theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lisa Smart:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the average time taken to process nominations for national honours. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Processing the large number of nominations for national honours can be lengthy but it is critical to ensure the integrity of national honours is maintained. Verifying information about nominees can take time to ensure the independent process has been completed to the standards expected.

Of course we are always looking at ways to use technology to improve and speed up processes, including in honours.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 26195 on European Court of Justice, what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the jurisdiction of European Court of Justice rulings in the UK. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: There has been no change in the jurisdiction of European Court of Justice rulings in the UK. I have regular exchanges with my EU counterparts on our obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Lisa Smart:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his planned timetable is to establish a duty of candour for public servants. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The Government remains committed to implement a ‘Hillsborough Law’ which will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities. The details of this Bill will be announced in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has taken steps to reduce his business travel since 4 July 2024. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: Travel plans will always vary and are decided with consideration of the best use of a Minister’s time and in the interests of the taxpayer. Security considerations are also taken into account.

As was the practice under the previous Administration, information about official overseas ministerial travel will be published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on gov.uk.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data his Department collects on the outcomes of performance management procedures. \p Georgia Gould: Cabinet Office staff, except those on career breaks or new joiners, are allocated a performance marking at mid-year and end of the year. All line managers are instructed to upload these performance markings onto our HR system, which is called SOP.

In March, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also announced that the Government will be strengthening performance processes for the SCS.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether any renewable energy compliance regulations are under review by his Department. \p Michael Shanks: The government has inherited a fragmented consumer protection framework for installation of measures that improve the energy efficiency of homes. This will be reviewed and reforms brought forward in the Warm Homes Plan, so that people can be confident of the quality of upgrading and insulating homes, which could help save money on their bills.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Mr Richard Holden:Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reason his Department intends to establish Great British Energy as an arm’s length body. \p Michael Shanks: It is our intention that Great British Energy will be a publicly owned energy company and an Arm’s Length Body in line with Cabinet Office guidance. Setting up GBE in this way will ensure the right balance between operational independence and accountability to Parliament.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Chi Onwurah:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to encourage the connection of residential developments to district heating schemes. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Committee for Climate Change has recommended the government grows the heat network sector from providing 3% of national heat demand to 20% by 2050.

To deliver this ambition we are transforming the heat network market through policies like heat network zoning, which identifies areas of England where heat networks are expected to be the lowest cost solution for decarbonising heat.

Through heat network zoning, certain types of buildings including communally heated residential buildings could be required to connect to a network within a prescribed timeframe.

This will allow for large-scale strategic heat networks to be built in towns and cities across the country.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 40054 on Great British Energy: Logos, what the internal costs were for the redesign of the Great British Energy logo. \p Michael Shanks: As per my answer to Questions 42936 and 42937 the staff involved in the creation of Great British Energy’s logo were not recruited specifically to design the logo. Therefore, a detailed breakdown of the time and costs involved is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

I can however assure the hon Member that the Government is committed to ensuring that staff resources are used efficiently and effectively.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure sufficient energy supply to meet demand in the next 10 years. \p Michael Shanks: Great Britain is expected to have sufficient supplies of electricity and gas to meet consumers’ demands over the short and long-term (Statutory Security of Supply Report 2024). The government’s mission is to secure our energy supply with home-grown, clean power – and we have set out the steps to achieve this in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. These include: cleaning up a dysfunctional grid system by prioritising the most important projects; speeding up decisions on planning permission by empowering planners to prioritise critical energy infrastructure; and expanding the renewable auction process to stop delays and get more projects connected.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Perran Moon:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of shared ground loops qualifying as an Innovative Measure under point 6 of eligibility requirements in the Energy Company Obligation 4 Scheme. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: There is provision within the rules of ECO4 for shared ground loops to be delivered. Following the government consultation on mid-scheme changes to ECO4 and GBIS, legislation will be updated to specify that shared ground loop systems can be considered for Innovation Measures under ECO4. Amendments to legislation are expected to take effect later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Rachel Blake:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support his Department is providing to small businesses with high energy costs. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy with less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.

