Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department last tested contingency arrangements for maintaining the distribution of medicines on the Critical Medicines List in the event of a major disruption to a) supply chains or b) transport networks.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Department's contingency plans for maintaining the supply of medical products are under ongoing review by the Cabinet Office through their National Capabilities Assessment. This tests the Department's response to scenarios on the National Risk Register, including disruption to medical supply chains and transport networks.

The Department also takes part in exercises that test contingency arrangements. In November 2025, the Department participated in Exercise Pegasus, a tier 1 national-level exercise testing decision making processes for measures to contain, control, or mitigate the impact of a pandemic, including the impact on supply chains and transport.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what stockpiles of medicines on the Critical Medicines List are currently held by her Department.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Department maintains targeted stockpiles of medicines for emergencies that require a major public health response. The Department does not routinely publish information on the specific medicines held and keeps its stockpiles under regular review based on the latest clinical, risk assessment, and supply chain intelligence.

Stockpiling is one of a number of measures used to strengthen the resilience of medicine supply chains, along with diversification, support for domestics manufacturing, and international collaboration. The Department has established shortage management procedures to help mitigate the patient impact of supply disruption, including sourcing alternative products, serious shortage protocols, and a global logistics contingency. Further, NHS England's procurement arrangements include requirements for suppliers of certain secondary care medicines to hold buffer stocks to help manage disruption.

Given the global nature of medicine supply chains, the Government continues to work with international partners, including the European Union, and across the supply chain to strengthen resilience, reduce vulnerabilities, and support reliable access to medicines for patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support air ambulance services.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of treating Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments as income for means-tested benefit assessments.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1^st July 2026 to Question UIN 12993.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of small boat arrivals were removed in 2025.

Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Around 7% of individuals removed or returned in the year ending March 2026 had arrived in the UK via small boat. We are targeting those behind these unacceptable crossings, with Organised Immigration Crime arrests up 55%, wider disruptions to criminal smuggling networks up nearly 50%, and small boat arrivals down around 40% so far this year.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions Military Aid to the Civil Authorities has been provided in the last 12 months.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

In 2025 Defence delivered 88 Military Aid to Civil Authority (MACA) tasks. In 2026 so far, Defence has delivered 16 MACAs, including assisting during adverse weather events, security and ceremonial support for visits from senior politicians and dignitaries, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal support.

Defence maintains three UK Standby Battalions, keeping 900 service personnel on 24-48 hours' notice to move. These units stand ready nationwide to provide rapid support for resilience and MACA tasks.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department last conducted a resilience test of public service broadcasting infrastructure against the scenario of a national telecommunications network failure.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government understands how important it is that everyone can access information in times of national emergency. Television and radio both play an important role in providing such access in a range of different emergency scenarios, including scenarios where other communications may be disrupted.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its infrastructure is able to support emergency communications.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks in the National Risk Register is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed DCMS that there are robust plans and procedures in place, which are tested regularly, for maintaining resilient communications to the public via its TV and radio broadcast networks including live tests of its broadcast systems.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department last assessed the resilience of prison infrastructure, including a) power, b) water and c) heating systems, to major failure.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

A condition survey of all Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) assets across the prison estate was completed in 2023, with the findings published by HMPPS through the Prison Estate Conditions Survey Programme. The survey assessed the condition of key M&E infrastructure and provided an overview of asset condition and thus resilience.

Further information is available through the Prison Estate Conditions Survey Programme Summary Information published by HMPPS on GOV.UK: Prison Estate Conditions Survey Programme Summary Information - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department holds any government-owned strategic reserve of (a) petrol and (b) diesel for emergency use, separate from industry stockholding obligations.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

HMG does not hold a separate Government-owned strategic reserve of petrol or diesel. The UK meets its International Energy Agency obligations by requiring industry to hold emergency stocks, which can be made available in the event of a supply disruption.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of its consular surge capacity to support British nationals in the event of a large-scale overseas crisis.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Consular and crisis support is available 24/7 through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) contact centre and global network. When a crisis results in increased consular assistance requests, the FCDO may send a Rapid Deployment Team (RDT) to the affected region to support British nationals. A rotating roster ensures that a team can always be deployed at short notice.

