Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what investigations his Department is conducting into goods originating from Israeli settlements within the Occupied Palestinian Territories being labelled as originating from within Israel’s pre-1967 borders; and what enforcement measures are available.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.

The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled.

Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC undertakes checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure compliance.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of goods originating from Israeli settlements within the Occupied Palestinian Territories that are being labelled as originating from within Israel’s pre-1967 borders.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

HMRC are responsible for the conduct of origin verification checks on imported goods. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC undertakes checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. Data on imports from Israel is available on uktradeinfo.com/trade-data.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the UK’s capacity to attract investment in dementia clinical trials, in the context of the availability of disease-modifying treatments in other countries that have not yet been approved for use by the NHS.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No particular assessment has been made.

The Department is committed to turbocharging medical research and delivering better patient care, to make the United Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for dementia.

The Department delivers dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Government funders are investing in dementia research across all areas, from causes, diagnosis and prevention to treatment, care and support, including for carers.

The NIHR is investing nearly £50 million to the UK Dementia Trials Network, which will deliver a coordinated network of early phase dementia trial sites. This will be complemented by the £20 million Dementia Clinical Trials Accelerator, designed to position the UK as the destination of choice for late phase clinical trials in dementia and neurodegenerative diseases.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the mortgage guarantee scheme beyond 30 June 2025.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the difficulties some prospective first-time buyers face in buying a home, and is committed to helping them get on the housing ladder.

We committed in our manifesto to introduce a permanent and comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme to help buyers who struggle to save for a large deposit. At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor confirmed our intention to introduce this scheme.

We will announce further details of this scheme in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22080 on Housing: Bricks, what steps her Department is taking to increase the rate of swift brick installation in new build properties.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 22080 on 15 January 2025.

Bus and Coach APPG
Tuesday 10th June 2025

Found: Apols: Paulette Hamilton MP , Preet Gill MP , Baroness Burt, Barnoness Mackintosh, Alex Ballinger MP