Written questions by Morello.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing targeted (a) visa and (b) relocation support for American scientists seeking to work in the UK in the fields of (i) cancer and (ii) Alzheimer’s research.

The Immigration White Paper and Modern Industrial Strategy emphasised the importance of enabling high-skilled international researchers to come to the UK with ease, and committed to improvements to key visa routes, including the Global Talent Visa.The £54 million Global Talent Fund will attract around 60-80 leading researchers across Industrial Strategy sectors including Life Sciences to UK institutions. The Fund includes targeted visa and relocation cost support, and complements existing funding and talent schemes from UKRI, the National Academies and NIHR.The new Global Talent Taskforce will promote UK strengths and opportunities to exceptional talent, including international Life Sciences talent.

What recent steps his Department has taken to support the development of carbon removal technologies ahead of the Autumn Budget.

Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGRs) will be important to Net Zero - balancing residual emissions from hard-to-abate sectors whilst providing economic opportunities. In August Government published details of the GGR Business Model and published the Carbon Capture and Storage HyNet Track-1 expansion Project Negotiation List, which includes two GGR projects. To support demand, Government published a response to the consultation on the integration of GGRs into the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and have consulted on options to ensure integrity of the Voluntary Carbon and Nature Market. To ensure removals are measurable and verifiable, the British Standards Institution, commissioned by Government, published in July interim methodologies for Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage and Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage. The Government has also invested £100 million in research and innovation for GGRs, including the GGRs Innovation Programme.

If she will take steps to exempt domestic wine producers from wine duty rates.

The wine industry makes a vital contribution to our economy and society. However, an exemption from alcohol duty that applied only to domestic wine producers is likely to be inconsistent with the UK’s legal obligations.  Any cut, or even a freeze, to alcohol duty represents a cost to the Exchequer. The baseline assumption is that alcohol duty will be increased annually, so that it does not fall in real termsAs with all taxes, the Government welcomes representations from stakeholders to inform policy development.

If her Department issue updated guidance for rural local authorities as part of the proposed review of Contest.

The delivery of the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, is kept under constant review. Specific guidance will be considered at the point of publication of future iterations of the strategy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of extreme weather events on West Dorset.

The preparation for, response to and recovery from extreme weather sits across a number of organisations, including the Cabinet Office, UK Health and Security Agency, and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government. As the Lead Government Department for flooding, Defra works with partners across local and national Government to strengthen preparedness for flooding. In 2024, Defra established the Floods Resilience Taskforce, a collaborative initiative uniting all levels of Government, emergency services, businesses, and environmental groups to improve flood preparedness. Over the past 12 months, the taskforce has helped drive improvements to national flood modelling and forecasting, the communication of flood warnings, and has raised awareness of schemes to support those affected by flooding. The fourth meeting in September discussed preparedness for the 2025 autumn/winter period. Following the wettest winter on record, the Environment Agency is investing £5 million to protect 444 properties in West Dorset, maintaining key assets, supporting coastal projects, improving property flood resilience, and working with partners on natural flood management and coastal risk response. Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) in England are tasked with coordinating local emergency preparedness, including extreme weather events. West Dorset is represented on the Dorset LRF as part of the Dorset Councils Partnership. The Dorset LRF Community Risk Register, which includes local risk assessments for extreme weather events in Dorset, can be found here.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support Dorset Council to identify potential brownfield sites for housing development.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that substantial weight should be given to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements, including the development of under-utilised land and buildings to meet the need for homes and other uses. Through the revisions made to the NPPF on 12 December 2024 we broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas. On 22 September 2024, the government published a ‘brownfield passport’ working paper inviting views on how we might further prioritise and fast-track building on previously used urban land. This included exploring the role of national policy in setting minimum density expectations for certain types of locations, to support intensification in the right places. Utilising the feedback provided, we intend to consult this year on a new suite of national policies for decision making that will give effect to these proposals. No brownfield land and infrastructure remediation funding is currently available in West Dorset. However, on 18 June 2025 my Department announced £5 billion of new capital grant funding for infrastructure and land. This funding will be administered by the new National Housing Delivery Fund, through which councils will be able to secure funding for prospective projects, to contribute to the Government’s priority of delivering 1.5 million homes.

Whether funding is available to upgrade hospital helipads to enable night-time operation.

Hospital helipads can be funded via several routes, including by National Health Service trusts, charities, and donors. NHS trusts, working with integrated care systems, can use their local capital budgets to support investment in helipads where these are a local priority, either directly or as part of larger infrastructure projects. Decisions on upgrading hospital helipads are taken at a local level.

What estimate he has made of the potential financial impact of aligning funding to the average per-patient spend of the top quarter most efficient hospitals on rural hospitals.

