theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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James Wild:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has commissioned any independent assessments of the compliance costs of financial regulations since 4 July 2024. \p Emma Reynolds: The government has committed to cutting the administrative costs of regulation for business by 25% by the end of the Parliament. This will take a whole-of-government approach to establish a baseline for the administrative costs of regulation and deliver an ambitious regulation reform programme, targeting reforms that remove or streamline administrative processes. No independent assessment has been commissioned for this work.

The financial services regulators are required by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to undertake and publish a Cost-Benefit Analysis when consulting on any proposal to make or amend rules, to analyse the likely expected costs and benefits arising from the changes.

The Treasury is working with the financial services regulators to reduce regulatory burdens on financial services firms while maintaining high regulatory standards.

As part of the Regulation Action Plan, the government announced that it will consolidate the Payments Systems Regulator into the Financial Conduct Authority, to provide a more streamlined approach to regulation for businesses.

The Regulation Action Plan also confirmed that the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are taking steps to review and streamline reporting requirements for firms.

The government is committed to ensuring our regulation is fit for purpose, ensuring it meets our commitments to maintaining the UK’s high standards and protections whilst ensuring we do not hold back growth with unnecessary red tape.
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Richard Tice:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she will consider introducing a (a) transitional period and (b) grace window for homebuyers who began the property purchase process before recent changes to Stamp Duty rates to help prevent transactions from falling through. \p James Murray: I refer the hon member to the answer given to UIN 38297.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her policy is on the development of the digital pound. \p Emma Reynolds: HM Treasury and the Bank of England are continuing to explore the case for the digital pound.

No decision has been taken on whether to introduce the digital pound.  The work currently being undertaken will provide the evidence base for a decision in due course.  Any decision will also take account of international developments and wider trends in money and payments.

If a decision was taken to proceed with the digital pound, primary legislation would be introduced prior to its launch. Legislation would be preceded by a further public consultation and would guarantee users’ privacy and control of their money.
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Steff Aquarone:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the amount of tax income which could be generated by new registers of beneficial ownership in overseas territories and crown dependencies. \p James Murray: We are clear on the benefits of beneficial ownership registers, which not only include tackling illicit finance and corruption, but also fighting tax and sanctions evasion.

At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to join Montserrat and Gibraltar in implementing fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers.

The Crown Dependencies have committed to increasing the transparency of their beneficial ownership registers and are working towards implementing access to those with legitimate interest, in line with the EU's 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

HMRC draws on a variety of data sources to tackle offshore non-compliance, including exchange of information under double taxation agreements and Tax Information Exchange Agreements.
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Claire Hanna:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the final report by the Complaints Commissioner entitled The FCA’s handling of Safe Hands Plans Limited, published on 11 March 2025, if she will make recommendations to the Financial Conduct Authority based on that report. \p Emma Reynolds: I am sympathetic to all the Safe Hands customers who have lost money, following the collapse of the firm in 2022.

Once concerns were raised about the funeral plan market, the Government legislated to bring all pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This made it illegal to sell pre-paid funeral plans without authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority, protecting 1.6 million customers and their families.

The FCA has published its response to the Financial Regulator Complaints Commissioner. The FCA has been clear that it is not possible to immediately act on every piece of anonymous intelligence they receive.

We support the FCA's handling of Safe Hands, and it is clear that they acted reasonably in this case, as they had a clear plan to properly scrutinise Safe Hands’ business during the authorisations process. As the Commissioner acknowledges, there is also no evidence that alternative action from the FCA would have led to different outcomes for Safe Hands customers.
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Mr Louie French:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2025 to Question 39136 on the Independent Football Regulator, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Independent Football Regulator on the growth of the economy. \p Darren Jones: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport are leading on setting up the Independent Football Regulator where they are looking to put in place a flexible and proportionate regime focused on ensuring the financial sustainability of the game, which will create the certain and stable regulatory environment required to drive the right kind of investment in, and growth of, English football.

The Regulator also has duties to avoid having any adverse effects on the competitiveness of any regulated club and on the financial growth of, or financial investment in, English football.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the percentage of Government spending was as a proportion of GDP on 5 July 2024. \p Darren Jones: The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) last forecast for Total Managed Expenditure (TME) as a % of GDP ahead of 5 July 2024 is available in Table 2.3 (p29) of the Spring Budget 2024 document.

