanced picture of financial risk, are being piloted by the Commission to ensure they can be introduced in a frictionless manner. Early findings show that 97% of assessments were frictionless, well above the 80% white paper estimate. The Commission is analysing pilot data and will take a decision on whether to introduce these checks in due course. New financial risk checks would replace current operator affordability checks and will be better for customers, operators and racing.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an estimate of the changes to elector numbers in each constituency following the reduction of the voting age.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

In June 2025, the House of Commons Library published constituency-level estimates of the number of 16 and 17-year-olds across the UK, based on Office for National Statistics data from 2022 for Great Britain and 2023 for Northern Ireland.

These figures provide indicative estimates of the 16 and 17-year-old population and should be treated as approximations rather than precise counts.

The government will publish an Impact Assessment of the proposed policy change alongside forthcoming legislation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the new Defence Research and Evaluation organisation to be fully operational.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

In response to the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) recommendations, and as part of Defence Reform, the department is currently making substantive changes to the end-to-end process for Science, Technology, Innovation, Integration, Acquisition and Support. These changes will ensure Defence: better adopts leading edge research from academia, allies and wider government; works more closely with UK based industry especially SMEs to mature leading edge technology; better leverages the UK’s leading financial sector for the benefit of defence; and catalyses UK based industry to execute differentiating innovation; all at a pace to enable us to react to the threats faced by the nation.

The DRE will be formed by an evolution of Dstl and Defence Science and Technology. There is still design work to be completed and will be announced in due course. The intention remains to focus the organisation on that work that must be done in Government for UK defence and security, including: early-stage research that must be led by officials; maintaining critical national capabilities in essential areas such as chemical and biological defence, novel and unconventional weapons, explosives and energetics and counter-terrorism technology where the market cannot sustain; and ensure Ministry of Defence is an intelligent customer for Science and Technology.

The SDR stated that the department may wish to keep the Dstl brand. Dstl is a widely respected brand internationally and nationally.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2025 to Question 64795 on MBR Acres, what additional support has been provided to Cambridgeshire Constabulary on the national security concerns.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

We keep things under review at this site at all times.

The Government has made a manifesto commitment to phase out animal testing. At present the use of animals in research continues to play a vital part in our understanding of how biological systems work and supports the development of new medicines and medical technologies, for both humans and animals.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2025 to Question 64795 on MBR Acres, what recent assessment she has made of the potential risks to the (a) local and (b) national population from the site.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

We keep things under review at this site at all times.

The Government has made a manifesto commitment to phase out animal testing. At present the use of animals in research continues to play a vital part in our understanding of how biological systems work and supports the development of new medicines and medical technologies, for both humans and animals.

Found: and Bellshill) John Milne (Liberal Democrat; Horsham) David Pinto-Duschinsky (Labour; Hendon) Ben Obese-Jecty

Found: Q283 Ben Obese-Jecty: Can I ask what X’s definition of hate is?