Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will update the Civil Contingencies Act to reflect the changing nature of mass communication in a time of war.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 provides a legislative framework for emergency preparedness and civil protection in the UK. The Government keeps this legislation under review. The Cabinet Office has a legal obligation to review the CCA every five years and is currently undertaking a Post-Implementation Review of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, which will be presented to Parliament by March 2027.

The Act already places a legal duty on Category 1 local responders to maintain plans to warn and inform the public during emergencies. This locally-based approach is supported, as necessary, by any national messaging from the central government using a range of channels, including social and broadcast media, to support increased preparedness for emergencies.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will meet with Severn Trent Water to discuss expanding rainwater management systems across the public sector estate in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin so rainwater can be recycled for maintenance and irrigation of grounds and amenities owned by public sector bodies.

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

This Government recognises the benefits of water reuse and recycling and welcomes further engagement with Severn Trent on expanding rainwater management systems.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve accommodation for the Royal Irish Regiment based at Clive Barracks, Tern Hill, Shropshire.

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

Service Family Accommodation (SFA):

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) continues to invest in improving Service Family Accommodation (SFA) serving Clive Barracks, Tern Hill. Currently, 99% of the SFA meets or exceeds the Decent Homes Standard.

During Financial Year (FY) 2026-27, 15 SFA properties have been identified for refurbishment works, including kitchen and/or bathroom replacements, which are expected to be completed within this FY. New fencing has been installed at 94 SFA properties, with all works completed by August 2026 and the playground has also been refurbished.

Through the Defence Housing Strategy, the Government is investing £9.2 billion over the next decade to upgrade, renew or rebuild 90% of military homes. The new Defence Housing Service will further improve the quality of accommodation and the support provided to Service personnel and their families.

Single Living Accommodation (SLA):

The Army has continued to support essential upgrades and maintenance while the site remains in use. Future infrastructure funding is being reviewed against strategic priorities in light of the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) settlement, to ensure resources are focused where they provide the greatest benefit to personnel experience, operational readiness and future force requirements.

There have been a number of local initiatives to help improve the lived experience of Service personnel. They include ablution and fire alarm upgrades, kitchenette installation and wifi installation throughout the blocks.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish a risk assessment of outsourcing to the private sector the operation and maintenance of the Solid State Phased Array Radar at RAF Fylingdales.

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

Private-sector support to the Solid State Phased Array Radar at RAF Fylingdales is longstanding. The recent contract activity represents the continuation and re-let of existing support arrangements, rather than a new decision to outsource the capability.

The contractual re-lets were subject to the Ministry of Defence's established investment, commercial, security, safety and risk-assurance processes.

Operational command of, and accountability for, the radar remain with the Ministry of Defence. Contractor personnel provide defined operational, maintenance and sustainment support within established contractual, security and technical governance arrangements.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with (a) YouTube and (b) other online platforms on how they can improve their systems and complaints processes for stopping (i) online harassment and (ii) impersonation.

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

The government regularly engages with services to reinforce expectations that they meet Online Safety Act duties. These require services to mitigate illegal harassment risks, remove such content swiftly, and provide accessible complaints procedures.

Services must also protect children from harmful content, including bullying. Impersonation may be illegal when used to facilitate offences. We have introduced further protections to ensure non-consensual intimate images are removed as soon as possible with an absolute backstop of 48 hours.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will undertake a review of (a) the operation of discretionary 16 to 19 bursary schemes in further education colleges and (b) whether household-income thresholds should be reviewed and uprated periodically in line with inflation and changes in living costs.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department’s 16 to 19 Bursary Funding includes allocations to institutions to provide discretionary bursaries. Institutions are free to decide which young people receive discretionary bursaries and to determine the level of financial support they need.

Institutions develop their own eligibility criteria and are free to decide how household income will be assessed to identify those who would not otherwise be able to continue in further education or training but it must comply with the basic eligibility conditions of the scheme as set out in the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund guide.

The department will devolve funding for 16 to 19-year-olds to Strategic Authorities for them to have a stronger role in shaping local education and skills systems, so that provision is better connected to learners, employers and local opportunity.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce the incidents of illegal ghost vehicle registration plates being used by serious organised crime.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to tackling number plate crime. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) works with police forces and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to strengthen its identification and enforcement.

As part of its Road Safety Strategy, the Department for Transport is reviewing motoring offences. It consulted on introducing penalty points and vehicle seizure for anyone in charge of a vehicle with an incorrect, altered or false number plate. The consultation closed on 11 May, and responses are being considered.

The DVLA is considering options for a more robust, auditable Register of Number Plate Suppliers, enabling tighter checks on suppliers and the plates they provide. These include changes to fees, scheme structure, resources and funding.

The DVLA has worked with the British Standards Institution on targeted amendments to the British Standard for number plates. These would prohibit raised or “ghost” characteristics and require finished plates to be flat, directly addressing the products of greatest concern. Work to bring the amendments into law is currently being undertaken.

The Department has also funded a new National Roads Policing Coordination Centre to help police forces share intelligence, collaborate and use data and technology to target illegal number plates.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the number of farmers in (i) Shropshire and (ii) Telford & Wrekin who (a) applied for funding in the Sustainable Farming Incentive second application window and (b) were unsuccessful with their application.

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

The Rural Payments Agency received 365 applications from farm businesses in Shropshire and 19 from Telford and Wrekin during SFI26 Window 2. At the point the window closed, a further 131 applications in Shropshire had been started but not submitted, with none in Telford and Wrekin.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce new provisions to allow Ukrainians fleeing the war in Ukraine since July 2026 to settle temporarily in the UK.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government remains committed to supporting those displaced by Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The Homes for Ukraine Scheme remains open, enabling eligible Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family members to come to the UK where they have an approved sponsor for up to 18 months. The Government also continues to provide support for those already in the UK through the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, which permits eligible individuals to apply for further permission to remain in the UK.

