Written questions by McMurdock.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve long-term food security.

The Food Sector is one of the UK's 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors. Defra and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are joint Lead Government Departments (LGDs), with Defra leading on supply and the FSA on food safety. Defra works closely with the Cabinet Office and other LGDs ensuring food supply is fully incorporated as part of emergency preparedness, including consideration of dependencies on other sectors. Defra works with industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of import-related costs on food prices.

Defra modelling shows consumer food prices are driven by domestic farmgate prices, agricultural and food import prices, exchange rates and manufacturing costs. ONS input producer price inflation rates for domestic and imported food inputs were 2.1% and 1.2% respectively in January 2026. This compares with 1.7% and -3.1% in January 2025. Import prices are driven by movements in global commodity markets. For example, cocoa prices have risen strongly since 2024 following poor weather conditions in West Africa and contributed to UK chocolate prices rising 14.7% higher in January 2026 compared to the previous year. The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD)’s latest forecast, published November 2025, suggests that they expect food price inflation to peak at 4.3% at the start of 2026 and average 3.8% over 2026.

Pursuant to Answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 110313 on NHS: Standards, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the variation between NHS trusts in protocols for monitoring patients after initial triage.

Patients are triaged upon initial entry to accident and emergency departments, after which their condition and any deterioration is monitored through observation at clinically appropriate intervals. How this happens and how often is down to local clinical decision making and governance.There is a national target that patients receive an initial assessment within 15 minutes of arrival in accident and emergency. This assessment considers patient acuity, ensuring those most unwell and at greatest risk are identified and prioritised, so that clinical oversight can be adjusted accordingly and to ensure the sickest patients are seen first.On 9 February 2026 NHS England published guidance on the Model Emergency Department, which is intended to set out a consistent national framework by defining the core principles and pathways of high‑performing emergency departments. The guidance recognises that there is variation in how emergency departments operate across National Health Service trusts, reflecting differences in local populations, clinical judgement, and governance arrangements.The Model Emergency Department does not remove local decision‑making, but provides a shared national model, including extended emergency medicine ambulatory care, to support greater consistency, faster decision‑making across urgent and emergency care pathways, and stronger whole‑system responsibility for performance. This approach is intended to improve patient experience and patient flow, with lower waiting times and reduced overcrowding.

Pursuant to Answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 110313 on NHS: Standards, whether any national guidance exists on the reassessment of patients whose clinical condition deteriorates while waiting in Accident and Emergency departments.

Patients are triaged upon initial entry to accident and emergency departments, after which their condition and any deterioration is monitored through observation at clinically appropriate intervals. How this happens and how often is down to local clinical decision making and governance.There is a national target that patients receive an initial assessment within 15 minutes of arrival in accident and emergency. This assessment considers patient acuity, ensuring those most unwell and at greatest risk are identified and prioritised, so that clinical oversight can be adjusted accordingly and to ensure the sickest patients are seen first.On 9 February 2026 NHS England published guidance on the Model Emergency Department, which is intended to set out a consistent national framework by defining the core principles and pathways of high‑performing emergency departments. The guidance recognises that there is variation in how emergency departments operate across National Health Service trusts, reflecting differences in local populations, clinical judgement, and governance arrangements.The Model Emergency Department does not remove local decision‑making, but provides a shared national model, including extended emergency medicine ambulatory care, to support greater consistency, faster decision‑making across urgent and emergency care pathways, and stronger whole‑system responsibility for performance. This approach is intended to improve patient experience and patient flow, with lower waiting times and reduced overcrowding.

Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Top UK music acts awarded £1.4 million funding to raise profile, published on 2 March 2026, what steps are being taken to ensure recipients from across the entirety of the UK are aware of, and able to access, funding through the Music Export Growth Scheme.

UK-based music small and medium-sized enterprises can apply for Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) funding. Information on MEGS is available on the 'Find a Grant' service on Gov/UK. My department's MEGS delivery partner the BPI has a dedicated section on its website and shares details of MEGS funding rounds on its social media channels. When MEGS funding rounds open, my department shares information on how to apply for the scheme with its regional teams across England and Department for Business and Trade offices in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The BPI shares information on new MEGS funding rounds with UK music trade bodies, arts organisations, with the music press and direct to some music companies.

Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Top UK music acts awarded £1.4 million funding to raise profile, published on 2 March 2026, what independent analysis his Department has commissioned of the calculation that there is a £14 return for each £1 granted through MEGS.

The figure referenced in the press release was supplied by the BPI and is based on analysis of commercial outcomes reported by MEGS recipients in previous funding rounds. This is an industry estimate produced by the BPI and reflects their assessment of the scheme's impact on participating businesses. The estimate is based on industry held commercial data and is not used as an official Government economic metric.

Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Top UK music acts awarded £1.4 million funding to raise profile, published on 2 March 2026, how many of the 68 acts awarded funding are based in Essex.

In the latest round of Music Export Growth Scheme awards announced on 2 March, one Essex-based act, 'Essosa', received grant funding.

Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Top UK music acts awarded £1.4 million funding to raise profile, published on 2 March 2026, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the UK music industry on the future priorities of export support programmes; and how these discussions are shaping future policy design.

The UK Government's Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June 2025, set out creative industries trade and investment priorities for the period up to 2035 and announced an up to £30 million Music Growth Package which will include export support. My department continues to hold discussions with the UK music sector about targeted export support that will best enable UK music businesses to grow internationally.

Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Top UK music acts awarded £1.4 million funding to raise profile, published on 2 March 2026, if he will publish a list of each act who has been granted MEGS funding; and how much each act has received.

The list of acts that received grant awards in the latest funding round of the Music Export Growth Scheme announced on 2 March 2026, were as follows:Amber Run, anaiis, And Also The Trees, Andrew Cushin, Antony Szmierek, As It Is, Asta Hiroki, Aurora Orchestra, bar italia, Bear's Den, Beth McCarthy, BIG SPECIAL, Black Country, New Road, Black Josh & Lee Scott, Cage Fight, Canned Pineapple, Cassyette, Chalk, Chartreuse, Chloe Slater, Common Saints, DANIEL AVERY, Dark Tropics, Daytime TV, Dry Cleaning, Eleni Drake, Elles Bailey, Erotic Secrets of Pompeii, Essosa, EYNKA, Finn Forster, Gaynor O'Flynn, Girl In The Year Above, Halina Rice, Hana Lili, Harriet, Jalen Ngonda, King Jammy, LASTELLE, Leifur James, Maiah Wynne, Matilda Mann, MEGA, Mica Millar, Modern Woman, Naomi Scott, Nightbus, Nina Nesbitt, NOVELIST, Panic Shack, PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING, PVA, Qendresa, Samm Henshaw, Seb Lowe, SOTA, Stornoway, Summer Pearl and Zola Marcelle, The Cinelli Brothers, The Molotovs, The New Eves, The Snuts, The Wellermen, Tropic Gold, Ulrika Spacek, Wes Nelson, Will Samson, Witch FeverFor commercial reasons, we do not disclose individual MEGS grant awards. In this funding round, individual grant awards ranged from £5,000 to £50,000.

Pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Top UK music acts awarded £1.4 million funding to raise profile, published on 2 March 2026, what steps he is taking to ensure that funding granted is exclusively used to promote the act and not for other purposes.

All businesses awarded MEGS funding were required to submit an application prior to approval which detailed the proposed activity to be delivered if the application was approved - that proposed activity was then assessed to ensure it satisfied the scheme eligibility criteria, specifically that the activity promoted the act outside of the UK.All successful businesses are issued a Grant Agreement to confirm the activity that the MEGS funds can be spent on. Once the business signs that Agreement, MEGS funding is then available but can only be claimed by the business after the activity has taken place and evidence is provided to demonstrate that the activity has taken place and been paid for in full.Both the British Phongraphic Industry and the Department for Business and Trade complete checks on the evidence supplied to confirm that the activity has been completed in line with the Grant Agreement and not for other purposes before any funds are paid to the business.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK beef hits US shelves tariff-free for the first time – cutting costs for UK businesses, published on 2 March 2026, whether he has had discussions with his European counterparts on the potential impact of the reciprocal beef quota with the US on UK-EU trade relations.

We are delighted that as of January 1, 2026, UK farmers can, for the first time, make use of an exclusive 13,000 tonne quota for export to the United States. What the government has agreed with the US does not impact on our ability to negotiate trade agreements with other trading partners.Choosing between the US and Europe is a false choice. The UK can and must do both - improve our trading relationship with Europe while agreeing deals with the US and other nations.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK beef hits US shelves tariff-free for the first time – cutting costs for UK businesses, published on 2 March 2026, what steps he is taking to support small and medium-sized farmers to access the quota for beef exports to the US.

The Department is supporting UK meat producers to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal. This week, the first agri‑food trade mission visited the United States, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; it provided UK meat producers with direct engagement with a wide range of businesses and opportunities across the US meat sector. The Department will continue to support further market engagement throughout the year, working closely with partners including the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and the National Farmers' Union (NFU).

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK beef hits US shelves tariff-free for the first time – cutting costs for UK businesses, published on 2 March 2026, whether any of the reciprocal 13,000 tonne quota for beef from the United States is subject to equivalent environmental standards as British farmers.

Yes, all beef imported under the reciprocal 13,000‑tonne quota from the United States must meet the UK’s food safety and hygiene standards in precisely the same way as is required of British farmers. It also has to meet wider import requirements, including equivalent welfare standards at slaughter. This deal, which secures UK access to the US market for the first time, does not change the UK’s high environmental standards.Our approach to trade agreements has ensured, and will continue to ensure, that imported agrifood products meet the UK’s high food standards. We will always maintain UK levels of statutory protection in relation to human, animal or plant life or health, animal welfare, and the environment.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK beef hits US shelves tariff-free for the first time – cutting costs for UK businesses, published on 2 March 2026, whether any of the reciprocal 13,000 tonne quota for beef from the United States is subject to equivalent animal welfare standards as British farmers.

