Written questions by Dhesi.

What steps he is taking to help increase trade between the UK and Canada.

Canada is a close ally and valued partner of the UK, with the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) underpinning our bilateral trade, which was worth £30 billion in the 12 months to June 2025, up 15% in current prices on the previous 12 months. In June, our Prime Ministers issued a Joint Statement making it clear we want to enhance this important relationship in a number of areas – including on trade, defence, digital, quantum, and critical minerals. They established the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group with the objective of growing bilateral trade, including by addressing existing market access barriers and building on existing arrangements.

What criteria were used to determine which (a) private companies and their representatives and (b) media organisations and journalists received advance sight of the Strategic Defence Review.

We invited the Defence Correspondents Association and several additional outlets to cover UK national media. We also invited companies and associations who are part of the joint Ministry of Defence-Cabinet Office Strategic Partnering Programme, alongside a larger set of key industry stakeholders.

If he will list the media organisations given advance sight of the Strategic Defence Review prior to its publication.

As the hon. Member will be aware, the Secretary of State for Defence has been determined to reset the relationship between Parliament and the Ministry of Defence, increasing transparency and openness. The Department sought to reflect this determination for the publication of the Strategic Defence Review, and to build on the approach made for previous defence reviews. On the day of the launch, we offered embargoed copies of the Strategic Defence Review to key stakeholders, including the House of Commons Defence Committee, media organisations and others. This was done in good faith, reflecting the contribution by stakeholders to the first-of-its-kind review. We therefore invited the Defence Correspondents Association and several additional outlets to cover UK national media.

What steps he is taking to increase the provision of real time information on a) civilian and b) emergency services air traffic to military jets during low altitude training exercises.

The primary measure in open airspace remains airmanship and the 'see and avoid' principle. There are a range of measures already in place to provide additional real time information on civilian air traffic during low level training. This includes communication with Air Traffic Control and the Low Flying Booking Service, datalinks, information from aircraft transponders and increasingly sophisticated on-board sensors and surveillance equipment.

What information her Department holds on the number of arrests that have been made following police use of facial recognition technology.

The Home Office does not hold data on the number of arrests made following the police’s use of facial recognition technology. The department is, however, funding national evaluation to understand the impact of facial recognition on police and crime outcomes, and its relationship to public trust and confidence.Where police forces are using live facial recognition technology, the number of arrests made following each deployment are published on their respective websites.

If he will list the private sector organisations given advance sight of the Strategic Defence Review prior to its publication.

As the hon. Member will be aware, the Secretary of State for Defence has been determined to reset the relationship between Parliament and the Ministry of Defence, increasing transparency and openness. The Department sought to reflect this determination for the publication of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), and to build on the approach made for previous defence reviews. On the day of the launch, we offered embargoed copies of the SDR to key stakeholders, including the House of Commons Defence Committee, certain industry representatives and others. This was done in good faith, reflecting the contribution by stakeholders to the first-of-its-kind review. The list of industry representatives that read the SDR in this manner is below:Group 1MBDA ThalesLeidos Rolls-RoyceAirbus Defence & Space BAE SystemsLeonardo BabcockLockheed Martin ADSBoeing Defence UK techUKQinetiQ MakeUK Group 2Adarga Ltd Lockheed MartinADS Make UKAirbus MDBAAnduril MicrosoftAsia Group MitreAtlas-Elektronik Newton EuropeBabcock NortalBAE Systems Northrup GrummanBoeing PalantirCallen-Lenz QinetiQCapewell RaytheonCGI RheinmetallChemring Rolls RoyceDecision Analysis Services SAABDXC SercoElbit Systems Society of Maritime InstitutesFujitsu Spirit AerosystemsGeneral Dynamics TechUKGinkgo Bioworks Tetra TechHanwha ThalesHelsing AI The MTCHVM Catapult UK DSCL3 Harris Ultra MaritimeLeidos Leonardo

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to produce a chemicals strategy.

The delivery of a Chemicals Strategy was a commitment included in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) 2023. Defra’s future approach to chemicals management will be set out in the revised EIP.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to establish new statutory action standards for PFAS in drinking water.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate published a report on 26 February 2025 recommending revisions to some of the parameters listed in the drinking water regulations; this included a new standard for PFAS. Defra and the DWI will work together to consider potential regulatory updates to England’s drinking water quality legislation based on these recommendations. DWI have issued guidance to water companies on PFAS. Concentrations of ‘sum of 48 PFAS’ reported as greater than 0.1 micrograms (or 100 nanograms) must be reported to the DWI as a water quality event and all necessary actions to reduce concentrations below this value must be taken. There is no evidence of PFAS above 0.1 micrograms (or 100 nanograms) in drinking water supplies.

What steps his Department is taking to improve public preparedness for emergencies.