In 2024-25, the last full financial year for which data is available, the FCDO answered over 400,000 requests for consular support from British nationals overseas, and provided detailed consular assistance in over 22,000 cases, including giving support to families of more than 6,000 British nationals who had died abroad, and 3,500 who had been hospitalised. In 2024-25, 85% of service users were satisfied with the service received. Extensive further information about consular services is published on GOV.UK and in the FCDO's annual report.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many of her staff are trained for deployment as part of her Department's Rapid Deployment Teams for consular crises.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Consular and crisis support is available 24/7 through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) contact centre and global network. When a crisis results in increased consular assistance requests, the FCDO may send a Rapid Deployment Team (RDT) to the affected region to support British nationals. A rotating roster ensures that a team can always be deployed at short notice.

In 2024-25, the last full financial year for which data is available, the FCDO answered over 400,000 requests for consular support from British nationals overseas, and provided detailed consular assistance in over 22,000 cases, including giving support to families of more than 6,000 British nationals who had died abroad, and 3,500 who had been hospitalised. In 2024-25, 85% of service users were satisfied with the service received. Extensive further information about consular services is published on GOV.UK and in the FCDO's annual report.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cyber security incident reports relating to transport networks her Department received in the last 12 months.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We received 14 cyber security incident reports relating to the transport network in the last 12 months (June 2025 to June 2026) from transport operators. These will include mandatory reporting under the Network & Information Systems Regulations 2018 and voluntary reporting we have received into DfT.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of schools in England have a business continuity plan that has been reviewed in the last 12 months.

Answered by Olivia Bailey

The department does not collect data on whether schools have a business continuity plan, or whether such plans have been reviewed within the last 12 months.

Settings remain responsible for complying with their legal responsibilities, including health and safety requirements, and should develop plans that reflect their local circumstances.

The department publishes non-statutory guidance to support settings to plan for emergencies within their own local context which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency measures her Department has in place to ensure food reserves in the event of a major disruption to food supply chains.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra works with industry and across Government, including with the Cabinet Office to monitor risks to food supply chains. Decisions on capacity of food storage infrastructure are a matter for individual food businesses. Government maintains, regular engagement with industry to support preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the resilience of UK supply chains for critical minerals was last formally reviewed by his Department; and what the findings of that review were.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) updated the UK Criticality Assessment in November 2024, identifying critical minerals based on global supply risk and the UK’s economic vulnerability. This informed the 2025 UK Critical Minerals Strategy, which introduced a new, complementary list of growth minerals, which will be increasingly important to future industries and economic growth. CMIC will update the criticality assessment in due course; in the interim, Government continues to monitor developments. Further, to help anticipate future risks, DBT’s Supply Chain Centre published its list of growth-driving inputs, including chemicals and raw materials, vital for the Industrial Strategy manufacturing sectors.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, on how many occasions the Law Officers have been consulted by government departments on the lawful use of emergency powers in the context of civil emergency planning in the last 12 months.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General

The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by the Law Officers, or requested of the Law Officers, and the Convention applies to your question.

The Law Officers’ Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:

“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, given the Prime Minister's confirmation at the NATO summit that the UK has met the NATO target of spending 1.5% of GDP on security-related investment, if she will set out (a) which departments' budgets contributed to reaching that figure, (b) in what proportion, and (c) whether any new funding was allocated for this purpose.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK has met NATO’s 1.5% defence and security-related spending target, as defined by NATO. NATO’s definition sets out that spend should be to protect our critical infrastructure, defend our networks, ensure our civil preparedness and resilience, unleash innovation and strengthen our defence industrial base. Given this definition, contributions came from a number of departments. All spending captured as part of the 1.5% is determined through the Spending Review and set out to Parliament via the Estimates process in the usual way.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to commission an independent review of the Armed Forces medical discharge process to assess outcomes for transitioning into civilian life.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 July 2026 to Question 12262 to the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith).

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-06-23/12262

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department requires Government departments to assess the potential impact of new policies on veterans at the policy development stage.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

This government is fully committed to renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve and who have served. In November 2025, the Government published a new cross-government Veterans Strategy working with devolved governments and across society to set a new narrative around the remarkable men and women who have served in our Armed Forces.

During Armed Forces week (June 2025), the Prime Minister announced that military personnel, veterans, their families and the bereaved are to have their unique circumstances legally protected by central and devolved governments for the first time under plans to extend the Covenant Legal Duty to more policy areas and across the UK, through the Armed Forces Bill 2026. The Bill is now progressing through the House of Lords and must achieve Royal Assent by December 2026.