Yes, all beef imported under the reciprocal 13,000‑tonne quota from the United States must meet the UK’s food safety and hygiene standards in precisely the same way as is required of British farmers. It also has to meet wider import requirements, including equivalent welfare standards at slaughter. This deal, which secures UK access to the US market for the first time, does not change the UK’s high environmental standards.Our approach to trade agreements has ensured, and will continue to ensure, that imported agrifood products meet the UK’s high food standards. We will always maintain UK levels of statutory protection in relation to human, animal or plant life or health, animal welfare, and the environment.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK beef hits US shelves tariff-free for the first time – cutting costs for UK businesses, published on 2 March 2026, whether any of the reciprocal 13,000 tonne quota for beef from the United States is subject to equivalent hygiene standards as British farmers.

Yes, all beef imported under the reciprocal 13,000‑tonne quota from the United States must meet the UK’s food safety and hygiene standards in precisely the same way as is required of British farmers. It also has to meet wider import requirements, including equivalent welfare standards at slaughter. This deal, which secures UK access to the US market for the first time, does not change the UK’s high environmental standards.Our approach to trade agreements has ensured, and will continue to ensure, that imported agrifood products meet the UK’s high food standards. We will always maintain UK levels of statutory protection in relation to human, animal or plant life or health, animal welfare, and the environment.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK beef hits US shelves tariff-free for the first time – cutting costs for UK businesses, published on 2 March 2026, what steps he is taking to help encourage trade relations between UK beef exporters and US customers.

The Department is supporting UK meat producers to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal. This week, the first agri food trade mission visited the United States, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; it provided UK meat producers with direct engagement with a wide range of businesses and opportunities across the US meat sector. The Department will continue to support further market engagement throughout the year, working closely with partners including the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and the National Farmers' Union (NFU).

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK beef hits US shelves tariff-free for the first time – cutting costs for UK businesses, published on 2 March 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reciprocal quota to the average price of (a) British and (b) American beef.

Through EPD negotiations, the UK has agreed preferential trading terms with the US in a range of sectors. This includes an exclusive 13,000 tonne quota for beef export to the United States. With the quota now open, UK beef producers are positioned to seize new opportunities in the US market.Discussions on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal continue, covering tariff and non-tariff barriers, including digital and services trade.We will keep the House fully informed on these developments along with the expected economic outcomes of the final deal.Impact assessments are completed at the conclusion of a trade agreement.

With reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK beef hits US shelves tariff-free for the first time – cutting costs for UK businesses, published on 2 March 2026, what mechanisms are in place to assess the potential long-term impact of the beef quota on British (a) producers and (b) consumers.

Through EPD negotiations, the UK has agreed preferential trading terms with the US in a range of sectors. This includes an exclusive 13,000 tonne quota for beef export to the United States. With the quota now open, UK beef producers are positioned to seize new opportunities in the US market.Discussions on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal continue, covering tariff and non-tariff barriers, including digital and services trade.We will keep the House fully informed on these developments along with the expected economic outcomes of the final deal.Impact assessments are completed at the conclusion of a trade agreement.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his statement to the House of Commons on 2 March 2026 on the Representation of the People Bill, col 624, who will determine which areas are to be selected for automatic voter registration first.

Everyone who is eligible to register to vote should be able, supported and encouraged to do so. The sole aim of moving towards automated registration is to increase the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will test automated registration in a range of different locations and settings, with different characteristics and challenges, to ensure anything we implement permanently works for everyone. We will be guided throughout by principles of fairness and open engagement. We are consulting a range of stakeholders to develop this programme, including the Electoral Commission, the Association of Electoral Administrators, local authorities and civil society organisations. We will also continue to offer engagement with political parties. The Parliamentary and Local Government Boundary Commission for England are independent of Government. The timings of Parliamentary Boundary Reviews are set by legislation, and the Governmenthas no plans to bring forward legislation to amend these. The timings of local electoral reviews in England are decided by the Local Boundary Commission for England, who will continue to make these decisions independently of Government.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to pause (a) Parliamentary constituency and (b) local election boundary reviews until every area covered by the respective authority has concluded its automatic registration process.

Everyone who is eligible to register to vote should be able, supported and encouraged to do so. The sole aim of moving towards automated registration is to increase the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will test automated registration in a range of different locations and settings, with different characteristics and challenges, to ensure anything we implement permanently works for everyone. We will be guided throughout by principles of fairness and open engagement. We are consulting a range of stakeholders to develop this programme, including the Electoral Commission, the Association of Electoral Administrators, local authorities and civil society organisations. We will also continue to offer engagement with political parties. The Parliamentary and Local Government Boundary Commission for England are independent of Government. The timings of Parliamentary Boundary Reviews are set by legislation, and the Governmenthas no plans to bring forward legislation to amend these. The timings of local electoral reviews in England are decided by the Local Boundary Commission for England, who will continue to make these decisions independently of Government.