Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to paragraph 3.9.92 of the report by the Planning Inspectorate entitled Mallard Pass Solar Farm: Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, published on 16 February 2024, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Planning Inspectorate on the ethical sourcing of solar panels for solar developments.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The full reasons for the Secretary of State’s planning decision on the Mallard Pass project are set out in the Decision Letter. Given the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in taking such decisions we are not able to give any further information at this stage, in line with the Planning Propriety Guidance on nationally significant infrastructure decisions.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Kosovan authorities on the Banjska attack on Kosovo in September 2023; and whether his Department has received reports on the potential involvement of the state of Serbia in that attack.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has repeatedly condemned the attack at Banjska and its destabilising effect in the region. The UK has repeatedly urged Serbia's leaders to help bring those responsible to justice and to take action to stop the illegal flow of weapons into Kosovo. The UK has discussed these issues with Kosovan Ministers and officials on a number of occasions. On 18 July, the Foreign Secretary discussed regional stability and reinforced its importance with both President Osmani and President Vucic at the European Political Community Summit.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to paragraph 3.9.92 of the report by the Planning Inspectorate entitled Mallard Pass Solar Farm: Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, published on 16 February 2024, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the measures set out in the Mallard Pass Solar Farm Outline Employment, Skills and Supply Chain Plan (Clean) published on 19 September 2023 on the ethical sourcing of solar panels.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The full reasons for the Secretary of State’s planning decision on the Mallard Pass project are set out in the Decision Letter. Given the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in taking such decisions we are not able to give any further information at this stage, in line with the Planning Propriety Guidance on nationally significant infrastructure decisions.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve safety on the A1.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

National Highways has completed a number of safety improvements to the A1 near Stamford in recent years, such as resurfacing, associated road markings, and improved lighting and signage. National Highways will undertake further work south of Grantham commencing this autumn.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase dementia diagnosis rates.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The recovery of the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7% is included in the National Health Service’s priorities and operational planning guidance for 2024/25. This provides clear direction for the integrated care boards (ICBs) to support delivery of timely diagnoses.

The latest dementia diagnosis rate reported by NHS England for the end of June 2024 was 65%. Timely diagnosis of dementia is vital to ensuring that a person with dementia in any local area can access the advice, information, care, and support that can help them to live well with the condition, and remain independent for as long as possible.

To support recovery of the dementia diagnosis rates and implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, NHS England has funded an evidence-based improvement project for two trusts in each region, 14 sites in total, to pilot tools to improve the diagnosis of dementia and the provision of support in care homes.

Additionally, the Dementia Intelligence Network was commissioned to develop a resource for local health systems to support investigation of the underlying variation in dementia diagnosis rates. This work aims to provide context for variation and enable targeted investigation and provision of support at a local level to enhance diagnosis rates.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Written Statement on Solar and protecting our Food Security and Best and Most Versatile (BMV) Land, published on 15 May 2024, HCWS466, whether it is his policy to retain the guidelines set out in that statement.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Written Ministerial Statement made in May by the previous government did not change the policy on this matter that is set out in the relevant parts of the National Policy Statement (NPS) for Renewable Energy and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It quoted extracts from that NPS and the NPPF. Decisions on solar that is Nationally Significant Infrastructure will be guided by the NPS in full, noting there are transitional provisions in place as the NPS was only designated this January. The NPPF will continue to be a material consideration for Local Authority planning decisions on solar.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help protect (a) Hong Kongers, (b) Uyghurs and (c) Chinese dissidents who are resident in the UK from transnational repression by the Chinese Communist Party.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The UK does not tolerate attempts by the authorities of Hong Kong or China, or any other country, to intimidate and silence individuals in the UK. We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. This involves taking a proactive approach to countering the most acute forms of state-directed threats to individuals.

The National Security Act 2023 strengthens our legal powers to counter foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression, and provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with additional tools to deter, detect, and disrupt modern-day state threats.

Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to improve mental health provision for farmers.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

People across the country are not getting the mental health support they need, which is why the Government will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health. This should help people in rural areas, including farmers, to be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve healthcare (a) access and (b) outcomes in rural communities.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has asked distinguished surgeon Professor Lord Darzi to investigate the problems that are affecting the National Health Service. The Government will then begin work on an ambitious programme of action, a 10-year plan to put the NHS back on its feet. That includes the NHS in our rural and coastal areas, as well as the NHS in urban areas.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing controls to prevent the import of products made with Uyghur forced labour.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

No company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. The Department for Business and Trade will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools that are emerging, to ensure it can best tackle forced labour in supply chains, and work with businesses and international partners to understand the impact of measures to combat forced labour.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the influence of the (a) Iranian regime and (b) Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the UK.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government does not routinely comment on the detail of operational matters or specific threats. But the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign states. This government will always take threats to the UK incredibly seriously.

