Written questions by MacCleary.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential cumulative impact of changes to (a) the National Living Wage, (b) employers' National Insurance contributions and (c) the recruitment of overseas social care workers on independent adult social care providers.

The Government took the cost pressures facing adult social care, including independent providers, into account as part of the wider consideration of local government funding at the Spending Review.The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement confirmed that the Government is making available approximately £4.6 billion of additional funding for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. This includes £500 million for the first-ever Fair Pay Agreement, the most significant investment in improving pay and conditions for adult social care staff to date.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many agri-food and beverage attachés there were in a) June 2024 and b) December 2025.

In June 2024 there were twelve agri-food attaches. Currently there are 16 agri-food attachés, covering all major export markets. In 2025 the agri-food attaché network has resolved trade barriers which industry estimate to be worth over £100m.

What steps is his department taking to raise awareness of the warning signs of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome.

Under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is working to improve awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals, including rare conditions that lead to sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS).NHS England has a published the national service specification Cardiology: Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions-all-ages/This outlines the service model and mandatory guidelines for commissioned providers in England to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or families affected by inherited cardiac conditions or sudden cardiac death. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification and is working with stakeholders as part of this review including NHS clinical experts and the British Inherited Cardiovascular Conditions Society. The NHS England Genomics Education Programme has also developed a range of educational resources for healthcare professionals.This includes a Knowledge Hub page on sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, including information on presentation, diagnosis, management, and links for clinicians to further resources. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/genotes/knowledge-hub/sudden-arrhythmic-death-syndrome/

If he will review the adequacy of the eligibility criteria for NHS-funded COVID-19 vaccinations for carers.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness, resulting in hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19.For autumn 2024, the JCVI advised that in an era of high population immunity to COVID-19 and all cases due to Omicron sub-lineages of the virus, any protection against transmission of infection from one person to another is expected to be extremely limited. These considerations informed the JCVI’s advice that unpaid carers, household contacts of the immunosuppressed, and frontline health and social care workers should no longer be offered vaccination to protect those they cared for from transmission.In their advice covering 2025 and spring 2026, the JCVI advised that population immunity to COVID-19 has increased due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.The focus of the JCVI-advised programme has therefore moved towards targeted vaccination of the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality. These are the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed.The Government has accepted the JCVI advice for autumn 2025 and in line with the advice, a COVID-19 vaccination is being offered to the following groups:adults aged 75 years old and over;residents in care homes for older adults;  andindividuals aged six months and over who are immunosuppressed.The JCVI keeps all vaccination programmes under review.

What steps he is taking to ensure his department’s contribution to the Fair Pay Agreement in adult social care will be passed on to independent adult social care employers.

We are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce.This £500 million of funding will be given to local authorities to support providers to improve pay, and terms and conditions through the Fair Pay Agreement. It represents the most significant investment in improving pay and conditions for adult social care staff to date.Negotiations between employee and employer representatives, including those from all types of providers, such as independent providers, will shape how this funding will be used to enhance pay, terms and conditions. The Government is committed to supporting commissioners to enable the successful delivery of the Fair Pay Agreement and we are exploring options for engagement to best inform our understanding of this.We also recognise that, in preparation for the first Fair Pay Agreement, commissioners and providers, will need time, support and guidance. We are committed to publishing guidance to support these groups, and our consultation seeks views from all providers, including independent providers, to ensure their perspectives are fully considered.

Whether he has had recent discussions with his German, Italian and Japanese counterparts on Germany potentially joining the Global Combat Air Programme.

As partners we have maintained that we remain open to other partners joining. The UK and our GCAP partners, Italy and Japan, are focused on delivering this vital military capability at pace.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of sewage discharges in East Sussex.

We have begun rebuilding the water network to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. £104 billion is being invested to upgrade crumbling pipes and sewage treatment works across the country, including in East Sussex. This includes over £10 billion to improve over 2,500 storm overflows across England. The Environment Agency (EA) has increased regulatory inspections across East Sussex to tackle sewage spills, focusing on sites which pose the biggest risk to the environment and ensuring they meet the required environmental standards. The EA have increased regulatory inspections of water company assets within the Lewes constituency from the previous year. We are also taking action to tackle agricultural pollution. This includes doubling the funding for farm inspections, enabling the EA to work with more farmers, including in East Sussex, to bring them into compliance. These combined efforts are contributing to stronger environmental standards and a clearer picture of progress in water management across the Lewes area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made in improving water quality in Lewes constituency.