However, the OBR subsequently published a review of the March 2024 forecast for departmental expenditure limits, in which it set out that information about large spending pressures was not shared with them ahead of this forecast, and that “had this information been made available, a materially different judgement about RDEL spending in 2024-25 would have been reached”.

As of today, the OBR’s latest forecast for TME as a % of GDP is available in Table A.1 (p41) of the Spring Statement 2025 document.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether appointments to the National Wealth Fund will be included in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the chair will be classified as a significant appointment. \p Darren Jones: All ministerial public appointments will follow the principles of the Governance Code on public appointments. There are no current plans to recruit a new Chair of the National Wealth Fund. The current recruitment round for a new CEO is exempt from the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments regulation as it is an executive position.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the press release entitled Joint statement of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Charlevoix, published on 14 March 2025, whether the Government has plans to increase its loan to Ukraine from the profits of sanctioned assets. \p Darren Jones: The Government has provided £2.26bn as part of the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine (ERA) scheme. This will be repaid using profits from immobilised Russian sovereign assets in the EU.

The G7 has agreed that the ERA can support $50bn in funding to Ukraine – the entirety of which has been pledged.

The UK’s total military, humanitarian and economic support pledged since the start of the conflict now amounts to around £12.8bn.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Macquarie Bank’s involvement in UK infrastructure development; and what steps she plans to take to ensure the stability and sustainability of essential services. \p Darren Jones: The government is committed to delivering a cross-cutting 10 Year Strategy for the UK’s social, economic and housing infrastructure to support a flourishing modern economy, drive growth, deliver net zero and support improved public services.

The government has been engaging openly with industry as it develops this Strategy to ensure that it is credible and deliverable.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the potential impact of providing compensation for public services in Wales for costs arising from the increase in employers national insurance contributions through the Barnett Formula. \p Darren Jones: At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor agreed to provide funding to the public sector to support them with the additional cost associated with changes to employer National Insurance Contributions policy.

The Welsh Government will receive funding through the Barnett formula in the usual way in 2025-26, including on this support. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.

The Welsh Government settlement is growing in real terms in 2025-26 and is the largest settlements in real terms of any since devolution. Overall, the Welsh Government receives at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK. That translates into over £4 billion more in 2025-26.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much she has budgeted for the Civil Service Voluntary Exit Scheme announced in the Spring Statement 2025. \p Darren Jones: As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.
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Mr Mark Francois:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the Defence Growth Board fits into the upcoming Strategic Defence Review. \p Darren Jones: The Defence Growth Board has been created to maximise Defence’s contribution to the Government’s first priority, the Growth Mission. It will be co-chaired by both the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Defence. Membership also includes the Secretary of State for Business and Trade with support from Departmental officials.

The aim of the Defence Growth Board is to oversee the integration of economic growth considerations into Defence. The Board will also oversee the delivery of the relevant recommendations that emerge from the Strategic Defence Review where they relate to growth and industrial strategy. Progress of the specific issues which come to the Board will be measures under milestones agreed between the Ministry of Defence and HM Treasury.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Second Permanent Secretary will sit on the defence growth board. \p Darren Jones: The membership of the Defence Growth Board consists of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. They will be supported by Departmental officials, including the National Armaments Director and MOD Permanent Secretary. Meetings of the Defence Growth Board will be scheduled as required.
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Laurence Turner:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 10.10 of her Department's publication entitled Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2024, published on 30 July 2024, if she will publish a version of the regional breakdown of per capita railway expenditure that excludes HS2's contribution. \p Darren Jones: The country and region tables shown in chapters 9 and 10 of PESA including table 10.10, were originally published the previous December as part of the Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) dataset. It is possible to reproduce railway expenditure excluding HS2 using the data published alongside each CRA release.

