Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with the Welsh Government on the potential impact of the situation in Kashmir on (a) policing and (b) community relations in Wales.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has been sharing up to date information with Welsh partners on emerging risks and issues in relation to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in India-administered Kashmir and will continue to work with those partners to monitor any local reactions and tensions.
Whilst community cohesion is a devolved area, officials from the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government also continue to support the Devolved Governments in best practice for monitoring and alleviating any community tensions.
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, if he will hold discussions with (a) the UN Security Council and (b) his Moroccan counterpart on ensuring access to the occupied territory of Western Sahara by (a) the media and (b) humanitarian NGOs.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has supported language in relevant UN Security Council Resolutions that encourages the parties to continue their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara, including the freedoms of expression and association. Officials, including up to ambassador level, also engage on these issues with the Moroccan Government and authorities. The UK continues to regularly meet and consult regional and international partners to discuss the issue of Western Sahara, including those from the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the UN, civil society, and the broader international community.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April to Question 42840 on Western Sahara: Human Rights, what discussions he has had with the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General on Western Sahara on the adequacy of the number investigations undertaken by the Moroccan National Human Rights Council following allegations of human rights abuses in Western Sahara since 2015.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Morocco and Western Sahara, and consistently urges all states to uphold international law and international human rights standards, avoiding any action that may endanger human life. The UK engages regularly with Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Western Sahara, most recently at senior official level on 1 April. The Minister for Africa last met with him in September 2024.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times HMRC's Statutory Payment Consultation Group convened in each of the past 5 years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Statutory Payments Consultation Group convened as follows:
2020 – once
2021 – once
2022 – once
2023 – not held
2024 - once
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on release of the investment reserve of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme to uplift pensions.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor meets regularly with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to discuss a range of issues.
The Government is considering proposals put forward by the BCSSS Trustees and needs to understand their impacts for both scheme members and the Government, in the same way as we are doing for the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme. The Government and BCSSS Trustees are working together to jointly commission analysis so that we can gain that understanding and work towards reaching agreement on a way forward.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating a portion of the financial penalties collected by the Financial Conduct Authority to fund financial redress to people affected by the collapse of Football Index and BetIndex Limited.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the significant impact the collapse of BetIndex Ltd had on former customers.
Revenue from FCA fines is used to benefit the taxpaying public. First, the FCA deducts the costs of enforcement from its fine income. Any money left over is passed to the Treasury in accordance with the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Treasury must surrender it to the Consolidated Fund and is then part of the Government’s total revenues, used to pay for all Government spending on public services like hospitals, hospices, and other crucial services. The Government has no plans to change this approach.
The previous Government concluded that it would not be appropriate for the Government to use public funds to provide compensation for those who had lost money through the collapse of Football Index and BetIndex. Whilst the Government strongly sympathises with all who were impacted, we do not think this decision should be reopened.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate she has made of the (a) backlog of cases and (b) average time taken by the Valuation Office Agency’s to process applications to transfer short-term rental properties between business rates and council tax; and what steps she is taking to help improve performance.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced that the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will be integrated into HMRC by April 2026. Moving the VOA’s functions into HMRC will increase oversight and accountability to Ministers over delivery of their priorities to modernise the tax system and improve the experience of taxpayers and businesses.
On average, the VOA is clearing cases relating to self-catering properties in England and Wales within four months.
Currently, the VOA is working as quickly as possible to clear any outstanding cases, focusing on the oldest cases first, and those where customers are facing financial hardship.
More widely, it is replacing IT systems with modern cloud-based platforms that will deliver significant efficiencies across its work. It is also upskilling its workforce so they can handle multiple types of cases, and improving its digital services to make it easier for customers to self-serve.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with counterparts in the Welsh Government on improving equine identification and traceability.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of engaging with Devolved Governments on a regular basis. Defra officials hold regular monthly meetings with Welsh Government to discuss improvements to equine identification and traceability; there is also an open channel of communication between officials to deal with shared issues in a timely manner.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to support the use of shore power technology at the Port of Fishguard to aid maritime decarbonisation.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions programme has previously allocated over £33m to five shore power demonstrator projects at Aberdeen, Atlantic and Peninsula Falmouth, Cammel Laird shipyard, Leith and Portsmouth.
These projects have informed Government policy making about maritime decarbonisation, and in March 2025, the Government published its Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy. A core policy within this Strategy is taking action to reduce emissions from vessels whilst at berth. Although the Government remains technology neutral, we recognise that shore power will play a role in reducing emissions from vessels at berth, supporting our mission to make Britain a Clean Energy Superpower.
Alongside this Strategy, the Government also published a call for evidence on Net Zero Ports to explore the opportunities and barriers to reducing emissions at berth, with a focus on the role ports can play in enabling the shipping sector to decarbonise. Ports policy is devolved, so this will inform Government policy relating to English ports. However, we welcome input from ports and their tenants in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to this Call for Evidence to broaden our understanding of the issues.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Equidae were recorded as leaving the UK via (a) Dover, (b) Cairnryan, (c) Holyhead, (d) Harwich and (e) other ports since the ban on live exports to slaughter and fattening was brought into force.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The table below contains the number of Export Health Certificates (EHC) dispatched for the export of Equidae from 22/07/2024 to date.
Each EHC issued is for the export of one equine. The point of exit and purpose of movement are not recorded as the Export Health Certificate Online System (EHCO) does not capture that information.
Date | Number of EHCs Dispatched for the Export of Equines |
2024 | |
Jul | 904 |
Aug | 2307 |
Sep | 2342 |
Oct | 3334 |
Nov | 2422 |
Dec | 1714 |
Total | 13023 |
2025 | |
Jan | 1697 |
Feb | 1739 |
Mar | 1948 |
Apr | 1451 |
Total | 6835 |
Grand Total | 19858 |