Written questions by Anderson.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK’s investment screening regime supports responsible sovereign wealth fund investment.

The UK has close investment relationships with many of the world’s sovereign wealth funds, supporting mutually beneficial, strategic investment into the UK. The National Security and Investment Act (NSIA) 2021 gives the UK Government the power to scrutinise and, where necessary, intervene in a transaction that is captured by the act regardless of the acquirer. Every NSIA transaction is taken on its own merit, on a case-by-case basis. The legislation enables investment into sensitive sectors of our economy while providing robust protections to ensure the UK’s national security is not compromised.

Whether his Department has undertaken analysis of barriers to inward investment from sovereign wealth funds into UK (a) infrastructure and (b) growth sectors.

This government maintains strong relationships with leading sovereign wealth funds, engaging in regular dialogue to understand barriers they face when investing in UK infrastructure and growth sectors. The UK's 10 Year Strategy Infrastructure aims to restore confidence and drive growth with £725 billion for infrastructure, transforming project delivery. The Industrial Strategy White Paper identified key investment barriers including planning delays, infrastructure gaps, regulatory burdens, and skills shortages. Government reforms to address these barriers include the Strategic Sites Accelerator, regulatory innovation, planning improvements, and targeted support for industrial clusters and skills development.

What steps his Department is taking to strengthen the UK’s institutional relationships with major global sovereign wealth funds.

This government expanded the Office for Investment (OfI) including pursuing deeper investment collaboration with global sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in support of our first Modern Industrial Strategy. The OfI manages multi-billion-pound Sovereign and Strategic Investment Partnerships with SWFs and provides a channel for collaboration. The OfI has already facilitated multi-billion-pounds in commitments and multi-billion-pounds in capital deployed from these partners, contributing to growth and prosperity across the country. This effort continues; The Government is sending a senior delegation to the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia later this month to strengthen ties further with Saudi and global SWFs.

What steps his Department plans to take to help ensure that defence industrial co-operation with India supports UK strategic priorities.

The UK and Indian Governments are working together on extensive defence capability collaboration to strengthen supply chain resilience which will feature co-development and co-production of selected capabilities. This aligns with objectives published in both the Strategic Defence Review and the Defence Industrial Strategy. Both countries will enjoy an established portfolio of capabilities across multiple domains, enabling interoperability by our Armed Forces and mutual prosperity for our defence industries.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the new defence agreements with India on UK defence exports.

The recent agreements made with India will positively affect UK defence exports in areas such as maritime electric propulsion and complex weapons. We are also exploring opportunities for further collaboration with India through implementation of a Defence Industrial Roadmap, including in emerging technologies and land mobility platforms.

What assessment he has made of the potential contribution of foreign sovereign wealth funds to the Government’s strategy for attracting long-term investment into the UK economy.

The Government recognises the important role that foreign sovereign wealth funds play in supporting long-term investment in the UK. The UK continues to attract significant investment from sovereign wealth funds, including through strategic partnerships with funds from the Gulf region. This includes a recent £2 billion investment partnership with Bahrain to support sectors such as clean energy, technology, and manufacturing. This investment contributes to economic growth, job creation, and the development of key infrastructure across the country.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that inward investment from India contributes to the UK’s net zero targets.

DBT’s recently published Industrial Strategy sets out the Government’s ambition to be a global leader in clean energy by 2035, doubling investment levels across our frontier clean energy industries to over £30billion per year and creating good jobs across the country. To support this, the Office for Investment acts as a dedicated unit and proactive sales force for the UK, working internationally to secure transformational investment in line with HMGs strategic priorities. It has the commercial knowledge and expertise to originate and land deals, including working to land investment from India.

With reference to the press notice entitled New defence deals with India deepen strategic partnership and boosts UK business, published on 9 October 2025, what estimate his Department has made of the potential value of contracts for defence supply chain companies in (a) the UK and (b) Buckingham and Bletchley constituency following the defence agreements signed with India.

UK defence industry stands to benefit from over £350 million from contracts secured for maritime electric propulsion and Lightweight Multirole Missiles. These initial contracts will incorporate content sourced directly from the UK’s extensive defence supply chain network. The announced deals have the potential to deliver additional agreements in the future, further boosting UK businesses, jobs and growth.

With reference to the press notice entitled World-leading UK higher education sector expands in India and bolsters growth at home, published on 9 October 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the expansion of higher education partnerships in India on the economy.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is pleased that 14 university Vice Chancellors and representatives joined my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, in his recent trip to India in recognition of the increased demand for higher education (HE) in India, which has created an opportunity for UK universities seeking new funding streams. HE is one of the UK’s greatest exports, and international education was worth £32 billion in export revenue in 2022. The UK’s HE sector is set to bring in a £50 million boost over the next five years to the economy as part of a major expansion of British universities in India.

What estimate his Department has made of capital inflows from the United States over the next five years under agreements announced during President Trump's state visit in September 2025.

We have not made any such specific estimate, but the commitments made as part of the state visit will be over the lifetime of this Parliament and beyond.

What recent discussions he has had with his Brazilian counterpart on removing non-tariff barriers to UK exports.

