8 Jun 2026·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·Answered
AskedFood and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact on the Malvern Hills Trust and other landscape managers of the decision to exclude common land from Sustainable Farming Incentive or Countrys
ReplyDefra understands the importance of Common land and recognises the importance of bringing them under these schemes. For technical reasons, commons groups will not be able to apply for SFI on common land when the application window opens later this month o...
8 Jun 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take diplomatic steps to encourage the Lebanese Government to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
ReplyThe UK Government is a supporter of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Rome Statute and remains committed to promoting accountability for the most serious international serious crimes. The UK encourages all states to engage constructively with...
2 Jun 2026·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·Answered
AskedFood and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to meet the target of designating 50 new sites of special scientific interest each year.
ReplyDesignation of new Sites of Special Scientific interest (SSSIs) is Natural England’s duty. Natural England has a rolling programme to keep under review places that may merit and benefit designation as SSSIs. Natural England is adapting its protected sites...
2 Jun 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendation in Human Rights Watch's report entitled From Bogotá to El Fasher, publishe
ReplyI refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 8 June to Question 4500.
2 Jun 2026·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·Answered
AskedFood and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the fines levied against water companies since October 2023 a) has been b) is going to be reinvested into river restoration projects; and if she will put mechanisms
ReplyOn 20 January 2026, Government announced alongside the White Paper that the next tranche of £29 million in water company fines will support further local water improvement projects through catchment partnerships, the Water Environment Improvement Fund (WE...
2 Jun 2026·Treasury·Answered
AskedWhat steps her Department is taking to ensure that the business rates system is supportive of SMEs; what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing VAT rates for smaller and medium sized businesses;
ReplyThe Government has extended Small Business Rates Relief to support small businesses to grow and expand, by giving them an additional two years of Small Business Rates Relief when they open a second premises. SMEs in rural areas may also be eligible for Ru...
2 Jun 2026·Treasury·Answered
AskedWhen she plans to respond to the letter of 2 March 2006 from the hon. Member for North Herefordshire.
ReplyA response to the letter of 2 March 2026 from the hon. Member for North Herefordshire was issued on 3 June 2026.
2 Jun 2026·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·Answered
AskedFood and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Government News Story published on 19 June 2025 entitled Government to invest over £100m in water company fines to local environmental projects, if she will publi
ReplyOn 20 January 2026, Government announced alongside the White Paper that the next tranche of £29 million in water company fines will support further local water improvement projects through catchment partnerships, the Water Environment Improvement Fund (WE...
29 May 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to ensure safe and unrestricted humanitarian access in areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo affected by the Ebola outb
ReplyFurther to my statement to the House on 21 May (HCWS60), the Minister of State for International Development visited Kinshasa on 29 May to see first-hand how agencies on the ground are responding to the Ebola outbreak, with the support of the UK and other...
29 May 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of the creation of a UN coordinator role to lead regional responses to the Ebola outbreak in central Africa.
ReplyFurther to my statement to the House on 21 May (HCWS60), the Minister of State for International Development visited Kinshasa on 29 May to see first-hand how agencies on the ground are responding to the Ebola outbreak, with the support of the UK and other...
29 May 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking with international partners to engage conflict parties in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to improve humanitarian access to a
ReplyFurther to my statement to the House on 21 May (HCWS60), the Minister of State for International Development visited Kinshasa on 29 May to see first-hand how agencies on the ground are responding to the Ebola outbreak, with the support of the UK and other...
29 May 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are safeguarded from the Ebola outbreak.
ReplyFurther to my statement to the House on 21 May (HCWS60), the Minister of State for International Development visited Kinshasa on 29 May to see first-hand how agencies on the ground are responding to the Ebola outbreak, with the support of the UK and other...
29 May 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prepare humanitarian support for countries bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the event of the Ebola outbreak spreading.
ReplyFurther to my statement to the House on 21 May (HCWS60), the Minister of State for International Development visited Kinshasa on 29 May to see first-hand how agencies on the ground are responding to the Ebola outbreak, with the support of the UK and other...
19 May 2026·Department for Work and Pensions·Answered
AskedWhat is the (a) average time and (b) target time for a substantive response to enquiries by the MP hotline.
ReplyThe Department for Work and Pensions responds to enquiries received via the MP Hotline as quickly as possible. (a) Information on the average time taken to provide a substantive response to MP Hotline enquiries is not centrally collated, as the service is...
18 May 2026·Department for Work and Pensions·Answered
AskedWith reference to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 80479 on Personal Independence Payment, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of increasing decision making resource on reducing
ReplyFrom October 2025 onwards, the Department has cleared more PIP Mandatory Reconsiderations than it has received. This coincides with an increase in decision-making resource. The latest published statistics indicate this has had an effect on median clearanc...
18 May 2026·Department for Transport·Answered
AskedIf she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a temporary ban on private jet travel to save available jet fuel for commercial flights.
ReplyThe Government is working closely with industry and regulators to ensure the resilience of jet fuel supply and the continuity of commercial aviation operations. There has been no evidence of changes in flight schedules or short notice cancellations due to...
18 May 2026·Department for Transport·Answered
AskedWhether she has made an assessment of the potential number of commercial flights that could avoid cancellation if private jet flights were banned during the disruption to global oil markets.
ReplyThe Government is working closely with industry and regulators to ensure the resilience of jet fuel supply and the continuity of commercial aviation operations. There has been no evidence of changes in flight schedules or short notice cancellations due to...
13 May 2026·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
AskedWhat steps he is taking to protect the human rights of Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia, in the context of the UK-Indonesia Economic Growth Partnership.
ReplyThe UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. We raise issues affecting indigenous people through ongoing diplomatic engagement on international human rights commitments. The Economic Growth Partnership with Indonesia reaffirms commitmen...
13 May 2026·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
AskedWhether discussions her Department has had with the Government of Indonesian on the UK-Indonesia Economic Growth Partnership has included the clearance of indigenous peoples’ rainforests for food estat
ReplyThe UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. We raise issues affecting indigenous people through ongoing diplomatic engagement on international human rights commitments. The Economic Growth Partnership with Indonesia reaffirms commitmen...
13 May 2026·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
AskedWhat assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK-Indonesia Economic Growth Partnership on (a) indigenous peoples’ human rights and (b) tropical forests.
ReplyThe UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. We raise issues affecting indigenous people through ongoing diplomatic engagement on international human rights commitments. The Economic Growth Partnership with Indonesia reaffirms commitmen...