Andrew Rosindell

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 18 December is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 18 December is attached.

The government is committed to working closely with Critical National Infrastructure operators to ensure resilience and preparedness.

Extreme weather events pose a serious risk to UK resilience, reflected in their inclusion in the National Risk Register. They are included in the Third National Adaptation Programme, which sets out government action to respond to impacts arising from climate change. These products consider risks over a 2-5 year timeframe and enable relevant bodies to undertake proportionate planning.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th November is attached.

The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is in the personal gift of The Sovereign. The UK Government is not considering the restoration of The Order of St Patrick.

Nominations for existing honours are open to all citizens within the four nations of the United Kingdom.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 14th October is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 14th October is attached.

The Government has set out an ambitious programme of House of Lords reform. As an immediate first step, the Government has introduced the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, which will remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. The Government believes that it is right to take the time to consider how best to implement the other manifesto commitments over the course of this Parliament.

In line with established precedent, the Government does not formally commemorate the anniversaries of the births of former Prime Ministers.

Decisions on the future size of the Civil Service will form a key part of the comprehensive Spending Review.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 04/09/2024 is attached.

As a first step in reform of the House of Lords, the Government has introduced the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, which will remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

The Government is committed to other reforms to the House of Lords, including the introduction of a mandatory retirement age, a new participation requirement, and changes to the appointments process, as well as strengthening the circumstances in which disgraced members can be removed. There is also a long-term commitment to replace the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber that is more representative of the regions and nations. Given the nature and potential scale of these reforms, the Government will conduct engagement and consult on proposals for an alternative second chamber, seeking the input of the British public on how politics can best serve them.

The fifth round of negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Switzerland took place in London between 14 and 18 October 2024. UK negotiators made good progress, working towards agreeing ambitious outcomes in key areas including services, investment and digital. Round 6 talks are expected to take place in Switzerland in early 2025. The Government will continue to work towards delivering outcomes in the FTA that secure economic growth for the UK and will update Parliament on the progress of discussions with Switzerland as they continue to develop.

At the G20 on 18 November, the Prime Minister met Prime Minister Modi to announce that the UK will relaunch trade talks in the new year with India – one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Work is underway across government to prepare for negotiations. Our trade programme, including negotiations with India, is driven by stakeholder engagement, including with the Scotch Whisky Association.

The UK has a competitive advantage in AI, with some of the world’s most innovative AI companies based here.

The government commissioned an Action Plan in July, led by Matt Clifford to identify how AI can drive economic growth and explore untapped AI opportunities. HMG will form a new “AI Opportunities Unit” to seize the benefits of AI. The Action Plan, to be published shortly, will consider key enablers such as the UK’s compute and broader infrastructure requirements by 2030, how this infrastructure is made available for start-ups and scale-ups and how to develop and attract top AI talent.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ai-expert-to-lead-action-plan-to-ensure-uk-reaps-the-benefits-of-artificial-intelligence

• New technologies, including AI, have the potential to boost wages, drive up productivity and empower workers.

• The government’s approach to new technologies is to protect good jobs, enable good future jobs and ensure rights and protections keep pace with technological change; safeguarding against discrimination; and putting the worker voice at the heart of Britain’s digital transition.

• AI is expected to augment roles, rather than replace them. A report by the International Labour Organisation corroborates this, indicating that some roles are more exposed to AI, but that AI is not able to fully replace human employees.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has not met with his Liechtenstein counterpart.

The Department for Business and Trade is working in close partnership with Australia across a range of areas, most notably on the implementation and utilisation of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement. This engagement has not included meetings by the Secretary of State with any of the Agent-Generals in Australia.

As the independent regulator for the postal sector, it is for Ofcom to monitor Royal Mail’s delivery of the universal service obligation and decide how to respond should Royal Mail fail to meet its obligations.

Ofcom is currently investigating Royal Mail’s service standards in 2023-24 following its failure to meet its delivery obligations.

