As outlined in its manifesto, this Government is committed to ending puppy smuggling. This Government operates one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe and keeps resource allocation for these checks under review in close liaison with enforcement agencies.

The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Act 2025 gives the Government powers to introduce measures to strengthen current enforcement mechanisms. This Government will continue to work with UK enforcement bodies as it develops these measures, including on resource impacts.

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy for England, Defra will continue work with local authorities to ensure that enforcement is consistent and effective.

To improve consistency and encourage best practice, Defra works with the Local Government Animal Welfare Group and National Companion and Exotic Animal Welfare Panel to encourage a coordinated and consistent approach to enforcement across local authorities.

I would like to highlight three things that this Government have done to tackle climate change. First, we have brought forward carbon budget 7. I pay tribute to many Members of this House for the excellent discussion we had, with contributions from Members from Darlington to Devon, via Derby. Secondly, we have secured massive investment; since this Government came to power, we have secured more than £100 billion of private investment. Thirdly, we have been looking at where there is friction in the system, and at how to remove that friction, whether through working with communities to energise Britain—I was out in Manchester and Bradford yesterday—or by reordering the queue for our energy projects, to ensure that we are at the forefront of tackling climate change, are managing the risks, and are taking advantage of the opportunities.

While VAT is a matter for His Majesty’s Treasury, the department recognises that the VAT status of further education (FE) providers remains an issue of interest to the sector. Analysis indicates that VAT receipts for FE colleges are around £200 million per annum. The government continues to look into the VAT position of FE colleges, noting my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s commitment to look into this issue when it was raised at the Liaison Committee in December 2025. The government keeps all taxes under review and any changes would be announced at a fiscal event.

Defence Reform is the most significant transformation of Defence in over 50 years. Since April 2025, we have made substantial progress in reshaping the organisation including establishing clear accountabilities flowing from the four most senior leaders in Defence which enabled the consolidation of 17 separate organisations into four core areas designed to operate in an integrated way. Building on these foundations we are now practically implementing the Defence Operating Model (DOM) in live operation. By April 2027, we will sufficiently embed the DOM so that it becomes the default way Defence works. Over the course Parliament, we are committed to embedding the changes required to achieve the ambitions set out in the Strategic Defence Review.

The Ministry of Defence remains committed to providing Service personnel and their families with high-quality, modern and well-maintained accommodation.

As of 15 June 2026, there are 415 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties serving Sir John Moore Barracks and Worthy Down in Winchester. Of those, four properties (0.96%) have been assessed as falling below the Decent Homes Standard. All four properties are unoccupied (void).

The Armed Forces Bill will establish the new Defence Housing Service as the vehicle to improve the supply and quality of Defence family homes under the Defence Housing Strategy, putting the needs of Forces and their families first, to support defence communities.

Work to improve the estate is being delivered through the ten-year programme set out in Strategy. The Department is in the early stages of this programme and, given the variation in the age and condition of the estate, the scope and cost of works required to bring all homes up to the Decent Homes Standard will differ across properties.

The Home Office publishes data twice a year on the size and composition of the police workforce, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

This data is collected by police force area only; more specific information, such as officer numbers in each parliamentary constituency, is not collected.

Data by police force as at 31 March each year from 2007 to 2025 can be found in the ‘Workforce Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697255b5a1311bdcfa0ed8f3/open-data-table-police-workforce-280126.ods

The latest data on the number of police officers in post is available in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales: 30 September 2025’ release here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-30-september-2025.

Data on the police workforce as at 31 March 2026 will be published in July 2026.

The Home Office does not hold information on the number of ‘rural police officers’.

The Home Office collects and publishes data biannually on the size and composition of the police workforce, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

Information is collected annually on the primary function of each officer, however there is no specific function for ‘rural police officers’ or police officers working in rural crime teams. Table F4 of the data tables accompanying the publication details the functions that are used in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ publication.

The government has made clear that plan-making should commence in the new system in line with the timings laid out in the regulations that came into force on 25 March.

We recognise the challenges posed to plan making by local authority re-organisation and are developing transitional arrangements to address these. We will set out further details in due course.

As you will know, Mr Speaker, Jo Cox was a good friend of mine long before we came into this place, as well as a colleague of mine at Oxfam, and I have to say that coming in today on this anniversary is particularly sad. I also know that Jo would have told me to stop getting so emotional and to get on with the job in her inimitable way, as she often did—so I will do just that.

We are committed to increasing the economic pressure on Russia by disrupting the revenue the Kremlin generates from Russia’s energy trade, including oil, which remains its primary means of financing the illegal war in Ukraine. The Prime Minister has today announced further sanctions, designating and specifying 70 individuals, entities and ships under the UK’s sanctions regulations, including 20 shadow fleet vessels.

The Department cannot provide information on how many shifts were recorded as not fully staffed on England’s maternity units in each of the last five years, as this information is held regionally by the National Health Service and by individual NHS trusts.

I associate myself with Mr Speaker’s comments about Lord Hattersley.

I gently remind the hon. Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers) that the Liberal Democrats had many years in government with the Conservatives in which they chose austerity. That speeded up the decline of our high streets, but this Government are committed to rejuvenating our high streets. Later this year, we will introduce a comprehensive high streets strategy, backed by £300 million of support, to transform the high streets that are most in need. That funding will be used to support the creation of high street innovation partnerships to reimagine and revive the country’s most struggling high streets.

The Neighbourhood Health Framework focuses on improving access to diagnostic services by bringing them closer to home as part of the wider ambition to shift care from hospital to community settings. In this context, it commits NHS England to reviewing direct access to diagnostics for general practice and undertaking a review of diagnostic services to map existing community diagnostic centre capacity and planned expansion.

Rapid and point‑of‑care infection diagnostics can play an important role in supporting clinical decision-making, antimicrobial stewardship, and more appropriate antibiotic prescribing. The Government’s approach to improving access to these technologies is informed by the UK 2024–2029 National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance, which identifies improved diagnostics and diagnostic stewardship as key priorities in reducing unnecessary antimicrobial use. The UK 2024–2029 National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-5-year-action-plan-for-antimicrobial-resistance-2024-to-2029/confronting-antimicrobial-resistance-2024-to-2029

NHS England and local systems will continue to consider opportunities to improve access to appropriate diagnostic technologies, including rapid and point‑of‑care tests, as part of wider efforts to strengthen community diagnostic pathways. Decisions on the adoption and use of these technologies are guided by evidence on clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and operational feasibility.

On behalf of all the nations of the United Kingdom, NHS England published an invitation to tender for the UK subscription model for antimicrobials on 24 August 2024. The assessment of each product is being undertaken by a panel convened by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence against the award criteria. Once that process is complete, the results will be communicated to bidders along with an award offer where appropriate.

Following the award offer, it is normal practice for a 10-day standstill period before contracts commence. Further details on timings will be available once the assessment process is complete, however, suppliers involved in the process have already been advised that contract award is likely to be in November, with contracts commencing from quarter one of 2027.