Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposal to reduce official development assistance to 0.3% of gross national income on the level of funding he plans to provide to Sudan in the 2025-26 financial year.

The UK has been a longstanding and major humanitarian donor to Sudan with £226.5 million allocated in the financial year of 2024/25 towards the crisis. In his statement to Parliament on Defence and Official Development Assistance spend, the Prime Minister made clear that Sudan would remain a humanitarian priority. The Prime Minister is committed to returning 0.7 per cent spending when fiscal conditions allow. The ongoing obfuscation of relief operations by Sudan's warring parties is imperilling millions of people. More funding is required from across the international community. However, without a step change in access the already dire situation will drastically deteriorate.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to publish information on the level of funding he plans to provide to Sudan in the 2025-26 financial year.

Addressing the humanitarian crisis in Sudan remains a priority for the Prime Minister and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Ministers. The UK has been a longstanding and major humanitarian donor to Sudan with £226.5 million allocated in Financial Year 2024/25 towards the crisis. 2025/26 budgets are now being finalised, and we will share information in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support the UN fact finding mission to collect and preserve evidence of potential human rights and international humanitarian law violations in Sudan.

UK-led lobbying at the United Nations Human Rights Council in October 2024 directly led to the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) securing a mandate extension with an increased majority. The Minister for Africa hosted a roundtable in Geneva in February where experts from the FFM briefed member states about the situation in Sudan to increase understanding regarding the atrocities being perpetrated. This year we will provide roughly £1 million to support the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), a research body gathering open-source evidence about the conflict in Sudan with a view to supporting future accountability. The CIR has been able to assist the FFM in verifying reports of violations through its use of digital information. Human rights violations and abuses by all sides in Sudan's brutal conflict must be investigated impartially. The FFM is the most effective mechanism to support accountability in Sudan. The UK will strongly support its expected mandate renewal later this year in voting at the Human Rights Council.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, column 634, what steps he plans to take to provide humanitarian support in Sudan; and which aid programmes will continue to operate.

The Sudan conflict has created the largest and most severe humanitarian crisis in the world with over 30 million people in need of assistance. UK funded organisations are providing life-saving assistance in Sudan and to those who have sought refuge in Chad and other neighbouring countries. This financial year (FY) the UK will provide £226.5 million towards the crisis. This funding includes support to key UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF who are providing critical food assistance and other support. We are also one of the largest donors to the UN-led Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) which provides support to local and national responders, Emergency Response Rooms and international non-governmental organisations. The UK continues to support the International Committee of the Red Cross, including their work on emergency preparedness and response, protection of civilians, and providing life-saving healthcare across Sudan. Once budgets for FY 25/26 have been finalised we will be able to share information about those programmes that will continue.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the risks of (a) radicalisation and (b) human trafficking to children not in school in Sudan.

The conflict in Sudan is having a devastating impact on children. An estimated 17 million children are out of school and children comprise over 50 per cent of Sudan's 8.8 million caseload of internally displaced persons. We urge the warring parties to take every precaution to safeguard the wellbeing of children. And we will push hard for those suspected of targeting, abusing or exploiting children to face justice, including through our position on the United Nations Security Council.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment has he made of the potential implications for his policies of the risks to displaced people in Sudan of (a) human trafficking and (b) exploitation for crime.

We are concerned by reports of the increasing prevalence of human trafficking as a result of the conflict in Sudan. The UK continues to prioritise the protection of civilians and we are taking action on this agenda. In November 2024, the Minister for Africa chaired a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to address the plight of Sudanese civilians. The UK tabled a UNSC resolution on protection of civilians in Sudan which Russia vetoed. We will continue to use our position on the UNSC and as leader of the Core Group on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council to keep a spotlight on, and take actions in response to, the appalling human rights situation in Sudan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps is he taking to (a) support and (b) strengthen the UN Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan.

