theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_61
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_61

Mary Glindon:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ensure that fiduciary duty explicitly places a duty on pension fund trustees to consider system risks. \p Torsten Bell: Trustees have a range of duties set out in governing provisions of the scheme, common law and relevant statutory provisions. These include duties to make investment decisions in the best interests of members of the pension scheme. The Law Commission concluded in 2014, that there was no impediment to trustees taking account of Environmental, Social and Governance factors, where they are or may be financially material, and that trustees should take into account financially material factors. The Financial Markets Law Committee’s (FMLC) report in 2024 revisited the Law Commission’s findings and argued that there is a strong case for trustees to consider climate change and other environmental factors as ‘financial factors’ in investment decision-making. The government welcomes the opinion the FMLC reached.

The Law Commission’s 2014 report also stated that trustees may take such factors, which are not strictly and directly financial, into account. This should be to the extent that they would not involve a risk of significant financial detriment to the trust’s funds and where they have good reason to think scheme members would support the decision. The FMLC’s report concludes that financial factors are broad and many factors that may appear at first to be ‘non-financial’ are in fact ‘financial’. Findings from both reports reflect the permissive nature of trustee fiduciary duty, and why the government is not currently considering any change to the law.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_62
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department’s Request for input on potential UK measures in response to US tariffs, published on 3 April 2025, whether (a) lethal and (b) non-lethal police firearms are classified under CN8 code 93039000 as military weapons. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: We encourage responses to the request for input from all organisations that think their imports could be affected by any potential UK tariffs on a particular commodity code.

Lethal and non-lethal firearms under CN 93039000 are not classified as military weapons. Heading 9303 does not mention military weapons, military weapons are instead classified in the earlier headings, such as 9301 (9301 Military weapons, other than revolvers, pistols and the arms of heading 9307 (this heading covers semi-automatic firearms and rifles).

Organisations that have additional specific classification enquiries can be directed to the mailbox: xxx@xxx.xx
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_63
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_63

Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference of the oral contribution by the Rt hon. Member for North West Essex of 12 April 2025, Official Report, column 846, what estimate his Department made of the potential impact of the proposed commercial deal with Jingye on (a) jobs and (b) cost to the public purse. \p Sarah Jones: This Government has not been able to assess the potential impacts of the last Government’s proposed commercial deal with Jingye given it does not exist. We do know there had been a lack of progress before this Government took office.

This Government has worked intensively with Jingye to try and reach a co-investment deal that met our public accountability and legal requirements, worked for local people and UK taxpayers, safeguarded as many jobs as possible, and put British Steel on a sustainable footing for the future. When Jingye rejected an offer of substantial financial support and took steps to enact pre-emptive blast furnace closures, we took prompt action which resulted in British Steel cancelling the consultation on a potential 2,700 redundancies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_64

Mark Garnier:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure there will be parliamentary oversight of reforms to the Universal Service Obligation for postal services. \p Justin Madders: Parliament has made Ofcom the independent regulator for the postal sector, and as such Ofcom has the responsibility to ensure the provision of the universal service obligation.

Ofcom proposed reforms to the universal service obligation in its consultation ending on 10 April. These specific proposals will not require ministerial or Parliamentary approval, but Ofcom remains accountable to Parliament, through mechanisms such as select committee evidence sessions and its statutory obligation to lay its Annual Report and Accounts in Parliament.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Mark Garnier:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with Ofcom on their consultation on the future of the universal service obligation for postal services. \p Justin Madders: Ministers and officials meet with Ofcom regularly to discuss a range of issues in relation to its role as the regulatory authority for the postal sector.

The government is committed to a universal service obligation and know Ofcom will use this consultation to ensure that Royal Mail is able to effectively serve its customers in the years to come.

A reliable and affordable universal postal service is crucial to the UK, and we are clear it must work for customers, workers and businesses that help drive growth across the country.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Sojan Joseph:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of poor housing on the transmission of tuberculosis; and what discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and (b) local authorities in areas of high TB incidence on this matter. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 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 (2025-04-24)

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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will direct the Planning Inspector to give greater consideration to draft local plans that have met early submission deadlines during the examination stage. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 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 (2025-04-24)

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Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 43306 on Birmingham City Council: Finance, whether Birmingham City Council has reimbursed her Department for any costs associated with that intervention; and if she will publish details of any such costs, broken down by heading. \p Jim McMahon: It is established practice for MHCLG to provide a Chief of Staff function to support Commissioners appointed to local authorities in statutory intervention. There are currently two full-time equivalent roles attached to the intervention in Birmingham City Council. These costs are contained within existing departmental budgets, and in line with standard practice. No separate estimate of exact costs has been made.

