Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and officials maintain regular engagement with Israeli counterparts. The former Minister for Development visited Israel and Palestine in May 2026.

The Government recognises the value of close cooperation between police forces and community organisations in helping to protect Jewish places of worship, schools and community locations.

Operational relationships between police forces and community organisations are matters for individual forces and chief constables, who are operationally independent.

Nonetheless, the Government remains committed to supporting the safety and security of Jewish communities and continues to engage with policing, security and other partners, including community representatives, on matters relating to community safety, protective security and the response to antisemitism.

This includes significant investment in policing and protective security measures to support Jewish communities. The Government has committed over £250 million over the next three years to support the police’s response to antisemitism, alongside record funding of £32.4 million in 2026/27 for Jewish community protective security through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant.

Whilst this concept may have merits, the Armed Forces already provide significant opportunities for individuals to join and develop personally and professionally without the need to pay off student loans on entry. Many entry routes do not require degree-level qualifications, and existing schemes and pathways support personnel in gaining valuable qualifications and skills before and throughout their careers, benefiting both the individual and operational capability. Introducing a policy to repay student loans on entry would require extensive analysis to assess the financial implications, including the number of personnel with student loans, the overall cost of implementation, the administrative resources required, and any impact on existing support schemes that reflect the Armed Forces' long-standing commitment to investing in their people.

The Armed Forces already operate a range of bursary schemes for individuals undertaking degree-level study who commit to joining after completing their studies. These schemes differ across the single Services to reflect Service requirements, with support ranging from the payment of tuition fees to contributions towards living costs. The majority are focused on the Officer cadre, with the Army Musicians and Royal Navy Submarine Undergraduate Apprenticeship schemes being notable exceptions.

The Armed Forces also provide a comprehensive range of educational and professional development opportunities to invest in upskilling our people, through schemes such as Enhanced Learning Credits, the Publicly Funded Further and Higher Education Scheme, Apprenticeships and funded postgraduate study opportunities. In addition, personnel can gain qualifications and accreditation for the skills they acquire throughout their careers, demonstrating Defence's commitment to investing in its people and supporting their professional development at every stage of service.

Furthermore, Defence has introduced novel entry pathways to widen opportunities to join the Armed Forces, including Zig Zag Careers, the Defence Direct-Entry Cyber pathway and the Armed Forces Foundation Year Scheme. These initiatives provide alternative routes into Service, helping Defence attract the skills it requires while offering young people opportunities to develop their potential, gain valuable skills and contribute to the nation's security.

Events in the Middle East have highlighted the importance of improving the energy efficiency of homes and reducing households' exposure to fossil fuel markets. That is why the Government's £15 billion Warm Homes Plan sets out the strategy for upgrading up to five million homes by 2030. It will support measures including insulation, heat pumps, solar panels and batteries. Support includes direct grants for low-income and fuel-poor households, low-interest finance and higher minimum energy efficiency standards for rented homes.

Although passive measures are being prioritised, the Government recognises that, in some cases, active cooling will be needed to protect those most vulnerable to overheating. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme therefore provides £2,500 grants towards eligible air-to-air heat pumps, sometimes referred to as air conditioning units, which can provide active cooling.

HMG has regular engagement with IBCA to discuss progress. However, the delivery of compensation is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), which has opened its service to all cohorts including affected people. IBCA is contacting people across all cohorts in line with the prioritisation criteria recommended by the Infected Blood Inquiry in its July 2025 Additional Report. These criteria provide that any claims for people that are at the end of life, with advanced liver disease, or from someone aged 75 or over, will be prioritised across all groups.

Part O of the Building Regulations requires that new residential buildings are built to mitigate the risk of overheating. Mechanical cooling, including air conditioning, may be used to meet the Part O requirements where all reasonably practicable steps have been taken to minimise overheating through passive means. Part O, like other Building Regulations, is set in performance terms rather than mandating or prohibiting particular technologies or design solutions.

The Government recognises the value of good quality evidence to support the effective operation of the Building Regulations and has committed to a full technical review of Part O to ensure it is effective and proportionate. As part of this review, we will consider what information may be useful to better understand how industry is complying with the overheating requirements.

The Department is closely monitoring South Western Railway’s (SWR’s) performance following its transfer into public ownership on 25 May 2025 through a range of measures, including punctuality, cancellations, and passenger experience.

When SWR entered public ownership, eighty-four out of ninety of the new Arterio trains had not entered service. The new Arterio fleet is being rolled out and will support more reliable services over time, providing modern, higher capacity trains with improved performance and reduced maintenance requirements.

SWR also inherited a shortage of train drivers when it moved into public ownership, which contributed to high levels of driver-related cancellations.

South Western Railway is subject to bespoke and rigorous performance standards, and the Department continues to work with the operator to improve reliability, capacity, and service quality for passengers.

