On 25 October 2019, the Government announced in-principle support for a Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme, which is a proposal from the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to collectively increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the United Kingdom to 95% by 2025, underpinned by a legally binding coverage commitment from each operator to have reached more than 92% by 2026. The Government’s in-principle support remains subject to detailed negotiations with the MNOs, but our ambition is to reach a formal agreement on the SRN in the coming months.

The exact site deployment plans and timescales will be managed by the MNOs themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. So until the operators’ final radio planning exercise is complete, neither the Government nor the operators will know the precise location or number of new or upgraded masts. However, the operators will be consulting with local communities as they do so. The MNOs’ intention is to deliver this programme by the end of 2025.

The British Government is concerned at events that have occurred in Chile in recent days. We condemn the violence that has taken place and welcome the efforts of everyone involved in restoring the situation in the country to normality and in reconciling differing views. Our Embassy in Santiago has talked with representatives of the Chilean Government about the protests and has expressed concern about the violence. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

We welcome the return to greater calm in Ecuador and the ongoing UN-supported dialogue between the government and protest groups there. Our Embassy in Quito is in close contact with the Ecuadorean authorities and will continue to monitor the situation closely, including with regards to the safety of British Nationals in Ecuador.

I met with the Indonesian Ambassador, Dr Rizal Sukma, on 29 October and raised the issue of human rights in Papua, pointing to the level of interest in the issue from MPs and the British public.

The Foreign Secretary discussed Papua with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on 31 July, in the margins of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Bangkok. Earlier, on 18 June, the former Foreign Secretary had discussed Papua with Foreign Minister Retno during the UK-Indonesia Partnership Forum in London.

Following the most recent protests, our Ambassador released a press statement on 26 September urging all sides to refrain from violence and welcoming the Indonesian Government's announcement of a full and comprehensive investigation.

Embassy officials in Jakarta visit Papua and West Papua provinces and regularly press the Indonesian authorities to address legitimate human rights concerns, including upholding the right of all citizens to protest peacefully, and promote the sustainable and equitable development of the provinces. The UK fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, including Papua.

The Government does not specifically undertake work with UK mining companies in Colombia to mitigate their environmental impact. We expect them to comply fully with local environmental standards.

More broadly, the United Kingdom remains steadfast in its support to the Colombian Government in its efforts to safeguard the country's environmental assets.

We are committed to helping Colombia protect its unique ecosystem, reduce emissions and adapt to climate change risks. During President Duque's visit in June this year, the United Kingdom and Colombia launched a new Partnership for Sustainable Growth, with the United Kingdom committing a further £8.5 million to climate-related projects in Colombia. Through the International Climate Fund, the United Kingdom has invested US$165 million since 2010 to support Colombia's efforts in the agendas of climate change and green growth.

Through the Heritage Action Zone initiative, Historic England, Government’s adviser on the historic environment, is helping to breathe new life into old places that are rich in heritage and full of promise. The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) has been established to help rejuvenate and restore the historic railway and to help realise its potential to become a major heritage attraction in the build-up to its 2025 bicentenary. The aim is to provide the impetus for long term economic growth and regeneration in the area.

The preparations for celebrating the bicentenary are central to the HAZ. The HAZ is part of a much wider initiative around celebrating the anniversary, led by Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA), and there are extensive plans in place to mark the anniversary. A lot of well-developed planning on the S&DR HAZ has taken place involving all the key partners including local government partners as well as industry partners, such as National Rail and others. The partners are working together not just on the overall management of the project, but also on the planning of a highly ambitious cultural programme for 2025. Extensive groundwork has taken place to develop the corridor of the S&DR HAZ into a coherent attraction with all key partners working on plans to celebrate 2025 as the anniversary of a great moment in our shared history. The partners’ intention is to create a permanently enhanced cultural attraction across the S&DR HAZ area in order to leave a lasting legacy.

The National Railway Museum, part of the DCMS-Sponsored Science Museum Group, will also be celebrating this monumental anniversary. The Railway Museum in York and its sister site, Locomotion in Shildon, are being transformed in order to reimagine the way they share the inspirational story of Britain’s railways with future generations, and visitors from around the world. These redevelopments, supported by £18.6m of government funding, will culminate in significant celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 2025.

There have been NHS prescription charges in England for decades, and successive Governments have concluded that patients who can afford it should pay prescription charges in order to contribute to the running of the NHS, but a huge number of exemptions are in place and mean that, in England, 89% of NHS prescription items dispensed in the community are currently provided free of charge. People on low incomes who do not qualify for an exemption will be eligible through the NHS low-income scheme.

Extensive arrangements are in place to help people to afford national health service prescriptions. Those include a broad range of prescription charge exemptions, for which someone with a chronic illness may qualify.

I understand and sympathise with the veterans affected. However, the issue of pre-1975 pensions is common to all contemporary public service schemes. Given the likely number of former employees, the financial impact of resolving legacy pension issues is expected to be very significant. There would also be potentially overwhelming practical and administrative difficulties in recreating precise service and pay records and calculating pension awards for people who served about half a century ago, or for their surviving dependants.

In respect of pensions for those who served pre-1975, there is a long-standing convention for which responsibility lies with the Treasury. We simply do not have the resources to backdate pensions, as has always been the case with pensions across the public sector.

We do not have any plans to publish papers in relation to the release of political prisoners from Chile in 1975.

The British Board of Film Classification Guidance on Age Verification Arrangements is still in the standard three month standstill period under the EU Technical Standards and Regulatory Directive and the earliest it will complete is 2nd October 2019. We will provide further details once the standstill period has finished.

The launch of the Graduate immigration route demonstrates our support for the UK’s world-leading education sector and ensures that it remains competitive internationally. No estimate has been made of the number of students by country who will take advantage of it.

