Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief on the profitability of farming businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR in 2026-27, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.
In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the development of large-scale solar farms.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As outlined in the clean power action plan last week, solar power will be vital to meeting our mission and bringing down energy bills for good. Solar is one of the cheapest and most-readily available sources of energy we have, and whilst rooftop and other installations will play a role, we are clear that to protect families in the future, large scale solar will need to be built.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the overall (a) capital and (b) running costs are of the Inland Border Facility at Sevington; and what the budget is for that facility.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is commercially sensitive information and therefore may not be released. We are planning to publish some information regarding operating costs in the near future. The information will be published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the firearms licensing departments that have taken a year or more to process applications for (a) grants and (b) renewals in each of the last five years.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The issuing of firearms certificates and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Constables, who are held to account by Police and Crime Commissioners.
However, the performance of forces in this space is being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing, Deputy Chief Constable David Gardner, and both he and his predecessor have been working actively with forces on performance related issues.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had meetings with representatives of (a) police, (b) gun control groups, (c) British Shooting Sports Council and (d) British Association for Shooting and Conservation to discuss firearms licensing in England, Scotland and Wales.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Home Office Ministers and officials meet with representatives of the police, the shooting community, gun control groups and others from time to time and will continue to do so.
This helps to ensure that all relevant views are taken into account in ensuring that our firearms controls are both proportionate and effective in keeping the public safe.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many sound moderators are held on firearms certificates.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes information annually on the number of sound moderators.
The latest available data is for the year ending 31 March 2024 and can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/firearm-certificates-in-england-and-wales.
As at 31 March 2024, 33% of the 624,245 firearms covered by a firearm certificate in England and Wales were sound moderators.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of GPs who have downloaded the IT update to allow the placement of markers on the medical notes of firearms certificate holders.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a requirement that all applicants for a firearms licence must provide relevant medical information to the police with their application, and this is supported by a new digital firearms marker which is placed on the patient/licence holder’s medical record by their GP.
The marker alerts the GP to the fact that their patient is a firearms licence holder if they are being seen or treated for a medical condition that might impact on their safe possession or use of a firearm.
The digital marker has been rolled out to all GP surgeries in England and GPs are asked to place the medical marker on the licence holder’s medical records when a certificate is either issued or renewed.
The marker enables GPs to alert the police should their patient who is a firearms licence holder begin to suffer from a relevant medical condition and this ensures that the police can then assess whether it is safe for the individual to continue to have access to firearms.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to require General Practitioners to place a marker on the medical notes of firearms certificate holders.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a requirement that all applicants for a firearms licence must provide relevant medical information to the police with their application, and this is supported by a new digital firearms marker which is placed on the patient/licence holder’s medical record by their GP.
The marker alerts the GP to the fact that their patient is a firearms licence holder if they are being seen or treated for a medical condition that might impact on their safe possession or use of a firearm.
The digital marker has been rolled out to all GP surgeries in England and GPs are asked to place the medical marker on the licence holder’s medical records when a certificate is either issued or renewed.
The marker enables GPs to alert the police should their patient who is a firearms licence holder begin to suffer from a relevant medical condition and this ensures that the police can then assess whether it is safe for the individual to continue to have access to firearms.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) efficiency of the National Firearms Licensing Management System; and whether her Department plans to update the system.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We keep the effectiveness of the National Firearms Licensing Management System under review.
The system was introduced in 2007 and we are now working with policing partners to consider options for updating it to provide police forces with enhanced functionality to improve the future efficiency of the firearms licensing function.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with her Australian counterpart on the impact of excise tax for tobacco products on (a) consumer and (b) organised crime group behaviour.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
No discussions have taken place with Australian ministers on these issues.