Non-domestic consumers with contracts agreed at higher prices may benefit from approaches such as ‘blend and extend’ contracts where the original, higher, unit rate is ‘blended’ with a new lower rate, spreading the cost over the course of a longer contract.

Since 19 December 2024, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees have also been able to access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. This means that 99% of British businesses can now access this service with outcomes ranging up to £20,000 in financial awards.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of setting a national target for the production of biomethane. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: In February 2024, the Department issued a Call for Evidence (CfE) on a future policy framework for biomethane production, which included consideration of a national target.

We are considering the responses to the CfE as part of policy development and will set out further details in due course.”
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what guidance his Department has issued on the methods of decarbonising home heating that cause the least disruption. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Guidance on recommended home energy efficiency improvements is devolved. In Scotland, constituents can visit the Home Energy Scotland webpage for advice.

The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future. We will upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, solar, batteries and insulation.

We will partner with combined authorities and local and devolved governments to roll out this plan. Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Yasmin Qureshi:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to set targets for the building of new (a) pumped storage hydroelectricity systems, (b) solar panels and (c) flywheel energy storage systems. \p Michael Shanks: The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan provides a ‘Clean Power Capacity Range’ as a foundation to guide rapid policy development and focus delivery, based on scenarios that meet our Clean Power ambitions. There is a breakdown of capacity ranges for the different technology sectors necessary for clean power in 2030, including long duration electricity storage (LDES) - which includes pumped storage hydro (PSH) - and solar. The scenarios developed cannot be exhaustive or definitive, so it is right that government retains some optionality.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for the Government’s Clean Power 2030 target of limiting the supply of solar and battery storage projects as a result of the 2035 regional technology capacities. \p Michael Shanks: The Clean Power Action Plan (CPAP) sets out regional capacities for solar and battery storage required to achieve Clean Power by 2030. Regional capacities out to 2035 are also included to provide a 10-year time horizon for connections offers.

2035 capacities are based on the top of the range of NESO's Future Energy Scenarios. NESO analysis suggests that projects allocated to the 2031-35 period may be able to connect pre-2030 where there is spare network capacity or if needed to deal with attrition. However, the reformed queue to 2030 will already contain additional capacity beyond the amount needed to achieve Clean Power by 2030.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 39646 on Photovoltaics: Import Controls, whether the Government considers Great British Energy to be a public sector contracting authority for the purposes of the Procurement Act 2023. \p Michael Shanks: Yes, Great British Energy (GBE) will be considered a “public authority”, and thereby a “contracting authority”, where it is not operating on a commercial basis.

Under the Procurement Act 2023, GBE can reject bids and terminate contracts with suppliers that are known to use forced labour themselves or anywhere in their supply chain. In addition, GBE will utilise the debarment list to ensure that suppliers with unethical supply chains cannot participate in procurement or be awarded contracts. The company will appoint a senior individual in the organisation to lead on ethical supply chains and modern slavery.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to incentivise the adoption of low-carbon heating solutions in residential properties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in West Dorset constituency. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Under the Warm Homes Plan, officials are exploring the role of incentives and private finance for households to support homeowners with the upfront costs of energy efficiency improvements and low carbon heating.

The Government has launched the ‘Warm and Fuzzy’ campaign to promote the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS). The campaign seeks to build consumer awareness and understanding of heat pumps, as well as publicising the £7,500 government grant. The BUS is available to homeowners in England and Wales, including West Dorset.

There is also a zero-rate of VAT until March 2027 on energy saving measures, such as insulation and low-carbon heating.

Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 40054, what the total staff time spent on the redesign of the Great British Energy logo was. \p Michael Shanks: As per my answer to Question 40054, Great British Energy’s logo was created in-house and with government resources. However, since the staff involved were not recruited specifically to design the logo a detailed breakdown of the time and costs involved is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

I can however assure the hon Member that the Government is committed to ensuring that staff resources are used efficiently and effectively.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the cost to industrial producers of decarbonising their operations. \p Sarah Jones: Carbon savings through fuel switching from fossil fuels to low carbon alternatives and improvements in resource and energy efficiency are needed for the industrial sector to transition to net zero. We are developing a suite of policies to enable industry to deliver these savings. As we do so, we are closely engaging with industry, both with sector trade associations as well as with manufacturers directly, to identify and understand the challenges, barriers and costs of their decarbonisation pathways.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to make a decision on the selection of new emitter projects assigned to Track-2 carbon capture, usage and storage clusters. \p Sarah Jones: CCUS requires significant resources, and it is right that it is considered within the Spending Review. We continue to engage at both working and ministerial level with all future projects, including Track-2, and further decisions for future CCUS deployment will be taken in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to review compliance costs related to net-zero regulations. \p Kerry McCarthy: Regulation plays a critical role in supporting the low-carbon technologies of the future, whether in electric vehicles or sustainable aviation fuel. DESNZ is taking steps to review the compliance costs of regulation as part of the Government’s Regulation Action Plan. For example, the Department has started a review of the energy and emissions reporting landscape to identify opportunities to reduce undue administrative burden, and has launched its Review of Ofgem.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making biomethane eligible for the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. \p Sarah Jones: The Government recognises biomethane as a practical and cost-effective way of contributing to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) applies a zero emissions factor to combustion of biomethane where supplied directly to ETS installations. Where biomethane is injected into the gas grid, there is not currently a mechanism to ensure biomethane is accounted for separately.

As outlined in the future policy framework for biomethane production call for evidence, the Government is working with the ETS Authority to consider whether the ETS could account for biomethane injected into the gas grid and will provide an update on this in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has issued guidance to industrial producers on how they can effectively decarbonise their operations. \p Sarah Jones: Since July last year, we have provided a host of support and guidance to industry. This has included: guidance to SMEs through our Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS) pilot and to local clusters through our Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans scheme; funding for further studies and projects supporting industrial decarbonisation under the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund; and providing updates to the market on our hydrogen and carbon capture business models and support, as well as confirming £21.7bn funding to launch the UK’s first carbon capture sites.

To give longer-term confidence for industry to decarbonise, we will publish an Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy ensuring growth opportunities are captured in tandem with emissions reductions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will meet with the hon. Member for West Dorset to discuss carbon removal. \p Sarah Jones: Invitations to meet should be sent in the normal way by post or by email.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support the development and implementation of carbon removal and storage technologies to achieve the UK's net-zero targets. \p Sarah Jones: Greenhouse Gas Removal technologies will be important for reaching net zero. The Government has been developing Business Models to incentivise private investment into large-scale removal projects, commissioned the British Standards Institution to develop a Greenhouse Gas Removal Standard, has delivered £100 million in innovation funding, including through the Direct Air Capture and Greenhouse Gas Removal Innovation Programme and published a consultation on the inclusion of Greenhouse Gas Removals in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. Greenhouse Gas Removal and Power Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage projects were allowed to apply to the HyNet Track-1 expansion cluster.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Tonia Antoniazzi:To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2025 to Question 40390 on Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender Independent Review, if he will have discussions with the Scottish Government on the potential implications for their policies of the recommendations of the Sullivan Review. \p Ian Murray: The government has now published the independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender commissioned by the previous government.

We are considering the findings in light of ongoing policy work in this area.

Officials and Ministers engage frequently with Scottish Government counterparts on a range of issues that matter to the people of Scotland.
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Tonia Antoniazzi:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2025 to Question 40390 on Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender Independent Review, if he will have discussions with his counterparts in Northern Ireland on the potential implications for their policies of the recommendations of the Sullivan Review. \p Hilary Benn: The government has now published the independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender commissioned by the previous government.

