It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

His Majesty's Government is unable to comment further on intelligence and security matters. We are committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred within our communities. We have some of the strongest laws in the world to protect our citizens.

The Inspect platform has the potential to unlock more seamless collaboration between AI safety researchers across the world by improving the standardisation and repeatability of safety evaluations. The AI Safety Institute will monitor the uptake of Inspect by drawing on usage data from GitHub, where the toolkit is available for anyone to access, and will continue to engage with AI safety researchers and developers to continue to improve the model. The upcoming AI Seoul Summit will be a valuable forum to deepen AISI’s global collaboration efforts on AI Safety standards.

Industrial activities in England are regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) 2016. All large industrial facilities, such as large combustion plants and energy from waste, are regulated by the Environment Agency (EA) and must comply with environmental permits, use best available techniques (BAT) to reduce emissions to air, water and land, and monitor and report their emissions. The BAT approach ensures standards are enhanced over time by defining the available techniques which are the best for preventing or minimising emissions and impacts on the environment.

The EA inspects and audits industrial installations to ensure they are complying with the requirements of their permits. For example, energy from waste sites have continuous air emissions monitoring for key pollutants which all plants must carry out. Smaller sites are regulated by local authorities. Control and monitoring requirements of emissions to air are set through a BAT approach which informs permit requirements.

The EA has confirmed that the current monitoring of industrial pollution of the sites it regulates in Slough meets all of the requirements set out in the Industrial Emissions Directive. There is an accreditation standard for monitoring of all industrial emissions.

Defra has a number of schemes which provide funding to support biodiversity projects. This includes the Landscape Recovery Scheme, The Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme, and Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme.

Each individual scheme has its own monitoring and evaluation framework to evaluate the impact of the projects, and this will include evaluation of the value for money delivered. For example, the Species Recovery Programme is currently commissioning an evaluation for the current Spending Review period which will include evaluating whether the Programme is providing value for money.

Defra is also currently developing an overarching monitoring and evaluation framework to strengthen its understanding of progress towards meeting its statutory biodiversity targets, including its target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. This work will include an overall evaluation of the value for money delivered by the suite of government interventions for biodiversity.

We have introduced controls which are more proportionate to risk and worked with port and airport operators, traders, Port Health Authorities (PHAs) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to make sure we have the right infrastructure, systems and resources in place.

This has culminated in recent months with an extensive period of operational testing. Collaborating with several ports, PHAs, APHA and traders, we have used these tests to ensure that stakeholders are prepared for the new controls.

Defra is confident that existing and new Border Control Posts infrastructure will have sufficient capacity and capability to handle the volume of expected checks outlined in the Border Target Operating Model, with robust, dynamic and effective operational measures ready to call upon if needed.

Licenses for the release of non-native species after capture can be issued under the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The licensing authority for these licences is Natural England (NE).

The Licencing Authority may only grant licences for certain specified purposes. For example, where the release is part of a rapid eradication measure. NE have therefore granted licences where appropriate to allow for the release of Asian hornets (Vespa velutina).

Any interested party may submit an application to NE to obtain a licence. The application should include comprehensive supporting information to enable NE to make an informed decision on whether a licence can be issued. Any conditions as stipulated by NE upon the issue of the licence must be complied with.

In the case of Asian hornets, the conditions include but are not limited to the immediate reporting of any sightings of individual Asian hornets or their nests to the GB Non-native Species Secretariat. The individual must also regularly report to NE on how the licence has been used.

The Government is in close contact with counterparts in the United States on the incidents of influenza of avian origin in cattle in the USA. We know that the strain of virus (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) strain B3.13) involved has not been detected in the UK.

Defra is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Food Standards Agency, the Cabinet Office and with international partners on risk assessments to consider the routes of incursion, animal to animal spread and animal to human spill-over and to review our well-tested surveillance mechanisms and preparedness activities in light of this emerging situation.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has assessed the risk to Great Britain of this outbreak in the USA of Influenza A (H5N1) of avian origin in livestock to our own livestock as very low (event is very rare but cannot be excluded). The assessment has been published on gov.uk Avian influenza in cattle in USA (publishing.service.gov.uk) (see attached). The Food Standards Agency (FSA) have assessed the risk to UK consumers from HPAI strain B3.13 in imported milk, dairy products, colostrum and colostrum-based products originating from US dairy cattle as very low with medium uncertainty (Rapid Risk Assessment: Risk to UK consumers from Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 B3.13 in US dairy products | Food Standards Agency) (see attached).

In response to the unprecedented global outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in wild and kept birds, the UK's avian influenza national reference laboratory at the Animal and Plant Health Agency Weybridge laboratory has increased its surveillance in both wild birds and wild mammals and genome analysis of the virus itself while keeping a close eye on its spread in global populations of wildlife. In addition, we have published an ‘Influenza A (H5N1) infection in mammals: suspect case definition and diagnostic testing criteria’ on gov.uk to support veterinary professionals and others in knowing when to report suspicion. The UK case definition for influenza of avian origin in mammals has been updated and now includes a case definition for ungulates including dairy cattle, this in response the emerging situation in cattle in the USA and will be kept under regular review as further information becomes available.

