Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of the Seasonal Shearing Concession on a) ensuring adequate numbers of shearers during the summer season and b) sheep welfare, especially reduction of heat stress and flystrike.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
All Immigration Rules concessionary arrangements are temporary and subject to regular Ministerial review. The sheep shearing concession has been operating for 14 years and the sheep farming sector has made significant efforts to provide skills training within the domestic workforce.
To give sheep farmers two years to transition to new arrangements, and move away from using overseas shearers, the concession has been renewed for one more year. The concession will not be renewed in 2027 and will close for a final time on 30 June 2026.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
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 current accessibility of Motor Neurone Disease treatments with reference to new breakthrough drugs like Tofersen.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises how important it is that patients with motor neurone disease (MND) are able to benefit from access to new clinically and cost-effective treatments. There are currently no new treatments routinely available to National Health Service patients for MND. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently evaluating tofersen, a new licensed treatment for SOD-1 MND, and the company is expected to make an evidence submission to support the appraisal in early June 2026.
Relatedly, the Government is investing significantly in MND research, for example via the £8 million EXPERTS ALS trial, with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, being an alternative name for MND, which screens for drugs that have the potential to be successful in clinical trials for people with MND.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
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 (a) prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Melksham and Devizes constituency compared with national averages; and what steps he is taking to ensure respiratory health is prioritised nationally, including through the introduction of a Modern Service Framework for respiratory care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ for Melksham and Devizes, and England, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally for 2025/26:
Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence | 2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025) | 2025/26 (April 2025 to November 2025) |
Melksham and Devizes | 545 | 575 |
England | 608,449 | 423,588 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.
Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for Wiltshire can be found at the following link:
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the humanitarian situation in Sudan including i) increasing humanitarian access for INGOs and ii) increasing humanitarian funding.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 5 February following her recent visit to the Chad-Sudan border.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to establish who is responsible for the delays in payments of the Civil Service Pension Scheme and ensure they are held accountable.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable.
Our full focus is on stabilising the service and supporting any members experiencing hardship. We will conduct a full review once this has been achieved.
Furthermore, any further service failures by Capita will attract financial penalties, which will reduce the overall cost of the contract.
The contract includes key performance indicators that, if not met, include financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect of Capita’s performance in December.
The Cabinet Office will continue to use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account and ensure they deliver the contractual service levels.
Capita has prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. A similar position will be reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March
Alongside these arrangements, Capita has prioritised payment of tax-free pension lump sums for members who had received quotations but were not in receipt of their benefits, with the vast majority of these having been paid in February.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made for when the backlog of the Civil Service Pension payments will be resolved.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable.
Our full focus is on stabilising the service and supporting any members experiencing hardship. We will conduct a full review once this has been achieved.
Furthermore, any further service failures by Capita will attract financial penalties, which will reduce the overall cost of the contract.
The contract includes key performance indicators that, if not met, include financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect of Capita’s performance in December.
The Cabinet Office will continue to use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account and ensure they deliver the contractual service levels.
Capita has prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. A similar position will be reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March
Alongside these arrangements, Capita has prioritised payment of tax-free pension lump sums for members who had received quotations but were not in receipt of their benefits, with the vast majority of these having been paid in February.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she has considered the efficacy of using FCA fines to fund hospices.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Revenue from Financial Conduct Authority (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 it 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.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking in response to the case of genocide brought by the Gambia against Myanmar currently being heard in the International Court of Justice; recent universal jurisdiction cases to prosecute Myanmar’s mass atrocity crimes in several jurisdictions; the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s application for a warrant for the arrest of General Min Aung Hlaing; and whether the United Kingdom invoke Article 14 of the Rome Statute to seek a referral of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement issued by the Foreign Secretary on the fifth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-statement-on-the-fifth-anniversary-of-the-military-coup-in-myanmar) and the answers provided in the House of Lords in February in response to the similar set of Questions HL13818-20, HL13821, and HL13859.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the United Kingdom will seek to place Myanmar as an urgent item on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council, in the context of the human rights and humanitarian situation in that country.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement issued by the Foreign Secretary on the fifth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-statement-on-the-fifth-anniversary-of-the-military-coup-in-myanmar) and the answers provided in the House of Lords in February in response to the similar set of Questions HL13818-20, HL13821, and HL13859.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what is the budget for humanitarian aid to Myanmar; what steps are taken to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the people who are most in need and is not blocked or diverted by the military; and whether she intends to increase aid to Myanmar.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement issued by the Foreign Secretary on the fifth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-statement-on-the-fifth-anniversary-of-the-military-coup-in-myanmar) and the answers provided in the House of Lords in February in response to the similar set of Questions HL13818-20, HL13821, and HL13859.