The government has not made a formal assessment of the impact of the EU Entry/Exit System on freight movements through the short straits as this is an EU system. Hauliers have completed EES checks since October at the short straits portals of Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover. We continue to encourage road transport operators to take the necessary steps to ensure their UK national drivers remain within the Schengen area’s short stay limit for days spent in Europe.

The government knows the importance of freight to our supply chains and to people across the UK. That is why we have supported the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel with £3.5m each in preparing for EES. And earlier this week we announced £20m in funding to further support border infrastructure at the Port of Dover, while continuing to urge pragmatism from our EU partners, while the system beds in.

The Entry/Exit System has been introduced by the European Union to increase border security and we have consistently sought to urge pragmatism to ensure that British travellers do not face disruption, The Transport Secretary has spoken with the EU Commissioner for Sustainable Travel and Tourism on the matter.

It is, however, inevitable that any new system faces challenges and passengers should not be inconvenienced as this system settles into operation. In July, I met with cross channel ferry operators and reminded them of their obligations to passengers should disruption occur and would encourage any passengers affected by delays at the border to speak with their operators.

The Government expects train operators to support passengers during disruption. Under the National Rail Conditions of Travel, operators must, where reasonably practicable, provide appropriate assistance, which may include refreshments.

The Secretary of State met with the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas on 13 July. This was a productive call where both agreed on the need to work together to aim for smooth EES checks over the peak summer period to support holidaymakers.

This follows previous engagement with both the Commissioner and the French Transport Minister seeking agreement on increasing staffing levels to support the implementation of EES.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the effectiveness of landowners’ obligations in relation to fire prevention adjacent to railway property. Responsibility for managing vegetation and other fire risks rests with the relevant landowner, while Network Rail works with neighbouring landowners where risks to the safe and reliable operation of the railway are identified and undertakes its own vegetation management programme to reduce the risk of disruption.

From the start of the 2026/27 academic year, all children in households receiving Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals (FSM). Over half a million additional children will receive a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day. Around 3.4 million children currently receive FSM or universal infant free school meals, and this will rise to around 4 million with the expansion.

We have published data on the number of children who could benefit from expanded provision by constituency/region/local authority at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-expansion-impact-on-poverty-levels.

This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Fylde directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Pearson Education Limited has apologised for failing to return the 2026 key stage 2 SATs results on time, and for the impact on schools, pupils and parents. Schools rightly expect results to be delivered on time, and the department recognises the frustration this delay has caused to schools across England. A thorough review will be conducted into how such a serious failing could have occurred.

We know that the physical environment of education settings can have a significant positive impact on the wellbeing and engagement of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This is why we have published dedicated guidance on inclusive education estates, to support local authorities, responsible bodies and mainstream settings in identifying the most affordable, high-impact adaptations for their context, based on pupils’ needs and the opportunities within the estate.

This is non-statutory guidance, but reflects the government's commitment to improving the inclusivity and accessibility of the education estates and is supported by £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding between 2025/26 and 2029/30. Alongside expanding access to inclusion bases and special schools, local areas can use this funding to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of mainstream settings for pupils with SEND.

DCMS received 398 Expression of Interests representing over 400 places from across the UK. I am delighted that so many towns wanted to celebrate their contribution to our national story and to use culture and creativity to tell their story and why they are proud of their community.

A breakdown by nation of the UK, English region and local authority area is set out below. Please note that the listed local authorities may not be the principal bidding partners; this list illustrates the geographical distribution of Expressions of Interest across local authority areas.

Annex a - Town of Culture EOI by nation of the UK and region of England

Annex b - Town of Culture EOI by Local Authority Area

The Timms Review steering group published its interim report on 9 July, providing an update on its work to date, including a summary of the Call for Evidence, which received over 38,000 responses.

The steering uses a mix of approaches combining lived experience, expert insight, existing research, new quantitative data, and workshops both to gather insight and shape recommendations. The group has engaged with many organisations across the UK supporting a wide range of people, including disabled people’s organisations, charities, and other experts. Findings from this engagement will build a strong evidence base to inform policy analysis and the Review’s recommendations.

The steering group is now moving into the next phase of its work developing its recommendations. These recommendations will be published in a final report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the autumn.

The Defence Investment Plan sets out how the Government's increased investment in defence capability, infrastructure and innovation will strengthen national security while supporting economic growth across the UK.

