The UK has engaged in long-standing cooperation with Tunisia across a range of areas, in particular in relation to defence and security. We support the strengthening of Tunisia's capabilities to contribute to regional stability, including through its UN peacekeeping role in Africa. Tunisia is also a Mediterranean Dialogue partner for NATO. The visit of the Defence Senior Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa's (DSAME) in February 2025 included senior level discussions on how to strengthen cooperation moving forward. Bilateral UK-Tunisia defence cooperation is delivered in full compliance with international standards and principles.

As with all countries, we keep our travel advice to Tunisia under regular review.

The UK has engaged in long-standing cooperation with Tunisia across a range of areas, in particular in relation to defence and security. We support the strengthening of Tunisia's capabilities to contribute to regional stability, including through its UN peacekeeping role in Africa. Tunisia is also a Mediterranean Dialogue partner for NATO. The visit of the Defence Senior Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa's (DSAME) in February 2025 included senior level discussions on how to strengthen cooperation moving forward. Bilateral UK-Tunisia defence cooperation is delivered in full compliance with international standards and principles.

As with all countries, we keep our travel advice to Tunisia under regular review.

The UK has engaged in long-standing cooperation with Tunisia across a range of areas, in particular in relation to defence and security. We support the strengthening of Tunisia's capabilities to contribute to regional stability, including through its UN peacekeeping role in Africa. Tunisia is also a Mediterranean Dialogue partner for NATO. The visit of the Defence Senior Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa's (DSAME) in February 2025 included senior level discussions on how to strengthen cooperation moving forward. Bilateral UK-Tunisia defence cooperation is delivered in full compliance with international standards and principles.

As with all countries, we keep our travel advice to Tunisia under regular review.

It is an offence under Section 72 of the Highways Act 1835 to cycle on the pavement and the only exception to this is for designated shared use paths. While there is no assessment of the dangers caused by pavement cycling, new offences in the Crime and Policing Bill are being introduced for cyclists who cause the death or serious injury of another person. These new offences will mean that cyclists will face the same penalties as those who commit motoring offences.

No such assessment has been made, and it is not an offence to use headphones while cycling. However, if this is done in such a way as to put other road users in danger, the police may choose to bring a prosecution for careless or dangerous cycling.

Rule 66 of the Highway Code states that people should “avoid any actions that could reduce control of your cycle” and Rule 67 says that people should “be aware of traffic coming up behind you, including other cyclists”. Wearing headphones could indirectly affect a person’s ability to comply with either of these rules.

Nobody should hold a mobile phone while cycling as this could affect their concentration and situational awareness. While no assessment of the dangers caused by this has been made, and it is not an offence to cycle and use a mobile phone, cyclists could be prosecuted by the police for careless or dangerous cycling.

The National Planning Policy Framework provides strong protections for World Heritage Sites and their settings including where any development relating to vehicles, for example, car parks or roads, is proposed.

An assessment of the spread or recession of common ragwort in the countryside has not been made, although the latest data from the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland indicate that it is still widespread. There is no general legal duty on Government to monitor levels of ragwort across the countryside.

Defra’s code of practice on how to prevent the spread of ragwort [see attached] states that humans may be at risk from ragwort poisoning through direct contact (e.g. hand pulling) however the Food and Environment Research Agency’s 2013 review of evidence concerning ragwort impacts, ecology and control options concluded that there is no evidence of human illness or fatalities resulting from ragwort. Links to further evidence can be found in this FOI release: Risk to humans from ragwort poisoning - GOV.UK [see attached].

Ragwort is classified as an Injurious Weed under the Weeds Act because it can be toxic to livestock when included in dry hay, or where livestock have nothing else to eat. Ragwort is a native plant that is valuable to a wide diversity of generalist pollinators, particularly in parched summer conditions when it can be the main nectar resource in a landscape.

An assessment of the spread or recession of common ragwort in the countryside has not been made, although the latest data from the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland indicate that it is still widespread. There is no general legal duty on Government to monitor levels of ragwort across the countryside.

Defra’s code of practice on how to prevent the spread of ragwort [see attached] states that humans may be at risk from ragwort poisoning through direct contact (e.g. hand pulling) however the Food and Environment Research Agency’s 2013 review of evidence concerning ragwort impacts, ecology and control options concluded that there is no evidence of human illness or fatalities resulting from ragwort. Links to further evidence can be found in this FOI release: Risk to humans from ragwort poisoning - GOV.UK [see attached].

Ragwort is classified as an Injurious Weed under the Weeds Act because it can be toxic to livestock when included in dry hay, or where livestock have nothing else to eat. Ragwort is a native plant that is valuable to a wide diversity of generalist pollinators, particularly in parched summer conditions when it can be the main nectar resource in a landscape.

The precise funding offer for each new town location will be confirmed once final decisions have been made on the programme. Final decisions on locations will be confirmed later this year once the New Towns Draft Programme consultation has closed and all necessary environmental assessments have been completed.

My Department has not made such an assessment. Our National Planning Policy Framework sets out the strong protections in place for World Heritage Sites including their settings.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should ensure that new development is appropriate for its location, taking into account the likely effects (including cumulative effects) of pollution on the natural environment, as well as the potential sensitivity of the site or wider area to impacts that could arise from the development. In doing so they should limit the impact of light pollution from artificial light on local amenity, intrinsically dark landscapes and nature conservation.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals relating to pollution. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

The UK has some of the best, earliest, and largest number of designated Dark Skies Areas in Europe. This includes Exmoor National Park, which was the first designated Dark Sky Reserve in Europe; and Northumberland, which has been awarded the Dark Sky Gold Tier, indicating natural, non-polluted or near-natural night skies. A survey into the designation of the Northumberland International Dark Sky Park, for example, reported a positive impact on the local economy. There have been no recent assessments of the benefits by Defra.