Human rights violations and abuses by all sides in Sudan's brutal conflict must be investigated impartially. In October 2023 in support of this objective, the UK led work at the United Nations on the resolution that established the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM). Its mandate was extended in October 2024 with an increased majority as a direct result of UK-led advocacy. The FFM published its first report in September 2024 and concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe that violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by both warring parties constituted war crimes and, in the case of the Rapid Support Forces, additionally crimes against humanity.  To amplify these findings the Minister for Africa hosted a roundtable in Geneva in February where experts from the FFM briefed member states about the situation in Sudan to increase understanding regarding the atrocities being perpetrated. The FFM is the most effective mechanism to support accountability in Sudan. The UK will strongly support its expected mandate renewal later this year in voting at the Human Rights Council.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) support, (b) funding and (c) capacity building his Department is providing to Sudanese civil society organisations.

This financial year (FY) the UK will provide £226.5 million towards the crisis in Sudan. UK funding is delivered through key UN agencies such as the World Food Programme and UNICEF. We are also one of the largest donors to the UN-led Sudan Humanitarian Fund which provides support to local and national responders, Emergency Response Rooms and international non-governmental organisations. The majority of the UK's work with national civil society actors has been paused following the outbreak of hostilities. In Darfur the UK continues to support local conflict mitigation initiatives via national organisations.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) seasonal weather changes, (b) road closures and (c) border closures on (i) the delivery of and (ii) access to humanitarian aid in Sudan.

Road and border closures continue to impede the delivery of and access to humanitarian aid in Sudan. The continued obfuscation of humanitarian aid into and across Sudan is causing huge suffering for civilians The upcoming rainy season will further complicate the already dire operating context for relief agencies. The upcoming Foreign Secretary-led Sudan Conference in London we hope will re-energise efforts to coordinate international action on humanitarian access, including border closures.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2025 to Question 36082 on Neighbourhood Policing: Finance, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated for the financial year 2025-26 has been allocated to cover the increase in employer National Insurance contributions.

The Government is committed to delivering our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, and that is why we have committed £200 million to kickstart the increase of 13,000 neighbourhood officers in communities across England and Wales by the End of this Parliament.Our approach to delivery in 2025-26, which will be year 1 of a 4-year programme, is designed to deliver an initial increase to the neighbourhood policing workforce in a manner that is flexible and can be adapted to the local context and varied crime demands.Funding for future years beyond 2025-26 will be set out in phase 2 of the Spending Review.Finally, £230.3 million to support forces with the cost of the changes to employer National Insurance Contributions as set out by the Chancellor in the Autumn Budget. This will be allocated by total workforce headcount shares as at 31 March 2024.

How much revenue the Exchequer has raised from the application of VAT to private school fees since 1 January 2025.

The Annex to the Government Response to the Technical Note, Government_Response_to_the_Technical_Note_on_Applying_VAT_to_Private_School_Fees_and_Removing_the_Business_Rates_Charitable_Rate_Relief.pdf, sets out the expected VAT revenue resulting from this measure and the costing methodology. The Government estimates that it will raise £460 million this year, rising to £1,725 million in 2029/30. VAT revenue overall is recognised in the National Accounts on an accruals basis. As set out in the above Annex, the VAT liability in 2024/25 is time apportioned for the implementation date of 1 January 2025. The actual VAT liability reported on VAT returns for any month or quarter will depend on various factors, including the date when schools meet the requirement to register for VAT (if not already registered), and which of the staggered quarterly accounting periods apply to the business. VAT returns are generally due one month and seven days after the end of the accounting period.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2025 to Question 36079 on Bus Services and Railways: Employers' Contributions, how much and what proportion of the £1 billion additional funding for buses will be spent on the increase to employer's National Insurance contributions.

The £1 billion of funding for buses awarded as part of the Budget includes £712 million allocated to local authorities to support and improve bus services. Local authorities can use this funding however they wish to improve bus services for passengers. In addition, over £150 million is being provided to bus operators to deliver the £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London throughout 2025, and £243 million is being made available to bus operators through the Bus Service Operators Grant to support services.

Whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of the application of VAT to private school fees on the long-term finances of (a) private and (b) state education sectors.

