Written questions by Milne.

If his Department will list ML3 arms export licences to Israel licensing the transfer of bullets extant for August 2025.

I refer the Member to the answer I gave on 5 March to question 117033.

Whether he has assessed the risk of diversion for ammunition for civilian use licensed from the UK to Israel, including to settlers in the West Bank.

The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law.All export licence applications are assessed for the risk of diversion in line with Criterion 7 of the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria which considers the ‘risk that the items will be diverted to an undesirable end-user or for an undesirable end-use'. This includes consideration, where relevant, of use in illegal settlements. Risk of diversion is complex, representing the single biggest reason export licences are refused, and all licences are kept under careful and continual review.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that exemption arrangements under the Deposit Return Scheme are accessible to rural retailers.

The regulations set out rules requiring all grocery retailers that sell drinks that are included in the scheme to host a return point, unless they qualify for an exemption. Retailers, including those in rural communities, will be able to apply to the deposit management organisation, Exchange for Change, for an exemption to operating a return point on their premises if they qualify under the relevant criteria. These include being in close proximity to another return point or not having suitable premises for operating a return point safely.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote water literacy training.

Defra works closely with Waterwise, an independent not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation who are spearheading the Water Literacy Training Pilot, which aims to equip professionals with the knowledge and tools to play their part in tackling water scarcity and its environmental impact in the UK, and to support their pilot and consider next steps.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to mitigate water demand from new housing developments in water-stressed regions.

The Department is taking forward a number of steps to mitigate water demand from new housing developments in water stressed regions. Policy options on amendments to Water Efficiency Standards in Building Regulations have been tested through a public consultation which ran from September to December 2025. The Government response will set out how we will tighten water standards in new homes to protect water stressed regions. Defra has established a Water Delivery Taskforce to ensure that water companies deliver on their planned investments to provide water and wastewater capacity for the development of new homes and businesses. The Taskforce has seen excellent work across departments to resolve blockers where water scarcity issues have stalled development. For example, in Cambridge, one of the most water-stressed regions of the UK the Taskforce is facilitating innovation through a series of testbed projects to help resolve local water supply challenges.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Deposit Return Scheme on small retailers in rural areas.

Defra published the Final Impact Assessment on DRS, including its assessment of impact on retailers, for England and Northern Ireland in 2024. This can be found at: The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2024.

What assessment he has made of the resilience of electricity networks serving rural businesses.

Energy resilience is one of our top priorities. The Government is working with the industry to continually improve and maintain the resilience of old and new energy infrastructure, networks and assets, including the ones in rural areas. This will reduce vulnerabilities and ensure an effective response to actual or potentially disruptive incidents. The Government will also publish an Energy Resilience Strategy in 2026 to set long term priorities for maintaining a secure and resilient energy system.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that Local Government Reorganisation take account of the needs of rural businesses.

Strong local government will help grow the economy and drive up living standards – the government’s number one mission.We understand communities, including rural businesses, should be able to have their say on the future of their local public services so we have been clear on the importance of councils engaging with local residents and organisations as they developed their proposals. Proposals should show how councils in the area have sought to work together in coming to a view that meets local needs and is informed by local views.Local businesses are also able to respond to the statutory consultation on proposals for their area. Following the consultation, proposals will be considered carefully alongside the responses received and all other relevant information.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of local infrastructure planning on the sustainability of retail businesses in rural areas.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 112724 on 3 March 2026.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to improve the reliability of broadband and mobile connectivity for businesses in rural areas.

The government recognises that high quality digital connectivity is essential for businesses in the UK, including in rural areas. Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030 and we have a target to deliver nationwide (99%) gigabit broadband coverage by 2032.By phasing out copper-based connections and rolling out gigabit-capable fibre broadband, we are enabling faster and more resilient connectivity. Through Project Gigabit, we are delivering fast, reliable broadband to UK homes and businesses not included in suppliers' commercial plans, complementing commercial market delivery. As of the end of December 2025, over 1.3 million homes and businesses in rural areas across the UK had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes.Standalone 5G has the potential to offer high speed, high capacity, reliable connectivity, allowing communities and businesses to thrive. Where reliable 4G is not available, the Government’s Shared Rural Network programme continues to deliver 4G coverage, thereby improving the reliability and resilience of mobile connectivity. The programme has already met its interim target ahead of schedule, extending 4G coverage to over 95% of the UK landmass, with delivery continuing to January 2027 to address remaining not‑spots. This is improving day‑to‑day connectivity for rural businesses.We recognise that power cuts can affect services, especially in rural areas. Ofcom are completing a detailed regulatory review of the resilience of mobile networks to power cuts, and Government is supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to further reduce the likelihood and duration of any loss to mobile services from power cuts.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of existing mechanisms for reporting retail crime by businesses in rural areas.

The central aim of our police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces so they focus on tackling local issues, like fighting retail crime. All communities, including rural communities, will benefit from and are included in these reforms.We are on track to deliver an additional 3,000 neighbourhood officers by March. We are giving them the powers they need, including making it a specific offence to assault retail workers and ending the treatment of theft under the value of £200 as a summary-only offence. Again, these changes are applicable to all types of communities, including those defined as rural.With our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee every neighbourhood, rural or urban, now gets a named contactable officer, dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities, including shop theft, and a response to non-urgent queries in 72 hours.Reporting crime to the police is the first crucial step in ensuring an appropriate police response. The Government is supporting the police and retailers. This work will set consistent standards for identifying, assessing and tackling retail crime across police and industry.We are also encouraging closer local partnerships between police and retailers, for example through Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, to help local police respond effectively to crimes reported.We are already seeing a difference. Whilst it is unacceptable that shop theft offences continue to trend upward, this is at a slower rate than we have seen in recent years. Police recorded crime figures recorded 519,381 shoplifting offences for the year ending September 2025. This represents a 5% increase from the previous year. The number of charges for shop theft rose by 21% (up to 111,559 charges). The charge rate also increased from 17.9% to 20.1%. However, this remains well below that seen in 2015/16 (29.6%). The number of charges for shop theft have increased at a greater rate over the same period [up to 111,559 charges or 21%]. This increase in the charge rate from 17.9% to 20.1% shows police are taking these crimes seriously.