The basis of the funding allocated to providers is set out in the National Payment Scheme, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/pay-syst/nhs-payment-scheme/This includes setting out the prices paid where funding varies with activity, and these prices are the same for all providers. They are based on average costs across National Health Service providers rather than top quarter performance. We have not directly assessed the impact of changing the payment scheme to set prices based on the top quarter of the most efficient providers. However, NHS England sends packs to all NHS providers quantifying productivity and efficiency opportunities based on metrics in the Model Health System dataset. This allows individual providers, including those in rural areas, to benchmark themselves against others, and measure the financial impact of improving performance.

What the average per-patient spend is per hospital (a) in England and (b) within the top quarter of most efficient hospitals.

NHS England collects information on the costs of NHS trusts delivering services to patients, the detail of which is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/costing-in-the-nhs/national-cost-collection/.Comparing the average cost per patient per hospital is not meaningful, because to ensure fair comparisons, differences in service mix and patient complexity must be taken into account and this varies significantly across hospitals. The costing data does however enable comparisons of the costs of certain activities, or episodes of care, across different providers.The National Cost Collection Index (NCCI) compares a trust’s average cost with the national average cost for that service across all the services it delivers. An NCCI value of 110, for example, means that the trust has costs that are 10% more expensive than the national average (adjusted for its mix of services and patient complexity).

How many students from Gaza that were awarded UK scholarships in the 2024-25 academic year are unable to take up their places due to lack of access to biometric enrolment facilities.

The Home Office does not currently publish information on the number of Gaza students with UK scholarships for 2024-25 who are unable to enrol due to the absence of biometric facilities.The Home Office has put in place systems to issue expedited visas, with biometric checks conducted prior to arrival in the UK for all Chevening scholars from Gaza.  We are in the process of doing the same for a group of students in Gaza who have been awarded fully funded scholarships covering course fees and living costs at UK universities so they can start their studies in Autumn 2025. The Government is doing everything it can to support their safe exit and onward travel to the UK. The situation on the ground in Gaza makes this extremely challenging.

What the difference is between per-patient spend in (a) each hospital, (b) the average per-patient spend of hospitals in the top quarter of efficiency and (c) the average per-patient spend of hospitals in the bottom quarter of efficiency.

NHS England collects information on the costs of NHS trusts delivering services to patients, the detail of which is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/costing-in-the-nhs/national-cost-collection/.Comparing the average cost per patient per hospital is not meaningful, because to ensure fair comparisons, differences in service mix and patient complexity must be taken into account and this varies significantly across hospitals. The costing data does however enable comparisons of the costs of certain activities, or episodes of care, across different providers.The National Cost Collection Index (NCCI) compares a trust’s average cost with the national average cost for that service across all the services it delivers. An NCCI value of 110, for example, means that the trust has costs that are 10% more expensive than the national average (adjusted for its mix of services and patient complexity).

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on biometric processing for students from Gaza seeking to take up scholarships in the UK.

The Home Office has put in place systems to issue expedited visas, with biometric checks conducted prior to arrival for all Chevening Scholars from Gaza.We are in the process of doing the same for a group of students who have been awarded fully funded scholarships covering course fees and living costs at UK universities so they can start their studies in Autumn 2025.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is doing everything it can to support their safe exit and onward travel to the UK, while accepting that the situation on the ground in Gaza makes this extremely challenging.

What steps her Department is taking to provide safe routes for students from Gaza who have secured UK scholarships but are currently unable to meet biometric requirements.

The Home Office has put in place systems to issue expedited visas, with biometric checks conducted prior to arrival for all Chevening Scholars from Gaza.We are in the process of doing the same for a group of students who have been awarded fully funded scholarships covering course fees and living costs at UK universities so they can start their studies in Autumn 2025.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is doing everything it can to support their safe exit and onward travel to the UK, while accepting that the situation on the ground in Gaza makes this extremely challenging.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of granting biometric deferrals for students from Gaza who have been awarded UK scholarships but are unable to access biometric facilities.

The Home Office has put in place systems to issue expedited visas, with biometric checks conducted prior to arrival for all Chevening Scholars from Gaza.We are in the process of doing the same for a group of students who have been awarded fully funded scholarships covering course fees and living costs at UK universities so they can start their studies in Autumn 2025.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is doing everything it can to support their safe exit and onward travel to the UK, while accepting that the situation on the ground in Gaza makes this extremely challenging.

What steps his Department is taking to improve communications capabilities of flying drones.

The development of drone communication capabilities remains a dynamic and evolving area. While specific projects are underway, detailed information is withheld for security reasons.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the communications capabilities of unmanned ground vehicles.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) 2025 recommended a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence within the UK’s conventional force.It stated a common digital foundation of data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), synthetic environments, and networks should connect people and platforms across all domains, and with allies and partners. This gives the Integrated Force agility, speed of manoeuvre, and effective targeting to outmatch adversaries. The merits of military use of AI assisted drones are widely acknowledged in several roles and environments, most notably in Ukraine. The availability of extensive suites of sensors designed to operate across the electromagnetic spectrum have removed many of the traditional barriers associated with operations at night or in restricted visibility. Furthermore, the utility for AI enabled drones to exploit these sensors, including during periods of rest for, or absence of, human surveillance teams, is a fundamental consideration for UK Defence’s capability development. Consequently, the SDR stated that uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years. They will be networked with crewed fifth- and sixth-generation assets as part of a ‘high-low’ mix of capabilities, while these systems’ design will be tailored to the conditions in which they will operate, day or night; whether undersea, at sea, on land, or in the air. The development of UGV and drone capabilities remains a dynamic and evolving area. While specific projects are underway, detailed information cannot be provided whilst the projects are in their Concept Phase.

