Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Spring Statement of 26 March 2025, Official Report, column 945, how many and what proportion of the 1.3 million homes to be built in the UK this parliament will be built in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The 1.3 million homes figure referenced represents a forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) based solely on the impact of the changes the government made to the National Planning Policy Framework on 12 December 2024. The OBR does not provide a breakdown between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the regime of discounts applied to meat charges incurred by undertaking inspection obligations under Official Controls Regulations on the small abattoir industry in Wales.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 28 February 2025, further to engagement with industry representative bodies, the Food Standards Agency published the 2025/26 charge rates for inspections in meat premises in England and Wales. As in previous years, charges in 2025/26 will be offset by a taxpayer-funded discount scheme which will provide the greatest proportional support to smaller abattoirs, and will therefore benefit the small abattoir industry in Wales. A separate exercise is being conducted in respect of 2025/26 charges for abattoirs in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to undertake a review of the (a) implementation and (b) roll-out of the migration to a fully digital eVisa system.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office is moving to a digital immigration system, and there are no plans to issue physical documents in future.
Successful visa applicants receive written confirmation by email or letter that they have been granted permission and have a digital immigration status, which they can keep for their personal records. However, these documents cannot be used as evidence of their status.
We evaluated the QR code proposal put forward by the3million and our response is published on their website: https://the3million.org.uk/publication/2023121501.
We already operate a process of ex gratia payments if the Home Office is found to be at fault, and this will not change with the introduction of eVisas.
We consistently monitor the transition to eVisas, and encourage people to report any issues so they can be addressed. We listen to feedback from visa holders, stakeholders and MPs and address concerns, such as introducing greater flexibility for carriers to accept BRPs that expired on 31 December 2024 until 1 June 2025, to smooth the transition for those travelling internationally without compromising on border security.
We keep all visa routes and digital visa systems, including the introduction and implementation of the eVisa system, under review and will update Parliament in the normal manner.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing (a) alternative proof of Visa status to digital-only eVisas, such as (i) secure QR codes and (ii) equivalent physical documentation and (b) a compensation scheme for individuals impacted by eVisa errors.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office is moving to a digital immigration system, and there are no plans to issue physical documents in future.
Successful visa applicants receive written confirmation by email or letter that they have been granted permission and have a digital immigration status, which they can keep for their personal records. However, these documents cannot be used as evidence of their status.
We evaluated the QR code proposal put forward by the3million and our response is published on their website: https://the3million.org.uk/publication/2023121501.
We already operate a process of ex gratia payments if the Home Office is found to be at fault, and this will not change with the introduction of eVisas.
We consistently monitor the transition to eVisas, and encourage people to report any issues so they can be addressed. We listen to feedback from visa holders, stakeholders and MPs and address concerns, such as introducing greater flexibility for carriers to accept BRPs that expired on 31 December 2024 until 1 June 2025, to smooth the transition for those travelling internationally without compromising on border security.
We keep all visa routes and digital visa systems, including the introduction and implementation of the eVisa system, under review and will update Parliament in the normal manner.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has had recent discussions with the Welsh Government on the provision of speech and language therapy in youth justice services in Wales.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This Government recognises the vital role that Speech and Language Therapists play in supporting young people within the justice system.
I discussed matters relating to youth justice in Wales when I met with Welsh Government Minister Janet Hutt earlier this month.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to include reform of inherited cardiac conditions in the 10-year plan for the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts the National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving cardiac health in all parts of the country.
More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all help people manage their long-term conditions, including cardiac disease, closer to home. Moving from sickness to prevention will help us provide treatment earlier, rather than only intervening when conditions deteriorate.
NHS England has published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease or families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification in line with the national service specification methods review process. The specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has considered taking steps to help ensure that (a) Eritrean and (b) other non-Ethiopian federal forces honour the terms of the Ethiopia-Tigray Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, signed on 2 November 2022.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The full implementation of the 'Agreement for Lasting Peace through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities' in Pretoria in November 2022 is key to peace and stability in Northern Ethiopia. The UK continues to be at the forefront of diplomatic and development efforts to sustain the agreement and encourage political dialogue. We regularly engage the parties to the agreement and the African Union guarantors to reiterate the importance of full implementation. We most recently issued a statement to this effect on 13 March alongside the US, EU, and 22 other countries. Furthermore, we are supporting the African Union Monitoring Verification and Compliance Mechanism.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to prevent conflict in Tigray.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is working with partners to prevent a return to conflict and preserve stability in the region by supporting the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. In the context of a rise in tensions in Tigray, we are actively engaging all parties to encourage de-escalation and dialogue. On 13 March we issued a joint statement alongside the US, EU, and 22 other countries to this effect.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of the Government's plans to abolish NHS England on the future amounts of health related consequential funding that the Welsh Government will receive under the Barnett formula.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula is applied when departmental budgets change – not when departments announce changes in policy.
The Department for Health and Social Care are working through the implications of abolishing NHS England and will provide further details in due course. For any funding implications, the Barnett formula will apply in the usual way as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
A full breakdown of devolved government funding is set out in the Block Grant Transparency, the next iteration of which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to protect consumers from the impact of the recent increase in the energy price cap; and whether his Department plans to take steps to ensure that utility companies reflect falls in wholesale prices in consumer energy costs.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The energy price cap will rise for the period 1 April to 30 June 2025 due to an increase in international gas prices.
The Government believes the only way to protect consumers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.
We continue to monitor energy prices and the price cap and are working to ensure bills are affordable for consumers in the long-term, including through our work with Ofgem to reform standing charges, and through our Warm Homes Plan which will upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run.