What steps she is taking to help improve police responses to retail crime in rural areas.

The central aim of our police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces so they focus on tackling local issues, like fighting retail crime. All communities, including rural communities, will benefit from and are included in these reforms.We are on track to deliver an additional 3,000 neighbourhood officers by March. We are giving them the powers they need, including making it a specific offence to assault retail workers and ending the treatment of theft under the value of £200 as a summary-only offence. Again, these changes are applicable to all types of communities, including those defined as rural.With our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee every neighbourhood, rural or urban, now gets a named contactable officer, dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities, including shop theft, and a response to non-urgent queries in 72 hours.Reporting crime to the police is the first crucial step in ensuring an appropriate police response. The Government is supporting the police and retailers. This work will set consistent standards for identifying, assessing and tackling retail crime across police and industry.We are also encouraging closer local partnerships between police and retailers, for example through Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, to help local police respond effectively to crimes reported.We are already seeing a difference. Whilst it is unacceptable that shop theft offences continue to trend upward, this is at a slower rate than we have seen in recent years. Police recorded crime figures recorded 519,381 shoplifting offences for the year ending September 2025. This represents a 5% increase from the previous year. The number of charges for shop theft rose by 21% (up to 111,559 charges). The charge rate also increased from 17.9% to 20.1%. However, this remains well below that seen in 2015/16 (29.6%). The number of charges for shop theft have increased at a greater rate over the same period [up to 111,559 charges or 21%]. This increase in the charge rate from 17.9% to 20.1% shows police are taking these crimes seriously.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to introduce measures to manage bottom trawl fishing in the 41 English marine protected areas consulted on in 2025; and if she will set out a timeframe for introducing these measures.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire on 13 November 2025, PQ 88509.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing businesses to continue paying rates based on the previous year's valuation where a newly determined business rates valuation is under appeal with additional liability payable only if the appeal is unsuccessful.

If customers disagree with their Rateable Value (as published in the Rating Lists), there is a three-stage process run by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) known as Check, Challenge, Appeal to challenge this. Ratepayers are required to continue paying business rates based on the current valuation while a case is ongoing.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to UIN 105608, if he will publish the evidence on the application of the Remoteness Adjustment in the Fair Funding Review.

The government will apply the remoteness adjustment to the Adult Social Care Formula, but not to formulas more broadly. The government recognised in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 the case in principle for the impact of a remoteness adjustment on costs.The best evidence the government has heard in response to the consultation indicates remoteness may have a particular impact on adult social care services. Social care was also the area most frequently mentioned by respondents to the consultation in relation to the impact of remoteness.On balance, taking into consideration the available evidence and the views of stakeholders, the government has made a judgement that remoteness should be accounted for when assessing the cost of delivering adult social care services.The technical methodology annexes published at the provisional Settlement set out the Area Cost Adjustment's methodology and data sources - Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-2027 to 2028-2029 - GOV.UK.

How many and what proportion of families subject to the household benefit cap are blended families.

The information requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 103110 on Exports: Ammunition, on what evidential basis the Minister stated that the Government does not licence the export of any bombs or ammunition for use in military operations in Gaza or the West Bank.

Licence applications for the export of controlled goods, including bombs and ammunition, are considered by the Export Control Joint Unit. Relevant teams, including technical experts and officials within DBT, FCDO and MOD, consider every application on a case-by-case basis. On the basis of such assessments this Government has been clear that the UK does not licence the export of any bombs or ammunition for use in military operations in Gaza or the West Bank. Information on export licensing is publicly available at: Strategic export controls: quarterly licensing statistics - GOV.UK. The Government has previously published exceptional information relating to Israel available at: Export control licensing management information for Israel - GOV.UK.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2026 to Question 104116 on Firearms Licensing, whether the government will set out a timeline for publication of the consultation on firearms licensing; and whether the impact assessment will be published alongside the consultation.

The Government will be publishing the public consultation paper on strengthening the controls on shotguns shortly.The Government will provide the necessary impact assessments in due course, depending on whether we decide to make any changes following the consultation.

Whether HMRC holds customs export data identifying exports of live munitions, including bullets or cartridges, from the United Kingdom to Israel; and whether such data distinguishes live munitions from training, sporting, and other non-combat ammunition.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection of Customs declarations and the publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK.Data on ammunition exports does not distinguish between live ammunition and other forms such as those for training or sporting activities.

Communities and Local Government, whether his department holds data outlining the Local Government Finance Settlement allocations for individual councils discounting second home premium council tax projections.

At the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29 on 17 December 2025, we set out the funding available to councils through the longstanding Core Spending Power measure, which was calculated in line with the approach used at previous Settlements. This means we assumed each authority’s council tax base increases in line with the five-year average annual growth in their council tax base. The inclusion of second homes premium income in Core Spending Power does not affect grant allocations, as it is excluded in the updated assessment of relative need and resources. We are aware over two thirds of billing authorities introduced second homes premiums in 2025-26, and under our proposals this additional income would be accounted for in Core Spending Power, given it is an important part of the resources available to local authorities to deliver services. No council will lose grant and/or business rates through our assessment of authorities’ relative need and resources as a result of this approach and as part of the government’s policy to reward places for housebuilding. The consultation on the provisional Settlement closed on 14 January. The government is now considering responses and will set out its position at the final Settlement in February.