What comparative assessment he has made of the efficiency (a) rural and (b) urban hospitals; and how many hospitals in each of those categories are within the top quarter most efficient hospitals.

As part of the 2025/26 planning process, all National Health Service organisations were required to set efficiency and savings targets necessary to achieve a balanced financial position. These targets are publicly available in hospital board reports. The Department and NHS England do not assess hospital performance based solely on efficiency. Instead, the NHS Oversight Framework (NOF) measures NHS trust and foundation trust performance across a range of metrics. These reflect the delivery of NHS priorities, including performance against targets like reducing wait times for electives and accident and emergency, and improving ambulance response times.The NOF assigns trusts to four equal-sized performance categories called ‘segments’. NHS England has also recently published newly developed league tables to bring greater transparency to NHS performance at a provider level.

What progress he has made on the development of unmanned ground vehicles for (a) logistics and (b) casualty evacuation.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) 2025 recommended a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence within the UK’s conventional force.It stated a common digital foundation of data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), synthetic environments, and networks should connect people and platforms across all domains, and with allies and partners. This gives the Integrated Force agility, speed of manoeuvre, and effective targeting to outmatch adversaries. The merits of military use of AI assisted drones are widely acknowledged in several roles and environments, most notably in Ukraine. The availability of extensive suites of sensors designed to operate across the electromagnetic spectrum have removed many of the traditional barriers associated with operations at night or in restricted visibility. Furthermore, the utility for AI enabled drones to exploit these sensors, including during periods of rest for, or absence of, human surveillance teams, is a fundamental consideration for UK Defence’s capability development. Consequently, the SDR stated that uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years. They will be networked with crewed fifth- and sixth-generation assets as part of a ‘high-low’ mix of capabilities, while these systems’ design will be tailored to the conditions in which they will operate, day or night; whether undersea, at sea, on land, or in the air. The development of UGV and drone capabilities remains a dynamic and evolving area. While specific projects are underway, detailed information cannot be provided whilst the projects are in their Concept Phase.

How his Department is increasing the integration of artificial intelligence into unmanned ground vehicles to counteract signal blocking.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) 2025 recommended a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence within the UK’s conventional force.It stated a common digital foundation of data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), synthetic environments, and networks should connect people and platforms across all domains, and with allies and partners. This gives the Integrated Force agility, speed of manoeuvre, and effective targeting to outmatch adversaries. The merits of military use of AI assisted drones are widely acknowledged in several roles and environments, most notably in Ukraine. The availability of extensive suites of sensors designed to operate across the electromagnetic spectrum have removed many of the traditional barriers associated with operations at night or in restricted visibility. Furthermore, the utility for AI enabled drones to exploit these sensors, including during periods of rest for, or absence of, human surveillance teams, is a fundamental consideration for UK Defence’s capability development. Consequently, the SDR stated that uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years. They will be networked with crewed fifth- and sixth-generation assets as part of a ‘high-low’ mix of capabilities, while these systems’ design will be tailored to the conditions in which they will operate, day or night; whether undersea, at sea, on land, or in the air. The development of UGV and drone capabilities remains a dynamic and evolving area. While specific projects are underway, detailed information cannot be provided whilst the projects are in their Concept Phase.

How his Department is increasing the integration of artificial intelligence into flying drones to help counteract signal blocking.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) 2025 recommended a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence within the UK’s conventional force.It stated a common digital foundation of data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), synthetic environments, and networks should connect people and platforms across all domains, and with allies and partners. This gives the Integrated Force agility, speed of manoeuvre, and effective targeting to outmatch adversaries. The merits of military use of AI assisted drones are widely acknowledged in several roles and environments, most notably in Ukraine. The availability of extensive suites of sensors designed to operate across the electromagnetic spectrum have removed many of the traditional barriers associated with operations at night or in restricted visibility. Furthermore, the utility for AI enabled drones to exploit these sensors, including during periods of rest for, or absence of, human surveillance teams, is a fundamental consideration for UK Defence’s capability development. Consequently, the SDR stated that uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years. They will be networked with crewed fifth- and sixth-generation assets as part of a ‘high-low’ mix of capabilities, while these systems’ design will be tailored to the conditions in which they will operate, day or night; whether undersea, at sea, on land, or in the air. The development of UGV and drone capabilities remains a dynamic and evolving area. While specific projects are underway, detailed information cannot be provided whilst the projects are in their Concept Phase.