Written questions by Wrigley.

What the annual cost is of the warhead dismantlement programme across Atomic Weapons Establishment sites; and what protocols are in place for the secure (a) handling, (b) storage and (c) disposal of radioactive materials.

The Mk4 warhead components are being disassembled and re-used, recycled or safely disposed of at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Burghfield site, following the transition to the Mk4A warhead in 2023. The cost of disassembling our nuclear warheads and details around the reuse of components are being withheld for national security reasons. AWE is committed to the safe and secure handling, storage and disposal of radioactive materials, and this activity is regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency.

How much plutonium has been recovered as part of the Mk4A Trident warhead dismantlement programme; what proportion has been re-used in current warhead systems; where remaining material is stored; and what the total cost of the programme has been to date.

The Mk4 warhead components are being disassembled and re-used, recycled or safely disposed of at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Burghfield site, following the transition to the Mk4A warhead in 2023. The cost of disassembling our nuclear warheads and details around the reuse of components are being withheld for national security reasons. AWE is committed to the safe and secure handling, storage and disposal of radioactive materials, and this activity is regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency.

Whether the Establishment Management Plan at HMNB Clyde includes actions to monitor and manage any potential discharges of radioactive material into surrounding environments.

The Establishment Management Plan (EMP) at His Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde does not include actions to monitor and manage any potential discharges of radioactive material into surrounding environments. Its focus is on maintaining safe, secure, and high-quality estate, buildings, and infrastructure. Whilst the EMP is not a nuclear safety document it will be informed by, and take into consideration, regulatory requirements. While the treatment of radioactive material is outside of the scope of the EMP, I can confirm handling radioactive substances safely and securely at HMNB Clyde are of the utmost importance. HMNB Clyde engages frequently with regulators to ensure it is discharging its responsibilities in compliance with regulations concerning the treatment of radioactive materials. There are extant Defence and independent monitoring programmes in place also.

Innovation and Technology, what guidance his Department provides to departments using suppliers who operate (a) Foundry, (b) Gotham and (c) other cross-sector data platforms on the risk of cross-domain data use.

All departments must adhere to the UK Data Protection legislation to manage risk and protect personal data when they are using cross-sector data platforms provided by suppliers. All departments are controllers of the personal data they hold and are individually responsible for demonstrating compliance with the data protection principles, and take appropriate technical and organisational mitigations in line with the UK GDPR to reduce risk. Under the same legislation, all departments are required to appoint a data protection officer (DPO), who must be an adequately resourced expert in data protection to assess compliance of data platforms, provide advice regarding Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) to identify and mitigate risks.The Government Digital Service has published the principles for securing personal data in government services, which includes a principle that outlines the actions that departments need to take for best compliance with the data protection legislation when they use platforms provided by third-party suppliers. The actions departments are expected to take include commercial agreements with robust terms and conditions for protection of data, appropriately assigned liabilities, risk assessments, audits, monitoring and oversight of compliance with processing terms and conditions as well as seeking further assurances of compliance from platform suppliers.The Government Security Group and the Government Digital Service have developed the Security by Design Policy, which covers the management of third-party product security risks.Government Digital Marketplace is a resource for departments and the wider public sector organisations to find reliable and secure technology for their digital projects. Departments are provided with guidance that covers features, security arrangements, standards, certifications and compliance information of supplier platforms, which fall under existing government frameworks.

What estimate his Department has made of the cost of infrastructure improvement works at HMNB Devonport; and whether those works involve the (a) removal, (b) containment and (c) replacement of equipment identified as radioactively contaminated.

The current estimate for the costs of infrastructure improvement works at Devonport including the Naval Base and Dockyard are £5 billion. This important activity, which includes works at HMNB Devonport and investment in Devonport Dockyard, will support the Royal Navy’s military outputs for decades to come. These works include areas of the Nuclear Authorised and Licensed Sites at Devonport and will include the removal, upgrade and replacement of equipment/systems which have been identified as radioactive.

What estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of dismantling the pressurised water reactors from redundant submarines at (a) Devonport Dockyard and (b) Rosyth Dockyard; and what ongoing collaboration exists between the Defence Nuclear Enterprise and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in relation to this work.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 65493 from the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) on 14 July 2025.https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-07-07/65493#

For what reason she did not provide a substantive response to the Freedom of Information Act request with reference number 359A/25 on her Department's use of services provided by Palantir Technologies UK Ltd.

The Home Office issued a substantive response to the requester in May 2024, which stated:We have carried out a thorough search and we have established that no current Palantir contracts or use of Palantir software were identified within the Home Office.

What plans her Department has to extend the Ukrainian Permission Extension scheme.

Individuals in the UK under one of the Ukraine Schemes can apply to extend their permission by up to an additional 18 months through the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which opened to applications on 4 February 2025. The scheme provides the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the original Ukraine schemes.On 1 September, the Home Secretary announced in parliament that the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme (UPE) would be extended for an additional 24 months to enable those eligible to obtain a further period of permission following their initial permission under UPE. More detail will follow in due course.

What estimate he has made of the cost of planned infrastructure upgrades at Rosyth Dockyard; whether those upgrades include the (a) removal and (b) treatment of legacy radioactive materials; and how many redundant nuclear-powered submarines are docked at that facility.