The Home Office publishes data on sponsored work visas issued, broken down by occupation, industry, and nationality, in table Occ_D02 of the Sponsored work visas by occupation and industry dataset of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release.

The published statistics refer to the number of visas granted, not the number of people in the country at a given point in time. They do not include the work status of all Russian passport holders – for example, dual nationals using their non-Russian passport, Russian nationals with indefinite leave, those on unsponsored visa routes, or dependents of other visa holders.

The Department monitors South Western Railway’s (SWR) performance and fleet availability through its regular contractual and operational oversight arrangements, including services on the Salisbury to Exeter route. SWR plans its West of England services on the basis that some Class 158 and 159 trains will be unavailable for maintenance, overhaul or faults, with availability also affected by unplanned repairs and the availability of replacement parts. SWR seeks to mitigate any resulting impact on passengers through train formation changes where possible and continues to work with suppliers and maintenance teams to improve fleet availability and reliability.

The delivery of compensation is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA). IBCA has now opened its compensation service to all cohorts, including living infected people who have never been compensated, estates of deceased infected people, and affected people. While the Government and IBCA are aware that some people have sadly died before receiving their compensation under the scheme, IBCA are, in line with recommendations made by the Infected Blood Inquiry and feedback from community group sessions, prioritising claims starting with those who are sadly nearing end of life, those with advanced liver disease, and those who are over 75.

With each new cohort, IBCA are starting small, allowing them to learn what additions to the claim service are needed. This will allow them to open their service to more people as the service is built around specific needs. Whilst the roll out of the Scheme is an operational decision for IBCA as an independent body, the Government fully supports their commitment to moving forward as swiftly as possible.

The delivery of compensation is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA). The Infected Blood Compensation Authority Framework Document, published in March 2025, sets out the timelines agreed between IBCA and Cabinet Office; namely for the bulk of infected people to be paid no later than the end of next year and the bulk of affected people to be paid no later than the end of 2029.

In evidence to the Public Accounts Committee, the Chief Executive Officer of IBCA set out a commitment to ensure that all registered claims of the infected cohorts are brought into the system and the vast majority are paid by the end of the 2026-27 financial year. IBCA's recently published business plan confirms this commitment for all infected claims registered as of 7 July 2026.

As of 30 June, 19,565 people have registered their intent with IBCA to make a compensation claim. A total of 3,335 people have had their compensation paid. It is important to note that not everyone who has registered their intent with IBCA will be eligible for compensation.

The Class 158 and Class 159 diesel trains used on services between London Waterloo and Exeter are expected to be replaced as part of longer-term plans to modernise the rail fleet. South Western Railway, working with the Department for Transport, is developing proposals for their replacement; however, no specific timetable for replacement has yet been confirmed. In the meantime, these fleets are undergoing a phased refurbishment programme to improve reliability and passenger experience, including upgraded interiors, improved passenger information systems and the introduction of at-seat power. This ensures the trains remain fit for service while longer-term decisions are taken.

The Government is also developing a long-term rolling stock and infrastructure strategy, to be published later this year, which will set out Great British Railways’ future rolling stock requirements, including the approach to replacing older diesel trains.

Passing loops are situated on single line sections of the West of England main line at Tisbury, Gillingham, Chard, Axminster and Honiton, allowing trains travelling in opposite directions to pass each other. Additionally, there is a ten-mile (16km) section of double track immediately west of Templecombe station as far as Yeovil Junction.

There are no scheduled commercial freight services on the section of the West of England Main Line between Salisbury and Exeter. As such, the traffic on this route is almost entirely passenger services.

Non-passenger movements on the line are limited to occasional engineering, test and charter trains, as well as seasonal railhead treatment trains operated by Network Rail, and do not constitute regular freight services.

The Class 158 and 159 fleet heavy maintenance overhaul and internal refurbishment programme started in December 2025. The refreshed units will start being rolled out progressively later this year.

The Class 158 and 159 fleet refurbishment programme includes air conditioning and heating fan overhauls, door overhauls, toilet overhauls, refreshed interior paintwork and updated seat finishes throughout.

The West of England main line between Salisbury and Exeter St Davids is predominantly single track between Wilton (west of Salisbury) and Pinhoe (east of Exeter). There are short double track sections at either end of the route and in a 10-mile section between Templecombe and Yeovil Junction, as well as at a number of short passing places. Approximately 66 miles (106km) of the 88 miles (142km) between Salisbury and Exeter Central stations is single track.

The Government has not yet taken a decision on electrifying the railway between Salisbury and Exeter, and no timescale has been set for this.

We are developing a long-term rolling stock and infrastructure strategy, for the first time in over 30 years, which we expect to publish later this summer. As part of this strategy, we will set out our approach to rail decarbonisation. This will consider where electrification is the most appropriate solution, alongside alternatives such as battery and other emerging technologies, to reduce reliance on diesel across the network.