Written questions by Holden.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Mexico on recent changes to judicial appointments.

Democracy and respect for the rule of law are at the heart of the UK's values. We are closely monitoring Mexico's constitutional reforms and how they will be implemented in secondary legislation. Our Embassy in Mexico regularly engages with the Mexican Government to underline the importance of strong institutions and the importance of independent courts and the rule of law.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the involvement of the People’s Republic of China in joint marine research work with universities in the Republic of Ireland.

My officials routinely monitor developments in partner countries, and any implications of these for the UK. The UK also regularly discusses economic and academic security issues with partners, including Ireland. Whilst in Dublin on 3 October, the Foreign Secretary and the Tánaiste agreed to intensify our existing cooperation on foreign and security policy issues.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the territorial integrity of Georgia.

I reaffirmed my resolute support for Georgia's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, both to the Georgian Ambassador on 18 September and to Foreign Minister Darchiashvili on 9 October. We continue to support Georgian sovereignty through multilateral statements lobbying on behalf of Georgia's UN Human Rights Council resolution on Internally Displaced Persons, and by investing on the ground in community reconciliation. I also made clear to the Ambassador and Foreign Minister our support for Georgia to meet the aspirations of its population for a Euro-Atlantic path, and raised serious concerns about recent developments and rhetoric.

Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2024 to Question 1982 on Coal: Imports and Production and the Answer of 30 August 2024 to Question 3169 on Coal: Railways, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting further coal mining licenses, in the context of trends in the level of demand for coal in the rail industry.

Our manifesto was clear on our intention to not grant new coal licences and we are exploring avenues to achieve this.

If she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of people previously in receipt of the winter fuel payment who will no longer be eligible to receive it in each (a) local authority and (b) constituency.

The number and proportion of people previously in receipt of the winter fuel payment, who will no longer be eligible to receive it in each local authority and constituency can be derived using the following published statistics: winter-fuel-payments-caseload-2022-to-2023.ods (live.com) and Stat-Xplore - Table View (dwp.gov.uk). These are 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics and Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics. Estimation of those who will no longer be eligible to receive Winter Fuel Payment can be calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for each local authority and constituency from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for each local authority and constituency. Please note that the Pension Credit data that is used should be based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024 in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics. In addition to that, the above figures do not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities. Also, the published Pension Credit figures refer to households, so the number of individuals will be higher (i.e. taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit). Furthermore, Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much is budgeted for aid to India in this financial year.

Most of FCDO's bilateral development funding for India is invested in projects to tackle the climate crisis and support economic growth, in partnership with the Indian Government.The UK's bilateral ODA spend in India in 2022 was £46 million and we received back £24 million on our investments that year.Ministers are reviewing the FCDO's ODA budget to ensure it delivers on our priorities. We are committed to transparency and will publish ODA allocations for 2024-25.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2024 to Question 1813 on Public Expenditure, what the overspend was in each Departmental budget at the end of (a) July and (b) August 2024.

On 29th July, the Chancellor set out the £21.9bn pressure on departmental budgets in the 2024-25 financial year. This announcement was accompanied by the document ‘Fixing the Foundations’. The Chancellor is running a Spending Review and will publish a full breakdown of departmental settlements at Budget in October.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 July 2024 to Question 1812 on Pay: Young People, if she will make it her policy to publish data on average take home pay for young people working full-time on the minimum wage in (a) cash terms and (b) adjusted for inflation.

The Low Pay Commission publishes an annual report on the National Living Wage, including estimates of take-home income for example, households. The latest report is available here: National Minimum Wage - Low Pay Commission Report 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) restricting early repayment charges on debt to benefit customers and (b) encouraging early repayment.

While specific decisions around early repayment charges on loans are a commercial matter for lenders in which the Government does not intervene, there are rules that govern their use. For mortgages, the Financial Conduct Authority rules set out that lenders should not impose early repayment charges at a level that is more than a reasonable pre-estimate of the costs that would be incurred as a result of a loan being terminated early. For unsecured credit, the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and accompanying regulations set out the requirements on firms where loans are repaid early. Consumers should also be given adequate information about the existence of these charges in the pre-sale disclosure documents lenders are required to give them.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much aid his Department is giving to India annually; and what programmes that aid is spent on.

Most of FCDO's bilateral development funding for India is invested in projects to tackle the climate crisis and support economic growth, in partnership with the Indian Government.The UK's bilateral ODA spend in India in 2022 was £46 million and we received back £24 million on our investments that year.Ministers are reviewing the FCDO's ODA budget to ensure it delivers on our priorities. We are committed to transparency and will publish ODA allocations for 2024-25.

Whether (a) a single pensioner aged 90 on £218.16 per week and (b) a pensioner couple aged 90 on £332.96 per week who (i) own their own home, (ii) have no savings and (iii) are in receipt of no other benefits will continue to receive winter fuel payments.

