Lord Randall of Uxbridge

A stakeholder consultation has not been conducted on any future decision to re-sponsor UK Seabed Resources Limited’s two exploration contracts. The Department for Business and Trade, working closely with the relevant departments, will ensure a robust process is in place and that any decisions made are in line with statutory requirements.

UK Seabed Resources Limited has two International Seabed Authority exploration contracts, UKSR1 and UKSR2. These have an initial period of 15 years with the contract period of UKSR1 ending in 2026 and UKSR2 ending in 2027.
The UK Deep Sea Mining (Exploration Licences) Regulations 1984 states that exploration licences can be extended for successive periods of 5 years. Any decisions on the future of these licences will be made in consultation with the company and other relevant UK Government departments. The Department for Business and Trade will ensure a robust process is in place and that any decisions made are in line with statutory requirements.

At the recent Budget, the government took a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the foundations of the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability.

DCMS Ministers have met with representatives from the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector to discuss this issue and are aware of their concerns about the impacts of the increase to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that more than half of businesses (including charities) with NICs liabilities will either gain or see no change next year.

We are also expanding eligibility of the Employment Allowance by removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold, to simplify and reform employer NICs so that all eligible employers now benefit. Businesses and charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.

Within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving. More than £6 billion in charitable reliefs was provided to charities, Community Amateur Sports Clubs and their donors in 2023 to 2024. The biggest individual reliefs provided are Gift Aid at £1.6 billion and business rates relief at nearly £2.4 billion.

It is essential to manage damaging fishing activity in our Marine Protected Areas appropriately due to the significant damage it can have on protected habitats and species. The department is considering next steps for both stages 3 and 4 in the context of our domestic and international nature conservation obligations and how we support the fishing sector.

The responsibility for any environmental impact assessments for road projects is with the Cayman Islands Government, as environment is devolved to Overseas Territories (OTs) governments. Defra regularly engages with the OTs to facilitate knowledge exchange on environmental issues, where requested.

This Government will work with the Governments and Administrations of the UK Overseas Territories on timescales for publishing a new UK Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy.

The UK is committed to strengthening our partnership with the Overseas Territories to protect and sustainably manage our unique and globally significant environments. However, responsibility for environment and climate change policy is a devolved matter. We understand the Cayman Islands Government's draft National Conservation Bill is not yet finalised but will be published for public consultation before it is debated in Parliament.

The UK is committed to strengthening our partnership with the Overseas Territories (OTs) to protect and sustainably manage our unique and globally significant environments. However, responsibility for environment and climate change policy is a devolved matter. We understand the Cayman Islands Government's draft National Conservation Bill is not yet finalised but will be published for public consultation before it is debated in Parliament.

The Government is considering what action may be appropriate to help birds reliant on buildings to breed, including how to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.

We will consider what further action may be appropriate to promote swift bricks and achieve positive outcomes for our swift population.