Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps have been taken at HMP Garth to help prevent drones bringing drugs into the prison.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of drones that deliver contraband into prisons.
Owing to operational sensitives, we are not able to discuss the measures used by HMP Garth to disrupt drones, as that would aid serious and organised criminals. However, HMPPS uses a multi-faceted approach to tackle this threat which includes a variety of physical security countermeasures, intelligence led operations and legislation. As part of this work, we conduct drone vulnerability assessments to understand and mitigate risk and we are investing £40 million in new security measures to clamp down on the contraband that fuels violence behind bars, including £10 million on anti-drone measures such as exterior netting and reinforced windows.
HMPPS is also working with UK and global partners to understand the tactics used abroad and identify opportunities to strengthen our response to illicit drone activity.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve public transport connections in (a) North West Norfolk constituency and (b) rural areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government knows that a modern public transport network is vital to providing access to services and keeping communities connected. We have introduced the Bus Services Act 2025 to put power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders, including in rural areas. In addition, the Government has confirmed over £1 billion for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. Norfolk County Council has been allocated £15.9 million of this funding, helping to improve bus services and connectivity across the area, including North West Norfolk.
Rail services in North West Norfolk are supported by requirements on train operators to plan services and design timetables to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. The Government commitment to public ownership through Great British Railways will also help to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality and efficient transport services, whilst also ensuring safety and accessibility. Under public ownership, passenger services can be operated in the interests of passengers, not shareholders.
The Government also intends to publish its Integrated National Transport Strategy. It will focus on creating a transport network that works well for people, including those in rural areas.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners detained beyond their release date in 2024-25.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Release inaccuracy is yet another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those errors that do occur, and this includes unlawful detentions. As the Deputy Prime Minister set out to the House, immediate measures have been introduced to strengthen release checks across prisons – making them the strongest release checks to ever be in place and an independent inquiry will report its recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to provide an answer to Question 82727 on National Security Adviser: China, tabled on 16 October 2025.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
A response has been issued here.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's webpage entitled Prisons data, Additional data, how many of the 262 prisoners released in error in 2024-5 were returned to custody.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.
While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.
We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.
Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to house asylum seekers in North West Norfolk constituency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The priority is to ensure that the procurement of secure, safe and sustainable dispersed accommodation is carried out in a fair and equitable manner so that the Home Office continues to meet its statutory obligations while also carefully considering the impact on local areas.
The Home Office operates a Full Dispersal model which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is equitably and fairly spread out across the country. Dispersed accommodation offers accommodation that delivers better value for money for the taxpayer and helps the Home Office work towards the fair and equitable spread of accommodation. The Home Office continues to work with local government to allocate asylum seekers based on a range of evidence, including the availability of housing, pressure on services and community cohesion.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding for (a) schools and (b) colleges in North West Norfolk constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government has increased school funding by £3.7 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, a 6% increase on 2024/25 levels, and committed to a further increase of £4.2 billion through the 2025 Spending Review. This additional funding will provide an above real terms per pupil increase on the core schools budget and support us to transform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system.
With regards to colleges, £8.5 billion of 16 to 19 programme funding has been invested during the 2025/26 academic year. Published allocations show that 16 to 19 funded institutions in Norfolk have been allocated approximately £112 million in 16 to 19 total programme funding.
In North West Norfolk, mainstream school funding per pupil through the dedicated schools grant averages £6,343 (excluding growth and falling rolls funding) in the 2025/26 financial year. The precise funding individual schools receive will depend on how Norfolk local authority decide to distribute the funding they receive.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his oral contribution of 13 October 2025, Official Report, column 67 which (a) minister and (b) civil servant gave the Deputy National Security Adviser full freedom to provide evidence without interference.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The decision that the Deputy National Security Advisor would give evidence was taken under the last Government in 2023.
When this government came into office in 2024, the Deputy National Security Advisor was a witness in a criminal prosecution. That is why, as this Government has repeatedly stated, that no Ministers or special advisors have played any role in the provision of evidence.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2025 to Question 77620 Self-assessment: Fines, what the average response time was of HMRC’s dedicated support service to those facing personal difficulties over the latest 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC are committed to being aware of customers’ wider personal situations and will provide extra support if customers need it, as set out in the HMRC Charter.
All HMRC advisers are given training and guidance on how to identify customers who need extra help and how to either provide tailored support themselves or refer the customer to HMRC’s specialist extra support provision. HMRC increased the size of its Extra Support Team (EST) by 28% over 2024 to 2025. In 2024 to 2025, HMRC’s dedicated Customer Service EST helped over 150,000 customers in vulnerable circumstances.
The average response time for those contacting the EST in the past twelve months (October 2024- September 2025) was:
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support (a) the Iraqi Security Forces, (b) the Kurdish Peshmerga, (c) the Syrian Democratic Forces and (d) other regional partners in the context of Islamic State activity.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to work closely with our international partners to maintain a relentless assault on the organisation, financing, recruitment and terrorist activities of Daesh in all regions where they or their affiliates are operating. In June, UK officials took part in the latest small group meeting of the Global Coalition, hosted by the Spanish government, where these collective efforts were discussed. The official statement emerging from that meeting can be found here: https://theglobalcoalition.org/en/meeting-of-the-global-coalition-to-defeat-isis-small-group/.