Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to ensure integrated care boards covering the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency have the capacity to deliver palliative and end of life care closer to home.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life, including in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, and enable integrated care boards to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care. This will be aligned with the ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the forthcoming palliative care and end-of-life care framework on the provision of palliative care services in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life, including in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, and enable integrated care boards to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care. This will be aligned with the ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what metrics are used to evaluate UK participation in joint regulatory co-operation forums with the European Union.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government does not use a single fixed set of metrics. A range of data is utilised, including the importance of sectors impacted and the level of regulatory burden businesses are facing. The UK-EU Trade Cooperation Agreement (TCA) includes a series of Annual Trade Specialised Committees (TSCs). Agendas and minutes are published here. Regulatory cooperation takes place across these committees. More information on the UK-EU Trade Partnership Council can also be found here. The Domestic Advisory Group, which advises on implementation of the TCA, also monitors the TCA’s operation, including regulatory cooperation.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what criteria his Department uses to determine which sectors are prioritised for UK-EU regulatory co-operation.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government does not use a single fixed set of metrics. A range of data is utilised, including the importance of sectors impacted and the level of regulatory burden businesses are facing. The UK-EU Trade Cooperation Agreement (TCA) includes a series of Annual Trade Specialised Committees (TSCs). Agendas and minutes are published here. Regulatory cooperation takes place across these committees. More information on the UK-EU Trade Partnership Council can also be found here. The Domestic Advisory Group, which advises on implementation of the TCA, also monitors the TCA’s operation, including regulatory cooperation.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Department has established measurable targets for rural business productivity improvements supported by public funding in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have not set productivity targets specifically for businesses in rural areas. Defra provides funding to rural businesses via the Rural England Prosperity Fund. Each individual eligible local authority is responsible for running their own rounds of funding and establishing their own delivery targets based on local priorities.

The Fund is devolved to local authorities, and they have been given responsibility for delivery of REPF – including setting priorities and delivery targets for the funding they have been allocated, assessing and approving project applications, processing payments and the day-to-day monitoring of delivery. Each eligible local authority reports every 6 months on spend and outcomes via the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, who administer the Fund on Defras’ behalf.

The Department provided Buckinghamshire with an allocation of £1.828m in financial years 2023/24 & 2024/25 and a further £548k in financial year 2025/26 via the Rural England Prosperity Fund.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Department has established metrics for tracking economic diversification outcomes in supported Overseas Territories.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Department assesses the financial sustainability of long-term UK-funded capacity-building projects through its business case process, annual reviews and Project Completion Reviews. During delivery, sustainability is monitored through quarterly progress reports and annual reviews, which include checks on financial performance, risk management and alignment with agreed objectives. Programme Responsible Owners (PROs) apply the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to ensure ongoing viability, using tools such as risk registers, results frameworks and value-for-money assessments throughout the project lifecycle.

UK support to aided Overseas Territories contributes to economic diversification and local capacity-building in line with our commitment to the prosperity of the whole UK family. Various metrics such as visitor numbers and overall GDP growth are used to track outcomes, as appropriate for each territory and in line with programme operating framework requirements.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what reporting requirements exist for Overseas Territories accessing UK technical assistance programmes.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Department assesses the financial sustainability of long-term UK-funded capacity-building projects through its business case process, annual reviews and Project Completion Reviews. During delivery, sustainability is monitored through quarterly progress reports and annual reviews, which include checks on financial performance, risk management and alignment with agreed objectives. Programme Responsible Owners (PROs) apply the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to ensure ongoing viability, using tools such as risk registers, results frameworks and value-for-money assessments throughout the project lifecycle.

UK support to aided Overseas Territories contributes to economic diversification and local capacity-building in line with our commitment to the prosperity of the whole UK family. Various metrics such as visitor numbers and overall GDP growth are used to track outcomes, as appropriate for each territory and in line with programme operating framework requirements.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what methodology the Department uses to assess the financial sustainability of long-term UK-funded capacity-building projects.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Department assesses the financial sustainability of long-term UK-funded capacity-building projects through its business case process, annual reviews and Project Completion Reviews. During delivery, sustainability is monitored through quarterly progress reports and annual reviews, which include checks on financial performance, risk management and alignment with agreed objectives. Programme Responsible Owners (PROs) apply the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to ensure ongoing viability, using tools such as risk registers, results frameworks and value-for-money assessments throughout the project lifecycle.

UK support to aided Overseas Territories contributes to economic diversification and local capacity-building in line with our commitment to the prosperity of the whole UK family. Various metrics such as visitor numbers and overall GDP growth are used to track outcomes, as appropriate for each territory and in line with programme operating framework requirements.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has agreed trackable benchmarks for UK-EU security collaboration programmes.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, working with Cabinet Office, Ministry of Defence and other partners are closely tracking and assessing delivery of the UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership. We hold six-monthly dialogues with the EU led by the Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary, along with regular dialogues at official level on a range of areas. Cooperation has already intensified on priorities such as support to Ukraine, tackling hybrid threats, and stability in the Western Balkans.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has formalised reporting requirements for departments that experience repeated cyber incidents.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government Cyber Security Policy Handbook sets clear expectations for departments to follow in the event of a cyber incident, including the communication plans that departments need to have in place to notify relevant bodies and organisations.

The Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3) will shortly publish the Government Cyber Incident Response Plan (G-CIRP) which reiterates departmental responsibilities during cyber incidents, including reporting.

Furthermore, DSIT expects to publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this Winter, which sets out clear structures and actions to improve our collective response to fast-moving incidents. It also articulates how the Government Cyber Coordination Centre will provide departments with more support in understanding, detecting and responding to threats.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has a framework for evaluating cyber-security workforce shortages within the public sector.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT has a number of different mechanisms for evaluating the public sector’s cyber workforce.

DSIT completes an annual Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market Survey, which identifies key challenges facing the public sector’s cyber security workforce, including skills gaps.

Additionally, DSIT expects to publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this Winter which will set out our approach to tackling cyber skills across Government. To develop this approach, DSIT considered a range of data sources, such as the cross government Security Profession Workforce Commission, the People Survey, the recent National Audit Office report on Government Cyber Resilience, and Civil Service Jobs databases to understand where we are facing cyber workforce shortages, why these shortages exist, and how best to tackle them.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what procedures are in place for cross-border data exchange within UK-EU institutional partnerships.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

UK and EU organisations that transfer personal data in the context of institutional partnerships can rely on respective applicable arrangements that facilitate the free flow of such data. These are known as adequacy decisions

Following EU exit, the UK legislated to deem the EU institutions adequate while in 2021 the EU also adopted its own adequacy decisions for the UK. Some exchanges of personal data are also governed by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement or arrangements for specific areas of cooperation.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Department records skills gaps identified by rural enterprises applying for Government support.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra provides funding to rural businesses via the Rural England Prosperity Fund. The fund is devolved to local authorities, and each individual eligible local authority are responsible for running their own rounds of funding.

Defra does not record skills gaps identified by rural enterprises applying for Government support.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what framework the Department uses to evaluate rural supply-chain resilience projects funded by public programmes.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The effectiveness of public programmes is reviewed according to standard Government evaluation guidance. This usually includes process, impact and value for money criteria against the stated objectives of each grant scheme.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what performance indicators are used to review the effectiveness of food sector capital incentives.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Investment is through grants to sustainable farming and food production businesses and prioritised in terms of where it delivers most value. Applications are assessed against published criteria.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment criteria are used for evaluating applications to food industry investment programmes.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Investment is through grants to sustainable farming and food production businesses and prioritised in terms of where it delivers most value. Applications are assessed against published criteria.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what mechanisms the Government uses to assess public sector compliance with national cyber security standards.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

GovAssure is the cyber security assurance scheme for assessing the critical systems of government organisations. The scheme was launched in April 2023 and DSIT recently initiated the scheme’s third year of operations.

GovAssure requires government organisations to self-assess the cyber resilience of their critical systems using the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF). Outcomes are independently verified by accredited third-party reviewers and returned to the Government Cyber Unit, providing DSIT with a clear and objective understanding of cyber resilience levels across government, including the systemic issues preventing organisations from achieving target resilience levels.

DSIT expects to publish the Government Cyber Action Plan later this Winter. The plan sets out how we will adopt a radical shift in our approach to cyber and digital resilience risks across the public sector, with a focus on strengthening accountability. It sets out the underlying milestones and a performance framework for measuring Government’s progress towards these goals, providing DSIT with a further mechanism for assessing compliance.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what arrangements exist for sharing threat intelligence between central Government and local authorities.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3) shares intelligence across government and the public sector, enabling organisations to better understand and defend against the cyber threat

GC3 and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) work closely together - alongside the National Cyber Security Centre and law enforcement - to share cyber threat intelligence with local authorities.