The Covenant Duty will extend to UK Government departments and the Devolved Governments as well as local public bodies currently within scope. They will all be required to have due regard to the Covenant principles in their decision and policy making. The Duty will be extended from three policy areas to encompass childcare, education and training, employment, health and social care, housing, social security benefits, personal taxation, criminal justice, transport, pensions, immigration and citizenship, and armed forces compensation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to introduce new performance measures to assess implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Defence (Lord Coaker), on 12 February 2026 to Question HL14110 in the House of Lords.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-01-29/HL14110

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what data his Department collects on the a) long-term health, b) employment and c) housing outcomes of medically discharged veterans.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 July 2026 to Question 12262 to the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith).

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-06-23/12262

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had regarding the future of the Veterans Mobility Fund beyond March 2027.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 July 2026 to Questions 12265 and 12266 to the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Mr Smith).

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-06-23/12265

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the National Drought Group last reviewed drought preparedness plans; and what the findings were.

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

The National Drought Group, chaired by the Environment Agency, last met on 18 June 2026 to review drought preparedness and assess water resource conditions. The Group concluded that although drought risk was currently low with most companies reporting adequate water resources, further heatwaves may change this assessment. It was agreed continued monitoring and early preparedness action was required in response to hot, dry weather.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department last assessed the resilience of water supplies in England; and what the findings were.

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

In 2024, the Government allowed most water companies to publish their latest water resources management plans. The plans explain how water companies will maintain water security over a 25-year period. In allowing the publication, an assessment of their water needs was made and advice taken from the Environment Agency and Ofwat. The Environment Agency has published a summary of the plans on GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, a) how much total funding has been allocated to national resilience and civil contingencies in the current spending review period and b) what the breakdown of that funding is by department.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

National resilience and civil contingencies activity is funded across departments as part of their Spending Review settlements. At SR25, the government prioritised spending for resilience and civil contingencies projects across HMG, including £4.2 billion for flood defences, over £1 billion for biosecurity infrastructure, and £520 million for life sciences manufacturing.

Under the Lead Government Department (LGD) model, designated LGDs are responsible, within these settlements, for leading work to identify serious risks and ensure that the right planning, response and recovery arrangements are in place.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of recognition of chronic pain conditions within Armed Forces compensation schemes.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 June 2026 to Question 9408 to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade).

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-06-12/9408.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms exist to mobilise additional medical staff in the event of a national emergency.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The National Health Service has arrangements to mobilise workforce capacity and resources in response to a national emergency. These include local, regional, and national mutual aid arrangements, which enable healthcare organisations to share resources where needed during an emergency. The NHS also has mechanisms for regional and national coordination to support the redeployment of personnel and the prioritisation of services during a national emergency. In addition, the NHS England national workforce team has reviewed mechanisms such as template Memorandums of Understanding which will enable rapid redeployment of the workforce and is identifying early adopters for workforce resilience measures.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of local authorities in England have an up-to-date community risk register and emergency plan.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

As of July 2026, all of the 38 Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) in England have a Community Risk Register currently in place, of which 21 were reviewed and updated within the past 2 years and 17 are currently under review or due to be reviewed.

LRFs, established under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, are based on police force boundaries and bring together emergency services, local authorities, health partners and other responder organisations. The 38 LRFs in England are responsible for producing Community Risk Registers and developing and maintaining multi-agency emergency plans, which collectively cover all local authorities in England. Local authorities participate as core partners in these arrangements.

Community Risk Registers are public-facing risk assessments produced by LRFs. They identify the most significant risks facing a local area and draw on the National Risk Register, guidance produced by the Cabinet Office and local expertise to inform emergency planning and preparedness.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when her Department last conducted a risk assessment of the ability of data centres designated as Critical National Infrastructure to continue operating during a sustained cyberattack.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)

The Government keeps risks to Critical National Infrastructure, of which data centres are a part, under continuous review through the National Risk Register process and extensive engagement with industry. As the department responsible for data infrastructure, DSIT also conducts rolling assessments of the risk of a cyber-attack to data centres. This is supplemented by DSIT’s ongoing engagement with the sector to continuously test the capabilities of data centres against known threats, including cyber attacks. DSIT’s assessments consider the potential disruption, compromise or denial of essential services resulting from a successful cyber attack on data infrastructure, and inform national resilience planning assumptions.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many meetings his Department has held with the Northern Ireland Executive in the last 12 months on coordinating resilience planning for risks that span reserved and devolved responsibilities.

Answered by Hilary Benn

As crises do not respect borders or boundaries, resilience is a shared responsibility between individuals, communities, businesses, local, devolved and national government across the UK.