Provided below is a link to collected editions of the Country and Regional Analysis publications on GOV.UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-and-regional-analysis
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes proposed by Great Western Railway on (a) ticket offices and (b) station staffing. \p Simon Lightwood: Any changes to ticket office opening hours, in relation to regulated stations covered by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, must be made following the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement conditions and Secretary of State guidance. The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with Great Western Railway on changes related to ticket offices at any of its stations.
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Jerome Mayhew:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the amount of funding spent on reforming the train ticketing system in the (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 financial years. \p Simon Lightwood: The Fares Ticketing and Retail (FTR) Programme to modernise ticketing and retail systems started at Spending Review 2021. The first year of the programme was 22/23. The Department spend £55.7 million in 22/23 and £66 million in 23/24 on the FTR programme.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has completed an equality impact assessment on its consultation proposals entitled A railway fit for Britain's future, published on 18 February 2025. \p Simon Lightwood: Equality impacts are being considered throughout the policy development process and as we prepare the required legislation. Feedback from the consultation will also inform our assessments.

An Equality Impact Assessment will be published alongside the broader Impact Assessment when the legislation is introduced, in line with standard practice and requirements.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will add public interest duties to her Department’s open consultation entitled A railway fit for Britain's future, published on 18 February 2025. \p Simon Lightwood: The consultation is clear that Great British Railways (GBR) will run our rail infrastructure and passenger services in the public interest. The consultation has not specified GBR’s exact duties and functions, and we welcome views on these. All responses to the consultation will be considered ahead of introduction of the forthcoming Railways Bill.
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Jerome Mayhew:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of conclusion one of the Public Account Committee's report entitled HS2: Update following the Northern leg cancellation, HC 357, published 28 February 2025, on the governance of Great British Railways. \p Simon Lightwood: Work is underway on the design of Great British Railways, including its governance. We will take learnings from elsewhere, including the Public Account Committee’s recent report on High Speed Two (HS2), to ensure GBR is set up to deliver better services for passengers and freight customers, and better value for money for taxpayers.
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Daniel Francis:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Office of Rail and Road on improving access for disabled people on LeShuttle services. \p Simon Lightwood: The Government engages regularly with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to discuss a range of matters and officials meet routinely to discuss the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority (CTSA) and ORR’s regulatory activities concerning Eurotunnel. The Government fully supports efforts to continually improve accessibility on Le Shuttle services.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with Crosscountry trains on increasing capacity on rail routes in Newton Abbot constituency. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department has funded 12 additional Voyager trains (60 carriages) for the CrossCountry network. Three trains are already in service with the next one due to be brought into service in April. The remaining eight trains are due to enter service with CrossCountry in May. This will increase the Voyager train fleet and enable CrossCountry to provide many more seats on its network including the Edinburgh to Plymouth route.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-opening the railway line between Heathfield and Newton Abbot. \p Simon Lightwood: There are no current plans to make an assessment of reopening the railway line between Heathfield and Newton Abbot. The Government believes that local authorities are best placed to promote and take forward transport schemes that will most benefit their local areas.
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Mr Paul Kohler:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many railway stations underwent development where (a) full step-free access and (b) only passive provision was provided between 2019 and 2024. \p Simon Lightwood: During the period 2019 – 2024, 66 major accessibility interventions were delivered at 63 different stations under the Access for All Programme, 4 of which were fixed funding contributions through the Access for All mid-tier programme.
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Mr Paul Kohler:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to remove Appendix B of the PRM NTSN. \p Simon Lightwood: The Secretary of State for Transport has no plans to remove Appendix B from the Persons of Reduced Mobility (PRM) NTSN.