I visited Brazil in September 2025 with the objective of strengthening our two-way trade. I signed agreements on customs, good regulatory practices and export credit aimed at tackling non-tariff barriers. I also progressed discussions on digital trade, mutual recognition arrangements and clean energy cooperation, which are referenced as non-tariff priorities for the UK’s relationship with Brazil in the UK’s new Trade Strategy. I also urged Brazil to ratify the Double Taxation Agreement. This built on discussions that former DBT Secretary of State, The Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP, had with his Brazilian counterpart last year, when they both committed to identifying ways to boost two-way trade by tackling non-tariff barriers.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed UK-Brazil trade measures on small and medium-sized businesses in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The Government is committed to putting small and medium sized businesses at the heart of our Growth Mission. Our recently published plan for small and medium sized businesses sets out a long-term approach for how we will help small and medium sized businesses to grow and realise their export potential. I recently visited Brazil to strengthen our bilateral trade relationship and sign agreements on customs, regulatory cooperation and export credit. We expect these agreements and future collaboration with Brazil to benefit businesses of all sizes across the UK.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement on trade for small and medium-sized enterprises in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Although the Department for Business and Trade has made no such specific assessment, it continuously monitors the impact of leaving the EU on costs to businesses across the UK through our business surveys, ONS reports, and other intelligence sources, as well as through regular direct engagement with exporters. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement allows UK businesses to access the EU market and the EU-UK summit earlier this year identified areas where this can be enhanced.Alongside this, DBT continues to offer a range of support for SMEs, with our Small Business Plan setting out the most comprehensive package of support for SMEs in a generation. This includes Unlock Europe, a programme from UK Export Academy designed to help businesses build relationships with European customers and increase exporting potential to the EU.

What criteria HMRC will use to prioritise enforcement on high-risk tax areas.

HMRC uses a risk-based approach to identify individuals and businesses for investigation, applying civil and criminal powers to tackle avoidance, evasion, and error. In 2024–25, this approach helped protect an estimated £48 billion in tax revenue. Its Strategic Picture of Risk combines data analytics and expert insight to assess key compliance risks. This informs HMRC’s planning, resource allocation, and case selection, using data from tax returns and third-party sources (e.g. banks, online platforms, other departments). Compliance activity is tailored to taxpayer groups such as large businesses, individuals, and suspected tax avoiders or criminals. HMRC prioritises interventions based on their wider impact on tax compliance, economic objectives, and societal harm. HMRC’s compliance approach, Prevent, Promote and Respond, focuses on preventing non-compliance from happening in the first place, and helping customers get their tax right before they submit their return or claim.

How HMRC will measure the potential impact of its digital services on levels of taxpayer compliance.

HMRC has a strategy to become a digital-first organisation with a minimum of 90% of interactions undertaken digitally by 2029 to 2030, as set out in the HMRC Transformation Roadmap. HMRC's Transformation Roadmap - GOV.UKAnnex A of the Roadmap sets out the metrics that will be used to measure progress, including on compliance, and these will be reported in HMRC’s Annual Report and AccountsAnnex A: HMRC's Transformation Roadmap metrics - GOV.UK

What steps his Department plans to take to identify UK priority sectors for trade expansion with Brazil.

The UK’s new Industrial Strategy sets out ambitious plans for eight growth-driving sectors - Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Professional and Business Services. I am keen to integrate the Industrial Strategy with the Trade Strategy so as to build export markets for our key growing sectors. These sectors are also the focus of my department’s work with Brazil. The Department’s new Ricardo Fund – announced in the Trade Strategy – is funding interventions on Offshore Wind and in the Life Sciences sector to help create new opportunities for UK exporters, and I signed agreements on customs and regulatory cooperation aimed at boosting UK exports on my recent visit to Brazil, where I met with several UK businesses who are keen to expand their work in the country.

What plans his Department has to monitor UK export growth arising from agreements made during President Trump's state visit in September 2025.

The US is the UK’s largest single country export market and President Trump’s State Visit was a valuable opportunity to further strengthen our economic relationship with the US. We launched a new technology partnership that will build on the foundations of the economic deal we agreed in May and announced a record breaking £150 billion of new US investment into the UK. It is too early to detect specific increments, but the Department for Business and Trade continues to monitor the level of exports with all countries, and through our Trade Strategy, Industrial Strategy, and Small Business Plan, we are putting in place the policies, support, and services needed to drive export-led business growth.

What the timetable is for the extension of community water fluoridation (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

Water fluoridation at levels recommended in the United Kingdom is a safe and effective intervention to reduce tooth decay and inequalities in dental health.The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for National Health Service recovery and reform prioritises prevention.As part of this strategy, the Government is expanding fluoridation schemes in north east England, aiming to reach 1.6 million more people by April 2030. We will assess further rollout in areas where oral health outcomes are worst.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK–Switzerland financial dialogue on the UK’s wider financial diplomacy strategy.

Financial regulatory dialogues, including the UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue, are important to supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July. Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings. The most recent UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue was held on Thursday 9 October in Bern, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement. Participants also discussed future opportunities to further develop the Berne Financial Services Agreement, noting that Article 12 of the Agreement commits the UK and Switzerland to enter into negotiations with a view to potentially expanding the Agreement to include sustainable finance at the appropriate time.

What funding his Department has provided for supervised tooth brushing in early years settings in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Funding for 2025/26 has been allocated at upper tier local authority level. For Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council this was £61,842.36 for supervised toothbrushing in early years settings. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-grants-to-local-authorities-2025-to-2026