Iran’s malign activity, including the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), are unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK.

In concert with partners, the UK Government will continue to use all tools at our disposal to protect the UK and its overseas interests against any threats from the Iranian state, including malign influence.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to bring forward legislative proposals to require the solar industry to pay a standardised level of compensation to affected communities.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it.

We are aware that solar and other renewable developers currently offer a range of community benefit schemes including providing funding for environmental enhancements, job schemes, energy discounts, and investment in local infrastructure such as faster broadband, EV charging points or energy efficiency measures.

Government does not currently have a formal role with regards to community benefits for solar.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the use of Uyghur forced labour in the supply chains of the solar industry.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

No company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. We will be working with colleagues across Government to tackle the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains.

We are also relaunching the Solar Taskforce, which will focus on identifying and taking forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour. This will support the significant increases in deployment of solar panels needed to meet our ambition of tripling the UKs solar power capacity by 2030.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department (a) monitors and (b) plans to monitor the (i) area, (ii) type by agricultural grade and (iii) geographical location of land proposed for solar development.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department currently monitors the geographical location of solar developments through the Renewable Energy Planning Database. We plan to broaden the scope of this database to provide information on the area and types of agricultural land used by existing solar projects and those in the planning pipeline.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether it is his Department's policy to provide £71.5 million funding for the roll-out of fast broadband to rural areas in Stamford, Rutland and Leicestershire.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The award of a £71.5 million Project Gigabit contract to the broadband supplier CityFibre to connect around 38,600 rural and hard-to-reach premises across Leicestershire and Warwickshire will deliver fast, reliable broadband, with the work due to commence in August. This contract includes homes and businesses in the Rutland and Stamford constituency that would otherwise miss out on a gigabit-capable connection. Parts of Rutland and Stamford are also set to benefit from other Project Gigabit contracts, including the £68.6 million contract that CityFibre is delivering across Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential security threat from China to the UK.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence issues.

More generally, the government’s first duty is to protect our national security and keep our country safe. We keep potential threats to the UK under constant review and, where necessary, we use all the tools at our disposal to mitigate these threats.

When it comes to China this Government will take a consistent, long term and strategic approach, rooted in UK and global interests. We will cooperate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must, including on issues of national security.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 384 on Solar Power: Supply Chains, which section of the Decision Letter sets out the Secretary of State’s views on the adequacy of the measures in the Mallard Pass Solar Farm Outline Employment, Skills, and Supply Chain Plan (Clean) published on 19 September 2023 on the ethical sourcing of solar panels.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Secretary of State’s conclusions are set out at paragraphs 4.107 and 4.109 of the Decision Letter.

It is important to note that the question for the Secretary of State was whether this issue was a relevant planning matter, which is a different question from whether, as Ministers agree, this is an important matter more broadly. The Decision Letter references other regulatory routes that are available to control the ethical and legal sourcing of solar panels.

Given the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in taking such decisions and the fact that a legal challenge to the decision could be made, Ministers cannot comment on this case beyond what is in the Decision Letter. This approach is set out in the Planning Propriety Guidance on nationally significant infrastructure decisions.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 373 on Solar Power: Supply Chains, which section of the Decision Letter addresses the (a) ethical sourcing of solar panels for the Mallard Pass development and (b) issues raised in section 3.9.92 of the report by the Planning Inspectorate entitled Mallard Pass Solar Farm: Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, published on 16 February 2024.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

(a) The issue of ethical sourcing of solar panels for the Mallard Pass development are set out in paragraphs 4.104 to 4.107 of the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter.

(b) Issues raised in section 3.9.92 of the Examining Authority’s Report are considered in paragraphs 4.104 to 4.107 of the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure stability in the Western Balkans.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The stability and security of the Western Balkans is a key priority for the new government. The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and I recently met a number of Western Balkans leaders, including at the European Political Community and NATO Summits; discussions included efforts to promote stability, security and prosperity for mutual interests.

We are also working with European and US allies to strengthen collective international engagement on the Western Balkans to resolve conflict legacies and risks, promote economic development, tackle organised crime and help to build stable, inclusive and prosperous societies - including through approaches empowering women. We continue to play a key role in KFOR.

I recently met the EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak to discuss these issues, and welcomed Bosnia and Hercegovina Presidency Chair Becirovic to the FCDO.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her planned timetable is for proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government will keep the list of proscribed organisations under close review, as we seek to protect the UK from the threats that we face. However, we will not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.

The Government is clear that Iran’s malign activity, including the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), are unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK. The UK already maintains sanctions on over 400 Iranian individuals and entities covering human rights abuses and nuclear proliferation, including sanctioning the IRGC in its entirety. The Government will continue to consider what further steps may be taken to deter Iran’s malign activity.