Written questions by Patel.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer given on 29 January 2025 to Question 21599 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Infrastructure, if she will list the (a) nine projects already determined, (b) the 12 projects due for decision and (c) the 15 projects yet to progress to decision stage; and set out any changes in their status.

11 projects have now been decided in this parliamentary term, with Hinckley National Rail Freight Exchange being the most recent (decided on 10 March 2025). There are 9 projects due for decision and 16 projects at the Examination and Recommendation stage.Information on applications for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and their decisions can be found on gov.uk here. This page includes information on projects already determined, projects due for decision and projects at an earlier stage in the application process.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether changes have been made to the mechanisms by which the proposed lease of the military base on Diego Garcia can be extended in the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty since 3 October 2024.

The Treaty will last for an initial 99 years and may be extended for a further 40 years (and beyond) by agreement between the UK and Mauritius. The UK will also have the right to first refusal on the use of Diego Garcia which, if exercised, would prevent the use of the base by any other party.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30615 on Attorney General: Mauritius, whether the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty on the future sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory was discussed during the courtesy meeting.

Pursuant to my answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30615, the Attorney General’s meeting did not constitute part of formal negotiations. The Attorney General and his Mauritian counterpart discussed relations between our two countries; their respective responsibilities as two Attorneys General; and referenced the ongoing negotiations regarding the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

What discussions she has had with other Cabinet colleagues on the possibility of front-loading payments to Mauritius as part of the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty on the future sovereignty of the British India Ocean Territory.

HMT has been engaged on the financial mandate for negotiations with Mauritius. Any UK-Mauritius agreement, alongside the structure of any associated financial obligations, remains subject to finalisation and signature. As lead departments, the FCDO and the MOD must balance the commitments of any agreement against wider priorities, as per the Managing Public Money Framework.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish an explanation for the decision taken in respect of each project that (a) will receive and (b) have had cancelled their share of Levelling Up funding for cultural projects.

Due to the extremely challenging financial situation this government inherited we have had to make difficult choices to prioritise funding within extremely tight budgets.We have carefully considered the responses to our consultation and chosen projects at an advanced stage that will have the greatest impact on local people and economic growth - this government’s number one mission.For the cancelled projects, officials will be in contact to discuss reimbursement for costs incurred.

Whether the Attorney General has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty on the future sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory; and whether the Attorney General has provided the Government with legal advice on the UK’s sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

As with any policy area, policy questions should be directed to the responsible Government department.Regarding legal advice, paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May states: “By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”This is known as the Law Officers’ Convention, and it applies to your question.

What plans she has for the (a) future and (b) timetable for nationalisation of the Greater Anglia rail franchise; for (i) future investment and (ii) plans for (A) ticket offices and (B) steps free access in Greater Anglia railway station redevelopment; and for (1) overall investment, (2) rail fares, (3) investment in rail infrastructure, and (4) investment in rolling stock in the Greater Anglia region; and what recent estimate she has made of passenger numbers in each Greater Anglia station in each year for the next ten years.

The Department announced in December that South-Western Railway’s services will be the first to transfer into public ownership in May 2025, followed by c2c’s services in July 2025 and Greater Anglia’s in the autumn. The Department will issue an expiry notice to Greater Anglia in due course to confirm the exact transfer date. Public ownership will mean all parts of the railway can pull together for the benefit of passengers, and bringing passenger services into public ownership is the first step in the Government’s wider programme of reform. Through future legislation, we will set out the role Great British Railways will have in fares, ticketing, and other operational aspects of the railway. Fares and ticketing will continue to be the responsibility of train operators until Great British Railways is established. The Access for All programme has delivered step free access at more than 250 stations across Britain. Ministers are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme, including as it relates to Greater Anglia stations. Greater Anglia has taken steps to improve station accessibility with its work on virtual trains and station tours, and a new accessible footbridge will be installed at Stowmarket during 2025. The business planning round for 2025/26 is currently underway and proposals regarding redevelopments and rail infrastructure will be reviewed with decisions made in due course. Greater Anglia invested £1.4 billion in new trains for the Anglia region and these new trains are delivering a real change in customer experience. There has not been a recent estimate of passenger numbers in each of Greater Anglia’s stations in each year for the next ten years.

What discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on future investment in strategic highway infrastructure.

The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) for the Strategic Road Network will cover the five-year period from April 2026 to March 2031. We plan to publish RIS3 by the end of 2025. The draft RIS, including the funding envelope, will be published in late spring 2025. An Interim Settlement for National Highways will be in place from April 2025, covering the 2025-26, as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 2024 Autumn Budget.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Official Development Assistance will be used to fund the (a) trust fund for Chagossians and (b) economic partnership with Mauritius in the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty.

The treaty with Mauritius will include an economic partnership with Mauritius, of which one component will be the Trust Fund for Mauritius to use in support of Chagossians. Details of the Trust Fund will be published as part of the implementation of the Agreement after signature.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the (a) financial implications and (b) costs of the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty.

The Foreign Secretary continues to hold regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues, including the Chancellor, on issues related to a treaty with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory and the base on Diego Garcia. The UK Government remains committed to reaching an agreement with Mauritius which is in the best interests of both parties.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 28492 on the British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether he shared the (a) initial proposed Treaty and (b) revised Treaty following counter proposals received by the Mauritian government with the new US administration.