We are monitoring the situation closely but at this time have no reason to suspect the virus is circulating in our cattle, nor is this strain of the virus circulating in Europe. We have had no recent cases of avian influenza in kept birds, or findings of influenza of avian origin in kept or wild mammals, and the risk level from wild birds is low. We have discussed the need for surveillance in wildlife, domestic animals and humans with DHSC and UKHSA and are considering the case for additional surveillance for influenza of avian origin in cattle and how best such animal health surveillance could be undertaken.

The Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment is a new environmental monitoring programme, assessing the state and condition of ecosystems in England and their natural capital. The field data, including soils data, is being collected on a five-year cycle that runs from 2023/24 to 2027/28. Final statistics and data will be published after 2027/28 when 100% of the data has been collected and there are outline plans to publish interim statistics, mid cycle, once 50% of the field data has been collected.

The Department continues to work collaboratively across the Government to address the impact of air pollution. We are taking significant and wide-ranging action to drive improvements to air quality, as set out in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Environmental Improvement Plan. The United Kingdom Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) Cleaner Air Programme also aims to help reduce people’s exposure to air pollution, tackle disparities in exposure, and improve outcomes for all, including through increasing the evidence base and improving awareness and understanding of the health impacts of air pollution. The UKHSA has published a study quantifying the health burden in the population of England from key respiratory conditions associated with residential exposures to damp, mould, and formaldehyde.

The Department does not collect or hold the information requested. However, the Department is working with local authorities and other organisations to identify the data needed to support the delivery of adult social care, and provide insight into adult social care outcomes

The Department does not collect or hold the information requested. However, the Department is working with local authorities and other organisations to identify the data needed to support the delivery of adult social care, and provide insight into adult social care outcomes

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA – now part of Jisc), is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK’s higher education (HE) sector. The latest published statistics refer to the 2021/22 academic year.

The department holds individual-level HESA data for all HE students in each academic year from 1995/96 to 2021/22. From 1998/99, the students are able to be identified by name.

The HESA data includes information on student’s disability status, religion or belief, gender identity and sexual orientation, although, gender identity, sexual orientation and religion or belief (for English, Scottish and Welsh HE providers) were not collected prior to 2012/13. Note that gender identity differs to biological sex which has been collected across all academic years since 1995/96.

The estimated figures below are derived by counting every student that started a HE course in the UK since 1999/2000, as well as the total number of enrolments (entrants and continuing students) in the academic year 1998/99. The figures exclude students with a missing first and last name, but includes students who are not part of the standard registration population. Therefore, these figures will differ from HESA’s publications. Additionally, students that disclose sensitive characteristics for the first time in any year after their first year of study are not counted under the estimated number of students with known sensitive characteristics, and students that have started more than one course since 1998/99 are counted once for each enrolment.

The department is estimated to hold the names of 28,927,337 students that started a HE course in the UK between 1998/99 and 2021/22. For 27,424,867 of these names, the department holds information on at least one of the following sensitive characteristics - disability status, religion or belief, gender identity or sexual orientation.

Of the estimated 28,927,337 names held by the department, 27,373,886 (95%) of them have a known disability status, 7,403,109 (26%) have a known religion or belief, 6,164,770 (21%) have a known gender identity and 6,388,972 (22%) have a known sexual orientation.

Student numbers broken down by personal characteristics over time are available through HESA’s open data pages, which can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb265/figure-5. HESA’s publication archive for earlier years can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/publications.

While individual identifiers are retained by the department for matching purposes, at all times the department will minimise the processing of, and access to, instant or meaningful identifiers. Access to named data within the department is restricted to a small number of data professionals with responsibility for matching this data with other sources and creating pseudonymised, or aggregated, versions of the data which are subsequently used for research and statistics.

Tackling illicit drugs, including potent synthetic opioids, is a priority for the Government, and through our 10-year drugs strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’ the Home Office is taking action to tackle drug supply and reduce demand.

Border Force uses intelligence from law enforcement and sources overseas to target action at the border and identify shipments for examination.

The cross-Government Synthetic Opioids Taskforce is working with partners such as the NCA, the Department of Health and Social Care and the National Police Chiefs Council to deliver an evidence-based response to the risk posed by synthetic opioids, monitor the effectiveness of the response, including at the border, and to implement effective action to stem the demand and supply of these dangerous substances.

Full details of the Monitoring Committee’s Terms of Reference and Monitoring Plan can be found here: Monitoring Committee: Migration and Economic Development Partnership - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

As set out in the monitoring plan, monitoring, especially in the enhanced phase, will be agile and responsive to operational activity so there will be a rolling presence of the Monitoring Committee and Support Team at different locations, rather than a set schedule of visits.