DSIT will publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this winter which will set out clearer responsibilities and structures for sharing intelligence across Government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria are used by his Department to determine which public systems require mandatory zero-trust security measures.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Department applies a risk-based assessment framework, underpinned by secure by design methodology including structured threat modelling, to determine which public systems require mandatory zero-trust security measures. Systems handling sensitive data, supporting critical services, or presenting elevated threat exposure are prioritised. This approach ensures that zero-trust controls are applied proportionately, focusing effort on the environments with the highest risk profile.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department takes to record UK public sector participation in EU-linked research consortia.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Information on European Commission-led programmes, such as Horizon Europe, is collected by the Commission. This data is publicly available and includes details on successful consortia, including UK public sector organisations. It can be found in the R&I Projects section of the Funding and Tenders Portal under the Key Figures page using the relevant filters: R&I Proposals - Summary | Sheet - Qlik Sense. DSIT uses this and other relevant sources to assess UK participation and measures to keep improving this.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the staffing requirements needed to support expanded UK engagement in Indo-Pacific economic initiatives.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Building strong relationships in the Indo-Pacific is crucial to the UK's long-term economic growth. The global economic centre of gravity is already shifting - by 2050 the Indo-Pacific region will generate over half of global growth.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade, and other colleagues, to ensure that our work in the Indo-Pacific supports the delivery of the UK's Industrial and Trade Strategies, including securing the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and finalising UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. UK Diplomatic Posts in the Indo-Pacific incorporate relevant regional strategic priorities into their country plans, and all Posts provide twice-yearly updates against the objectives set out in those plans.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what mechanisms she uses to evaluate the performance of UK posts in delivering Indo-Pacific strategic priorities.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Building strong relationships in the Indo-Pacific is crucial to the UK's long-term economic growth. The global economic centre of gravity is already shifting - by 2050 the Indo-Pacific region will generate over half of global growth.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade, and other colleagues, to ensure that our work in the Indo-Pacific supports the delivery of the UK's Industrial and Trade Strategies, including securing the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and finalising UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. UK Diplomatic Posts in the Indo-Pacific incorporate relevant regional strategic priorities into their country plans, and all Posts provide twice-yearly updates against the objectives set out in those plans.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK Indo-Pacific policy is aligned with domestic trade and investment objectives.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Building strong relationships in the Indo-Pacific is crucial to the UK's long-term economic growth. The global economic centre of gravity is already shifting - by 2050 the Indo-Pacific region will generate over half of global growth.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade, and other colleagues, to ensure that our work in the Indo-Pacific supports the delivery of the UK's Industrial and Trade Strategies, including securing the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and finalising UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. UK Diplomatic Posts in the Indo-Pacific incorporate relevant regional strategic priorities into their country plans, and all Posts provide twice-yearly updates against the objectives set out in those plans.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Department for Business and Trade on resourcing UK participation in Indo-Pacific market-access programmes.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Building strong relationships in the Indo-Pacific is crucial to the UK's long-term economic growth. The global economic centre of gravity is already shifting - by 2050 the Indo-Pacific region will generate over half of global growth.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade, and other colleagues, to ensure that our work in the Indo-Pacific supports the delivery of the UK's Industrial and Trade Strategies, including securing the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and finalising UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. UK Diplomatic Posts in the Indo-Pacific incorporate relevant regional strategic priorities into their country plans, and all Posts provide twice-yearly updates against the objectives set out in those plans.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the national HIV surveillance system remains compatible with international reporting standards.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and its predecessors have led HIV surveillance since the beginning of the epidemic in the early 1980s. In addition to continued collaboration and acting as expert advisors on HIV surveillance to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) European region, the UKHSA ensures that its data remains compatible by reporting standard data to ECDC/WHO European region and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS on an annual basis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the laboratory capacity required to meet anticipated levels of HIV screening during the HIV Action Plan for England 2025–2030 period.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of the new HIV Action Plan, we will continue the success of the blood-borne virus emergency department opt-out testing programme, investing £156 million from April 2026 to March 2029 to deliver opt-out HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C testing in emergency departments in very high and high HIV prevalence areas.

We will also expand digital provision of HIV testing, investing £5 million in 2025/26 to trial HIV testing through the NHS App, working in partnership with existing commissioned sexual health providers, such as those already used by local authorities, rather than building a new service from scratch. These services have a strong track record in at-home HIV testing, and the NHS App will provide a new entry point that routes people into that established service.

National Health Service trusts are responsible for ensuring laboratories have adequate capacity for all testing, including HIV screening.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that clinical commissioning structures are prepared for changes arising from the HIV Action Plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The new HIV Action Plan (HIV AP), published on 1 December 2025, sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing and treatment, tackling stigma, and reaching our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030.

National Health Service integrated care boards hold commissioning responsibility for adult HIV services in line with the relevant NHS England service specification. NHS England is supportive of the HIV AP and its recommendations and is committed to the implementation and delivery of the plan.

The HIV AP asks local partners across the NHS and local authorities to carry out a HIV needs assessment which will inform the development and publication of local HIV plans across the country during 2026/27.

Local areas will monitor uptake and outcomes to identify gaps and improve equity in access to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment. The UK Health Security Agency will continue to support this with robust data monitoring and reporting.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to review guidance for local authorities on HIV support service commissioning.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The new HIV Action Plan, published on 1 December 2025, sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing and treatment, tackling stigma, and reaching our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030. Services to support people living with HIV are primarily the responsibility of National Health Service integrated care boards, who commission adult HIV care in line with the relevant NHS England service specification. Providers of HIV care are responsible for collaborating with local authority commissioned social care where needed.

The HIV Action Plan also asks local partners across the NHS and local authorities to carry out a HIV needs assessment which will inform the development and publication of local HIV plans across the country during 2026/27. Local areas will monitor uptake and outcomes to identify gaps and improve equity in access to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment. The UK Health Security Agency will continue to support this with robust data monitoring and reporting.