We work in close cooperation at both official and ministerial level on resilience, organising regular ‘four nations’ meeting. These aim to complement the everyday work teams across government do to collaborate with counterparts in the devolved governments on risk and resilience. The most recent meeting was in June.

This group discusses how each government is developing its own strategies and frameworks to strengthen resilience and identify opportunities for greater collaboration.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce reassessment requirements for veterans with permanent and irreversible service-related injuries for Personal Independence Payments.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) awards, including the rate payable and the duration, are set on an individual basis, based on the claimant’s needs and the likelihood of those needs changing. Regular reviews are a key feature of the benefit and ensure that payments accurately match the current needs of claimants. Award durations can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review at the ten-year point.

Since 6 April 2026 we have reduced the frequency of repeated reviews in PIP. For most claimants over 25, their first review will be a minimum of 3 years and, assuming they remain entitled, 5 years for their next review. We want to ensure claimants receive the right level of award while at the same time reducing unnecessary award reviews. This will make the system far more efficient and remove unnecessary pressure from disabled claimants whose needs rarely change at each review. Reducing the frequency of PIP award reviews will enable us to increase the number of WCA reassessments and the proportion of PIP/WCA health assessments conducted face-to-face.

We know PIP can be improved, which is why we launched the Timms Review, which is being co-produced with disabled people and their organisations to ensure the benefit is fair and fit for the future. The steering group has now published its interim report, which provides a public account of the Review’s work to date and summarises the evidence gathered and engagement conducted so far. This includes the findings from the Call for Evidence, which had over 38,000 responses. The steering group is now moving into the next phase of work designing and testing their recommendations, which will be published in a final report of recommendations to the Secretary of State in the autumn.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contingency arrangements are in place to maintain police communications in the event of a failure of the Emergency Services Network or wider telecommunications infrastructure.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Emergency Services Network (ESN) is designed as a mission-critical communications service, with resilience built into its end-to-end architecture, governance and operational arrangements. It will provide police and other emergency services with priority and pre-emption over ordinary commercial mobile traffic, helping to maintain emergency communications during periods of network congestion or major incidents.

ESN has contracted for high levels of service availability and is working with delivery partners and cross-government resilience forums to ensure that ESN can withstand and recover from incidents affecting power, telecommunications and other supporting infrastructure.

Where telecommunications capacity is reduced, ESN users will be prioritised over commercial users. ESN resilience planning also includes enhanced coverage, resilient transmission, use of satellite connectivity for some remote sites, deployable coverage where appropriate, and contingency planning for severe weather and power disruption, including the deployment of at least 2000 additional generators for power outages. If, despite these measures, ESN coverage is unavailable in a particular area, users will be able to communicate using Tetra Direct Mode Operation, which does not rely on network coverage.

The Home Office has undertaken, and will continue to undertake, testing and risk assessment as ESN is developed and implemented. For security and operational reasons, it would not be appropriate to disclose detailed contingency arrangements or specific technical mitigations.

Additionally, individual police forces and emergency service organisations also maintain their own business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements for scenarios affecting communications infrastructure.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the capacity of the police mutual aid system to respond to simultaneous civil disorder in multiple police force areas.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are committed to ensuring the police have the capabilities needed to respond to violent disorder wherever it occurs.

Following the Summer 2024 disorder, His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services identified gaps in central public order mobilisation capability. It is important that we learn the lessons from the most significant public disorder in more than a decade.

We have delivered a package via the Police Reform White Paper to strengthen the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and National Police Coordination Centre’s (NPoCC) intelligence, investigation, and co-ordination capabilities. This will equip police forces to respond rapidly to the needs of the communities they serve, enabling them to react in real-time to incidents and emergencies.

The Police Reform White Paper outlines that the National Police Service will have capabilities to direct and coordinate resources where disorder is widespread; ensure national mobilisation is more efficient and effective; and strengthen command, control, and strategic oversight across forces.

We continue to work closely with the NPoCC to ensure mutual aid arrangements can be mobilised effectively when required.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training or exercises to prepare for civil unrest arising from a major national crisis have been conducted in the last 12 months, broken down by (a) police force and (b) number of exercises.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The College of Policing is responsible for providing guidance and training to police. Whilst the police are operationally independent, this government is committed to ensuring the police have the capabilities needed to respond to violent disorder wherever it occurs. The disorder seen in Summer 2024 highlighted the importance of ensuring that policing has the capability to respond effectively to large-scale public order incidents. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services subsequently identified shortcomings in central public order mobilisation arrangements. It is right that we take forward the lessons from the most significant period of public disorder in over a decade.