As is standard practice for Councils under intervention, Birmingham City Council has not reimbursed the department for any costs associated with the Chief of Staff function, but does cover the Commissioners’ fees.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over £500, February 2025, published on 31 March 2025, which Ministers used the ministerial private car service provided by Little's Chauffeur Drive; where this service was provided; and whether her Department considered using the Government Car Service. \p Alex Norris: This service was provided for the Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Local Growth during a visit across multiple locations in Scotland. Following consultation with the Government Car Service, this service was the cheapest available option.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Mary Glindon:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the level of turnover of Local Government Pension Scheme trustees on an understanding of the duty to consider climate-related risk. \p Jim McMahon: Administering authorities are already required to consider factors that are financially material to the performance of their investments, including environmental considerations such as climate risks.

The government has consulted on proposals to ensure that those involved in decision making in administering authorities have the appropriate level of knowledge and understanding for their roles.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_71
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of obligating developers to conduct (a) Type 2 surveys of internal compartmentation of common parts of medium-to-high rise multi-occupancy buildings and (b) in instances where those surveys reveal defects, additional Type 4 surveys within flats. \p Alex Norris: Developers who signed the Developer Remediation Contract are obligated to remediate or pay to remediate external and internal life-critical fire safety defects due to the original design and construction in relevant building. In doing so, those developers must obtain fire safety assessments demonstrating that they have complied with their contractual obligations. Those assessments may include Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (which must comply with PAS 9980) and other fire safety assessments (which must comply with relevant industry standards). The type of assessments needed will depend on the circumstances of the building. MHCLG regularly audits assessments obtained by developers to make sure that they comply with the contractual requirements. If an assessment is non-compliant, the developer is required to address this at its own expense.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure that developers provide structural remediation works to ensure that buildings are safe for residents. \p Alex Norris: Building owners are responsible for managing building safety and performance issues in their building, including any structural issues. Under the Building Safety Act 2022, Principal Accountable Persons for higher risk buildings (buildings with 7 or more storeys, or which are 18m or more in height with 2+ residential units) are responsible for assessing, reviewing, and taking all reasonable steps to prevent structural risks identified in their building from materialising to keep residents safe.

The Building Safety Act 2022 also protects qualifying leaseholders from unreasonable costs of remediating historical safety defects, including structural defects, and makes it possible for building owners to apply to recover some or all of the cost of remediation from the third parties who were responsible for relevant defects.

In addition, developers who signed the developer remediation contract have committed to undertake or pay for an estimated £3.9 billion worth of remedial works to address life-critical fire safety defects arising from the design and construction of buildings 11 metres and over in height that they developed, or refurbished in England in the 30 years ending on 4 April 2022. We publish quarterly updates on the progress that developers are making. Any developer who fails to comply with their obligations faces significant consequences.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to review the 10% commission fee on the sale of park homes. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44299 on 16 April 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Nigel Huddleston:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) local authorities on the proposed acceleration of (a) Worcestershire Parkway and (b) other housing sites. \p Matthew Pennycook: The New Homes Accelerator works with Homes England and relevant local partners to unblock and accelerate the delivery of large-scale housing developments that have for various reasons become delayed, or which are not progressing as quickly as they could be.

The Accelerator has already announced 10 sites with capacity to deliver over 35,000 homes that will benefit from government support, including Worcestershire Parkway.

In October last year, I met with you to discuss supporting infrastructure at Worcestershire Parkway.

MHCLG officials and Homes England continue to engage with the relevant local authorities for each of the announced New Homes Accelerator sites, including Worcestershire Parkway.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of councils offering private rented properties. \p Matthew Pennycook: It is a matter for individual local authorities as to whether they wish to include private rented accommodation as part of their wider housing offer, including through Local Housing Companies.

The government is committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and will support councils and housing associations to build their capacity to make a greater contribution to affordable housing supply.

