Lord Scriven

The content of such discussions are published in read-outs under the News and Communications page on gov.uk. Summaries of the most recent of such readouts are provided below.

(1) Kuwait

The Prime Minister spoke to His Highness Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, this morning.

The Prime Minister began by highlighting the close and historic relationship between the UK and Kuwait, which has endured for 125 years.

Across defence, security, trade and investment, the leaders discussed the cooperation between the UK and Kuwait, which they looked forward to strengthening.

The Prime Minister congratulated the Amir for the successful Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in December and reiterated the UK’s commitment to a Free Trade Agreement as negotiations continue.

Discussing investment from Kuwait into the UK, the leaders discussed further opportunities to drive growth in both countries across every sector.

They agreed on the importance of the work of the UN sponsored mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which leads efforts to locate missing people from the First Gulf War. They welcomed the extension of UNAMI’s mandate until 31 December 2025 and to identify a suitable follow-on process for this vital work.

They looked forward to seeing one another at the earliest opportunity.

(2) Qatar

The Prime Minister hosted The Amir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in Downing Street this afternoon.

He began by welcoming a significant milestone in the UK and Qatar’s new clean energy partnership, and the initial £1 billion commitment made by Qatar.

The two leaders agreed that the countries’ thriving investment relationship would continue to grow and deliver significant benefits for both countries.

Turning to defence, the Prime Minister reflected on the UK’s close cooperation with Qatar and the leaders discussed their ambition to go further to strengthen their unique partnership.

Finally, the Prime Minister commended Qatar’s leadership in mediation in the Middle East, including their role in securing the release of hostages from Gaza. He added that we must continue to push for all hostages to be released, including British national Emily Damari.

The leaders looked forward to speaking again soon.

The content of such discussions are published in read-outs under the News and Communications page on gov.uk. Summaries of the most recent of such readouts are provided below.

1. Bahrain

The Prime Minister welcomed His Royal Highness Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain to Downing Street today.

The leaders reflected on the strength of the UK-Bahrain relationship, and welcomed the UK becoming a full member of the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA) today. The agreement will deepen trilateral cooperation with Bahrain and the United States on regional security at a critical time, both agreed.

The Prime Minister also welcomed the signing of the Strategic Investment and Collaboration Partnership, building on the two-way investment partnership between the countries, and how this will unlock new investment, growth and jobs into the UK, delivering on the Plan for Change.

The leaders also underscored the importance of the new Defence Cooperation Accord between the two countries, deepening joint military training and building on the two nations’ strong naval ties.

Highlighting the strength of the 200-year relationship between both nations, the leaders looked forward to further cooperation, including trade negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Turning to the situation in the Middle East, the leaders called for de-escalation and both agreed on the need for enduring and closer relationships across the region to support stability.

The Prime Minister and Crown Prince looked forward to speaking again soon.

(2) Saudi Arabia

The Prime Minister met the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh this evening.

The leaders began by discussing the shared challenges and opportunities between the two countries, including on defence and security, growth, and research and development.

The Prime Minister updated on his Plan for Change, which he announced last week, including his ambition to drive growth across the country.

Saudi Arabia was already playing a central role in supporting growth and job creation in the UK, especially through the green energy sector, the Prime Minister added.

The relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia was also central to regional stability, the leaders agreed.

Reflecting on Saudi Arabia’s reform agenda, the leaders discussed the steps taken by the Crown Prince’s government to improve human rights under Saudi’s Vision 2030.

Turning to the situation in Israel and Gaza, the Prime Minister updated on his view of the situation and welcomed the Crown Prince’s reflection on how the suffering on all sides could be ended.

It was also vital there was an acceleration of aid into Gaza, the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister invited the Crown Prince to the UK, and said he hoped the leaders would be able to watch a game of football in between meetings if he took up the offer.

(3) Oman

The Prime Minister welcomed the Sultan of Oman, His Majesty Haitham bin Tarik al Said, to Downing Street this morning.

The Prime Minister began by highlighting the historic relationship between the UK and Oman, noting the special friendship, spanning over 400 years.

The leaders discussed the broad areas of cooperation between their two countries, including defence, security and trade, which they both looked forward to strengthening.

Turning to the situation in the Middle East, the Prime Minister emphasised the clear and urgent the need for de-escalation and urged all parties in the region to exercise restraint.

On Gaza, The Prime Minister reiterated the need for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and an immediate increase in the volume of humanitarian aid reaching civilians. Both agreed on the need for a two-state solution through a peace process.

They looked forward to working closely together in the future.

(4) The United Arab Emirates

The Prime Minister met His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, in Abu Dhabi this morning.

The Prime Minister thanked His Highness for inviting him to the United Arab Emirates and emphasised the long-standing and wide-ranging partnership between the two countries.