The International Education Strategy sets out our ambition to increase the number of international higher education students to 600,000 by 2030 and this change will contribute to that goal.

We have communicated on a range of topics with local authorities, including in a conference call on 13 August along with other Government departments. Each local Authority has established a Brexit lead officer to liaise with Government.

Defra has identified areas where our exit preparations impact local authorities. For instance Environmental Health Officers are responsible for issuing Export Health Certificates on fish and we have discussed capacity and the requirements with them.

We regularly contribute to a cross-government working group which coordinates engagement with local authorities.

Information on leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement relevant to a particular local authority can then be accessed by the local authority via shared channels, such as:

• MHCLG’s Local government Brexit preparedness page on GOV.UK;
• MHCLG’s weekly e-bulletin to local authorities setting out all relevant updates for the week;
• Presenting information at MHCLG’s monthly delivery board to local authority representatives;
• The Food Standards Agency’s Smarter Comms platform accessed directly by regulatory officers in local authorities;
• Cascading information via MHCLG’s network of nine regional local authority Chief Executives;
• Using MHCLG’s newly established network of Brexit lead officers in each local authority;
• Direct email messages to regulatory leads in relevant local authorities;
• Engaging with and passing information through regulatory bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute or the Association of Port Health Authorities.

Information on a range of Defra’s exit projects if we leave the EU without a withdrawal agreement has been made available to local authorities through these channels. This includes information on:

• Exporting fish and shellfish (Export Health Certificates);
• Importing fish and fisheries products (Catch Certificates);
• Import control systems for animals, products of animal origin and high risk food and feed;
• Food labelling changes;
• The protection of habitats and species;
• Waste;
• Guidance for businesses exporting goods to the EU.

Local authorities have been invited to attend various meetings, including workshops, training events and roadshows on topics including:

• Changes to environmental regulations;
• Changes to food and farming;
• Changes to exports of animals and animal products;
• Changes to imports of animals and animal products;
• MHCLG’s regional roadshows on how local authorities will be affected by exiting the EU without a withdrawal agreement in Wakefield, Birmingham, London and Cambridge;
• Training on catch certificates in Wales, Inverness, Bristol and Newcastle;
• Changes to trading standards regulatory functions in Exeter;
• A series of teleconferences on changes to export health certificates;
• A webinar on changes affecting border or coastal local authorities;
• A workshop on regulatory services hosted by MHCLG with input from other departments including Defra.

BEIS Ministers and officials have been engaging throughout the country with businesses of all sizes and their representatives, trade associations and local enterprise partnerships, including through regular meetings. We communicate regularly with intermediaries to ensure businesses obtain information quickly and efficiently. We will continue to engage across the business population to ensure their priorities are reflected and that businesses have the latest information on how to prepare themselves for Brexit, including through a targeted series of roadshows and events.

The Government also has a business readiness website designed to keep businesses and consumers informed about what no deal might mean for them, with information on a range of measures that may need to be taken in order to prepare. These notices are being regularly updated with the latest information, for example BEIS have published 18 sector specific guides with the top three to six priorities per sector on GOV.UK. These guides can be easily accessed through an interactive business search tool https://www.gov.uk/get-ready-brexit-check

In his Manchester Speech of 27 July, the Prime Minister made clear this Government’s commitment to the Northern Powerhouse as part of its ambitions to level-up the country, unlocking untapped productivity and economic potential in all places, including County Durham.

This commitment builds on a track record of investment in economic growth in the North East. Of the £3.4 billion Government has invested in Growth Deals across the Northern Powerhouse, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has received £379.6m across the three rounds of the Local Growth Fund. This investment in innovation, business support, skills, economic assets and infrastructure and transport and connectivity, will help people gain access to new jobs and opportunities and provide businesses with the environment needed to grow and become more productive. In County Durham, £17m of Local Growth Funding has been invested at the National Formulation Centre and National Photonics Centre. These leading innovation centres will boost productivity but also provide facilities and expertise to help companies of all sizes develop new technologies and turn them into commercially viable products that will grow the local economy.

The Northern Powerhouse’s emphasis on transport connectivity as a driver of productivity will also be of direct benefit to Durham, for example the £780 million upgrade to the East Coast Mainline.

Local economies are a crucial part of this: Bishop Auckland is also one of 50 places across the Country that has progressed to the second phase of the £675 million Future High Streets Fund, which will help local leaders to reinvent their town centres. Those successful towns will now receive up to £150,000 of new funding to work up detailed project proposals, based on their initial plans.

The Government has no plans to make it compulsory for residential care settings to have outdoor recreational space but is committed to ensuring that local authorities offer a meaningful choice of adult social care services to people in their local area. That is why the Care Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to shape their local markets and ensure that people have a range of high-quality, person-centred care and support options available to them, and that they can access the services that best meet their needs.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on improving the experience of care and support for people using care services and recommends that day and residential care settings should enable people to choose from a range of leisure activities that allow them to participate in a variety of aspects of daily life. This includes recreational activities that take place outside the home.

The Care Quality Commission, which monitors, inspects and regulates the quality of adult social care services, is also clear that everyone should have the right to person-centred care that is tailored to and meets their needs and preferences.

The Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and his officials engage with local councils through a range of different organisations and forums, including Local Enterprise Partnerships and Transport for the North, where local councils are represented at board level.

As the hon. Lady should know, high agricultural tariffs hurt the poorest. That will only encourage them to do the easy thing, which is to burn land, rather than to farm it sustainably and protect the rain forest. Mercosur is a sensible free trade agreement which should be encouraged, and I trust that in the fullness of time we also will undertake a free trade deal with Brazil—more details of that, I am sure, are to come.