As part of the Police Reform White Paper, we have introduced measures to enhance the intelligence, investigative and coordination functions of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC). These improvements will support forces in responding swiftly and effectively to emerging incidents and operational demands, helping them to better protect and serve their communities.

The White Paper sets out plans for the National Police Service to strengthen the way resources are coordinated during periods of widespread disorder, improve the effectiveness of national mobilisation arrangements, and enhance command, control and strategic oversight across policing.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many cyber security incident reports relating to energy infrastructure his Department received in the last 12 months.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Under the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations, operators of essential services are required to report incidents that have an impact on the continuity of the essential services they provide. DESNZ has not received any reports of cyber incidents affecting the energy sector that met these mandatory reporting thresholds in the last 12 months.

The absence of reportable incidents should not be interpreted as an absence of cyber threats or risks. DESNZ continues to work closely with industry, regulators, and wider government to strengthen cyber resilience across the energy sector and encourage the timely reporting of cyber incidents and emerging threats.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, a) what the UK's current gas storage capacity is as a proportion of average winter demand and b) how that compares with the capacity of other G7 countries.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK benefits from a secure, diverse energy system, drawing on a range of gas supplies. Gas storage provides additional flexibility at times of peak demand.

National Gas data indicates the UK has 1.7bcm of gas storage capacity, which is equivalent to around seven days of average winter demand.

The Department does not collect comparative G7 data.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many meetings his Department has held with the Scottish Government in the last 12 months on coordinating resilience planning for risks that span reserved and devolved responsibilities.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In reality, crises do not respect borders or boundaries. It is essential that resilience is a shared responsibility between individuals, communities, businesses, local, devolved and national government across the UK to ensure we can effectively respond to risks wherever they occur.

We work in close cooperation at both official and ministerial level on resilience, organising regular ‘four nations’ meetings on resilience. These aim to complement the everyday work teams across government do to collaborate with counterparts in the devolved governments on risk and resilience, most recently convening in June.

This group discusses how each government is developing its own strategies and frameworks to strengthen resilience and identify opportunities for greater collaboration.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has a specific budget to support a) small and b) medium-sized businesses in developing business continuity plans for major disruption.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

DBT supports and feeds into cross-Whitehall work to ensure that small and medium sized businesses are more resilient in the event of major disruption. DBT provides direct messaging and guidance to business should major disruption occur, and works closely with cyber partners across Whitehall to drive uptake of practical cyber resilience measures such as Cyber Essentials among SMEs.

DBT supports SMEs through wider business support channels, primarily the Business Growth Service accessible through business.gov.uk, the Business Support Service and Growth Hubs in England, which provide guidance and signposting to help businesses plan, adapt and respond to challenges.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cross-government resilience exercises involving two or more departments have been conducted in the last 2 years; and what the (a) title, (b) participating departments and (c) date was of each.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The Cabinet Office encourages all departments to conduct or participate in exercises on cross-cutting risks in line with the National Security Risk Assessment.

The Cabinet Office conducted two cross-system exercises within this period under the National Exercising Programme. Exercise PEGASUS on pandemic preparedness was conducted in three primary phases in September and October 2025. A classified cross-system cyber resilience exercise was also conducted in 2026.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what contingency arrangements are in place to maintain payment of benefits and pensions in the event of a (a) major IT or (b) infrastructure disruption.

Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP maintains robust business continuity and resilience plans designed to safeguard the payment of benefits and pensions in the event of major disruption, including significant IT or infrastructure failures. The Department keeps these arrangements under regular review and testing to ensure that critical services can continue to operate during incidents affecting normal business operations.

It would not be appropriate to disclose the detailed arrangements in place. Releasing information about specific contingency measures could reduce their effectiveness and increase risks to the resilience and security of systems that support the delivery of benefits and pensions.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department last assessed the resilience of UK food supplies to a simultaneous disruption affecting major food-exporting countries; and what the findings of that assessment were.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK has a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. The UK Food Security Report 2024 shows that climate and geopolitical volatility have weakened aspects of food supply stability since 2021, although food availability or the quantity of food available to the UK has been maintained thanks to continued resilience in food production and the global trading system.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the condition and capacity of food storage infrastructure used to support food security.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra works with industry and across Government, including with the Cabinet Office to monitor risks that may arise but decisions on capacity of their food storage infrastructure are for individual food businesses. The Government holds extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many meetings her Department has held with the Welsh Government in the last 12 months on coordinating resilience planning for risks that span reserved and devolved responsibilities.

