Written questions by Johnson.

Whether his Department holds information on the median age of cases yet to elect mode of trial.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.     The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or defendant elections in the open caseload. As such we cannot provide volume or timeliness estimates regarding the decision of the defendant to elect mode of trial within the disproportionate costs limit.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to publish the long-term housing strategy by March 2026.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 112714 on 2 March 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July to Question 61881 on Western Sahara: Origin Marking, if she is aware that Tesco sells tomatoes from Western Sahara labelled as produce of Morocco and if she will take action to ensure change.

The UK maintains high standards on the information provided on food labels and packaging so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principles of our food labelling rules are that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions. It is the UK position that where origin information is given for food products made or grown in the Western Sahara, it must give accurate origin information and cannot be labelled as Moroccan. Food labelling rules are enforced by local authorities. Defra officials will follow up on the matters raised so that the appropriate bodies can investigate further.

Communities and Local Government, if he will set out long-term, holistic support for funding for regeneration of homes, alongside new supply.

The government is committed to supporting estate regeneration schemes to transform neighbourhoods by delivering well designed housing and public space, a better quality of life and new opportunities for tenants. While the £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme focuses primarily on new supply, it will also continue to support some regeneration schemes that provide a net increase in homes on a site. Our National Housing Delivery Fund will provide grant funding to unlock complex and low‑viability sites, including brownfield remediation and enabling infrastructure. The £15 billion Warm Homes Plan will upgrade up to five million homes by 2030, reducing bills and improving living conditions.

For a breakdown of what prison education courses, according to annual delivery plan data, were provided in January (a) 2025, and (b) 2026, by prison, level of qualification and duration.

We are committed to ensuring that prisoners can access high-quality education and skills provision that supports rehabilitation and reduces re-offending.The curriculum delivered through core education contracts is decided at local level, as is the number of education staff employed. It would not be possible to obtain this information from each prison without incurring disproportionate cost. It should be noted that the majority of teaching staff are employed by external providers.In the interests of transparency, we intend to publish figures for changes to core education delivery volumes at individual prison level in the coming weeks.

How many prison education staff were employed in January (a) 2025, and (b) 2026, by prison.

We are committed to ensuring that prisoners can access high-quality education and skills provision that supports rehabilitation and reduces re-offending.The curriculum delivered through core education contracts is decided at local level, as is the number of education staff employed. It would not be possible to obtain this information from each prison without incurring disproportionate cost. It should be noted that the majority of teaching staff are employed by external providers.In the interests of transparency, we intend to publish figures for changes to core education delivery volumes at individual prison level in the coming weeks.

How many prison education staff, according to annual delivery plan data, were employed in January (a) 2025, and (b) 2026, by prison.

We are committed to ensuring that prisoners can access high-quality education and skills provision that supports rehabilitation and reduces re-offending.The curriculum delivered through core education contracts is decided at local level, as is the number of education staff employed. It would not be possible to obtain this information from each prison without incurring disproportionate cost. It should be noted that the majority of teaching staff are employed by external providers.In the interests of transparency, we intend to publish figures for changes to core education delivery volumes at individual prison level in the coming weeks.

Communities and Local Government, how many responses have been received to the consultation on the reform of statutory consultees specifically with respect to the proposal to remove Sport England.

My Department has met with Sport England on a number of occasions to discuss the proposals set out in the consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. Most recently, I met with Chris Boardman, Chair of Sport England, on 21 January to discuss Sport England's response to the consultation and our shared aim of ensuring playing fields continue to be protected. The consultation closed on 13 January 2026. A total of 1,605 responses were received, 1,294 of which were specific to the question on removing Sport England as a statutory consultee. No final decisions will be taken on the role of these statutory consultees until all consultation feedback has been fully analysed and considered. A government response will be published in due course. Regardless of consultation outcomes, these statutory consultees will continue to engage through public consultation and targeted notifications in the planning process.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions has he had with representatives from the sport and recreation sector on proposals to remove Sport England as a statutory planning consultee.

My Department has met with Sport England on a number of occasions to discuss the proposals set out in the consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. Most recently, I met with Chris Boardman, Chair of Sport England, on 21 January to discuss Sport England's response to the consultation and our shared aim of ensuring playing fields continue to be protected. The consultation closed on 13 January 2026. A total of 1,605 responses were received, 1,294 of which were specific to the question on removing Sport England as a statutory consultee. No final decisions will be taken on the role of these statutory consultees until all consultation feedback has been fully analysed and considered. A government response will be published in due course. Regardless of consultation outcomes, these statutory consultees will continue to engage through public consultation and targeted notifications in the planning process.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the revised National Planning Policy Framework on playing fields, pitches and community sports facilities.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 107478 on 30 January 2026.

What recent discussions she has had with representatives from the maritime ports sector on modal shift of freight from road to domestic short sea shipping routes.

Departmental officials have discussed the case for promoting greater use of coastal and other domestic short-sea shipping routes with the British Ports Association and with the UK Major Ports Group on several recent occasions. The Government remains committed to incentivising modal shift.

What steps she is taking to increase (a) seafarer jobs and (b) freight volumes on domestic short sea shipping routes.

