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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2026 to UIN 8527, when she plans to assess the financial impact of FSA charges on abattoirs.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra does not plan to assess the potential financial impact of FSA charges. The FSA is responsible for setting and reviewing its charging framework, which includes considering any impacts on abattoirs.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding she will make available for flood defences in each of the next five years for (a) Witham constituency and (b) Essex.

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

This Government is investing at least £10.5 billion until 2036 to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences, protecting communities from the devastating impacts of climate change. Through the largest flood programme in history, this record investment will benefit nearly 900,000 properties.

The list of schemes receiving funding for 2026/27 was published in March and can be found here.

Projects to receive future government funding will be agreed in the usual way, on an annual basis, through the Environment Agency’s annual refresh process, which includes local representation from Regional Flood and Coastal Committees.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer given 17 March 2026 to Question 119262 on Gibraltar: UK relations with EU, whether an economic assessment of the impact of introducing transaction taxes has been undertaken.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

There has been no change in the position since the previous occasions on which the Rt Hon Member has asked these questions (119258, 119262, 119263), and I therefore refer her back to the most recent answers that she received, on 17 March.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2026 to Question 119258 on Gibraltar: UK relations with EU, what progress she has made on establishing a definition of a political offence.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

There has been no change in the position since the previous occasions on which the Rt Hon Member has asked these questions (119258, 119262, 119263), and I therefore refer her back to the most recent answers that she received, on 17 March.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her (i) Irish and (ii) EU counterparts regarding the Aughinish Alumina refinery and reported links to Putin.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Further to the answer provided on 11 June in response to Question 7960, the Foreign Secretary met her Irish counterpart on 22 June, and discussed the efforts both countries are making to support Ukraine, and maximise pressure on Russia's war economy.

The UK remains committed to working closely with allies and partners around the world, including the EU and other European partners, to amplify the impact and strength of our sanctions, and economic pressure on Russia.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2026 to Question 119263 on Gibraltar: UK relations with EU, what progress has been made in establishing a timetable for the establishment of the joint venture company.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

There has been no change in the position since the previous occasions on which the Rt Hon Member has asked these questions (119258, 119262, 119263), and I therefore refer her back to the most recent answers that she received, on 17 March.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what financial support she has provided to (a) the Government of Mauritius and (b) projects in Mauritius under the Strategic Partnership Framework Programme in 2025/26 and plans for the next five years.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

There has been no change in the position since the previous occasions on which the Rt Hon Member has asked these questions (121712 and 8533), and I therefore refer her back to the most recent answers that she received, on 26 March and 16 June respectively.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Government of Mauritius on the financial contributions that the Government of Mauritius were expecting from the UK-Mauritius Treaty.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

There has been no change in the position since the previous occasions on which the Rt Hon Member has asked these questions (121712 and 8533), and I therefore refer her back to the most recent answers that she received, on 26 March and 16 June respectively.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (i) methodology and (ii) timeframes of (a) housing growth and (b) pupil number growth forecasts did she use when deciding to not to proceed with funding for the proposed Lodge Farm Primary School in Witham.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Mainstream Free School projects were evaluated against consistent criteria on the need for places, value for money, and whether they would provide a distinctive or innovative education offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools. As part of the decision-making process, the department carefully assessed all available evidence, with a particular focus on the evidence of need for additional school places within the relevant planning areas, factoring in housing growth. To inform the decision we used the latest School Capacity survey data and took account of the local authority's longer-term projections. For Lodge Farm Primary and Nursery, the review found that current evidence does not show sufficient need for a new school.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Inclusion Bases she is planning for schools in the Witham constituency in each of the next five years; and what funding is being made available to finance them.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

As a core component of our £3.7 billion high needs capital settlement, the department will invest in a transformational expansion of inclusion bases.

This funding is allocated to local authorities, who know their schools and will determine how best to spend funding to meet local need. In the 2026/27 financial year, Essex has been allocated £21.2 million for high needs provision capital allocation.

Provision is currently inconsistent across the country, which is why we are also going to improve data collection on which schools have inclusion bases so we can make sure that all pupils are given the support they need.

For the first time, departmental guidance has been produced to help settings and local authorities set up and deliver high-quality provision in inclusion bases, as well as support improvement of existing bases.

Found: training LAF recruits and providing new equipment.115 In 2026, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, Dame Priti Patel