The Ministry of Defence, of which the Defence Infrastructure Organisation is part, has recently appointed and commissioned specialist advice on the future development potential of Fort Blockhouse 1 aligned with Gosport Borough Council’s emerging Local Plan.

As the Department’s clear intention is to move to war fighting readiness, I have directed that we examine non-core assets that could be disposed of to support our primary mission.

The Ministry of Defence, of which the Defence Infrastructure Organisation is part, has recently appointed and commissioned specialist advice on the future development potential of Fort Blockhouse 1 aligned with Gosport Borough Council’s emerging Local Plan.

As the Department’s clear intention is to move to war fighting readiness, I have directed that we examine non-core assets that could be disposed of to support our primary mission.

The Government have been following the development of the EU’s customs reforms closely, including the removal of the €150 customs duty relief for imports into the EU and related guidance. These changes do not impact the preferential rates of duty agreed in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The UK has engaged the European Commission on their reforms through forums including the UK-EU Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Co-operation and Rules of Origin. More broadly, the Government is working closely with the EU at all levels to support UK businesses’ trade in and with the EU.

HM Treasury Ministers and officials have regular discussions with representatives from the Flexible Space Association and the wider serviced office sector to understand the impact of business rates on the sector.

The Valuation Office (VO) is responsible for valuing non-domestic property for business rates purposes. They are required to maintain accurate rating lists in England and to carry out valuations impartially and in line with relevant legislation and caselaw.

At this time, there is no sector-wide review of serviced office assessments underway. The VO is addressing properties where they have received legal advice, or where unit of assessment issues are brought to its attention.

Where the VO is required to determine the unit of assessment, it does so on a case-by-case basis, with all facts being considered. Reviewing a small number of cases will help clarify the application of legislation on serviced offices and the VO will continue to monitor legal developments and update its approach as needed.

HM Treasury Ministers and officials have regular discussions with representatives from the Flexible Space Association and the wider serviced office sector to understand the impact of business rates on the sector.

The Valuation Office (VO) is responsible for valuing non-domestic property for business rates purposes. They are required to maintain accurate rating lists in England and to carry out valuations impartially and in line with relevant legislation and caselaw.

At this time, there is no sector-wide review of serviced office assessments underway. The VO is addressing properties where they have received legal advice, or where unit of assessment issues are brought to its attention.

Where the VO is required to determine the unit of assessment, it does so on a case-by-case basis, with all facts being considered. Reviewing a small number of cases will help clarify the application of legislation on serviced offices and the VO will continue to monitor legal developments and update its approach as needed.

The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.

Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.

The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.

Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.

The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.

Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.

The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.

Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.

The Soft Power Council was convened in January 2025 and has met four times.

I refer the Hon Member to the minutes of each meeting which are publicly available at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-soft-power-council-membership-and-terms-of-reference

The Soft Power Council has met four times. All Soft Power Council meetings have been co-chaired by a DCMS Minister. The Secretary of State has co-chaired the meeting twice, and I have co-chaired the meeting once, as did the previous DCMS Minister of State.

We are committed to investing in education and skills training for adults. We have invested over £1.4 billion in the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) this academic year and will be investing the same amount next academic year.

The move of adult skills to the DWP provides an opportunity to strengthen the bonds between the ASF and progression into the labour market and will help ensure that the skills and employment systems are more fully aligned.

With over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. We are investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and 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, including through expanded network of Youth Hubs, earlier intensive support in Jobs Centres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and a fully funded six month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds. It also includes investment to support the growth of Sector Based Work Academies which can be partially funded by the Adult Skills Fund.

We also recognise the crisis of participation that Alan Milburn has so clearly laid out in his interim report. We will use this interim report to continue to build our reforms and look forward to final recommendations in the Autumn.

The Government has established a tariff-based compensation scheme, in line with the Inquiry’s recommendations. A tariff-based scheme ensures that applicants have certainty about the total amount of compensation they will receive from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), regardless of when their application is processed. Consistently uprating compensation packages annually would not be consistent with this approach.

The Import One Stop Shop is an EU VAT reporting and collection scheme for goods that are not subject to duty. It deals solely with the collection of VAT.

I hope the hon. Member will understand that for reasons of operational security, it would not be appropriate to disclose the information requested.

I hope the hon. Member will understand that for reasons of operational security, it would not be appropriate to disclose the information requested.

I hope the hon. Member will understand that for reasons of operational security, it would not be appropriate to disclose the information requested.

I hope the hon. Member will understand that for reasons of operational security, it would not be appropriate to disclose the information requested.

I hope the hon. Member will understand that for reasons of operational security, it would not be appropriate to disclose the information requested.