The Prime Minister and His Highness shared their perspectives on the evolving situation in Syria. The Prime Minister welcomed His Highness’s reflections on how to achieve stability in the wider region against the broader geopolitical backdrop.

Turning to the bilateral relationship, they agreed on the untapped potential in areas such as artificial intelligence, and a joint desire to build on existing cooperation in defence and security.

They also discussed a shared ambition for greater investment and trade, building on the close personal ties between the British and Emirati people.

The Prime Minister thanked His Highness for his hospitality, and said he hoped to be able to reciprocate during a visit to the UK in the future.

I refer the Noble Lord to the read out of the meeting:

The Prime Minister welcomed His Royal Highness Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain to Downing Street today.

The leaders reflected on the strength of the UK-Bahrain relationship, and welcomed the UK becoming a full member of the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA) today. The agreement will deepen trilateral cooperation with Bahrain and the United States on regional security at a critical time, both agreed.

The Prime Minister also welcomed the signing of the Strategic Investment and Collaboration Partnership, building on the two-way investment partnership between the countries, and how this will unlock new investment, growth and jobs into the UK, delivering on the Plan for Change.

The leaders also underscored the importance of the new Defence Cooperation Accord between the two countries, deepening joint military training and building on the two nations’ strong naval ties.

Highlighting the strength of the 200-year relationship between both nations, the leaders looked forward to further cooperation, including trade negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Turning to the situation in the Middle East, the leaders called for de-escalation and both agreed on the need for enduring and closer relationships across the region to support stability.

The Prime Minister and Crown Prince looked forward to speaking again soon.

Measures to modernise the constitution were announced in the King’s Speech, including legislation to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. This will be the first step in wider reform to the second chamber, as set out in the manifesto.

The UK is a leading advocate for human rights, and we remain committed to the promotion of universal human rights. We have a range of policy tools and levers available to hold to account those involved in serious human rights violations and abuses. In the UK-GCC FTA, provisions we are seeking include those that reaffirm core ILO labour protections, and further our efforts to promote women’s economic empowerment. We raise any concerns with the GCC through Ministerial and diplomatic channels. Our strong relationships with the Gulf do not stop us from speaking frankly about human rights or other issues.

The UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. This work takes place separately to negotiations on free trade agreements.

While aspects of trade policy can provide the opportunity to address other issues in a bilateral relationship, free trade agreements are not generally the most effective or targeted tool to advance human rights issues.

Trade deals like the UK-GCC FTA will be aligned with the trade and industrial strategies, to bring prosperity to communities across the country and fulfil our mission of securing the highest sustained growth in the G7.

The UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. The Department for Business and Trade are currently assessing progress across the programme of Free Trade Agreements currently under negotiation. Economic growth is our first mission in government and Free Trade Agreements have an important part to play in that. The Department's trade deals will be aligned with its industrial strategy, to bring prosperity to communities across the country and fulfil our mission of securing the highest sustained growth in the G7.

The decision by Merck, or MSD, not to progress its investment, is part of a broader effort by MSD to optimise its resources. It announced in July that it would cut $3 billion per year by 2027 and that 6,000 jobs would go worldwide. MSD continues to employ over 1,600 staff in the UK across other operations, including more than 40 collaborative working agreements with the NHS, the Our Future Health project and UK clinical trials. This decision will not impact UK access to new medicines.

The department launched the ‘Data protection in schools’ project, formerly known as the education privacy assurance scheme (EPAS), in autumn 2022. The department’s primary focus is to educate schools and enable them to understand their data protection responsibilities, with the view to improving children’s safety and privacy.

The department is currently awaiting the outcome of an Information Commissioner’s Office audit into educational technology providers, and a subsequent code of practice, before determining whether any additional measures, including certification, should be implemented.

The electrification of the Midland Main Line that is complete will enable bi-mode intercity trains to operate in electric traction between St Pancras and Wigston. These new trains will have more seats and will provide a step change in passenger experience.

Continuing electrification to Nottingham and Sheffield was considered in the Spending Review, which prioritised investment across all government spending, taking account of business cases and affordability, including economic and social impacts.

The next phase of electrification has been paused as it is lower value for money, partly due to rising costs and partly as a consequence of having already delivered substantial electrification, but we will continue to keep it under review as part of our longer-term pipeline of schemes.

The Department is aware of occasions where the air conditioning has failed within one of the carriages on an East Midlands Railway (EMR) train whilst in service. When this occurs the train conductor helps passengers find alternative seats in a cooler carriage and offers water to those who decide to remain in the affected carriage. Excessive temperature is one factor that is measured through the Service Quality Regime to ensure timely rectification of a fault by train operators.

The Class 810 ‘Aurora’ trains are currently undergoing testing by Hitachi, and we expect the first units to be delivered to East Midlands Railway in the Autumn, with a phased roll-out during 2026.