This government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. When this Government came into power there were 921,000 NEETs. This increased by 250,000 between 2021 and 2024. The number of young people not in education, employment and training (NEET) currently stands at around 957,000. For many years our young people have not had the opportunity and support they deserve and we are increasing funding and taking action in the following ways.

On 16^th March, the Government announced a further £1 billion investment in young people, resulting in a total £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and additional investment in the Growth and Skills Levy. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.

This includes the delivery of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain and introduction of a new Youth Guarantee Gateway in Jobcentres, providing more intensive support to 16-24 year olds.

This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers who hire 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship incentive for small and medium sized employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

The Government will also prioritise prevention, building on measures announced in the Skills White Paper. The Government will improve support in schools, monitor attendance, increase access to work experience and work with local authorities to pilot auto-enrolling young people in further education, if needed.

Together these measures demonstrate the Government’s commitment to supporting employers, partners and young people across Great Britain.

Additionally, an independent investigation has been launched to tackle the persistently high numbers of young people who are NEET. Led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, the report will examine why increasing numbers of young people are falling out of work or education before their careers have begun, with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability.

This government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. When this Government came into power there were 921,000 NEETs. This increased by 250,000 between 2021 and 2024. The number of young people not in education, employment and training (NEET) currently stands at around 957,000. For many years our young people have not had the opportunity and support they deserve and we are increasing funding and taking action in the following ways.

On 16^th March, the Government announced a further £1 billion investment in young people, resulting in a total £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and additional investment in the Growth and Skills Levy. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.

This includes the delivery of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain and introduction of a new Youth Guarantee Gateway in Jobcentres, providing more intensive support to 16-24 year olds.

This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers who hire 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship incentive for small and medium sized employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

The Government will also prioritise prevention, building on measures announced in the Skills White Paper. The Government will improve support in schools, monitor attendance, increase access to work experience and work with local authorities to pilot auto-enrolling young people in further education, if needed.

Together these measures demonstrate the Government’s commitment to supporting employers, partners and young people across Great Britain.

Additionally, an independent investigation has been launched to tackle the persistently high numbers of young people who are NEET. Led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, the report will examine why increasing numbers of young people are falling out of work or education before their careers have begun, with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published the latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) in March 2026[1]. This forecasts the tax-to-GDP ratio to change as follows: 2025-26 – 36.3%; 2026-27 – 37.0%; 2027-28 – 37.7%; 2028-29 – 37.8%; 2029-30 – 38.3%[2].

The UK’s current tax-to-GDP ratio is in the middle of the pack within the G7; lower than Italy (42.8%), France (43.5%) and Germany (38.0%), but above Japan (33.7%), Canada (34.9%) and the US (25.6%) based on the latest available OECD data. [3]

[1] https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2026/#

[2] https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2026/#, page 42

[3] Latest OECD data 2024, except Japan, which is from 2023.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that planning policies and decisions should plan positively for the provision and use of community facilities, such as places of worship. It is for local planning authorities to make decisions on individual development proposals, and the government does not collate information on proposals to provide new places of worship as part of these.

The government is consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, more ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making, designed to make planning policy easier to use and underpin the delivery of faster and simpler local plans. The consultation includes policies to support the provision of places of worship, including where a development proposal for housing, employment or other development would give rise to significant numbers of additional people living in, working in or visiting an area.

We are inviting views on these proposals through the consultation, which is available here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

The Government recognises the increasing threat to the homeland from state actors and that critical national infrastructure, including subsea cables, will continue to be a target.

As the threat landscape evolves, it is essential to ensure that our risk assessments remain robust and fit for purpose. All risks in the National Risk Register, including the risk related to subsea cables, are kept under review to ensure that they are the most appropriate scenarios to inform emergency preparedness and resilience activity. We are currently reviewing and updating our assessments of risks to the UK’s subsea telecommunications cables.

While individual cables are vulnerable to damage, the UK’s international connectivity is resilient, supported by 45 international cables as well as high‑capacity fibre links running through the Channel Tunnel.

DSIT continues to work closely with the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Defence and other government departments to ensure the security and resilience of the UK’s subsea telecommunications infrastructure.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that significant weight should be placed on the importance of new, expanded or upgraded public service infrastructure when considering proposals for development.

The government is consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, more ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making, designed to make planning policy easier to use and underpin the delivery of faster and simpler local plans. The consultation includes policies supporting the delivery of new and improved community facilities and public service infrastructure serving new development, setting out that planning conditions and obligations should be used to secure the timely delivery of community facilities and public service infrastructure required to serve new development, so that these facilities are available for use when the development (or an agreed proportion of the development) is first occupied or comes into use.

We are inviting views on these proposals through the consultation, which is available here (attached) and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Strengthening the financial sector’s resilience to threats and hazards of all origins is a key priority for HM Treasury and the financial regulators.

While individual subsea cables are vulnerable to damage, the UK’s international connectivity is resilient, supported by 45 international cables and high‑capacity fibre cables through the Channel tunnel.

However, critical sectors must be prepared for reasonable worst-case disruption. HM Treasury is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to update the Government’s assessment of how disruption or monitoring of subsea cables could affect financial services. This work will inform response planning and further support a secure, resilient financial sector.