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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of projected water supply and demand balances in the East of England to 2050; what estimate she has made of a projected water deficit under Water Resources East planning assumptions; and whether her Department has plans to address a deficit through new reservoirs, water transfers, demand management and regulatory reform.

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

The current Water Resources East plan sets out a series of water company measures, including demand management and leakage reduction interventions, new strategic reservoirs in Lincolnshire and the Fens, coastal desalination in Norfolk and Lincolnshire, and water recycling plants, in Suffolk and Essex.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of a unified, real-time water-level monitoring platform for the Fenland basin to support coordination between the Environment Agency, Internal Drainage Boards and water companies.

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

The Environment Agency routinely shares hydrological information with Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) and water companies, with further live and historic data available via the online Hydrology Data Explorer. Regular liaison over periods of dry weather enables proactive data sharing and shared decision making about water level management.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate has been made of the number of additional members of the UK Active Reserve across each service that will be recruited as a result of the Defence Investment Plan.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Investment Plan has set out how we will be investing over £76 billion on people and veterans over the next four years. The £4.2 billion of funding for the Reserves represents the cost of Reserves pay and allowances.

The MOD does not routinely publish detailed breakdowns of spending for reasons of national security. In addition, individual annual settlements will be subject to planning cycles across the services.

This Government is committed to modernising the Reserve component. The Defence Investment Plan reaffirms the importance of the Reserve Forces to Defence’s future outputs. Work is underway to develop future Reserve structures, improve recruitment and retention, and ensure Reservists are aligned to the demands of modern warfighting and homeland resilience.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of (a) the replacement value of flood defence and water management assets in the Fens, (b) the proportion of those assets expected to reach the end of their design life by 2040 and by 2075, and (c) the capital investment required to maintain and replace those assets over the coming decades.

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

This information is publicly available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fens-2100.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide additional detail on the commitment to protecting time, funding and equipment for Reserves in training in the Defence Investment Plan, including timescales, benchmarks and KPIs.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

This Government remains firmly committed to our Reserve Forces. The Defence Investment Plan sets out how we will invest £4.2 billion on Reserves over the next four years. Individual annual settlements will be determined through Defence planning cycles and considering Service operational requirements.

Reservists are an integral part of the Whole Force, providing critical capabilities, specialist skills and operational support that strengthen Defence's ability to respond to the increasingly complex threats we face. Against a backdrop of heightened global instability and competing demands on Defence resources, we are prioritising activity, improving productivity and ensuring value for money across Defence.

Defence is already taking forward substantial work to develop the detailed implementation arrangements needed to deliver the commitments set out in the Defence Investment Plan. As that work continues, we are ensuring that investment supports Defence's strategic objectives, strengthens military capability and improves readiness across the force.

Defence has protected the activity necessary for reservists to complete their annual training requirements and achieve their Certificate of Efficiency, and the Defence Investment Plan provides a clear commitment for sustained investment in our Reserve Forces.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the announcement of 13 March 2025 on the future of NHS England, how many people have been hired by NHS England since that date; and how many of those recruits were appointed to each non-medical role or staff group.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Since March 2025, the full-time equivalent headcount in NHS England has reduced by 2,053.7.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many jobs at NHS England have been advertised since 13 March 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Since March 2025, the full-time equivalent headcount in NHS England has reduced by 2,053.7.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to respond to Question 124577 from the Rt hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Rt Hon Member to Paragraphs 237-38 of the Guide to Parliamentary Work, most recently updated on 19 November 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to respond to the Question 16875 from the Rt hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I responded to the right hon. Member on 8 September 2026.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-07-08/16875

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what additional equipment will be available to members of the UK Active Reserve as a result of the Defence Investment Plan.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Investment Plan commits £298 billion of investment in Defence over the next four years and includes substantial investment in the capabilities that support the Whole Force, including our Reserves. This includes more than £5 billion for drones and autonomous systems, over £20 billion to increase the Army's lethality through technologies such as long-range missiles, artificial intelligence and armoured vehicles, and over £11 billion to strengthen munitions stockpiles and national production capacity.

These investments follow the Government's Defence Industrial Strategy, strengthening sovereign capability, increasing resilience in supply chains and supporting long-term growth across the UK defence sector.

Members of the Active Reserve train and operate alongside their Regular counterparts and are equipped from the same force structures. The Defence Investment Plan does not allocate a separate equipment budget specifically to the Active Reserve. Reservists will benefit directly from the significant investment being made across Defence to modernise capabilities, improve readiness and ensure our Armed Forces have the equipment they need to meet current and future threats.

Found: Tuesday 19 May 2026 Dame Meg Hillier, in the Chair Debbie Abrahams Tonia Antoniazzi Steve Barclay

Found: as Accounting Officer for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Steve Barclay