Answered by Jo Stevens

Resilience is a shared responsibility between individuals, communities, businesses and all levels of government across the UK to ensure we can effectively respond to risks wherever they occur.

Regular meetings take place between the four governments to discuss various strategies and frameworks aimed at strengthening resilience and identifying opportunities for greater collaboration. This complements the everyday collaboration between the UK and Devolved Governments on risk and resilience.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what mechanisms her Department has in place to maintain the supply of food to the population in the event of a major disruption to food supply chains, including (a) formal agreements with major retailers and food producers, (b) trigger points for government intervention and (c) contingency logistics and distribution arrangements.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK has a resilient food supply chain. The Food Sector is one of the UK's 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors. For security and resilience reasons, we do not disclose detailed operational contingency plans. Defra works with industry and across Government, including with the Cabinet Office to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) his and (b) any other Department has identified any (i) state, (ii) state-linked and (iii) state-sponsored entity as (A) partially and (B) wholly responsible for the August 2025 to September 2025 cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The Government does not routinely comment on ongoing investigations or operational activity.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what specific items of expenditure have been counted towards the Government's claim to have met the NATO target of spending 1.5% of GDP on resilience-related investment.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The UK has met NATO’s 1.5% defence and security-related spending target, as defined by NATO. NATO’s definition sets out that spend should be to protect our critical infrastructure, defend our networks, ensure our civil preparedness and resilience, unleash innovation and strengthen our defence industrial base.

Given this definition, contributions came from a number of departments. All spending captured as part of the 1.5% is determined through the Spending Review and set out to Parliament via the Estimates process in the usual way.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans with amputations or other permanent injuries were reassessed for disability-related benefits in each of the last three years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

The information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what definition his Department is using of expenditure that qualifies as resilience and security spending for the purposes of the Government's commitment to spend 1.5% of GDP on this by 2035.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the response my Rt Hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury provided to Question 17649 of 9 July 2026.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-07-09/17649

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, given General Sir Richard Barrons' evidence to the Defence Committee on 7 July 2026 that expenditure under the 1.5% of GDP NATO resilience target has not funded the security of military airbases, the condition of military ports, NHS mass casualty capacity, or mobilisation and forward-basing stock, why his Department did not prioritise these areas.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The UK has met the NATO 1.5% commitment on security and resilience, reflecting investment across civil-military capability, resilience, industrial capacity, stockpiles and support to partners.

Under the NATO definition, investment in defence infrastructure and capabilities is core defence spend. The Defence Investment Plan has set out investments over the next 10 years, including £51 billion earmarked for the Defence estate; modernising critical airbase and airfield capabilities and delivering the biggest naval upgrade for 45 years.

Found: Labour; Hemel Hempstead) The following Member was a member of the Committee during the inquiry: David Reed

Found: 12/2019 Westminster London SW1P BV966617/1 Stanley Reece 08/08/1996 Ashford Kent BV22114399/1 David Reed

Found: 12/2019 Westminster London SW1P BV966617/1 Stanley Reece 08/08/1996 Ashford Kent BV22114399/1 David Reed

Found: 12/2019 Westminster London SW1P BV966617/1 Stanley Reece 08/08/1996 Ashford Kent BV22114399/1 David Reed

Found: 12/2019 Westminster London SW1P BV966617/1 Stanley Reece 08/08/1996 Ashford Kent BV22114399/1 David Reed

Found: 12/2019 Westminster London SW1P BV966617/1 Stanley Reece 08/08/1996 Ashford Kent BV22114399/1 David Reed

Found: 12/2019 Westminster London SW1P BV966617/1 Stanley Reece 08/08/1996 Ashford Kent BV22114399/1 David Reed

Found: 12/2019 Westminster London SW1P BV966617/1 Stanley Reece 08/08/1996 Ashford Kent BV22114399/1 David Reed

Found: 12/2019 Westminster London SW1P BV966617/1 Stanley Reece 08/08/1996 Ashford Kent BV22114399/1 David Reed

Found: 12/2019 Westminster London SW1P BV966617/1 Stanley Reece 08/08/1996 Ashford Kent BV22114399/1 David Reed

Found: 12/2019 Westminster London SW1P BV966617/1 Stanley Reece 08/08/1996 Ashford Kent BV22114399/1 David Reed