We have begun rebuilding the water network to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. £104 billion is being invested to upgrade crumbling pipes and sewage treatment works across the country, including in East Sussex. This includes over £10 billion to improve over 2,500 storm overflows across England. The Environment Agency (EA) has increased regulatory inspections across East Sussex to tackle sewage spills, focusing on sites which pose the biggest risk to the environment and ensuring they meet the required environmental standards. The EA have increased regulatory inspections of water company assets within the Lewes constituency from the previous year. We are also taking action to tackle agricultural pollution. This includes doubling the funding for farm inspections, enabling the EA to work with more farmers, including in East Sussex, to bring them into compliance. These combined efforts are contributing to stronger environmental standards and a clearer picture of progress in water management across the Lewes area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure water companies are held to account for sewage discharges.

This Government has been clear there is no excuse for poor performance, and we will not look the other way while companies routinely fail to meet agreed standards. Water companies must take seriously their role in meeting the public and regulators expectations. We have introduced the toughest sentencing powers against law-breaking water executives in history.  Through the provisions in the Water (Special Measures) Act, we have introduced new, tougher penalties to address incidences where some water companies have obstructed investigations, failing to hand over evidence related to illegal sewage discharges. In addition, The Environment Agency have increased their target for water company inspections to 10,000 per year as part of the Government’s wider focus to hold companies to account and improve our water environment.

What assessment she has made of the potential economic merits of UK access to the Security Action for Europe fund.

We will only sign agreements that are in the national interest and provide value for money for the UK taxpayer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on whether levels of PFAS in sewage biosolids from wastewater plants are being investigated in Phase 4 of the Chemical Investigations Programme.

Sewage sludge is the by-product of the wastewater treatment which can applied to agricultural land as a fertiliser. Whilst this practice supports the circular economy, the Government recognises that sludge spreading is not without risk. To better understand these risks from chemicals, Defra officials are engaging with industry and independent researchers under the water industry-funded Chemicals Investigation Programme (CIP). PFAS in sludge was investigated in phase 3 of CIP (CIP3) with reports available online: CIP3 Information. Further sludge investigations are now being run in the current phase 4, they include CIP4 Groundwater, Soil and Biosolids Investigation and CIP4 - Chemical Investigations Programme - Phase 4 - Sludge Investigation. This work will help inform possible and future measures to mitigate PFAS pollution. The Department discusses the progress of this work on a frequent basis.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to assess the potential impact of (a) microplastics and (b) PFAS contaminants in agriculture soil on human and wildlife health.

The Environment Agency (EA) keeps a close observation of emerging evidence of the risks microplastics and PFAS may pose. The EA is working with Defra and collaborating with the water industry on a suite of microplastic and sludge investigations. One water industry investigation through the Chemicals Investigation Programme is currently looking at the movement of microplastics and chemicals from biosolids spread on land to soils.

What the annual cost was of the (i) HM Forces Railcard and (ii) Veterans Railcard in 2024.

The Department for Transport does not hold this information. The HM Forces and Veterans Railcards are managed by the Rail Delivery Group.

What the workforce numbers were for the Ministry of Defence Police in each year since 2020.

The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is critical to securing Defence assets and people. Recruitment is kept under constant review and is driven by Defence requirements and takes account of the number of leavers and joiners at any given time. At the end of December 2025, Defence saw an increase in workforce that delivers the policing, guarding, and security effect across the delivery groups under a single authority (SJC). We are accelerating recruitment of Ministry of Defence Police, MOD Guard Service through targeted campaigns and implementation of targeted retention bonus for hard to recruit locations and there are now some 250 more Military Provost Guard Service than in 2020. This steady growth is supported by plans to increase this in coming months. Defence takes security seriously, which is demonstrated by the carve outs from civil service recruitment freezes and voluntary exit schemes. The annual budget for the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) are shown below: Financial Year Budget £ million2019-20152.8812020-21157.7262021-22167.22022-23167.6762023-24160.8482024-25182.7 The workforce numbers for the Ministry of Defence Police are below. Note that the 2025 figure reflects workforce plans set under the previous government: Year202020212022202320242025MDP ¹264327682701259324072139NUCS ²227235230221211196Total286930032931281426182335 ¹ Ministry of Defence Police officers² Non-uniformed Civil Servants YearTotal recruited Recruitment Target2020-213203202021-222442502022-232522702023-24121275*2024-251011252025-26109 to 14 Dec 25250 * Original target. Target was replaced during the course of the year by site specific recruitment targets because of ongoing reviews to reduce the number of MDP posts across the UK resulting from introduction of a new operating police model (OPM), reprioritisation of security risk and the replacement of MDP with alternative policing/security providers.