We are considering the findings in light of ongoing policy work in this area.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Government on the potential impact of border checks in the Irish Sea on the (a) availability and (b) shelf life of perishable goods in supermarkets in Northern Ireland. \p Hilary Benn: The Windsor Framework protects the UK internal market by ensuring the smooth flow of trade across the whole of the UK. Certain checks are required on goods moving through the UK Internal Market System as part of a risk-based and intelligence-led approach to tackling criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to improve Northern Ireland’s (a) constitutional and (b) economic links with the rest of the United Kingdom. \p Hilary Benn: In line with the Good Friday Agreement and the principle of consent upon which it rests, Northern Ireland will remain a part of the United Kingdom for as long as a majority of its people wish for it to be.

The Government is committed to continuing to take forward Safeguarding the Union, and to protecting Northern Ireland's place in the UK internal market. In February we launched Intertrade UK, which will advise on opportunities to promote and boost trade across the UK, including strengthening East West trade.

We are also committed to seeking a SPS/veterinary agreement with the EU, which could deliver tangible benefits for businesses across the UK and further smooth the flow of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings of the Clonoe Inquest. \p Hilary Benn: Following careful consideration, on 22 March 2025 the Ministry of Defence wrote to the Coroner to outline its intention to apply for a judicial review. In the Government’s view, the findings of the Coroner do not properly reflect the context of the incident, nor the challenging circumstances in which members of the armed forces served in Northern Ireland. The MoD has also confirmed that it is funding the veterans in question to seek a judicial review and it is continuing to provide them with welfare support.

As I explained in the debate on this issue in the House on 2 April 2025, the almost universally opposed Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 Act has been found by the domestic courts to be unlawful in a number of respects. I am consulting widely, including with veterans, and plan to bring forward replacement legislation which is fair, balanced, proportionate and compatible with our international and domestic human rights obligations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37209 on Government Departments: Written Questions, whether it is her policy that if information would be released under the Environmental Information Regulations it should also be released in response to a written Parliamentary Question. \p Lucy Powell: I refer the Hon. Member to the response provided to Question 37209, which answers his question.

I encourage the Hon. Member to raise any specific issues they may have regarding PQ responses with myself and my office.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Solicitor General, with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023, whether the CPS has updated its case management system to flag joint enterprise cases for detailed manual assessment. \p Lucy Rigby: In early 2024, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) updated its case management system to enable a new national ‘flag’ to be applied to prosecutions for homicide and attempted homicide brought on a joint enterprise basis. Each prosecution also now receives an enhanced level of supervision from a case management panel, chaired by a senior legal manager.

The CPS will publish a report on the monitoring data collected during the 2024/25 financial year in the summer.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Solicitor General, what legal advice she has sought on the UK's military assistance to the US in Yemen. \p Lucy Rigby: The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by the Law Officers, or requested of the Law Officers, and the Convention applies to your question.

The Law Officers’ Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:

“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department responded to the correspondence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of 6 August 2025 on the proposed Chinese Embassy. \p Seema Malhotra: On 20 August, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Home Office submitted written representations to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in response to its correspondence of 6 August.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Richard Foord:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of recent reports of the shelling of civilian infrastructure in Thailand by Cambodian forces; and if he will support a UN investigation into potential breaches of international humanitarian law. \p Seema Malhotra: The Government continues to monitor the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute closely with officials from our Embassies in Bangkok and Phnom Penh conducting site visits to affected areas to better understand the impact on local populations. We urge all parties to uphold international humanitarian law and take all necessary steps to protect civilians.

As set out in our public statements of 28 July and 7 August, the agreement of a framework for a full ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand is a welcome development. It is essential that both sides now work together to implement and maintain this agreement. This message has been conveyed directly to both governments.