A single pensioner aged 90 with a weekly income of £218.16 which doesn’t fall to be disregarded, for example, it’s made up of state pension or a personal pension, would not be entitled to the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit because their non-disregardable income is in excess of the standard minimum guarantee for a single person. However, they would be entitled to the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit and would therefore receive the Winter Fuel Payment. A pensioner couple both aged 90 with a combined weekly income of £332.96 which, again doesn’t fall to be disregarded would not be entitled to the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit because their non-disregardable income is in excess of the standard minimum guarantee for a couple. They would, however, be entitled to the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit and would therefore receive the Winter Fuel Payment. The Pension Credit calculator on gov.uk provides an estimate as to what Pension Credit, a person may have entitlement to.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to charge non-UK nationals to visit free museums.

No.

Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to reform the leasehold system for residential property; and whether she has a planned timetable for such reforms.

The Government will act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, including those designed to increase service charge transparency.Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 July 2024 to Question 1576 on Mental Health Services: Finance, what the total planned expenditure for mental health services was in (a) cash and (b) real terms in each year since 2015-16.

The following table shows the planned and real expenditure for National Health Service mental health services, including learning disabilities and dementia, each year since 2016/17, as the information for 2015/16 is not available:YearPlanned expenditure in cash termsPlanned expenditure in real terms2016/17£9,490,700,000£11,983,200,0002017/18£11,860,000,000£14,743,300,0002018/19£12,154,900,000£14,797,600,0002019/20£13,055,400,000£15,527,500,0002020/21£14,024,300,000£15,817,800,0002021/22£15,007,700,000£17,066,900,0002022/23£15,555,100,000£16,572,400,0002023/24£16,814,400,000£16,814,400,00Source: the NHS mental health dashboard, published by NHS England, and available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-mental-health-dashboard/.Note: the planned expenditure in real terms is at 2023/24 monetary value.

Whether there is an embargo on spare parts for foreign cars.

The UK has not placed a blanket embargo on spare parts for foreign cars.All information on trade sanctions, embargoes and restrictions, including trade controls and transit controls can be found on GOV.UK [here].

Media and Sport, how many heritage railways have received grants or financial assistance from the Government since 1999; and how much each of those which have been given support has received.

Since 1999, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £70,562,212 to the UK’s heritage railways.Within that amount, DCMS funded over 60 heritage steam organisations through the Culture Recovery Fund (2020 - 2021) providing nearly £15 million in support for the heritage rail sector. This has included multiple awards supporting the infrastructure of iconic heritage railways such as Ffestiniog, Bluebell and Severn Valley, as well as the restoration of individual locomotives and elements of rolling stock, including the world-famous Flying Scotsman.Since 1999, Historic England (previously English Heritage) has awarded £280,396 to the UK’s heritage railways. This included sites such as Bowes Railway Company in the North East which received seven grants since 2002 totalling £515,834. In addition, Bowes Railway Company received £36,241 (July 2020 to March 2021) through a Covid-19 Emergency Grant. Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Community Interest Company received £3,374 (June 2020 to September 2020) through a Covid-19 Emergency Grant. A £49k repair grant was provided towards the cost of the restoration of a Grade II* listed turntable in St Blazey, Cornwall in 2021. The turntable has been restored to operational condition by a social enterprise company, and allows main line steam engines to run into Cornwall on railtours bringing tourists to the Duchy, and be turned ready for their return journey. Historic England has also been supporting the Railway 200 celebrations in many ways including research, outreach and listing sites with links to heritage rail.We do not hold information on grants given from parts of Government that are not DCMS and its arms length bodies.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 August 2024 to Question 1982 on Coal: Imports and Production, if he will make an estimate of the amount of coal the UK heritage rail requires on an annual basis.

The Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) Table 2.1 on Coal Commodities states that the annual figure for heritage railways usage is 15,000 tonnes - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a7a17249b9c0597fdb066a/DUKES_2.1.xlsx

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Chinese counterpart on (a) closing down the residential boarding schools system, (b) preserving the (i) language, (ii) history, (iii) way of life and (iv) other aspects of the distinct identity of the Tibetan people, (c) religious and cultural freedom in Tibet, (d) the release of Panchen Lama, (e) the role of the Chinese state in the decision making process for the succession of the Dalai Lama and (f) the peaceful ending of the occupation of Tibet.

This Government will stand firm on human rights, including China's repression of the people of Tibet. We will champion freedom of religion or belief for all abroad, and work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.The Foreign Secretary raised human rights in his first meeting with China's Director of Foreign Affairs Commission Office and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, on 26 July.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory labelling for genetically modified food.

Existing labelling rules for genetically modified organisms (GMO) stipulate that foods sold in the United Kingdom that contain GMO ingredients must be labelled. This labelling gives consumers the choice on whether to consume such foods containing, or consisting of, GMO ingredients, and the choice to avoid such foods, should they wish to do so. In the case of food sold loose, or where food has been cooked in GMO products, for instance cooking oil, this information must appear on a notice, menu, ticket, or label which can be easily read by customers.Information about any characteristic or property which renders a food consisting of or containing genetic modifications different from its conventional counterpart, such as its composition, nutritional value, the intended use of the food or feed, or any health implications for certain sections of the population, must also be included.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2024 to Question 1981 on Electricity: Infrastructure, whether his Department has had such discussions in the period since the publication of the most recent quarterly list of meetings.

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to UIN 1981. A record of Ministerial meetings is updated periodically on Gov.UK.