The PRM NTSN is one of several measures that help make the railway more accessible and should be considered in conjunction with relevant National Technical Rules, Rail Industry Standards and operators’ Accessible Travel Policies amongst other measures. My Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of Appendix B on the availability of step free access at stations, but we keep all NTSNs under regular review.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to improve Passenger Assist service for rail users in England. \p Simon Lightwood: We have recently invested over £10 million to enable the Rail Delivery Group to deliver the next phase of the Passenger Assist Improvement Programme. This 25-month programme will deliver a series of improvements including the capability to book a ticket, request assistance and reserve a seat in a single transaction. Importantly, it will give customers the ability to communicate directly with staff and provide a dedicated help function on the Passenger Assist App.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets her Department has for staff recruitment. \p Mike Kane: All recruitment at the Department for Transport (DfT) is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. As such there are no diversity, equality and inclusion targets for recruitment in the Department.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many individual representations her Department has received from Staffordshire County Council in relation to potholes in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) North Staffordshire in each of the last five years. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Department receives regular correspondence from many local highway authorities on the topic of local highway maintenance, including potholes. Over the last five years, the Department’s records suggest that Staffordshire County Council has made formal representations to the Department four times on highway maintenance and other funding issues. The Department’s officials are in regular informal contact with officers from Staffordshire County Council on local highway maintenance issues.
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Ann Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions has she had with the Welsh Government regarding the Spending Review. \p Simon Lightwood: The Secretary of State and the wider ministerial team are in regular contact with Welsh Government counterparts and have ongoing, constructive discussions on our respective strategic priorities. There is also regular collaboration at senior official level through a number of fora, notably the Wales Rail Board.
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Michael Wheeler:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been allocated to (a) Salford City Council and (b) Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council.for road maintenance in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26. \p Lilian Greenwood: Both Salford City Council and Wigan Metropolitan Borough are constituent members of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). During 2024/25, the Government allocated funds to GMCA through its City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), which includes consolidated funding for highway maintenance funding for all its constituent authorities. In addition to this funding, during 2024/25 GMCA received a £4.4 million funding uplift as part of the previous Government’s Network North plan.

For 2025/26, GMCA will receive an Integrated Settlement from the Government, into which CRSTS will be consolidated. In addition to this funding, GMCA will receive an additional £14.8 million from the highway maintenance funding uplift announced in this Government’s 2024 Budget.

Funding allocations for CRSTS and highway maintenance are published on gov.uk.
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Sojan Joseph:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum on avoiding the routine deployment of Operation Brock during school holidays. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF) is operationally independent from His Majesty’s Government (HMG). The KMRF's decision to deploy Operation Brock ahead of the Easter getaway was taken after extensive discussions, taking into account previous disruption during peak periods, expected traffic levels and safety of road users.

The deployment of Operation Brock and other traffic management measures are continually kept under review by the KMRF to ensure they are designed and implemented in the most effective way possible.

The Department continues to work on new approaches to long term traffic management in Kent, considering a combination of off-road sites and technology to manage the flow of traffic to the portals during periods of high traffic volumes, keeping the strategic road network clear. We are also working on improvements in traffic forecasting using better data, AI and learning from recent experience which could mean that the use of Operation Brock on a precautionary basis could be reduced in the future.
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Steff Aquarone:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will widen the payment methods which can be used when making a payment to the DVLA. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) offers a range of payment options, including direct debits, cheques and debit and credit cards.

The DVLA keeps its range of payment options under review, taking into account the associated costs and benefits of potential new options.
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Mr Toby Perkins:To ask the Leader of the House, how many (a) oral statements, (b) urgent questions, (c) end of day adjournment debates and (d) Westminster Hall debates each Department has responded to since 5 July 2024. \p Lucy Powell: Urgent questions, adjournment debates and Westminster Hall debates are a matter for the House. Information relating to each of these is available on the Parliament website.

The Government is responsible for the arrangement of oral statements. As of 3rd April 2025, there have been 129 oral statements from the following departments:

Department

Number of oral statements

Department for Business and Trade

8

Cabinet Office

9

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

4

Ministry of Defence

7

Department for Education

8

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

8

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

4

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

20

Department of Health and Social Care

8

Home Office

15

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

8

Ministry of Justice

6

Northern Ireland Office

2

Prime Minister

6

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

2

Department for Transport

5

Treasury

6

Department for Work and Pensions

3
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of Government funding for the promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief was allocated to supporting persecuted religious communities globally in the each of the last three financial years. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK champions and remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) John Bunyan Fund (JBF), the designated programme for FoRB-focused overseas projects has a budget allocation of £460,720 in the financial year 2024/25. In the financial year 2023/24 the JBF spent £170,000 and in financial year 2022/23, £70,000. The FCDO works to ensure that Official Development Assistance (ODA) is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity. This includes minority religious or belief communities who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.
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Kate Osamor:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on media freedom in that country. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK is a resolute supporter of democracy, the rule of law and media freedom. This Government has discussed recent events in Turkey with our counterparts at a number of levels. Most recently, on 29 March, the Foreign Secretary spoke to his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. Among other issues he raised our expectation that as a key friend and ally, Turkey upholds its international commitments, the rule of law and protects the fundamental rights to free speech, peaceful assembly, and media freedom, including the treatment of British and other journalists reporting there.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has for participation by (a) Ministers and (b) officials at the European Political Community Summit in Albania on 16 May 2025. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK values the European Political Community (EPC) as a format that brings together leaders from across Europe for frank discussions about shared challenges such as European security and irregular migration. The UK has played a central role in the EPC since its inception, particularly through hosting at Blenheim Palace in July 2024. We welcome Albania's hosting of the EPC on 16 May. Attendance at the EPC is at leader-level only and cannot be delegated. We will set out the Prime Minister's travel plans in the usual way.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 38978 on Diego Garcia: Military Bases, if he will publish a map of the proposed buffer zone around Diego Garcia when the UK-Mauritius Treaty is laid before Parliament. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the response given to her previous Question 38978, which remains the same.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the proposed treaty with Mauritius on the future sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory contains guarantees to support British Chagossians in visiting the Chagos archipelago. \p Stephen Doughty: As we have previously said, we will work with Mauritius to start a new programme of visits for Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_311

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment. \p Catherine West: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) follows the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles guiding fair and open appointments based on merit. We aspire to reflect the population we serve but there are no specific diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) targets for recruitment. As a Disability Confident Level 3 Leader the FCDO implements the Disability Confident Scheme across our recruitment campaigns meaning candidates in the scheme are guaranteed an interview if they meet the minimum criteria for the role. DEI in the Civil Service is an important lever to support the delivery of the Government's Plan for Change and wider Civil Service reform.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_312

Leigh Ingham:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Council of Europe. \p Stephen Doughty: The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary had discussions with the former Council of Europe Secretary General at the European Political Community (EPC) Summit last July. The Prime Minister met with the current Secretary General at the Budapest EPC Summit in November 2024. The Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General have both attended recent Council of Europe events in Vilnius and Strasbourg respectively.

I have regularly engaged with our Ambassador to the Council of Europe on a range of matters, and recently met with members of the UK delegation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_313

Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, If he will publish the most recent latest draft of the proposed Treaty with Mauritius on the future sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory pbefore he signs that Treaty. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the response given to her previous Questions 39402 and 39403 on the details of the treaty.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_314

Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 38979 on Mauritius: Marine Protected Areas, what will happen to the existing marine protected area when sovereignty is transferred; whether he has a planned timetable for the time it will take Mauritius to establish a marine protected area; whether the Treaty with Mauritius will contain provisions that secure from the Government of Mauritius the establishment of a marine protected area. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the response given to her previous Question 38979, which remains the same.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_315

Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he will lay before Parliament the proposed treaty on the future sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory. \p Stephen Doughty: Both sides remain committed to concluding a deal on the future of the Chagos Archipelago which protects the long-term effective operation of the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia.  We continue to engage with Mauritius and are not going to provide a running commentary on the details.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_316

Ben Lake:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to support the effective delivery of the National Telecare Campaign in Ceredigion Preseli constituency. \p Chris Bryant: The Government is working with industry to support the industry-led and industry-funded National Telecare Campaign. The objective of this campaign is for telecare users to be identified so that they can be provided with additional support when their landlines are upgraded from analogue to digital.

It is important that the campaign reaches vulnerable customers across the UK. In Wales, a TV advert will be broadcast on ITV Wales, in English with Welsh subtitles. A mix of English and Welsh, and Welsh only will be used for printed adverts, video on demand, and social media.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_317

Will Stone:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will consider Panettoni Park in Swindon North constituency for Government funding for jobs in science and technology. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is supporting local leaders to unlock their regions’ innovation potential. This includes Innovation Accelerator pilots, with innovation clusters sharing £100 million; the Launchpad programme, with 11 sites each receiving up to £7.5 million for innovation projects; and the Strength in Places Fund, which is investing £316 million in 12 projects to develop research and development capacity.

