Written questions by Moran.

For what reasons East-West Rail passenger services have not yet commenced.

Awaiting answer.

What estimate she has made of the costs of a family visa for a Ukraine family.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her Department is taking to increase police presence in town centres.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour on the high street.

Awaiting answer.

Whether her Department intends to convene a meeting of stakeholders involved in preparing for the commencement of East-West Rail passenger services.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her Department is taking to protect the wellbeing of children in schools during heatwaves.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment her Department has made of the number of schools that stop offering hot meals to children during heatwaves.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her Department is taking to support schools to install air conditioning systems.

Awaiting answer.

Whether her Department holds data on the number of schools with air conditioning installed in each local authority.

Awaiting answer.

What steps he is taking to ensure consultations on disability benefits reforms are accessible for disabled people.

Awaiting answer.

What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's policies on helping disabled people into appropriate employment.

Awaiting answer.

With reference to the answer of 27 April 2026 to UIN 127833, what progress she has made on train modification, train testing and driver training to achieve the December timetable for passenger services between

Chiltern is continuing to work closely with its partners and the Department to conclude the remaining train, infrastructure and staff arrangements and a start date for the first East West Rail services. This includes the recruitment and training of 44 tra...

What recent estimate he has made of the population in Gaza, in the context of military reconnaissance flights.

The Ministry of Defence does not collect information on the population of Gaza.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether existing legislation prevents the Government from nationalising a water company.

The Water Act 1989 and the Water (Target Investment Limit) Order 1990 limit Government shareholdings in water companies to around 3% (exact figure differs by company). Nationalisation would need new primary legislation to require changes to water company ...

What functions set out in the May 2025 Model ICB document are being transferred out of ICBs in 2026-27; and if he will publish the updated NHS England document entitled Model ICB functions.

Under the Health and Care Act 2022, integrated care boards (ICBs) have flexibility to delegate their statutory functions, their duties and powers, to other statutory bodies, subject to secondary legislation and NHS England’s guidance. While ICBs can delegate responsibility for discharge of the statutory function, accountability remains with them. Currently, the focus of ICBs is realising the administrative efficiencies required of them, rather than delegating their statutory functions. No changes have been made to the existing statutory responsibilities which ICBs must continue to meet. There is a consultation underway on restructuring the NHS England regional teams which will confirm those additional activities previously undertaken by some ICBs. This includes, for example, oversight of National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts against the national oversight framework. We have no current plans to publish additional guidance on this currently.

What support is being provided to regional innovation clusters, to i) support UK Research & Development in clean tech ii) promote the export of high-value research and development.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is supporting regional innovation clusters by working with priority city regions to connect universities, Catapult centres and innovative firms, aligning place-based R&D with the UK’s Industrial Strategy and net zero objectives alongside partners such as UK Research and Innovation, ensuring clean tech research is developed, commercialised and scaled across the country.DBT provides targeted export support, trade missions, clean tech showcases and investor engagement. We help high value, research-intensive firms reach global markets, boosting productivity, attracting knowledge intensive investment that complements local R&D ecosystems and creating skilled jobs in every region of the UK.

With reference to the answer of 18 September 2025 to Question UIN 76304, what progress has been made since that date towards to help enable the commencement of passenger services on each phase of East West Rail; what delivery milestones and indicative dates is her Department is working to; and when she expects to be in a position to publish a final timetable for the project.

The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern and other partners to confirm a start date for the first stage of services. For passenger services to commence, trains will need to have been modified and fully tested, and driver training will need to have been completed. East West Rail Company published its consultation on the remaining stages of the scheme on 14th April 2026 as part of preparations for its application for a development consent order in 2027. The consultation sets out timelines for delivery of services along the route.

What support is available for UK-based research and development companies in the solar industry.

The Government supports UK solar research and development companies in various ways. There is funding available for innovation companies looking to grow, including through UK Research and Innovation. Moreover, the Solar Roadmap included several actions to support R&D companies in the UK, including working with the National Physical Laboratory to explore the establishment of a PV innovation and infrastructure platform. We recently worked with Solar Energy UK to produce a practical guide for companies in the solar supply chain, including R&D firms. It is available here: https://solarenergyuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Growing-the-UK-Solar-Supply-Chain-A-practical-guide-for-businesses.pdf.

What assessment her Department has made of the pay gap between Further Education lecturers and school teachers; and whether she is taking steps support FE colleges in recruiting and retaining skilled teachers to deliver technical education.

The statutory requirements for maintained schoolteachers' pay are set nationally subject to recommendations from the School Teachers’ Review Body. In 2023/24, the median FTE salary for teachers in secondary schools was £47,666.Further education (FE) colleges have statutory autonomy over the pay of their staff. Colleges should have the freedom to meet local technical skills needs within their own local circumstances, and the government does not set college teacher pay. In 2023/24, the median FTE average salary for teachers on permanent or fixed term contracts in FE colleges was £36,316 and £47,133 in sixth form colleges.FE teachers are central to delivering high-quality technical education. Last year, we announced an additional £190 million broadly equivalent to the pay award in schools for colleges and other 16 to 19 providers to help them address the recruitment and retention of specialist FE teachers. Our targeted retention incentive offer is designed to retain eligible FE teachers in technical subjects with payments of up to £6,000 after tax. In its first year, nearly 6,000 teachers received a payment.

What steps she is taking to meet that the commitment set out in the Post 16 Skills White Paper to maintain 16–18 funding per student in real terms.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.