The Government keeps the Ukraine Schemes under active review in light of developments in Ukraine. We will continue to ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place for those who require sanctuary in the UK.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to increase the level of support for amateur boxing clubs in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

I have seen first-hand the positive impact of grassroots boxing and community sport through visits to Fight for Peace in East London and Lifstan Boys Club in Southend and meeting the APPG on Boxing.

Our arm’s length body, Sport England, is providing long-term investment of over £9 million to England Boxing between 2022 and 2029 to support grassroots boxing participation. England Boxing, as the national governing body for their sport, is responsible for decisions on how and where to target their investment into grassroots clubs.

Sport England’s Movement Fund has also awarded a total of £34,545 to three boxing clubs in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin since 2025, supporting projects that increase opportunities to be physically active and help address barriers to participation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) National Crime Agency and (b) security service personnel were arrested and charged under (i) the National Security Act 2023 and (ii) the Official Secrets Act between 1st August 2025 and 31st August 2026.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)

The Home Office does not routinely hold or disclose data on the employment or professional backgrounds of individuals arrested or charged under national security legislation.

Employees of the National Crime Agency and the Security and Intelligence Agencies are subject to high standards of professional conduct and are held accountable where those standards are not met. This may include investigation and, where appropriate, prosecution.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of SEND funding and average waiting times for individuals to be issued with an Education Health and Care Plan in (i) Shropshire and (ii) Telford and Wrekin.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

High needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is continuing at an increased level of over £12 billion in the 2026/27 financial year, following an increase of 11% in 2025/26. Of that total, Shropshire County Council is being allocated over £48 million, and Telford and Wrekin Council is being allocated over £42 million.

Local authorities are responsible for carrying out education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments and issuing EHC plans within statutory timescales. The department knows that some children wait too long for their EHC plans and support can come too late. We want things to change, as set out in our recent consultation sharing our proposals for SEND reform. We are committed to working with local authorities to improve the EHC plans process. The department monitors performance through data returns and works with authorities where there are concerns.

The latest published data on EHC plans, released in June 2026 and relating to the 2025 calendar year, shows that 46.1% of new EHC plans nationally were issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe. Shropshire County Council and Telford and Wrekin Council issued 11.9% and 97.3% of plans, respectively, within 20 weeks.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of additional school places required in (i) Telford & Wrekin and (ii) Shropshire as a result of new housing developments within existing and emerging local plans.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has not made an estimate of additional school places required specifically from housing developments in Telford and Wrekin or Shropshire. Local authorities have statutory responsibility for ensuring sufficient school places. School capacity survey forecasts reflect the aggregate effect of factors affecting demand, including housing, demographic change and existing capacity.

The department’s territorial teams in Regions Group, who have expertise in place planning, engage with local authorities regularly to review their plans for creating additional places and to consider alternatives where necessary. Territorial teams make use of their expertise, data and regional intelligence.

The latest published ‘School capacity data’, for the 2024/25 academic year, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-capacity-in-england-academic-year-2024-to-2025. The department expects to publish the next school capacity data in March 2027 as planned.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force personnel have been removed from their positions as a result of (a) data breaches, (b) misuse of data or (c) accessing data without the necessary consent, for the last period in which this data is held.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office takes the protection of personal data and information very seriously. All Border Force officers are required to complete mandatory training on data protection, information management and security, and must comply with the Civil Service Code and Home Office policies.

Where misconduct, including the misuse of data or unauthorised access to information, is identified, it is investigated and appropriate disciplinary action is taken, including dismissal where warranted. The Home Office does not routinely publish workforce misconduct figures in the format requested.

All Border Force officers are subject to National Security Vetting appropriate to their role. This is supported by Integrity Checks and wider measures delivered through the Border Force Anti-Corruption Strategy to identify and manage risks to the integrity and security of the border. Integrity Checks now apply to new recruits, staff transferring into Border Force and existing officers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve vetting of Border Force personnel.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office takes the protection of personal data and information very seriously. All Border Force officers are required to complete mandatory training on data protection, information management and security, and must comply with the Civil Service Code and Home Office policies.

Where misconduct, including the misuse of data or unauthorised access to information, is identified, it is investigated and appropriate disciplinary action is taken, including dismissal where warranted. The Home Office does not routinely publish workforce misconduct figures in the format requested.

All Border Force officers are subject to National Security Vetting appropriate to their role. This is supported by Integrity Checks and wider measures delivered through the Border Force Anti-Corruption Strategy to identify and manage risks to the integrity and security of the border. Integrity Checks now apply to new recruits, staff transferring into Border Force and existing officers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will work with AI companies to monitor AI chatbot searches for developing home-grown chemical and biological pathogens.

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

The Online Safety Act already regulates many generative AI services. Through a delegated power in the Crime and Policing Act, the Government will bring additional unregulated AI chatbots into scope, ensuring consistent protections against illegal content and activity, including terrorism offences. Government are working at pace on the detailed policy and technical work needed to deliver regulation, and to ensure it is effective and proportionate.

The Home Office also works closely with the UK AI Security Institute (AISI) to understand the risks posed by advanced AI. AISI have developed trusted, voluntary partnerships with the world’s leading AI labs. Through these relationships, AISI has secured privileged access to frontier models, testing leading AI systems before they are released and working collaboratively with companies to improve their safety and security. AISI maintains close engagement with government and industry, working alongside international partners to assess and mitigate the risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems, including chemical and biological.

The Home Office encourages industry to treat AI safety as an ongoing responsibility, and to monitor their systems throughout their lifecycle to identify risks and put proportionate mitigations in place.s