Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the amount of arable land that has seen its land usage change from arable farmland in the last 3 years.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Agricultural land can be taken out of arable cultivation for a variety of reasons, including for agricultural purposes (for example as bare fallow within the annual crop rotations or for temporary cover crops for environmental and soil health benefits). It is therefore not possible to provide accurate data on how much land has been taken out of arable cultivation permanently as this can differ each year.
This table shows the arable crop and uncropped arable land areas:
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
Arable crops (hectares) | 3,454,391 | 3,400,227 | 3,342,341 |
Uncropped arable land (hectares) | 580,662 | 544,610 | 566,034 |
Agricultural land area statistics are available here: Agricultural land use in England - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve teacher recruitment in STEM subjects.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The latest Initial Teacher Training Census (December 2025) reported over 6,800 new postgraduate entrants for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, an increase of 22%. This is the first time that the department’s overall STEM Initial Teacher Training (ITT) target has been met since comparable statistics began in 2012/13.
The overall number of entrants to ITT has also increased, up 13% from the previous year, and we have achieved over 71% of our 6,500 additional teachers pledge.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of (a) asylum seekers and (b) people given indefinite leave to remain who have committed crimes in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering these questions at a disproportionate cost.
Please note that the Home Office does not hold all the data on an individual’s, crimes, convictions, and offences. This information is administered by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Police, who will record the offender’s nationality, although not by immigration status. However, Foreign national offenders (FNOs) are referred to the Home Office for deportation immediately following sentencing.
11,733 FNOs have been returned from the UK under this government (1 July 2024 to 31 July 2026). This is a 41% increase on the last two years of the previous government (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026, when compared to the previous 2-year period), and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure all Royal Navy vessels are kept in a high state of repair.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government inherited Armed Forces that had been hollowed out and underfunded. We are ending that with a focus on warfighting readiness by 2030 and increasing defence spending. The Royal Navy maintains platforms at varying states of readiness reflecting the demands on the service and duties it delivers. This Government is investing billions in new autonomous and uncrewed capabilities alongside world-class crewed platforms. The Hon. Gentleman will be aware that we are constructing new frigates in Scotland, building the Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and developing the future Amphibious Transport Ship with the Netherlands and a new class of standardised vessels with Norway. We are also continuing to strengthen our submarine capability through the Astute and Dreadnought programmes at Barrow, while progressing work on the future SSN-AUKUS submarine programme.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent comparative assessment her Department has made of early cancer diagnosis rates in (a) Ashfield with (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held by the Department.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of expected trends in the level of national food security.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises that risks to food supply are continuously evolving, therefore resilience arrangements are routinely reviewed through a range of monitoring and assessment processes. The UK benefits from a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to respond to disruption. Defra is working with industry and other partners to strengthen resilience and ensure arrangements keep pace with emerging risks. In 2025, the food produced in the UK was equivalent to around 60% of our national food supply, and 72% of the food that can be produced in the UK.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of reliance of the British armed forces on overseas manufacturing.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence is always open to working with international companies, as long as our procurement guidelines are followed and our national security is kept safe. The Department continually assesses overseas dependencies within Defence supply chains and is improving its visibility of these dependencies through supply-chain mapping, programme-level assessments and its Supply Chain Resilience Intelligence Performance Tool (SCRIPT) analytical capability. 85% of MOD’s direct expenditure with industry on manufacturing is for work taking place in the UK.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with stakeholders in the bus industry regarding challenges facing the sector.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ministers and officials at the Department for Transport regularly engage with stakeholders in the bus industry, including bus operators, Local Transport Authorities and representative groups to discuss a wide range of issues affecting the sector.
The Department will continue to work closely with stakeholders to support the delivery of better bus services for passengers.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Navy vessels are operationally ready to be deployed.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer we gave on 19 March 2026 to Question 120766 to the hon. Member for Romford (Mr Rosindell):
The Royal Navy maintains a high state of operational readiness across its core capabilities, including the Continuous At Sea Deterrent, Carrier Strike, frigates, destroyers, submarines, aviation, the Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The Fleet is deployed globally to protect the UK’s security and interests, working alongside allies and partners.
It is important to understand readiness as a constant cycle with ships moving regularly through maintenance, training, deployment and recovery phases. For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not give detailed information on past or current levels of readiness for individual Royal Navy warships.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to protect the Jewish community from antisemitic attacks.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
This Government is committed to tackling antisemitism and protecting Jewish communities. We are clear that all communities should feel safe to practise their faith and participate in public life free from intimidation or fear.
In July 2026, we announced a £251.1 million package over three years to strengthen policing and security arrangements for Jewish communities. The package provides additional police officers in areas with significant Jewish populations, funds surge capacity in Jewish communities around key events and Jewish holidays, supports antisemitism training for officers across England and Wales, strengthens national policing capabilities, and improves the response to online hate crime.
The nine forces receiving dedicated funding under the package have produced delivery plans setting out how they will deliver a sustained uplift in policing presence within communities, and are implementing those plans, including through the deployment of additional officers in neighbourhoods. Increased police support was provided over the recent Jewish High Holy Days to reassure communities.
This builds on the £25 million of immediate funding announced in April 2026 following the terrorist attack in Golders Green to strengthen policing, enhance protective security measures, and provide reassurance to Jewish communities. This included an additional £4 million for the Jewish Community Protective Security (JCPS) Grant, taking the total available for the scheme in 2026/27 to £32.4 million. The grant funds protective security measures including security personnel services, CCTV and alarm systems at synagogues, Jewish educational establishments and other communal locations.
Together, these measures represent a significant commitment to the safety and security of Jewish communities.