We shared the proposed treaty with the new US Administration upon them taking office.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories on 5 February 2025, Official Report, col 760, on the future use of the electromagnetic spectrum, what discussions he has had with the International Telecommunications Union on this matter; and by what process the ITU could change the UK’s access.

The government does not routinely disclose private discussions with any organisation, nor disclose legal advice it may have received. International organisations, including UN Specialised Agencies such as the International Telecommunication Union, would be required to apply a binding judgment that the UK was not sovereign over the British Indian Ocean Territory. This would have real-world impacts on the protection and security of the base including our ability to operate the electromagnetic spectrum undisturbed.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on what date he took the decision to formally invite the new US Administration to review the proposed treaty between the UK and Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory.

We shared the proposed treaty with the new US Administration upon them taking office.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which ministers across Government have (a) been consulted and (b) taken part in negotiations on the UK-Mauritius Treaty.

The Foreign Secretary continues to hold regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues on issues related to a treaty with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory and the base on Diego Garcia. The UK Government remains committed to reaching an agreement with Mauritius which is in the best interests of both parties.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Mauritian counterpart on maintaining the British Indian Ocean Territory Marine Protected Area; and what representations he has received from his Mauritian counterpart on fishing (a) activities and (b) rights in the territorial waters of the British Indian Ocean Territory (i) now, (ii) in the future and (iii) in the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty.

The UK and Mauritius are committed to cooperating on combatting environmental threats such as illegal fishing, with a shared objective of protecting of the world's most important marine environments. This will include the establishment of a new Mauritian Marine Protected Area after entry into force of the Agreement.Before the signature and ratification of the Agreement, we have no plans to change the British Indian Ocean Territory marine protected area which is fully compatible with United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea obligations.The British Indian Ocean Territory Administration operates a system of permits to control access to and activities within the Marine Protected Area. We also work closely with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission to limit illegal fishing.

How many (a) people and (b) businesses have positive tax balances with HMRC due to overpayments of tax broken down by tax type; what the total value of those balances are; and (i) how many accounts and (ii) the total balances in those accounts will be held over into future tax years.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not hold readily available summary information on taxpayers with positive tax balances. Several regimes require taxpayers to make payments on account or settle tax liabilities ahead of filing returns, and subsequent to filing returns, claims for reliefs or notification of a change in circumstances may further impact amounts repayable to taxpayers. For these reasons the time taken to extract information on positive balances from the various databases and to produce and quality assure the data to answer the questions would be disproportionate on cost grounds.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions (a) he, (b) his ministers and (c) officials from his Department have had with counterparts in the Commonwealth and Commonwealth member countries on reparatory justice (i) since July 2024 and (ii) subsequent to the most recent Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting; whether further such discussions are planned; and whether he plans to use ODA for reparatory justice measures.

We fully recognise the horrific impacts and the understandable, ongoing, strength of feeling on the transatlantic slave trade across communities in the UK and the Commonwealth family. Ministers have had no discussions with Commonwealth counterparts focused on reparatory justice since July 2024, and none are foreseen. If interlocutors raise reparatory justice, we make clear our position that we do not pay reparations. We are focused on working with Commonwealth partners to tackle the most pressing challenges of today including security, growth and climate change and building partnerships for the future.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will list ministerial contacts with (a) ministers and (b) representatives of the government of Mauritius since July 2024.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary met the then Mauritian Prime Minister in London on 23 July 2024, and negotiating rounds led to political agreement between the Prime Minister and then Mauritian Prime Minister on 3 October 2024. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy for BIOT negotiations, Jonathan Powell, and Prime Minister Ramgoolam met on 25 November 2024. I met virtually with the Mauritian Attorney General on 16 January who had a subsequent meeting with our Attorney General on the same day. The Prime Minister spoke with Prime Minister Ramgoolam on 31 January. This engagement has been supplemented by numerous official level meetings, and joint statements from the UK and Mauritian governments were issued on 20 December 2024 and 13 January.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to deliver efficiency savings in his Department in (a) this financial year, (b) 2025-26 and (c) future financial years.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has made efficiency savings in this financial year through initiatives outlined in the Government Efficiency Framework. This framework was agreed between the FCDO and HMT during the 2021 Spending Review, and set out efficiency targets of £84.8 million to meet by the end of 2024-25. This was increased to £86.8 million during the 2023 Spending Review. The FCDO has met this target.To help drive out waste and ensure all funding is focused on the Government's priorities, the FCDO plans to achieve future efficiency savings through digital innovation, workforce optimisation and corporate process reform.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Written Statement HCWS451 of 13 February 2025 on Syria Sanctions, if he will list the Syria Regulations he is planning to change; and what conditions he plans to apply to the Government of Syria in relation to the relaxation of sanctions.

As my statement to the House on 10 March made clear, the interim Syrian authorities must ensure the protection of all Syrians and to make progress towards an inclusive political transition. We will judge them by their actions, not their words.On 6 March, the Government lifted asset freezes on 24 Syrian entities that were previously used by the Assad regime to fund the oppression of the Syrian people, including the Central Bank of Syria. This follows the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation publishing on 12 February a General Licence, allowing payments that support humanitarian assistance in Syria. Sanctions remain in place against the Assad family, their associates, and those complicit in committing atrocities.We keep our sanctions under close review. Where there are changes to the Syria Regulations, Members of Parliament will have the opportunity to debate in line with the made affirmative procedure for sanctions Statutory Instruments.