Domestic shipping routes are an important part of the UK maritime sector and wider economy. Such routes accounted for 71.2 million tonnes of freight moved in 2024. Moving freight in this way can be environmentally beneficial and improve inland transport efficiency. We support the shift towards greater use of waterborne freight, and Government intends to undertake a comprehensive review of the potential for waterborne freight and the barriers that currently constrain its growth. Shipping is a commercial market, and demand for shipping goods stems from wider economic demand, but it is important the sector can respond to those opportunities. Government continually considers the UK offer to attract shipping businesses to base themselves, and operate in, the UK market. Recent improvements to Tonnage Tax for shipping operators have proved successful.The Department also remains committed to increasing the number of seafaring jobs in the UK. The apprenticeship levy is available for use in the maritime industry, including for ratings apprenticeships, and the Department and MCA continues to fund 50% of a cadetship through the £18m Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) fund.

What information she holds on the recent progress of the International Green Corridor Fund feasibility studies to decarbonise merchant shipping routes between (a) the ports of Holyhead and Dublin and (b) the ports of Tyne and Ijmuiden.

Green Corridors have the potential to be effective mechanisms to deliver first mover activity and accelerate the decarbonisation of the maritime sector globally, as demonstrated in the published findings of the International Green Corridor Fund. These bilaterally-funded studies, with Ireland and the Netherlands, demonstrated the economic feasibility of industry delivering Green Corridors on these routes. The Government is focussed on delivering change through the policies set out in the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy alongside international action at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This will support industry to deliver Green Corridors and widespread decarbonisation of the maritime sector.

What steps she is taking to encourage (a) provision and (b) take up of seafarer apprenticeships in the North West.

An industry round-table, chaired by the then Maritime Minister, was held in Blackpool in May 2025. The round-table brought key stakeholders from across the maritime industry together to discuss the promotion of maritime careers in the North West. The Department is engaging with Skills England and the Department for Work and Pensions on the provision of maritime apprenticeships and will continue to advocate for growing maritime careers and apprenticeships with employers in the North West.

When she expects to launch (a) Round 7 of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC7) and (b) round 2 of the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition (ZEVI2); and how much public funding will be allocated from the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) budget for (i) CMDC7 and (ii) ZEVI2.

We intend to launch the CMDC7 and ZEVI2 competitions in Spring 2026. The budgets will be announced when the competitions launch and will be funded from the recently announced UK SHORE £448m budget for the 2026 – 2030 financial period.

If he will publish the assessment criteria the Department uses to determine whether the supplier of externally-contracted services has been responsible for a critical performance failure in delivering its contractual commitments.

The Cabinet Office does not utilise a single, universal set of assessment criteria for determining whether a supplier is responsible for a critical performance failure. Instead, specific criteria are defined within each individual contract, generally aligning with the standard definitions in the Model Services Contract.The Cabinet Office remains committed to promoting high standards of supplier performance and compliance with all relevant procurement legislation.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of Capita in delivering and administering the civil service pension scheme.

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The issues and delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable. Angela MacDonald, Deputy Chief Executive at HMRC, is working with the Cabinet Office and Capita to lead and support delivery of a full recovery plan. This includes commitments, with milestones, to immediately deal with priority cases, restore service levels and improve communication with affected members. Furthermore, any further service failures by Capita will attract financial penalties, which will reduce the overall cost of the contract. The contract includes key performance indicators that, if not met, include financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect of Capita’s performance in December. The Cabinet Office will continue to use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account and ensure they deliver the contractual service levels.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of expanding the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to maritime on (a) the international competitiveness of the UK’s cruise sector, (b) Liverpool Cruise Port and (c) other British ports.

The domestic expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will only include emissions from international voyages, including cruises, produced while at berth in UK ports. This means there is no net loss of competitiveness for international cruise visits to UK ports relative to ports in the European Economic Area (EEA), where these emissions are already in scope of the EU ETS. As such, the impact is expected to be minimal. This is also the case for UK ports in general, and whilst the specific impacts on Liverpool Cruise Port have not been assessed, the impact on UK ports is not expected to be significant, as neighbouring competing ports in the EEA face equivalent regulations under the EU ETS. In September 2025, we announced a further £448 million of funding for the UK SHORE programme. This funding will continue to support clean maritime solutions, including the decarbonisation of ports and vessels at berth.

What steps her Department is taking to engage with Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories on the impact of proposals to expand the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to international maritime voyages.

Officials from my department and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero recently ran consultation engagement sessions with Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories following the publication of the consultation on expansion of the UK ETS to international maritime voyages.Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories were also encouraged to submit a written response to the consultation. The consultation closed on the 20 January, and officials are now analysing responses.We will continue to engage with Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and use their input to inform policy developments.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using funds raised by the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to include maritime to support maritime decarbonisation projects.

The Government recognises that decarbonising the maritime sector requires a suite of policies and is providing funding and policy support to facilitate this transition. For example, between April 2022 and March 2026, the Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions programme has allocated £240m to the research and development of clean maritime solutions. In September 2025, the Government announced a further £448m R&D funding for the programme for the period to 2030. This represents the biggest government investment ever in our commercial maritime industry. Receipts from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme support the Government’s wider priorities, including spending that helps deliver decarbonisation.