For an overview of our policies in this area, I refer the hon. Member to my response to Question UIN 41721 on 3 April 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Alice Macdonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the reorganisation of local government structures and devolution on the (a) (i) management and (ii) maintenance of existing affordable housing held by Local Authorities and Housing Associations and (b) the production of new affordable homes. \p Matthew Pennycook: As local authorities plan for local government reorganisation (LGR) and consider the impact of greater devolution to Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities, it is essential that they continue to deliver their business-as-usual services and duties, and these duties will remain in place for any newly established authorities. This includes continuing to manage their homes in line with relevant regulatory requirements and ensuring that they are safe, decent, and warm.

At the same time, we want local authorities to continue to come forward with ambitious plans to deliver the social and affordable homes that their local communities want and need, and which we are working to support. I have, for example, asked officials to explore whether the current threshold at which a local authority is required to open a Housing Revenue Account is set at the right level, or if a different threshold would help individual councils, including those affected by LGR, to increase housing provision.

Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities will be given the ability to set the strategic direction of any future affordable housing programme in their area, including shaping the tenure mix and identifying priority sites for housing development to be supported by grant.

At the Spring statement, the government announced an immediate injection of £2 billion to support delivery of the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and contribute to our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament. For further details on steps taken to contribute to this milestone, please see the answer given to Question UIN 40137 on 31 March 2025.

More broadly, in the multi-year Spending Review later this year, the government will set out the details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent. Alongside wider investment across the Parliament, it will help deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_77
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_77

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2025 to Question 38374 on Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, whether her Department has a policy on (a) grant recipients of funding and (b) local authorities (i) boycotting and (ii) divesting in (A) investments and (B) contracts with (1) Israel and (2) firms which trade with Israel. \p Alex Norris: The UK government is committed to promoting our trade and business ties with Israel and strongly opposes boycotts. The government has published guidance to public authorities prohibiting procurement boycotts against Israeli firms or firms which trade with Israel.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March to Question 38446 on Environmental Delivery Plans, whether Natural England will be required to pay for ongoing maintenance of conservation projects. \p Matthew Pennycook: Natural England will secure and deliver conservation measures as part of an Environmental Delivery Plan to address the environmental impact of the development in question. Conservation measures will be maintained for as long as is necessary to address the relevant development impact, funded by the levy. In some cases, this may mean funding and securing measures for several decades or permanently.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_79
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_79

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40195 on Levelling Up Fund, how much has been allocated in (a) capital and (b) resource funding to the Levelling Up Fund for 2025-26; and whether those planned allocations have changed since 4 July 2024. \p Alex Norris: Departmental budgets for 2025-26 will not be formally confirmed until the Main Estimate has been approved by Parliament.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Andy Slaughter:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the data for UK trade with settlements is listed as (a) UK trade with Israel, (b) UK trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories and (c) a separate category. \p James Murray: The government’s position is that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods originating from these settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the existing agreement between the UK and Israel or under our agreement with the Palestinian Authority.

UK trade statistics are based on data supplied in customs declarations, which includes the country code of the trading partner. This enables trade to be listed as Israel (IL) or the Occupied Palestinian Territories (PS).

Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, checks will be undertaken to verify the origin of those goods.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_81

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a higher stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers in inner London boroughs. \p James Murray: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a national tax in England and Northern Ireland charged using the same percentage rates in all areas. This ensures stable and predictable revenue for the Exchequer while maintaining fairness for taxpayers. The current structure of SDLT ensures that those buying the most expensive properties contribute the most. Introducing higher SDLT thresholds for first-time buyers in inner London boroughs could increase complexity and create distortive effects around borders, impacting property markets.

More broadly, SDLT continues to be an important source of Government revenue, raising around £12 billion each year to help pay for the essential services the Government provides. Any reforms to SDLT would have to carefully consider impacts on the Exchequer alongside administrative costs and simplicity for the taxpayer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Ben Lake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing the surcharge for paying Vehicle Excise Duty in instalments for people with below average incomes. \p James Murray: In Autumn 2013, the Government announced the introduction of the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) direct debit scheme from 1 October 2014. Instead of paying VED annually or in two instalments per year with a 10% surcharge, this allows people to pay VED monthly or in two instalments per year via direct debit, with a 5% surcharge. This change therefore reduced the surcharge payable by half.

These surcharges are in place to make up for the interest that the government loses on monthly and six monthly VED payments. When the VED direct debit scheme was announced in 2013, a Tax Information and Impact Note was published setting out the expected impacts on individuals. It was expected that the direct debit scheme would have a positive impact for individuals, as it would enable the spreading of VED payments at a lower surcharge rate than non-direct debit instalments, and help individuals and families plan manage their finances.

The Tax Information and Impact Note also set out expected economic, equalities and other impacts of the changes, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a74c63ce5274a3f93b48b3e/vehicle-excise-dd.pdf

As with all taxes, the Government welcomes representations from the public on how the tax system can be improved. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of public finances.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_83
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_83

Llinos Medi:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of technical issues associated with the (a) Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight, (b) common health entry document and (c) Cargo Community Systems for the UK on costs incurred by exporters since January 2024. \p James Murray: HMRC’s Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system is no longer in use. No new declarations have been made on CHIEF since July 2024, and the system was fully decommissioned in December 2024. HMRC’s customs systems, including CHIEF prior to its decommissioning, have remained resilient, and in the unlikely event of system issues HMRC has contingency processes to maintain the flow of goods.

Common health entry documents (CHEDs) for UK exporters are a requirement of EU member states that they are exporting to, and the associated systems and processes are outside the control of UK Government. CHEDs for UK imports are issued by the Import of Products, Animals, Food, and Feed System (IPAFFS) and system reliability to enable CHEDs to be issued to traders has generally been good.

Cargo Community Systems for the UK is a recognised Community System Provider but is a private sector entity responsible for its own systems and processes, including resolution of technical issues.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_84
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_84

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of equalising VAT rates for (a) home and (b) public electric vehicle charging points. \p James Murray: The supply of energy for domestic use attracts the reduced rate of VAT. (five per cent). Whilst this relief was not designed for charging EVs at home, it applies for all uses of domestic energy. Public EV charging is subject to the standard rate of VAT (20 per cent). This matches the VAT treatment of petrol and diesel, as well as all non-domestic electricity.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Sir Ashley Fox:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of raising the personal tax-free allowance in line with the state pension on public finances. \p James Murray: The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension this tax year. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.

The previous Government made the decision to freeze the income tax Personal Allowance at its current level of £12,570 until April 2028. This Government is committed to keeping people’s taxes as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility and so, at our first Budget, we decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Mel Stride:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of migrants to the UK gaining access to (a) welfare payments and (b) other services as a result of obtaining indefinite leave to remain for each financial year from 2024-25 onward. \p Darren Jones: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) produces forecasts of the UK’s economic and fiscal position.

Box 4.5 of the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2024 sets out estimated impacts of migration on the fiscal forecast. As the minimum residency required to move to indefinite leave to remain is currently at least 5 years, this falls outside the forecast period. As the OBR says in the March 2024 EFO: ”However, our forecasts will capture the cost of any immigrants from previous cohorts who now claim welfare through Indefinite leave to remain grants because their claims will be included in the outturn data that provides the starting point for our forecast”.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Jenny Riddell-Carpenter:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of legislation on the inheritance of Individual Savings Account allowances from a deceased (a) spouse and (b) civil partner. \p Emma Reynolds: The Individual Savings Account (ISA) regulations allow the surviving spouse or civil partner of a deceased ISA saver an additional ISA allowance, equal to the value of the deceased saver’s ISA holdings on their date of death, subject to certain conditions. These are referred to as ‘Additional Permitted Subscriptions’

To ensure these rules are as simple as possible, surviving spouses and civil partners can benefit from this allowance, up to 3 years after the death of the spouse or 180 days after the completion of the estate administration, whichever is later, and irrespective of who inherits the former ISA assets. This means individuals are free to make any bequests they wish in their will, for example by leaving some or all their ISA assets to children of their current or former marriage or civil partnership, without affecting the additional ISA allowance that will be available to the person who was their spouse or civil partner at the time of death.

Further detailed information on Additional Permitted Subscriptions is available at www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-additional-permitted-subscriptions-into-an-isa
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 43737, if she will share the minutes of those meetings with the hon. Member for Horsham and the Child Trust Fund campaign. \p Sarah Sackman: Engagement with The Investment and Savings Alliance (TISA) was via an exchange of emails so there are no meeting minutes. The exchanges sought any feedback provided to Child Trust Fund providers by parents or carers about: (i) signposting by TISA to the parent and carers toolkit published by the Ministry of Justice in 2023; and (ii) the additional information sent by providers to account holders since February 2024 with the mandatory account statement at age 16. This provides information about mental capacity and the possible need for a parent or carer to make an application to the Court of Protection. No data was available.

An informal meeting took place with UK Finance in April 2025 to explore whether any data was available in relation to Child Trust Fund withdrawals and the process used. No formal minutes were produced but the note taken by officials records that no data was available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil legal aid offices with a civil legal aid contract started less than 10 cases by each (a) local authority and (b) area of law in the (i) 2022-23, (ii) 2023-24 and (iii) 2024-25 financial year. \p Sarah Sackman: Regarding the number of civil offices starting zero cases, I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 11 March to Question 35876.

The number of civil legal aid offices with a civil legal aid contract which started fewer than 10 cases can be found in the attached table.

2025-04-24 PQ 45364 table (xlsx, 29.9KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the length of the longest serving Magistrate in each Justice area. \p Sarah Sackman: In the majority of the 75 Local Justice Areas across England and Wales, the current longest-serving magistrate for each has been in post for over thirty years, with many of these serving in excess of 40 years. In Shropshire, the longest service is 38 years, and across all Local Justice Areas, the longest that a current magistrate has been in service is over 46 years. The full breakdown can be found in the attached table.

2025-04-24 PQ 45975 - table (xlsx, 18.0KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she has taken to increase provision of legal aid in the south west of England. \p Sarah Sackman: Data regarding the number of civil legal aid providers in Truro and Falmouth is set out in the below table:

Year

Falmouth

Truro

2011

8

2012

4

2013

8

2014

6

2015

6

2016

5

2017

9

2018

10

2019

1

5

2020

1

5

2021

1

5

2022

1

5

2023

1

5

2024

1

6

2025

1

7

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.

For civil contracts, the LAA aims to ensure supply across designated procurement areas, as opposed to specific towns or counties. The procurement areas may be different for different categories of law and the LAA aims to ensure the commissioning standard for each procurement area in each category of law is met throughout the life cycle of its contracts. The commissioning standard for the Southwest, which encompasses Truro and Falmouth, is currently met across all categories.

Generally, the LAA has changed its approach to commissioning for legal aid services. Procurement for legal aid contracts is now operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This is a significant change from the previous approach where firms could only bid to join at the initial tender of what typically was a five-year contract term. This new approach enables new entrants to apply for a contract at any time and for existing providers to expand their services. It is a more flexible approach, removing hard deadlines and maximising the available supply of services.

Further, the Ministry of Justice has undertaken a comprehensive review of civil legal aid and recently concluded a consultation on uplifts to housing & debt and immigration & asylum legal aid fees, which when implemented, would inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year. We are currently reviewing consultation responses and will publish the Government’s response in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_93

Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Magistrates have been awarded a Royal Honour due to their service as a Magistrate in each year for which data is available. \p Sarah Sackman: Over the last five years, the Ministry of Justice has recorded that there have been 56 magistrates awarded UK national honours. Records are not kept for longer than five years. Many more than this have been nominated across all Departments, but not all are successful. This number does not include the Birthday Honours List for 2025 which is not due to be published until 14 June 2025.

The breakdown by year (across two lists per year) is as follows:

2020: 11

2021: 9

2022: 8

2023: 9

2024: 12

2025 (One list only so far): 7
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_94

Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Magistrates have served as Magistrates for (a) 10 years or more, (b) 20 years or more and (c) over 25 years. \p Sarah Sackman: Magistrates are a central pillar of our justice system. Their resilience and commitment have been and continue to be vital in ensuring continued access to justice. Of all currently serving magistrates, 3406 have served for 10 years or more, 1273 have served 20 years or more, and 1467 have served over 25 years.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_95
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_95

Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding the Government has allocated to legal aid in England and Wales in each financial year since 2010. \p Sarah Sackman: The previous Government left the legal aid system under significant strain following years of neglect. This Government has begun to put legal aid back on a sustainable footing by investing up to £92 million in addition per year by the end of this Parliament in criminal legal aid and £20 million additional each year in immigration and housing legal aid.

We have also announced our response to the Crime Lower consultation from 2024. That confirmed we are uplifting the lowest police station fees, introducing a new Youth Court fee scheme, and paying for travel time in certain circumstances. Together, these changes will provide a £24 million boost for criminal legal aid providers.

The Lord Chancellor has a duty to ensure that legal aid is made available in accordance with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, for cases where the relevant eligibility criteria are met.

The Ministry of Justice works within HM Treasury allocations as shown in the Main and Supplementary Estimates (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-main-estimates) each year. However, the nature of legal aid funding means that it is demand led, and as such the Ministry of Justice ensures sufficient allocation is made to cover the incurred costs.

Legal aid expenditure since 2010 is published as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s official statistics. The most recent publication can be viewed here, and includes expenditure up to 31 December 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_96

Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to recognise the long service of Magistrates. \p Sarah Sackman: The Ministry of Justice recognises the outstanding service of magistrates through several initiatives. Magistrates can be nominated for UK National Honours by anyone who has noticed their exceptional conduct. Additionally, there is a scheme to recognise extended periods of service, where magistrates receive certificates upon reaching 10, 20, and 30 years of service, signed by Lord-Lieutenants and the Lady Chief Justice respectively. Magistrates may also be invited to attend a Royal Garden Party through the allocation of tickets given to the Magistrates Association as a recognition of their invaluable contribution to society.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_97

Matt Turmaine:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce fraud in the public sector. \p Georgia Gould: In January, the government introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill as part of the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation. The measures in the Bill will give us more tools to combat fraud, recover public money and allow the government to investigate fraud.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority is also developing artificial intelligence tools to tackle fraud - and is expected to surpass the PSFA’s £250m 2024-25 audited benefits target from these services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_98

Martin Rhodes:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in what ways the provisions in his Department's National Procurement Policy Statement, updated on 4 March 2025, will help the UK meet its environmental obligations in relation to supply chains. \p Georgia Gould: The National Procurement Policy Statement sets out that public procurement should support the delivery of the government’s missions, including making Britain a clean energy superpower. It sets out considerations for contracting authorities around our environmental obligatoins. It also underscores the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_99

Gareth Snell:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to prioritise British products in public procurement. \p Georgia Gould: The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and ensuring they have the best chance to win public contracts.

The new Procurement Act creates a simpler and more transparent system that will support British small businesses bidding for work.

The Act also allows contracting authorities to set standards that recognise the quality and standard of UK businesses and products.

Alongside this, our new National Procurement Policy Statement encourages contracting authorities to consider this government’s industrial strategies and the sectors vital to our economic growth.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_100
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_100

Dr Danny Chambers:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on improving public engagement with politics. \p Ellie Reeves: Public engagement and participation are vital to the health of our democracy, and the Government will continue to support the public to make their voices heard.

Engagement with the political process must be built on trust. The Government is committed to returning to a politics of service, for example by exploring further tightening of the rules on MPs' outside interests via the House of Commons Modernisation Committee.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_101

David Reed:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for (a) the Home Department and (b) Science, Innovation and Technology on the potential merits of updating the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to enhance national cyber resilience through strengthened legal protections for cybersecurity researchers. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Government recognises the significant role that UK cybersecurity professionals play in enhancing and protecting the country’s resilience against cyber threats; it is essential that we provide them with the necessary support. The Home Office is currently reviewing the Computer Misuse Act, and as part of this process, officials are considering the issue of strengthened legal protections for legitimate cybersecurity researchers. However, this work is complex and requires careful consideration. Without robust safeguards and oversight, the introduction of legal protections could significantly hinder law enforcement's ability to prosecute cyber criminality.

To address this, the Home Office is collaborating with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the National Cyber Security Centre, law enforcement agencies, and the cybersecurity industry to evaluate the safeguards that would need to accompany any implementation of strengthened legal protections. An update will be provided in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_102

Mr Mark Francois:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has received formal representations from the Government of Mauritius on additional financial compensation under the proposed Chagos Islands agreement. \p Stephen Doughty: The overall quantum of the cost of the deal has not changed from what was originally negotiated under the previous Mauritian Prime Minister.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_103

Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to not provide Official Development Assistance to countries that have higher (a) gross domestic product and (b) purchasing parity power than the UK. \p Stephen Doughty: Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used are being worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review. We plan to publish final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Annual Report & Accounts this summer.

All UK ODA spending is consistent with the international rules agreed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee. Under these rules, ODA can only be provided to countries with a per capita Gross National Income of less than US$13,845 in 2022.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_104

Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024 to Question 11266 on UK Special Representative for Climate Change, what the declaration of interest is that has been made by the Special Representative; and what steps his Department has taken to reduce any associated conflict of interest. \p Stephen Doughty: The Special Representative for Climate Change submitted a Declaration of Interests Form as per the standard procedure for an appointment of this sort. Provisions in her terms of engagement on conduct in office include mechanisms to address any conflict of interest should it arise.