Written questions by Morton.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the incinerator capacity for waste destined for landfill in Scotland.

I have engaged with the Scottish Government on the potential impacts of their forthcoming ban on the landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste. We don’t have an estimate for the amount of waste transported from Scotland to England, but the Scottish Government has assured the department that it is not acceptable for a large amount of waste to be transported from Scotland to landfills in England and they are working closely with Scottish Local Authorities to prevent this outcome.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of using the Sutton Park freight line for passenger services on (a) the capacity of the West Coast main line and (b) passenger services into central Birmingham.

The Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline investment portfolio was set out in the June 2025 Spending Review settlement.The Department for Transport is not actively exploring this proposal for the Sutton Park freight line, but local authorities such as West Midlands Combined Authority, are free to develop local proposals for investment using their own devolved transport funding.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in employers’ National Insurance contributions on levels of redundancies in schools.

School funding is increasing by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, meaning that core school budgets will total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25. This includes the additional funding being provided to support schools and high needs settings, with the increases to employer National Insurance contributions from April 2025.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve broadband (a) speed and (b) quality in underserved areas; and how his Department plans to (i) monitor and (ii) report on progress.

According to the independent website, Thinkbroadband.com, 89% of premises in the UK have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection. Our goal is for nationwide gigabit coverage by 2032, ensuring at least 99% of UK premises can access a gigabit-capable connection.As part of Project Gigabit, the government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans, more than £2.4 billion of contracts have already been signed to connect over one million more premises with gigabit-capable broadband.Building Digital UK (BDUK) reports on delivery progress through its annual report and quarterly official statistics. BDUK has also committed to publishing monthly reports on how many premises are contracted and built under each of its gigabit contracts.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 66180 on Housing: Finance, whether he plans to publish a regional breakdown of Affordable Homes Programme allocations (a) outside London via Homes England and (b) by tenure type.

Homes England publish allocations data for the Affordable Homes Programme on gov.uk here. Further updates on allocations, including those with Strategic Partners, will be released in due course.

What discussions the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Local Transport) had with the Mayor of the West Midlands on Aldridge Train Station on 15 July 2025.

Mayor Richard Parker and I meet regularly, with discussions covering a range of transport issues.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab, (b) Europol, (c) other international accountability bodies, (d) the International Criminal Court and (e) Ukrainian prosecutors on the (i) preservation and (ii) accessibility of data collected by that Lab.

The UK is committed to securing accountability for those responsible for atrocity crimes. For example, the International Criminal Court's investigation into the situation in Ukraine is ongoing, with six arrest warrants already issued for current or former senior Russian officials. The data that the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab provided to Ukraine was part of a wider accountability project, a small part of which was dedicated to the tracking of forcibly deported children. The Office of the Prosecutor General has confirmed that Yale's data on deported children has been transferred to the Ukrainian government.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the amount of humanitarian aid that reached (a) Chad, (b) South Sudan, (c) Egypt, (d) Ethiopia, (e) the Central African Republic and (f) other neighbouring countries to Sudan for supporting Sudanese refugees in the last 12 months.

Sudan is currently experiencing the world's largest displacement crisis, with over 12 million people displaced since the conflict began. As part of the UK's £120 million Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment this financial year, humanitarian assistance is being provided to Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries through key UN agencies such as the World Food Programme and UNICEF. In May, Baroness Chapman announced £36 million in support for over 260,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad. The UK also supports Education Cannot Wait, which is delivering safe learning spaces and psychosocial support for 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities across Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Uganda. In total, UK aid reached over 700,000 people affected by conflict in Chad, South Sudan, Libya, and Uganda in the last financial year.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the £120m in food aid for Sudan announced at the London Sudan Conference in April is reaching people who need it most.

During the London Sudan Conference, the former Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million towards the crisis which will provide life-saving aid to more than 650,000 people. This funding supports UN agencies such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme to deliver a range of life-saving services including food, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene support. We also support the UN's Sudan Humanitarian Fund, which funds local responders including Emergency Response Rooms to reach hard-to-access areas, such as North Darfur. We continue to use our role as UN Security Council penholder to press all parties to uphold international humanitarian law, ensure the safety of aid workers, and remove bureaucratic barriers to delivery. On 14 August, the UK joined 28 partners in a Joint Donor Statement on El Fasher calling for a pause in fighting to allow urgent unimpeded aid to reach civilians trapped by the Rapid Support Forces' siege and guarantees for the protection of civilians and aid workers.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support dialogue between Sudanese (a) civilian and (b) political forces.