We support the Association of South East Asian Nations' leadership in working with Cambodia and Thailand to resolve the border conflict, including its efforts to deploy an Observer Mission. We believe this can play an important role in providing an independent assessment of the situation and in de-escalating tensions on the border.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of deepening (a) commercial and (b) other economic ties between Russia and North Korea. \p Seema Malhotra: The UK remains deeply concerned about the implications of the deepening Russia-Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) relationship for both Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security. The rapid expansion of their military, political, and economic cooperation since the start of Russia's illegal war against Ukraine has resulted in ongoing flagrant violations of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) by both countries. Russia's support to DPRK's defence-industrial base, including the provision of oil and cash, as well as the experience DPRK troops have gained in Russia, allows it to support their weapons programmes and gain valuable military and technical insights. The UK has been clear that the DPRK must end its support for Russia's illegal war in Ukraine and must immediately withdraw its troops.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 270 of his Department’s report entitled FCDO annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July 2025, whether the increase in spending on multilateral subscriptions to international organisations includes contributions to global health multilaterals. \p Stephen Doughty: No, spending on global health multilaterals is captured within the health section of the report, alongside bilateral health programmes.

The UK is committed to our work on global health, including boosting global health security and investing in multilateral funds like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund to fight disease and help save millions of lives.

From 2026 to 2030, the UK will invest £1.25 billion in support of Gavi's mission. This will support the immunisation of 62.5m children, saving around 1.25m lives.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to take a decision on the UK’s contribution to the Global Fund’s 8th replenishment. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK's pledge to the Global Fund's Eighth Replenishment will be determined later in the year following the conclusion of the process to set multi-year Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding allocations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_6

Nadia Whittome:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support human rights in J(a) Jammu and (b) Kashmir. \p Seema Malhotra: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 31 March 2025 to Question 39395.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_7

Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Jonathan Powell was involved in the negotiation of the UK–Mauritius agreement on the Chagos Archipelago as National Security Adviser. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Hon. Member to the Answer given on 24 February 2025 to Question 30609.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_8

Sir Julian Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the BBC World Service on the UK's soft power. \p Seema Malhotra: The Government highly values the BBC World Service, which makes a significant contribution to UK soft power. According to a 2025 survey conducted for the BBC by the independent polling company, Tapestry, the BBC is a leader in driving favourable impressions of the UK and is the country's most recognised cultural export internationally.

The World Service is currently funded by the BBC Licence Fee and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Grant-in-Aid. Any changes to funding models will be explored through the Charter Review process, led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Charter Review is the right moment to look at potential future World Service funding mechanisms for the longer-term.

Despite a tough fiscal situation, we have continued to back the World Service, providing a large uplift of £32.6 million this year alone, taking our total funding to £137 million.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_9

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the beer and pub sector on the UK’s soft power. \p Seema Malhotra: The UK has consistently ranked within the top three countries in indices that measure soft power. The UK pub and beer industry are key assets for the UK economy and society and contribute to our soft power. The pub is also a key tourism destination for many visiting the UK, with over 45,000 pubs in the UK. Beer and pubs contribute £34.3 billion to the UK economy and we export over 1 billion pints of beer to over 100 different countries annually. The Soft Power Council, launched by the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in January, which brings together some of the most influential figures across soft power and foreign policy, are steering and advising the Government on better harnessing our world class sectors.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_10

Sir Julian Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of funding reductions to the BBC World Service on the UK's ability to counter foreign threats. \p Seema Malhotra: Through high quality and investigative journalism, the BBC exposes and debunks the misinformation, disinformation and harmful narratives that malign actors, hostile states and others produce internationally. The World Service remains the world's most trusted international news service. That is why this Government has given the World Service a funding uplift in 2025/26.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_11

Sir Julian Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating BBC World Service funding on a three year basis. \p Seema Malhotra: Grant-in-Aid funding for the BBC World Service will be decided through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office allocations process in the autumn.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_12

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which countries were the top 5 recipients of international climate finance from the UK in each of the last 3 years; and how much each of these countries received. \p Seema Malhotra: For detail on live programme information please refer to the UK Government's Development Tracker or for the official source of information on UK Official Development Assistance spend covering previous calendar years, the Statistics on International Development publication.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_13

Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to integrate water, sanitation and hygiene into the UK’s international (a) climate adaptation and (b) resilience programmes. \p Seema Malhotra: The Foreign, Commonwealth, Development Office's (FCDO) water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) portfolio contributes to building climate resilient systems and supporting adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Since 2020 we have supported governments to establish climate resilient and sustainable WASH services, providing technical assistance and other support to low-income countries.

Through our WASH Systems for Health programme we are working with UNICEF, NGOs such as WaterAid and countries including Bangladesh, Malawi, Madagascar, Pakistan and Nepal to make systems more climate-resilient.

We also support the World Bank to accelerate the Water Security and Climate Adaptation Global Challenge Programme, driving reform and attracting private finance to strengthen climate adaptation and resilience, and we are supporting the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation and other development organisations to embed water into national climate plans through the Water Resilience Tracker.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_14

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date. \p Seema Malhotra: The Department does not centrally record the number of remote workdays completed. However, building occupancy data is published monthly by the Cabinet Office and provides an indicative measure of office attendance across government departments. The latest figures are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data/monthly-average-hq-building-occupancy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_15

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 11 of the National Security Strategy 2025, published on 24 June 2025, what progress he has made in sharpening the UK’s diplomatic focus with New Zealand. \p Seema Malhotra: The UK-New Zealand relationship is a close partnership based on shared history, deep people-to-people links and shared priorities and values. The UK engages with the Government of New Zealand at both ministerial and official level across a wide range of regional and global issues. We were pleased to welcome Prime Minister Luxon to London in April for a day of talks with the Prime Minister.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_16

Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64094 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing the payments to Mauritius in advance of the releasing of annual accounts. \p Stephen Doughty: Details of payments have already been published in the exchange of letters accompanying the Treaty and the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_17

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to stop UK (a) owned and (b) insured LNG carriers from transporting Russian products. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK has taken extensive action to limit energy revenues that fund Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. This includes Russian revenues from Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). Importing Russian LNG into the UK has been prohibited since January 2023. We continue to explore all options for constraining Russian revenue further and we do not comment on future potential actions as to do so could undermine their effectiveness.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_18

Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in what circumstances would the (a) Mauritius and (b) UK Government be able to terminate the UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia once it is in force. \p Stephen Doughty: Details of grounds for termination can be found under Article 15 of the Agreement.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_19

Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with HM Treasury on improving communication between HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions on cases involving voluntary National Insurance contributions paid while working abroad. \p Torsten Bell: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_20

Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many lower-layer super output areas are within Telford constituency; how those areas are ranked by top (a) 1%, (b) 5% and (c) 10% in the index of multiple deprivation; and what impact that data has on the allocation of funding by her Department. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Data for the index for multiple deprivation at lower level super output area can be accessed from the Parliament website at https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-indices-of-deprivation/.

In England, the Household Support Fund (HSF) is a DWP funded scheme for Local Authorities (LAs) to provide discretionary support to vulnerable households in the most need. The distribution of the funding is targeted at the areas of the country with the most vulnerable households, on the basis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) local population estimates and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) scores. Allocation amounts for upper tier Local Authorities in England are therefore reflective of population size and relative deprivation.

Eligibility for benefits administered by the department, and the relevant support that it provides through the Jobs and Careers Service and any contracted provision, is typically determined by the individual benefit rules and criteria, which do not explicitly account for the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_21

Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of AI on (a) graduate employment, (b) employment in labour intensive industries, (c) employment in capital intensive industries and (d) overall employment. \p Dame Diana Johnson: We are starting to witness AI’s impact within the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and augmenting old ones. But there is uncertainty over the future scale of AI’s impact on the labour market, particularly over the next few years. Given the recent rapid pace of AI development, government is planning against a range of plausible future outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help track if we are heading towards any of these outcomes.