While the Defence Investment Plan was not designed to provide a regional breakdown of economic impacts, the substantial investments it outlines, together with Defence’s extensive footprint across the UK, supports jobs, industry and economic growth in every nation and region. By 2029-30, defence investment is expected to support up to 60,000 additional jobs across the United Kingdom.

Both Tranches of UK Typhoon are being upgraded, and there is no change to the previously stated intention. 40 Tranche 3 aircraft will receive the new radar, ECRS2, and the fleet of both Tranche 2 and 3 aircraft will receive the upgrades to communications and avionics, cockpit interface, and helmet mounted sighting system.

40 RAF Typhoon aircraft will receive the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 upgrade. We expect the radar in service with the RAF before the end of the decade.

The recent trial was successful demonstration of a novel deployment method for uncrewed surface vessels, demonstrating the potential for rapid deployment of autonomous maritime capabilities in contested or hard-to-access environments. Further information about the trial can be found at the following website:

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2026/july/08/20260708-uncrewed-vessels-airdropped-in-pioneering-trial-supported-by-royal-navy

No date has yet been set for the achievement of Initial Operating Capability for the deployment of uncrewed surface vessels from A400M aircraft. The capability remains subject to further testing and assessment.

The recent trial was successful demonstration of a novel deployment method for uncrewed surface vessels, demonstrating the potential for rapid deployment of autonomous maritime capabilities in contested or hard-to-access environments. Further information about the trial can be found at the following website:

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2026/july/08/20260708-uncrewed-vessels-airdropped-in-pioneering-trial-supported-by-royal-navy

No date has yet been set for the achievement of Initial Operating Capability for the deployment of uncrewed surface vessels from A400M aircraft. The capability remains subject to further testing and assessment.

As well as ensuring Typhoon remains a credible and robust combat air capability over the coming decades able to operate alongside F35 and GCAP, the Typhoon upgrade programme set out in the Defence Investment Plan (including Long Term Evolution) helps generate and sustain people, skills and technology across the UK Enterprise to be transferred to the benefit of GCAP.

The upgraded Typhoon fleet will operate alongside the F-35 Lightning as complementary elements of the UK’s combat air force. The Typhoon Long Term Evolution (LTE) programme ensures Typhoon Force remains operationally relevant into the 2040s and can continue to meet the UK's air defence and combat air requirements.

The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme will augment and enhance the effects of crewed aircraft across a range of air power roles with an initial focus on combat air. We expect CCA capability and capacity to increase over time to ensure that it can operate and integrate continuously with the combat air force.

In January 2026 the department announced that it had committed over £650 million to upgrade the RAF’s Typhoon fighter jet fleet, securing over 1,500 jobs across the UK. This includes around 300 skilled roles in Edinburgh and secures 120 jobs in Lancashire.

The full Typhoon programme supports more than 20,000 jobs across 330 UK companies.

The Schools White Paper set out our plans for a teacher training entitlement, to ensure that every teacher and leader can access high-quality professional development opportunities. It will do this through a focus on four strategic priorities for professional development:

• Strengthening the existing national offer of professional development.
• Extending the national offer so there is training at every stage, starting with new courses on special educational needs and disabilities and inclusion, and on reception teaching.
• Ensuring that development opportunities are clear and accessible to all teachers and leaders, including working through teaching school hubs and regional improvement for standards and excellence.
• Supporting strong development cultures in schools and trusts, including work underway with the National Institute of Teaching on their recently launched continuing professional development (CPD) evidence portal and developing a promising Teacher Education Dataset to help understand what makes teaching impactful.

For the 2026/27 financial year, the department has allocated £4.078 million of new funding to develop new courses for classroom teachers and experienced leaders on the topics of reception teaching and supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. This comes as part of a wider £200 million commitment into 0-25 SEND and inclusion training across multiple financial years.

We have also allocated £158.625 million of funding to continue and improve delivery of the Early Career Teacher Programme, National Professional Qualifications, Teaching School Hubs, and National Institute of Teaching’s CPD best practice function. Funding allocations for 2027/28 are subject to business planning processes and allocations for 2028/29 are subject to a future spending review.

To support SEND Reform more broadly, we will be investing £4 billion more over three years, including £1.8 billion so every community has experts on hand, and £1.6 billion going directly to settings for early intervention. This is alongside an additional capital investment of £3.7 billion between 2025 and 2030 to create 60,000 specialist places.