I understand Panettoni Park may host data centre space. The Government is reviewing and improving grid connections and exploring other ways to enable data centre capacity, with over £40 billion in private investment in new UK data centres announced since July 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_318

James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions her Department has had with parents on (a) smart phones in schools and (b) young people on social media. \p Feryal Clark: Ministers and officials regularly meet stakeholders to discuss online child protection. Ofcom, the independent regulator for online safety, also has statutory duties under the Online Safety Act to consult with users. Ofcom engaged with over 7,000 parents to understand online experiences and exposure to harms, informing the child safety codes of practice due for publication in April.

The Department for Education’s ‘Mobile Phones in Schools’ guidance is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices throughout the school day. Discussions with parents were held by officials during the development of the guidance. Details on Ministerial meetings are published on the GOV.UK website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_319

Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the speech entitled PM remarks on the fundamental reform of the British state, published on 13 March 2025, on what methodological basis the Prime Minister said that the Government would make £45 billion savings in efficiency; and over what time period this would be. \p Feryal Clark: The Government’s £45 billion estimate is based on a detailed analysis employing three levers: automating routine tasks (£36 billion), migrating services online (£4 billion) and reducing fraud via digital compliance (£5 billion). This work scaled bespoke analysis conducted on the Civil Service to the wider public sector, with overlaying case studies. A more detailed methodology will be published online in due course.

The £45 billion therefore represents the steady‑state annual savings / productivity gains achievable once these efficiency measures are fully embedded across the public sector.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_320

James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has had recent discussions with head teachers on the rising cost of energy for schools. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_321

Seamus Logan:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what survey data his Department (a) has commissioned and (b) holds since July 2024 on regional averages for when different areas turn on their heating systems in Great Britain. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Department does not hold data on when different areas turn on their heating systems. Statistics on regional gas demand are published annually in Subnational gas consumption data. UK level monthly domestic gas demand is also published in Energy Trends table 4.2.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_322

Graham Leadbitter:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of practice of classifying communal electricity meters in residential buildings as business rather than domestic; what steps he has taken to ensure fair and consistent application of tariffs; whether energy suppliers are permitted to override a meter’s designation as Domestic in the National Database when setting tariffs; and what steps his Department is taking to prevent incorrect classification. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Communal areas in apartment blocks are charged on a non-domestic energy contract as the organisation who is responsible for them is a business. As such, domestic consumers living in the apartment block are usually charged a non-domestic energy rate for these areas. Ofgem’s Maximum Resale Direction protects tenants from being charged inflated electricity costs from their landlord. It sets a maximum price that can be charged for electricity and gas which has already been bought from a licenced supplier.

Suppliers are ultimately responsible for correctly classifying the customers they contract with as domestic or non-domestic, in line with Ofgem criteria. Suppliers are also responsible for the correct classification of electricity meters, in accordance with ‘meter profile classes’ managed by Elexon in the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC).

Ofgem has made clear in guidance on this subject that ‘meter profile class’ should not be the deciding factor in whether a customer is domestic or non-domestic, this should be based on the intended purpose of consumption at the premises (i.e. domestic or non-domestic) Bespoke contracts should be offered where needed
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_323

Graham Leadbitter:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the status of a managing factor as a limited company affects the classification of a communal electricity supply as domestic or business; and what guidance his Department provides to Ofgem and energy suppliers on this matter. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The classification of whether a communal electricity supply is considered domestic or business depends on whether the organisation or individual who manages the building has a domestic or commercial energy contract. Businesses are required to have a commercial energy contract, even if they provide electricity to domestic properties.

Ofgem provides guidance to consumers on whether they need a business energy contact on its website - https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-businesses/get-energy-your-business.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-03 conversation_324

Graham Leadbitter:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to review the practice of applying business energy tariffs to communal electricity supplies in residential buildings. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Communal areas in apartment blocks are charged on a non-domestic energy contract as the organisation who is responsible for them is a business.

A Call for Evidence regarding domestic customers with a non-domestic energy supply was published in July 2023 and explored the advantages and disadvantages of these arrangements. The responses highlighted the complexity of energy supply and contract arrangements, and due to the physical set-up of these residences, the majority of these consumers will continue to receive their energy via a non-domestic contract. The Call for Evidence is now closed, and a summary of responses was published in April 2024.

Ofgem is taking action to ensure these consumers are protected by raising awareness of the Maximum Resale Price direction, and planning work with network companies to produce a clear route for vulnerable consumers to be added to the Priority Services Register.