Written questions by Patel.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he made an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking a public consultation with the Chagossian community prior to the (a) announcement of the agreement with Mauritius over the future sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory and (b) signing of the UK-Mauritius Treaty on 22 May 2025.

The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia. The UK Government regularly engages Chagossian groups and representatives at both official and Ministerial levels on a range of issues and will continue to do so.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question UIN 66153 on Housing: Construction, if she will publish (a) the evidence, (b) criteria and (c) methodology used to assess the A12 widening scheme; and the scoring outcome of the A12 widening scheme against that criteria.

As set out in the answer of 14 July 2025 to Question UIN 66153, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded and the decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme was based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria including housing growth impacts and in line with the HM Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance. As examples of evidence, the Rt Hon Member for Witham has advocated for the A12 Widening Scheme in the House and in correspondence over many years and detailed information about the Scheme was published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, available here: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/TR010060.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the decision to cancel the A12 Widening Scheme on (a) business investment, (b) job creation, (c) economic growth, (d) apprenticeship creation and (e) the construction supply chain.

As announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded, therefore the Secretary of State for Transport had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme. The decision was based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria, including economic growth impacts, and in line with the HM Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance. Detailed information on the economic impact of the A12 Widening Scheme was set out in the application for planning consent published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. Information on the economic appraisal is available here: https://nsip-documents.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/published-documents/TR010060-000378-HE551497-JAC-LDC-SCHW-RP-TR-0109.pdf.

On what date she plans to bring the Greater Anglia franchise under public ownership; and when she plans to publish her (a) business plan for the management of the Greater Anglia franchise, (b) income and expenditure forecasts for the Greater Anglia franchise for each of the next five years, (c) plans for ticket pricing for each of the next five years, (d) plans for ticket office opening hours for each of the next five years, (e) the performance standards and targets for each of the next five years and (f) funding plans for (i) railway stations, (ii) tracks and signalling and (iii) rolling stock for each of the next five years.

Greater Anglia’s services will transfer into public ownership on 12 October 2025. A Services Agreement setting out Secretary of State requirements will be put in place for the new publicly owned operator, and this will be made available on the Department for Transport’s website in due course. The Services Agreement will require train operating companies to publish information on targets, outturn performance, and the ongoing development of the customer offer on a regular basis at stations, on their website and in other formats on request.

With reference to her statement of 8 July 2025 on Road and Rail Projects, column 815, what is the forecast annual expenditure for each of the 50 schemes in each of the next ten financial years; and what is the total estimated cost of each scheme.

We are committed to providing transparency about our investment plans, to provide certainty and stability for industry and other stakeholders.For schemes on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) and Major Road Network (MRN), £24 billion of capital funding is being provided between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads. Scheme costs for the SRN schemes will be confirmed as part of the setting of the third Road Investment Strategy, planned to be published by the end of March 2026.For MRN schemes, individual financial details cannot be provided as doing so would jeopardise procurement exercises and contract negotiations.All rail projects referenced in the Secretary of State’s statement are fully funded from the £10.2bn allocated to enhancements over 2026/27-2029/30. We expect to provide further detail on scheme profiles in due course.The National Infrastructure and Services Transformation Authority (NISTA) has also now published a first version of the Infrastructure Pipeline. All of the projects referred to in the Secretary of State’s statement are included in the Pipeline, although at a portfolio level. The Pipeline will be updated and improved every six months.

Which rail infrastructure schemes on the Great East Main Line she will plans to implement; and which she has cancelled since July 2024.

The Secretary of State updated Parliament on the 7th of July regarding those rail infrastructure schemes which will progress following completion of the Spending Review. We’re prioritising the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and freight and drive economic growth as soon as possible. The previous government had announced a number of schemes that were unfunded. The new station at Beaulieu Park is due to open on the Great Eastern Main Line by the end of this year.

What progress her Department has made on plans for the A120 dualling scheme, in the context of the cancellation of the A12 widening scheme.

Working closely with local partners, National Highways has developed options to improve the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey as part of the pipeline of projects being developed for possible delivery in a future Road Investment Strategy. Schemes in the RIS pipeline are uncommitted, and the Department will need to take decisions on which are the most viable for delivery. The Department expects to confirm which schemes remain in the Pipeline, and which will continue to be developed, when RIS3 is published early next year.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the cancellation of the A12 widening scheme on housing growth.

As announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded, therefore the Secretary of State for Transport had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme. The decision was based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria including housing growth impacts and in line with the HMT Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance. The Department will continue to work with National Highways and relevant partners to explore whether there are any small-scale interventions to potentially address issues on the A12 to support housing growth.

Whether she considered including Marks Tey railway station in the rail access for all feasibility studies.