What the annual funding in cash terms has been for MOD Police in each year since 2020.

The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is critical to securing Defence assets and people. Recruitment is kept under constant review and is driven by Defence requirements and takes account of the number of leavers and joiners at any given time. At the end of December 2025, Defence saw an increase in workforce that delivers the policing, guarding, and security effect across the delivery groups under a single authority (SJC). We are accelerating recruitment of Ministry of Defence Police, MOD Guard Service through targeted campaigns and implementation of targeted retention bonus for hard to recruit locations and there are now some 250 more Military Provost Guard Service than in 2020. This steady growth is supported by plans to increase this in coming months. Defence takes security seriously, which is demonstrated by the carve outs from civil service recruitment freezes and voluntary exit schemes. The annual budget for the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) are shown below: Financial Year Budget £ million2019-20152.8812020-21157.7262021-22167.22022-23167.6762023-24160.8482024-25182.7 The workforce numbers for the Ministry of Defence Police are below. Note that the 2025 figure reflects workforce plans set under the previous government: Year202020212022202320242025MDP ¹264327682701259324072139NUCS ²227235230221211196Total286930032931281426182335 ¹ Ministry of Defence Police officers² Non-uniformed Civil Servants YearTotal recruited Recruitment Target2020-213203202021-222442502022-232522702023-24121275*2024-251011252025-26109 to 14 Dec 25250 * Original target. Target was replaced during the course of the year by site specific recruitment targets because of ongoing reviews to reduce the number of MDP posts across the UK resulting from introduction of a new operating police model (OPM), reprioritisation of security risk and the replacement of MDP with alternative policing/security providers.

How many MOD police officers have been recruited in each year since 2020; and what his Department's recruitment target was in each of those years.

The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is critical to securing Defence assets and people. Recruitment is kept under constant review and is driven by Defence requirements and takes account of the number of leavers and joiners at any given time. At the end of December 2025, Defence saw an increase in workforce that delivers the policing, guarding, and security effect across the delivery groups under a single authority (SJC). We are accelerating recruitment of Ministry of Defence Police, MOD Guard Service through targeted campaigns and implementation of targeted retention bonus for hard to recruit locations and there are now some 250 more Military Provost Guard Service than in 2020. This steady growth is supported by plans to increase this in coming months. Defence takes security seriously, which is demonstrated by the carve outs from civil service recruitment freezes and voluntary exit schemes. The annual budget for the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) are shown below: Financial Year Budget £ million2019-20152.8812020-21157.7262021-22167.22022-23167.6762023-24160.8482024-25182.7 The workforce numbers for the Ministry of Defence Police are below. Note that the 2025 figure reflects workforce plans set under the previous government: Year202020212022202320242025MDP ¹264327682701259324072139NUCS ²227235230221211196Total286930032931281426182335 ¹ Ministry of Defence Police officers² Non-uniformed Civil Servants YearTotal recruited Recruitment Target2020-213203202021-222442502022-232522702023-24121275*2024-251011252025-26109 to 14 Dec 25250 * Original target. Target was replaced during the course of the year by site specific recruitment targets because of ongoing reviews to reduce the number of MDP posts across the UK resulting from introduction of a new operating police model (OPM), reprioritisation of security risk and the replacement of MDP with alternative policing/security providers.

How many (a) Type 26 frigates and (b) P-8 Poseidon aircraft will be assigned to Atlantic Bastion and when will they begin operations as part of AB.

Atlantic Bastion (AB) is Defence’s plan to secure the North Atlantic for the UK and NATO against the persistent and growing underwater threat. AB is not an operation; it is a plan to transition to a hybrid Navy, combining both crewed and uncrewed underwater systems. The details of this ambition are subject to the Defence Investment Plan.

Whether any major equipment programmes have been subject to formal ministerial directions in the last ten years.

Since 2011 ordinarily all Ministerial directions are published, unless the matter must be kept confidential.

Whether the Department has commissioned any further independent reviews of the Ajax programme since 2023.

We have three ongoing reviews into Ajax currently underway: Defence Accident Investigation Branch (DAIB)Army Safety Investigation Team (ASIT)Ministerial-led Review

How many and what proportion of Ministry of Defence projects within the Government Major Projects Portfolio have been delivered on time and within their initial approved budgets in the last ten years; how many current projects in that portfolio are not forecast to be delivered on time or within their initial approved budget; and what proportion of the total number of active projects this represents.

We inherited considerable delays and cost overruns on a large number of defence procurement projects. We are working to address those through measures set ot in the Defence Industrial Strategy. Further announcements will come as part of the Defence Investment Plan.