Written questions by Campbell-Savours.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK-Saudi investment creates 100 new British jobs, published on 3 September 2025, how many new jobs have been created.

This answer is provided at a time when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East region more generally, is facing material challenges given the ongoing regional conflict.Given that the press release names specific companies, it is for those companies to update as to the current situation and would be commercially sensitive and inappropriate for us to do so.The two main job-creating Saudi companies mentioned, Alfanar and International Investment Gate, are however well-known to the British Embassy in Riyadh and the Office for Investment. Their UK ambitions are in line with our Modern Industrial Strategy and, I understand, are progressing well.

With reference to the Memorandum of Understanding concluded with the Saudi Public Investment Fund on 28 October 2025, how much UK Export Finance has spent on promoting UK companies' engagement in the Saudi market.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) does not have a marketing budget specifically related to promoting UK businesses’ engagement in the Saudi or other individual markets.Details of UKEF’s overall expenditure on marketing for the current financial year will be included in the department’s annual report and accounts.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Saudi Arabian counterpart on the risk of execution of men convicted of alleged crimes committed as minors, such as Youssef al-Manasif, Jawad Abdullah Qureiris and Hassan Zaki al-Faraj.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 December in response to Question 97116.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the number of executions in Saudi Arabia in 2025.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 December in response to Question 97116.

How many and what proportion of decisions made in the county courts were appealed to the High Court or Court of Appeal in the most recent year for which data is available.

Data on the number of decisions made in the county courts and the proportion appealed to the Court of Appeal can be found in the following official publications: Royal_Courts_of_Justice_Annual_Tables_2024.ods.High Court data is not broken down by source court, therefore the number of appeals originating from county courts cannot be determined.

What proportion of appeals to the Court of Appeal originating from the Crown Court were successful in the most recent year for which data is available.

Official statistics published by Ministry of Justice provide figures for appeals that were allowed and dismissed. Withdrawn cases are not separately recorded in the published dataset.In the most recent year for which data is available (2024), Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) outcomes for appeals originating from the crown courts and data on the proportion of appeals against crown court decisions were successful can be found in the following official publication:Royal Courts of Justice and Judicial Sitting Days Annual Tables - 2024.

What proportion of appeals against county court decisions in the most recent year for which data is available were successful.

Official statistics published by Ministry of Justice provide figures for appeals.In the most recent year for which data is available (2024), the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) recorded the outcomes for appeals originating from the county courts that were allowed and dismissed. This along with data on the proportion of appeals against county court decisions that were successful can be found in the following official publication: Royal Courts of Justice and Judicial Sitting Days Annual Tables - 2024.Withdrawn cases are not separately recorded in the published dataset.

How many appeals to the Court of Appeal originating from the Crown Court in the most recent year for which data is available were (a) allowed, (b) dismissed, or (c) withdrawn.

Official statistics published by Ministry of Justice provide figures for appeals that were allowed and dismissed. Withdrawn cases are not separately recorded in the published dataset.In the most recent year for which data is available (2024), Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) outcomes for appeals originating from the crown courts and data on the proportion of appeals against crown court decisions were successful can be found in the following official publication:Royal Courts of Justice and Judicial Sitting Days Annual Tables - 2024.

What proportion of decisions made in magistrates’ courts in the most recent year for which data is available were appealed to the Crown Court, by way of case stated, or by judicial review.

Data on appeals to the Crown Court from magistrates’ courts are published as part of the Criminal Court Statistics quarterly release in table C11. Data is split into appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence with breakdowns provided for those ‘Allowed’ (the same definition as successful) / ‘Dismissed’ and ‘Abandoned or otherwise disposed’. There is no breakdown specifically available for ‘Withdrawn’.Figures are also provided for the proportion of appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence that were successful (“Allowed”): ccsq_accessible_publication_tables_2025Q3.ods.Appeals by way of case stated and Judicial reviews are heard in the High Court with some of these originating from the Crown and magistrates’ courts. Published statistics on the annual volume of judicial reviews can be found in Table 2.5: Civil justice statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.

How many and what proportion of appeals to the Crown Court originating from magistrates’ courts were successful in the most recent year for which data is available.

Data on appeals to the Crown Court from magistrates’ courts are published as part of the Criminal Court Statistics quarterly release in table C11. Data is split into appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence with breakdowns provided for those ‘Allowed’ (the same definition as successful) / ‘Dismissed’ and ‘Abandoned or otherwise disposed’. There is no breakdown specifically available for ‘Withdrawn’.Figures are also provided for the proportion of appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence that were successful (“Allowed”): ccsq_accessible_publication_tables_2025Q3.ods.Appeals by way of case stated and Judicial reviews are heard in the High Court with some of these originating from the Crown and magistrates’ courts. Published statistics on the annual volume of judicial reviews can be found in Table 2.5: Civil justice statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.

How many appeals to the Crown Court originating from magistrates’ courts in the most recent year for which data is available were (a) allowed, (b) dismissed, or (c) withdrawn.