This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities. In May 2024, the previous government selected 50 stations for initial feasibility work for potential upgrades as part of our Access for All programme. This did not include Marks Tey Railway station. We expect to provide an update to stakeholders further during the summer.

With reference to the oral statement by her of 8 July 2025 on Road and Rail Projects, Official Report, column 815, if she will publish the (a) full detailed Green Book analysis, (b) costs and (c) benefits cost ratios for (i) each of the 50 schemes announced in that speech and (ii) the A12 widening scheme.

Business case documents, costs and benefit cost ratios for major schemes, including for the Strategic Road Network and for relevant schemes in the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline are published on gov.uk. For the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) widening scheme, information is already available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. For the wider set of 50 schemes referenced in the Secretary of State’s statement on 8 July 2025, detailed Green Book analyses, costs, and benefit cost ratios for each scheme have not been published as a single package. The scheme-level business cases and economic assessments for projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio are published as they are finalised and reach the appropriate stage in the investment process. Summary information on costs and benefit cost ratios for major transport schemes may also be found in the Department for Transport’s Major Projects Portfolio, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/major-projects-data In the case of Major Road Network schemes, the business cases belong to the relevant local authorities. Whilst we encourage them to publish these, it is their decision whether to publish their business cases on their respective websites. As each scheme progresses, further documentation is released and made available on gov.uk as appropriate. The Government is committed to transparency and will continue to make business case documents available in line with Green Book and Treasury guidance as schemes move forward.

Whether she made an assessment of the potential impact of cancelling the A12 Widening Scheme on housing growth.

As announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded. Therefore, the Secretary of State for Transport had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme. The decision was based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria, including housing growth impacts, and in line with the HMT Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance. The Department will continue to work with National Highways and relevant partners to explore whether there are any small-scale interventions to potentially address issues on the A12 to support housing growth.

What the cost to the public purse was of purchasing (a) land and (b) properties as part of the A12 widening scheme; and how (a) much land and (b) many properties were purchased.

As announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded. Therefore, the Secretary of State for Transport had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme. The cost to the public purse to date of purchasing a) land is £0.8 million and b) the cost to the public purse to date of purchasing properties is £19.9 million; and a) 38,600 square metres of land and b) 26 properties have been purchased. Following cancellation of the scheme, National Highways will be working to bring the scheme to a close and will publish details on costs incurred in its Annual Report and Accounts in due course.

What the total cost to the public purse is for the A12 widening scheme.

As announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded. Therefore, the Secretary of State for Transport had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme. In 2022, the A12 scheme had an estimated cost of between £1,045 million and £1,268 million, on the assumption of a start of works in 2023/24 under the previous government, which did not happen. Had the scheme proceeded following Spending Review 2025, the cost of delivery to the earliest timetable would be greater because of increases in prices over time and other factors. Following cancellation, National Highways will be working to bring the scheme to a close and will publish details on costs incurred in its Annual Report and Accounts in due course.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the cancellation of the A12 widening scheme on (a) levels of congestion, (b) road safety and (c) the economy.

As announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded. Therefore, the Secretary of State for Transport had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme. The decision was based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria including (a) congestion, (b) road safety and (c) the economy and in line with the HMT Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to place China on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to my response given to question 36632.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on continuing to fund the organisations tracking Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

The UK-led multi-donor Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU) is providing more than £5.7 million of funding for support to the return and reintegration of children - of which the UK contributes a third. Through this fund, we have supported Bring Kids Back, Save Ukraine, and other leading child protection civil society organisations.In addition, the UK is an active member of the International Coalition for the Return of Children, whose work includes supporting initiatives to identify, locate, and return children to their families.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Article 5 of the UK-Mauritius Treaty ,when he expects the Mauritian Government to establish a Marine Protected Area in the Chagos Archipelago.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the reply given to her question 59325.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with (a) international partners and (b) representatives from the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab Ukraine Conflict Observatory on the future funding of the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab Ukraine Conflict Observatory to support its work on tracking Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

The UK is an active member of the International Coalition for the Return of Children, whose work includes supporting initiatives to identify, locate, and return children to their families. On the issue of tracking Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, we are working closely with the Government of Ukraine to identify which Open-Source Intelligence providers will best meet their needs to provide this data going forward.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with which organisations he has held discussions on the development of the China Audit.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office China Audit team proactively engaged a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that the full range of interests arising from the UK's relationship with China was represented; this included Parliament, business, the academic sector, civil society and the devolved governments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much of the £290 million FCDO transformation fund announced in the National Security Strategy will be directed towards countering potential threats posed by China.

National Security is the first duty of government. As the National Security Strategy said on China, we will increase our China capabilities across the national security system to strengthen our ability to engage, as well as to enhance our resilience and readiness.