Throughout the duration of the conflict in Sudan, the UK has continually advocated for a return to a civilian-led government that represents the interests of Sudanese people across the country. In our engagements with the warring parties and their aligned governance structures, we continue to reiterate the importance of engaging with a broad range of civilians to facilitate an inclusive transition that delivers peace and stability. We have also frequently engaged directly with a range of Sudanese civilian actors, notably in the run-up to the London Sudan Conference to ensure that Sudanese views on how to end the crisis were represented. In addition, the UK supports the neutral, anti-war element of the Somoud civilian coalition (formerly known as Taqaddum) with technical facilitation and logistics to help broaden its base and promote a more inclusive and unified civilian vision for Sudan. The UK will continue to champion the importance of Sudanese civilians, especially women and youth, as well as civil society, in any efforts to resolve the conflict and shape the future of Sudan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what aid agencies he is working with to deliver the £120m in food aid for Sudan announced at the London Sudan Conference in April; and what steps he is taking to ensure the safety of those aid workers working in-country.

During the London Sudan Conference, the former Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million towards the crisis which will provide life-saving aid to more than 650,000 people. This funding supports UN agencies such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme to deliver a range of life-saving services including food, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene support. We also support the UN's Sudan Humanitarian Fund, which funds local responders including Emergency Response Rooms to reach hard-to-access areas, such as North Darfur. We continue to use our role as UN Security Council penholder to press all parties to uphold international humanitarian law, ensure the safety of aid workers, and remove bureaucratic barriers to delivery. On 14 August, the UK joined 28 partners in a Joint Donor Statement on El Fasher calling for a pause in fighting to allow urgent unimpeded aid to reach civilians trapped by the Rapid Support Forces' siege and guarantees for the protection of civilians and aid workers.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Cooperation between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Palestinian Government, published on 28 April 2025, what (a) safeguards and (b) conditionality measures his Department has put in place to ensure aid for education is used to support peace.

The UK has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and robust controls against the diversion of aid. We select our partners for the strong safeguards they have in place, which reduce delivery risks and will ensure the maximum impact of UK aid for Palestinians.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) diplomats and (b) heads of mission on promoting freedom of religion or belief overseas.

In June 2025, Lord Collins, the Minister for Africa, wrote to all Heads of Mission to underline the importance of embedding our human rights priorities - including Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) - into every aspect of our work. On 8 July 2025, the UK Special Envoy for FoRB and Lord Collins outlined the UK's approach to FoRB at an event for stakeholders and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) staff. Both speeches were published on GOV.UK and shared with all our diplomatic posts.FoRB is incorporated within FCDO's broader human rights training programme. This includes workshops on religious or belief engagement for staff delivered in the UK and overseas. We also provide several additional tools for staff, particularly those based overseas, to support work on FoRB, including a FoRB Toolkit, scale of persecution and framework for FoRB reporting.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support he is providing to the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that group on prosecutions for war crimes committed in Ukraine.

The UK, in partnership with the EU and the US, launched the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) in May 2022. Its mission is to support the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (OPG), and to ensure efficient coordination of our respective support to accountability efforts on the ground, including facilitating the deployment of financial resources and skilled personnel. UK funding for this work has totalled £6.2 million to date. ACA has made significant progress in supporting the OPG, including through the case-mapping and prioritisation of over 170,000 recorded atrocity crimes. ACA's Mobile Justice Teams operate on the ground across Ukraine to support OPG investigations, including in areas such as evidence collection and case building.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a strategy for tackling anti-microbial resistance globally; and how much funding he plans to provide for anti-microbial resistance official development assistance programmes in the 2025-26 financial year.

The UK's approach to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is set out in the UK National Action Plan. The UK has played a key role globally in advocating for the need for strong action on AMR, for example, helping to secure a strong outcome from last year's UN High Level Meeting on AMR. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office supports action to tackle AMR through its bilateral and research investments and through support to multilateral organisations that play a key role in tackling AMR globally, such as the World Health Organisation, the Global Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organisation. It is not possible to identify the specific AMR element of such spending for 2025/26, as we are unable to disaggregate the AMR element of our multilateral and bilateral funding. Funding for the period beyond 2025/26 remains under review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support pandemic preparedness.

Strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness and response is a priority for the Government. Through our multilateral and bilateral programming and working across Government and with our international partners we are helping to safeguard lives and economic stability in the UK and globally from pandemic threats. The UK's role in helping secure the recent adoption of the Pandemic Agreement at the World Health Assembly in May 2025 and our support to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Gavi are examples of this effort.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase support for international justice initiatives aimed at prosecuting people responsible for (a) war crimes and (b) crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes of international concern, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. As early as February 2022, the UK led efforts to expedite an ICC investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The ICC's investigation is ongoing, with several arrest warrants already issued.The UK has led the way in ensuring the ICC has the resources and support necessary to conduct its independent investigations, including by seconding personnel to support the Ukraine investigation. The UK is one of the Court's major funders, providing £13.6 million to the annual budget in 2025.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of debt servicing costs on developing countries’ public health spending.

Tackling unsustainable debt is one of the UK government’s international development priorities and we are committed to an international financial system that supports development needs and helps countries address their debt vulnerabilities, aligned with the aim of the recommendations of The Jubilee Report. The UK supports tailored debt solutions within a consistent international mechanisms, such as the G20 Common Framework, and actively advocates for responsible lending and borrowing practices, as well as enhanced debt transparency from both creditors and borrowers. We agree that the Common Framework could be improved to deliver smoother and more timely solutions. We are advancing these priorities through initiatives like the London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt, the G20, and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable. Where necessary, we have backed early and comprehensive debt reprofiling, provided such measures credibly restore sustainability. We also agree that prioritising growth in borrower countries is essential for achieving long-term debt sustainability, and our focus remains on solutions that prevent defaults before they arise. We have implemented contractual innovations, such as climate-resilient debt clauses (CRDCs) for which we were the first creditor to do so, to help borrowers manage liquidity pressures following shocks, and are working with the private sector to expand their adoption. We are also pushing for the integration of climate risks into debt sustainability analyses and are pressing this agenda with the IMF and World Bank. The UK remains a strong advocate for comparability of treatment in debt restructurings. At present, we do not see a case for further legislation, as there is little evidence of private sector holdouts in negotiations, although we keep this under review. We recognise that in many low-income countries high debt servicing costs are crowding out spending on public health. To support low-income and emerging market countries with short-term liquidity challenges we support the IMF and World Bank’s Three Pillar Approach, which combines structural reforms, domestic resource mobilisation and external financial support to reduce debt burdens. We are pushing for the Three Pillar Approach to be rolled out swiftly, including for the IMF and World to actively engage early with affected countries to ensure they are informed of what support is available.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for his policies on global debt of the publication entitled The Jubilee Report: A Blueprint for Tackling the Debt and Development Crises and Creating the Financial Foundations for a Sustainable People-Centered Global Economy, published on 20 June 2025.

Tackling unsustainable debt is one of the UK government’s international development priorities and we are committed to an international financial system that supports development needs and helps countries address their debt vulnerabilities, aligned with the aim of the recommendations of The Jubilee Report. The UK supports tailored debt solutions within a consistent international mechanisms, such as the G20 Common Framework, and actively advocates for responsible lending and borrowing practices, as well as enhanced debt transparency from both creditors and borrowers. We agree that the Common Framework could be improved to deliver smoother and more timely solutions. We are advancing these priorities through initiatives like the London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt, the G20, and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable. Where necessary, we have backed early and comprehensive debt reprofiling, provided such measures credibly restore sustainability. We also agree that prioritising growth in borrower countries is essential for achieving long-term debt sustainability, and our focus remains on solutions that prevent defaults before they arise. We have implemented contractual innovations, such as climate-resilient debt clauses (CRDCs) for which we were the first creditor to do so, to help borrowers manage liquidity pressures following shocks, and are working with the private sector to expand their adoption. We are also pushing for the integration of climate risks into debt sustainability analyses and are pressing this agenda with the IMF and World Bank. The UK remains a strong advocate for comparability of treatment in debt restructurings. At present, we do not see a case for further legislation, as there is little evidence of private sector holdouts in negotiations, although we keep this under review. We recognise that in many low-income countries high debt servicing costs are crowding out spending on public health. To support low-income and emerging market countries with short-term liquidity challenges we support the IMF and World Bank’s Three Pillar Approach, which combines structural reforms, domestic resource mobilisation and external financial support to reduce debt burdens. We are pushing for the Three Pillar Approach to be rolled out swiftly, including for the IMF and World to actively engage early with affected countries to ensure they are informed of what support is available.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to support the Pandemic Fund beyond 2025-26.

The UK has committed £25 million to the Pandemic Fund. We are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.