Advice for the general public on how to prepare for emergencies is published at GOV.UK/Prepare, which provides simple and effective steps that individuals, households and communities can take to be more prepared for a range of emergencies. The Prepare website was included in the message sent to tens of millions of mobile devices across the country in September as part of the successful test of the Emergency Alerts systems. The Government is currently considering what further public communications activities might support improvements to public preparedness for emergencies. We published the first annual UK Public Survey of Risk Perception, Resilience and Preparedness in July 2025. The results are being used to inform the development of future public preparedness communications and to monitor trends.

If she will ask the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Kenton Beasley.

Unfortunately, although the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency had prepared a reply to the coroner, an oversight meant it was not sent as intended. I can confirm that the DVLA has now responded to the coroner on 24 October.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what volume of UK aid has been successfully delivered to Gaza in the last six months.

All allocations of our Humanitarian Programme are available publicly on Development Tracker. We have published further information on Core Relief Items through the programmes annual review with the next to be published by November 2025. Quantifying how much UK aid has entered into Gaza is difficult, due to the complex operating environment and limited real-time data, as well as Israel's restrictions on humanitarian workers and monitors. But despite Israel's restrictions on access we know UK Aid is having an impact - our funding has enabled UK-Med to complete nearly 750,000 patient consultations in Gaza.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to create a national inventory to (a) capture and (b) report sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

This Government is actively considering its approach to managing the risks posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and progressing work on PFAS measures. To better understand legacy PFAS pollution, the Environment Agency (EA) has undertaken a risk screening project to identify potential PFAS sources which provides crucial information for the EA and its stakeholders to investigate and mitigate these risk issues.

If she will ask the Health and Safety Executive to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Graham Faulkner.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) records indicate that a detailed response to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Graham Faulkner was sent by e-mail on 3 July 2024.

When his Department intends to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Stephen Sleaford.

HM Prison and Probation Service responded to the coroner’s Prevention of Future Death Report following the inquest into the death of Stephen Sleaford on 9 December 2024, which was within the statutory deadline of 56 days from the date of the report. The response is now available on the Chief Coroner’s website.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of training provided to school staff on assisting children who have epilepsy.

Governing bodies must ensure that the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented. This includes the duty under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, as well as the duties under the Equality Act 2010. The effectiveness of a school is assessed through inspection by Ofsted.The department has committed to reviewing the ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ guidance and intends to issue a consultation on an updated version. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has held discussions with the Home Secretary (a) attracting and (b) retaining talented (i) researchers and (ii) innovators through the UK visa system.

As set out in the Immigration White Paper, the Government is committed to delivering a competitive immigration system that attracts and retains talented international researchers and innovators. This includes reforms to our top talent visa routes, such as the Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas.The recently launched Global Talent Taskforce is also working across Government and with my Department to support efforts to bring world-class talent to key Industrial Strategy sectors in the UK. My Department and DSIT Ministers work closely with the Home Office and across Government to ensure we continue to attract and retain top talent.

If he will ask the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Chloe Burgess.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence responded to the Hampshire Coroner’s Prevention of Future Death Report following the death of Chloe Burgess on 28 April 2025. The report is available at the following link:https://www.judiciary.uk/prevention-of-future-death-reports/chloe-burgess-prevention-of-future-deaths-report/

What steps she is taking to support schools to provide practical science activities as part of their curriculum.

The government recognises the vital role of practical science activities in schools in fostering scientific understanding and engagement.The national curriculum already provides opportunities for schools to deliver practical science lessons, including a requirement for pupils to undertake a minimum of eight practical activities for each science at GCSE level. Schools also have flexibility within the broad framework of the national curriculum to tailor their science curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils.Support is available through Oak National Academy, an independent arm’s length body providing adaptable, optional, and free curriculum support for schools. Oak has new science resources covering key stages 1-4 that include practical science activities.The government has commissioned Professor Becky Francis to undertake a review of the curriculum and assessment system in England, which will include looking at the science curriculum. The final report is due to be published this autumn, along with the government’s response.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of state actors in Pakistan targeting UK residents with (a) political intimidation and (b) interference on those residents.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 March 2025 to Question 36232.

Whether she plans to update the HMRC mileage rate to reflect changes to (a) fuel costs, (b) vehicle asset depreciation and (c) vehicle running costs since 2011.

The Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates are used by employers to reimburse an employee's expenses, tax free, for business mileage in their private vehicle. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (when using simplified motoring expenses), and can be used by organisations to reimburse volunteers who use their own vehicle for voluntary purposes. Employees can claim up to 45p/mile for the first 10,000 miles annually, followed by up to 25p/mile thereafter. An additional 5p/mile can be claimed for each passenger transported. The AMAP rates are not mandatory, and employers can choose to pay more or less than the AMAP rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees. The government keeps all taxes under review and the Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.