The preliminary plans for infrastructure upgrades at Rosyth Dockyard have been approved and industry have been engaged to begin progressing the scheme design. Once the scheme design is complete final costs for the project will be negotiated. The work will include the requirement to deliver a contingent docking facility for HMS DREADNOUGHT during its sea trial period, at Rosyth Dockyard.The Submarine Dismantling Project (SDP) includes infrastructure works at Rosyth, where final costs for the project are still being negotiated, to enable the removal and processing of all legacy radioactive waste from dismantled submarines. Activity at Rosyth has begun, with HMS SWIFTSURE being dismantled and a further six decommissioned nuclear submarines awaiting disposal.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 66340 on the South West Rail Resilience Programme, whether her Department has received the assessments completed by Network Rail in 2024 on the outline design options for Phase 5 of the Programme; and what her Department’s criteria are for determining whether to proceed to the next stage of development.

Following receipt of the Outline Business Case for Phase 5 of the Resilience Programme from Network Rail in 2024, the Department is funding further cliff monitoring and drainage works on this section of route. The project will be kept under review at future funding events once these works are complete.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of contracts held by Palantir Technologies in (a) strategic competitor and (b) other countries on (i) his foreign policy and (ii) data security.

The UK continues to support the open, responsible, secure, and resilient development and innovation of technologies globally, through collaboration with governments, technology companies, and academia. Under the UK data protection regime, organisations must ensure there are appropriate safeguards in place when handling UK data.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to correspondence of 13 June 2025 from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot.

I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member's correspondence. I issued a response to the hon. Member on 21 July.

Whether her Department has (a) issued guidance to and (b) held discussions with local authorities on the estimated end date of the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme.

From 4 February 2025, individuals in the UK under a Ukraine visa scheme have been eligible to apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, granting an additional 18 months’ permission to stay in the UK as well as access to work, benefits, healthcare, and education. The duration of permission is calculated from the date of application, meaning end dates will vary accordingly. Those granted permission in February 2025, for example, will have permission to stay in the UK until August 2026.The Government recognises the importance of providing clarity and reassurance to Ukrainians living in the UK under the Ukraine visa schemes and is aware that many individuals and families are seeking certainty about their future once their leave under the UPE schemes expires. As such, the Government is actively considering the future of the Ukraine visa schemes and will provide further clarity as soon as it is in a position to do so.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether allocated funding to the Animal and Plant Health Agency for Asian hornet response operations has changed since 2023.

The response to Asian hornet also known as Yellow-Legged Hornet (YLH) is carried out by the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) National Bee Unit (NBU). The NBU do this as part of the overall programme of work that they deliver for Defra from the funding allocated to APHA. There isn’t a specific budget allocated to the response to YLH. Being part of APHA means the NBU can draw on further resources which allows them to take action on notifiable bee diseases, while continuing to provide an effective response to YLH. In 2023 there was a large increase in the number of YLH nests found in GB and the NBU located and destroyed 72 nests in 56 locations. Further analyses during the winter of 2023 indicated that a few of the nests may have reached maturity and released queens which overwintered. Therefore in 2024 the NBU carried out spring trapping for YLH in 4 areas across the south of GB. Additional funds were allocated for the spring trapping work.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff were assigned to the (a) identification and (b) removal of yellow-legged Asian hornet nests in (i) 2025, (ii) 2023 and (iii) 2022.

There has been 0.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff assigned to nest destruction in 2022, 2023 and 2025. This means they were assigned to that role and available on call when needed. There has been one FTE Senior Operational Lead dedicated to yellow-legged hornet since 2024 to manage the overall response. No other staff are employed or allocated on a full-time basis to yellow-legged hornet The response is managed by redeploying staff from other business as usual delivery, based on outbreak demand.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether any dedicated Asian hornet rapid response teams have been (a) disbanded and (b) downsized since 2023.

The response to Yellow-Legged Hornet (YLH) also known as Asian hornet is carried out by the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) National Bee Unit (NBU). The NBU do this as part of the overall programme of work that they deliver for Defra from the funding allocated to APHA. The NBU has been taking action against YLH since 2016 and has developed a fine-tuned effective response. They frequently find a nest within a day of an initial sighting being reported. Therefore, Defra has not established dedicated Asian hornet rapid response teams.

When the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme is due to end.

From 4 February 2025, individuals in the UK under a Ukraine visa scheme have been eligible to apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, granting an additional 18 months’ permission to stay in the UK as well as access to work, benefits, healthcare, and education. The duration of permission is calculated from the date of application, meaning end dates will vary accordingly. Those granted permission in February 2025, for example, will have permission to stay in the UK until August 2026.The Government recognises the importance of providing clarity and reassurance to Ukrainians living in the UK under the Ukraine visa schemes and is aware that many individuals and families are seeking certainty about their future once their leave under the UPE schemes expires. As such, the Government is actively considering the future of the Ukraine visa schemes and will provide further clarity as soon as it is in a position to do so.

Media and Sport, when her Department plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot of 3 June 2025.

A response for both letters will be sent to the Hon Member shortly. I apologise for the delay.

Media and Sport, when her Department plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot of 9 June 2025.

A response for both letters will be sent to the Hon Member shortly. I apologise for the delay.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of delays in Ukrainian Visa Extension Schemes applications on Ukrainians in the Newton Abbot constituency.

We recognise the importance of minimising any delays in the processing of UPE applications. The vast majority of Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme applications are being processed within Service Level Agreements. There may be applications which have varying levels of complexity which can cause a delay to an application. Applicants that apply before their previous permission expires will continue to have their conditions maintained under Section 3C of the Immigration Rules.Information on visa processing times for applications made from within the UK can be found here: Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK