Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to bring into force section 73B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, pursuant to section 110 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023; and if so, when.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is committed to reforming the planning system, via the new National Planning Policy Framework and the Planning Infrastructure Bill. As part of these reforms, we are also considering which provisions from the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 we will implement and will present more detail on these in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks made by the then Foreign Secretary in December 2023 that there is a “legal route” to use frozen Russian state assets to finance the rebuilding of Ukraine; whether they intend to authorise such use; and if so, when.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

This Government is clear that Russia must be held responsible for its illegal war. That includes its obligations under international law to pay for the damage it has caused in Ukraine. Working with allies, we continue to pursue all possible lawful avenues by which Russia is made to meet those obligations. Our agreement with G7 partners to provide approximately $50 billion in additional funding to Ukraine, repaid by the profits generated on sanctioned Russian sovereign assets, is an important step towards ensuring Russia pays. Our focus is on delivering this commitment, including the UK's £2.26 billion contribution, as soon as possible.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the analysis of the implications of a nuclear attack, including a limited attack, on the United Kingdom set out in the Strath Report in 1955 has since been updated by a committee or body of equivalent standing; and if not, what consideration they have given to commissioning an update of that analysis in the light of current geopolitical circumstances.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The United Kingdom has well-developed contingency plans to respond to a wide range of eventualities, including nuclear attacks. The plans and supporting arrangements have been developed, refined and tested over many years.

The scale of these capabilities is driven by classified planning assumptions derived from the United Kingdom’s National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA), which is a classified assessment of the most serious risks that could cause a national emergency in the UK. An external publication, the National Risk Register, which excludes some security-related risks, was last published in 2023, but is based on the NSRA.

GOV.UK/prepare, the Government’s website for resilience and emergency planning, is designed to help people plan for potential hazards and equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and resources to respond effectively.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they will make to the government of Georgia to ensure that police violence towards protestors and journalists in that country ceases.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

On 16 December in a call with the Georgian Foreign Minister, the Minister for Europe, the Americas and Overseas Territories stressed that police violence targeting peaceful demonstrators, opposition figures and journalists is unacceptable. The Foreign Secretary's statement of 9 December condemned the excessive use of force and outlined the suspension of programme support as a result of the violence. Protesters in Georgia are making clear their opposition to Georgian Dream's decision to stall the country's progress towards a European future, undermining the commitments in the Georgian Constitution. We continue to call on the Georgian authorities to realign with European values.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the Planning Inspectorate is sufficiently resourced to handle planning appeals swiftly and without any dilution in scrutiny before the new National Planning Policy Framework causes any increase in its caseload; and what consideration they have given to introducing planning appeal fees to help with that resourcing.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government is committed to handling planning appeals more quickly, including ensuring there is sufficient resourcing in the Planning Inspectorate to support such activity. We currently have no plans to introduce appeal fees but we will continue to keep the issue under review.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of increased (1) interference in, and (2) incursion into Georgia, by Russia; and what is their strategy to respond to such activity.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

On 16 December Minister Doughty discussed Russian interference in Georgia with Georgian Foreign Minister Botcharishvili. Georgia remains at the forefront of Russian hybrid aggression with Russian military units stationed only 30 minutes from the capital Tbilisi. The UK has been consistently vocal at the UN and OSCE in our support of Georgian territorial integrity and sovereignty over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where Russia regularly exerts pressure. We continue to call on the Russian Federation to cease 'borderisation' activities and withdraw their troops from Georgian sovereign territory. We have consistently supported Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations, which would support a more secure and stable future for the country.