In collaboration with industry partners, East Midlands Railway are considering all factors, including minimising the impacts on passengers, in relation to their fleet transition. There has been no assessment by the Department of the train times to whom the Class 222s are expected to be leased.

The Manchester Task Force was made up of Department for Transport (DfT) officials and representatives from Network Rail, train operators, Rail North Partnership (RNP), Transport for the North (TfN) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The task force also had the benefit from expert industry analysis and insight.

After gathering evidence, developing options and consulting with stakeholders and passengers, it identified a range of short and long-term actions to improve the performance of the railway in Manchester and thereby across the North and to support future growth in passengers.

The Task Force formulated a series of recommendations with input from DfT officials and officers from TfN, TfGM and RNP on which Ministers and Northern leaders made a decision on a new timetable.

The department each year routinely takes steps to ensure letters issued to those eligible to Winter Fuel payments are accurate based on their circumstances at the time of writing. Naturally, there is a short timeframe where in very rare occasions these circumstances may change whilst the letters are already in production or in the delivery network. We continually review our processes to ensure these instances are kept to an absolute minimum to avoid unnecessary impacts on our customers or their relatives.

The proposed core functions of the National Health Service regional teams are set out in the Model Region Blueprint which has been widely cascaded to the service. It forms one part of the wider changes to the NHS operating model. NHS regions will have three core functions:

• strategic regional leadership, which involves leading the regional health system to support delivery of reform, oversee planning, investment and reconfiguration, support innovation, and ensure effective regional leadership strategy and talent pipelines;
• performance management, which involves holistic oversight of performance in line with national frameworks including understanding board and leadership capability, understanding early warning, and managing risk; and
• improvement and intervention, which involves a regional approach to improvement support and intervention to ensure high quality and sustainable care, developing capability, addressing underperformance, and overseeing regulatory interventions as required.

NHS regional teams are currently a core part of NHS England and work together with national teams to discharge the functions of the organisation. There are currently no plans to delegate additional responsibilities to regional teams from the Department or the integrated care boards.

In March 2025, it was announced that NHS England would be abolished, and its duties and functions combined with the Department, pending legislation. The future organisation will continue to have seven regional teams aligned to the current NHS England regional footprints. In the future organisation, we want our seven regional teams to be leaner and more empowered, working as an integral part of the new centre. Work is underway to consider the role that regional teams should play in the future once NHS England and the Department have been brought together as a single organisation.

Under the proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act, learning disability and autism are still classed as a 'mental disorder', as they are under the existing Mental Health Act. The Mental Health Bill also introduces a new definition of 'psychiatric disorder' under the act, which covers all mental disorders other than learning disability and autism. In future, it will only be possible to detain those people with a learning disability and/or autistic people who also have a psychiatric disorder that needs treatment under the act. This change seeks to ensure that people are only detained when they have a mental disorder that warrants hospital treatment, and which has a reasonable prospect of providing a therapeutic benefit for that disorder.

Mental health, learning disabilities, and autism are all important areas in their own right for both the Department and NHS England, and require leadership at the highest levels to ensure services in these areas meet the ambitions we have set.

Our new proposed structure incudes several senior director roles responsible for leading on particular clusters of services, one of which will include mental health, learning disabilities, and autism.

The remuneration for senior Government Commercial Organisation (GCO) roles is set centrally to ensure a consistent, cross-government approach that allows us to attract and retain commercial leaders within the specialised skills needed to manage complex challenges and deliver value for money.

This ‘invest to save’ model includes a performance-related pay element which is not guaranteed; it is strictly contingent on meeting stretching objectives designed to deliver significant taxpayer savings. Such payment is approved by the GCO Remuneration Committee and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury as per central guidance.

Following the announcement of the abolition of NHS England, we are clear on the need for a smaller centre, as well as scaling back integrated care board running costs and National Health Service provider corporate cost reductions in order to reduce waste and bureaucracy.

Good progress is being made with the Department and NHS England having announced voluntary exit and expressions of interes,t respectively. Departmental exits are expected this calendar year so number of exits can be confirmed in the next few months. NHS England is running to a later timeframe, and we do not expect to be able to confirm numbers before the next financial year. No individuals have yet received redundancy or severance payments, and no assessment of an NHS at-risk pool has been made.

Following the announcement of the abolition of NHS England, we are clear on the need for a smaller centre, as well as scaling back integrated care board running costs and National Health Service provider corporate cost reductions in order to reduce waste and bureaucracy.

Good progress is being made with the Department and NHS England having announced voluntary exit and expressions of interes,t respectively. Departmental exits are expected this calendar year so number of exits can be confirmed in the next few months. NHS England is running to a later timeframe, and we do not expect to be able to confirm numbers before the next financial year. No individuals have yet received redundancy or severance payments, and no assessment of an NHS at-risk pool has been made.