The Government has published a detailed costing note and Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN) assessing the impacts of applying VAT to private school fees, including impacts on private schools and state schools: Private school fees — VAT measure - GOV.UK How to fund VAT costs is a commercial decision for individual schools. The Government estimates that private school fees will increase by around 10% on average. The number of children in independent schools has remained steady despite c75% real terms increase in average private school fees since 2000. The Government estimates that, in the long-term steady state, there will be 35,000 additional pupils in the state school sector, which is less than 0.5% of all state schools. Based on average 2024 to 2025 per-pupil spending in England, the government expects the revenue costs of pupils entering the state sector as a result of the VAT policy across the UK to steadily increase to a peak of around £270 million per annum after several years. In comparison, the Government estimates that the policy will raise over £1.7bn per annum by 2029/30.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme on farmers who had planned to transition to the new land management practices under the Environmental Land Management scheme; and what plans his Department has to support those farmers.

On 11 March 2025, we published forecasts which suggest that Average Farm Business Income has risen in 2024/25 across all farm types with the exception of cereal farms. This follows a fall in income for most farm types in 2023/24, after some exceptional highs in the two preceding years. This Government is proud to have secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a 2-year period. 50,000 farm businesses are already in agri-environmental schemes. SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. We remain committed to investing in agri-environment schemes. We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; and we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome. Funding from the farming budget also supports the provision of advice within the sector. The Farming Advice Service can assist farmers to review what advice and guidance is available to meet their business needs.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to implement the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, what steps she plans to take to ensure that new electricity transmission infrastructure is integrated with local development plans.

Measures are already in place that ensure infrastructure provision is considered in the local plan-making process. The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that plans should be deliverable over the plan period, which will include ensuring that the required infrastructure, included energy infrastructure, can be provided to support proposed development. Infrastructure providers will be consulted where relevant and would be expected to advise on whether any capacity constraints exist that could prevent planned development being deliverable.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department had discussions with (a) farming groups and (b) stakeholders prior to the decision to close the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

The high uptake of the scheme means it is fully subscribed. The decision to close the scheme to new applications was taken at that point. We could not give any advance notice because we needed to ensure fair access to the scheme and avoid creating a sudden increase in the level of demand. Since we launched the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) in 2022 we have worked closely with the farming sector and stakeholders to develop and improve the offer to make sure it worked for as many different farmers and land types as possible. We will continue to do this in order to develop the reformed SFI offer.

What the annual quota for each of the Youth Mobility Scheme partner countries (a) was in 2024 and (b) is in 2025.

Quotas for the UK’s Youth Mobility Scheme visa route are published in Appendix Youth Mobility Scheme: eligible nationals of the Immigration Rules. The quotas for the upcoming year were set out in Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules HC 733 on 12 March and will be implemented in the Immigration Rules on 9 April. Quota information from previous years is also published online in the archived Immigration Rules.For 2024, we allocated the following quotas for each of our partner countries:- Andorra – 100 places- Australia – 45,000 places- Canada – 8,000 places- Hong Kong – 1,000 places- Iceland – 1,000 places- India – 3,000 places- Japan – 6,000 places- Monaco – 1,000 places- New Zealand – 8,500 places- Republic of Korea - 5,000 places- San Marino – 1,000 places- Taiwan – 1,000 places- Uruguay – 500 places.For 2025, we have allocated the following quotas for each of our partner countries:- Andorra – 100 places- Australia – 42,000 places- Canada – 10,000 places- Hong Kong – 1,000 places- Iceland – 1,000 places- India – 3,000 places- Japan – 6,000 places- Monaco – 1,000 places- New Zealand – 9,500 places- Republic of Korea - 5,000 places- San Marino – 1,000 places- Taiwan – 1,000 places- Uruguay – 500 places.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of fly-tipping have been reported in the 2024-25 financial year.

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents to Defra, which are published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. Data for the 2023/24 reporting year is available at this link. Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is still being collected.

What steps she is taking to help improve the effectiveness of the (a) collection and (b) dissemination of neighbourhood crime data.

Information on offences including vehicle-related theft, domestic burglary, theft from the person and robbery of personal property is routinely included in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Crime Survey for England Wales and by the Home Office from police forces based on crimes reported to the police in England and Wales. The ONS already publishes such data in their quarterly ‘Crime in England and Wales’ statistics release.