To the year ending 30 September 2024, Companies House received 28,933 reports related to the unauthorised use of addresses. No figure is available for personal information.

In future, all directors (and equivalents), persons with significant control and those filing information with Companies House will be required to undergo identity verification checks and proposed directors will need to complete these checks before a company is incorporated. The phased introduction of compulsory identity verification is due to begin by Autumn 2025.

Officials at the Department for Business and Trade meet regularly with their counterparts in Liechtenstein to discuss how to increase trade under the UK-EEA/EFTA Free Trade Agreement, including at the annual Services, Investment and Digital sub-committee. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has not yet met with his counterpart in Liechtenstein to discuss financial services.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has not met with the Agent General of Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan since taking his position. Canada is a valued partner for the UK and provincial level engagement is an important part of our bilateral relationship. Our trade relationship – worth £25.8bn in the year to quarter one 2024 – is underpinned by regular engagement, including at the provincial level.

Pubs are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK. That’s why it is important for us to act on the challenges that they face, by, for example, reforming business rates to level the playing field for all businesses from hospitality to the high street. The Chancellor has confirmed that she will be making decisions on tax policy at the Budget on 30 October.

In addition, we have established Skills England, a new partnership with employers at its heart and will transform the existing Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy to support businesses, including pubs, and boost opportunity.

This government understands the Crown Dependencies ambition for coverage in UK trade agreements. We will continue to seek to represent the interests of the Crown Dependencies on UK trade negotiations, and we will not act on their behalf without prior consultation. The UK’s relationship with the Crown Dependencies should continue in a way that respects their autonomy as well as the UK's constitutional duties and international obligations.

The British automotive industry is the jewel in the crown of our manufacturing sector. By accelerating domestic battery making capacity, driving investment in gigafactories and removing planning barriers to get shovels in the ground, we will give our manufacturing sector the certainty it needs to flourish.

The UK is also home to a world-class and comprehensive innovation ecosystem, including the Advanced Propulsion Centre, Faraday Battery Challenge, High Value Manufacturing Catapult and the Automotive Transformation Fund.

The Government is committed to delivering a thriving shipbuilding sector across the UK, supporting the whole supply chain, from design to repair, systems and integration.

My Department, working alongside other Government Departments, is supporting a 30-year pipeline of shipbuilding projects, promoting UK export and investment at a wide range of international tradeshows and missions throughout the year.

Our long term industrial strategy will support sectors like shipbuilding by offering the certainty needed to attract investment.

Heat batteries are one of the most promising alternative electric heating technologies: they utilise time of use tariffs, do not require outside space and are cheaper to install than heat pumps in some circumstances.

However, they are less efficient than heat pumps and use more energy to meet the same heating demand. Although they can generally be charged off-peak, if a battery does not have sufficient storage capacity to meet heat demand it could draw electricity at peak times and add to the burden on the electricity network.

The government will continue to assess the evidence base as it develops.

The proposals for the East Havering Data Centre development have the potential to contribute towards our country’s net zero ambitions; it is welcome that the plans include building a district heating network, generation of hydrogen powered energy and battery storage capacity.

I would welcome the opportunity for my officials to engage with Havering Council to ensure that the potential of this development to support our journey towards homegrown clean energy is maximised. I understand that you have posed the same questions to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology as Data Centre technology is within his remit.

Heat batteries are one of the most promising alternative electric heating technologies because they utilise time of use tariffs, do not require outside space and are cheaper to install than heat pumps in some circumstance. However, heat batteries are also less efficient than heat pumps and will therefore use more energy to meet the same heating demand. This can add to the burden on the electricity network, as well as resulting in higher bills for property owners. The Government will continue to make further assessments of heat batteries as the supporting evidence base develops.

The planning system provides important checks and balances when new onshore wind farms are built, including community engagement and consultation, environmental surveying, and statutory environmental and habitat impact assessments ensuring deployment is sustainable and has community support.