Data on appeals to the Crown Court from magistrates’ courts are published as part of the Criminal Court Statistics quarterly release in table C11. Data is split into appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence with breakdowns provided for those ‘Allowed’ (the same definition as successful) / ‘Dismissed’ and ‘Abandoned or otherwise disposed’. There is no breakdown specifically available for ‘Withdrawn’.Figures are also provided for the proportion of appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence that were successful (“Allowed”): ccsq_accessible_publication_tables_2025Q3.ods.Appeals by way of case stated and Judicial reviews are heard in the High Court with some of these originating from the Crown and magistrates’ courts. Published statistics on the annual volume of judicial reviews can be found in Table 2.5: Civil justice statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.

What proportion of Crown Court convictions and sentences in the most recent year for which data is available were appealed to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).

The Ministry of Justice does not hold the information required to calculate the proportion of Crown Court convictions and sentences that were appealed to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).

How many appeals originating from the county courts were (a) allowed, (b) dismissed or (c) withdrawn in the most recent year for which data is available.

Official statistics published by Ministry of Justice provide figures for appeals.In the most recent year for which data is available (2024), the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) recorded the outcomes for appeals originating from the county courts that were allowed and dismissed. This along with data on the proportion of appeals against county court decisions that were successful can be found in the following official publication: Royal Courts of Justice and Judicial Sitting Days Annual Tables - 2024.Withdrawn cases are not separately recorded in the published dataset.

What the current waiting times are for Access to Work applications.

For details on the average processing time for Access to Work grant applications from April to June 2025, please refer to the answer I gave on 3 July 2025 to Question UIN 63906. We are committed to reducing waiting times for new applications and have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work claims. Applications from customers who are about to start a job or who are renewing are prioritised.

What progress he has made on the rollout of identity verification for Companies House via the Post Office and Authorised Corporate Service Provider routes.

The 12-month transition period commenced on 18 November 2025. More than 1.4 million people have already completed the first phase of identity verification through GOV.UK One Login. 47,867 people started their journey online and selected the Post Office option. Only 40,639 people went on to attend a Post Office to verify their identity.Approximately 220,000 people have verified their identity though an Authorised Company Service Provider (ACSP). Over 15,000 ACSPs have been registered and a list of 392 consenting ACSPs has been published to support the public in identifying and obtaining ACSP services.

Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of pension schemes that have an exposure to freehold properties; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the implementation timetable for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 on the value of those schemes.

An Impact Assessment (IA) was published in December 2023 for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. It can be found here.An addendum to that IA was published on 14 April 2025 which can be found here.

What progress he has made on improving data on joint enterprise cases.

Joint enterprise is not a specific criminal offence. It is a common law doctrine which can apply in situations where two or more individuals have a common purpose to commit any criminal offence.The Ministry of Justice currently collects information on how many defendants are prosecuted and convicted of specific criminal offences but not whether those crimes are committed as part of a joint enterprise. We are, however, considering the feasibility of collecting data on joint enterprise cases as part of the development of the Common Platform, a criminal justice IT programme.Following a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) pilot to monitor joint enterprise homicide and attempted homicide cases in February 2023, the CPS implemented a national monitoring scheme in 2024, using a mandatory case management system flag to track such prosecutions and ensure greater oversight. On 23 September, the CPS published its annual report on data collected during the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, which can be found at: CPS Joint Enterprise National Monitoring Scheme 2024-25 | The Crown Prosecution Service.

Whether she has made an estimate of the financial impact of amending the 1987 Police Pension Scheme to allow widowers of police officers to retain survivor’s pension entitlement if they (a) remarry and (b) cohabit regardless of how the officer died.

The 1987 Police Pension Scheme provides survivor benefits to widows, widowers, and civil partners of police officers who die. In line with most public service pension schemes of that era, these benefits cease upon remarriage or cohabitation.With the introduction of the 2006 and 2015 Police Pension Schemes, all eligible officers were able to join a pension scheme that provides life-long survivor benefits for spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners, including for those who remarry or cohabit after losing a spouse.The 1987 police pension scheme is a closed scheme and there are no plans at this time to make any further improvements to benefits accrued in it.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of UK-trained physiotherapists excluded from NHS employment pathways in (a) Penrith and Solway constituency and (b) the UK.

The Department has not made an estimate of the number of physiotherapists trained in the United Kingdom who have been excluded from National Health Service employment pathways either in the Penrith and Solway constituency or across England.Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual NHS trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of raising the VAT threshold for (a) wine merchants and (b) other small businesses; and what steps she is taking to (a) support those businesses and (b) promote economic growth while maintaining compliance with fiscal policies.

At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD. This means the majority of UK businesses are kept out of the VAT system. As set out in the Plan for Change, the Government’s priority mission is to deliver strong, secure and sustainable economic growth to boost living standards in every part of the UK. Supporting businesses to grow is at the heart of this mission. The Government will be announcing further support for small businesses as part of the Small Business Strategy being published later this year.