Chris Clarkson

This Government created a standalone department to focus on energy security. We are driving tyrants like Putin out of our energy markets. We are leading one of the world’s largest renewables programmes and driving forward the largest expansion of nuclear in 70 years, making our future energy in Britain.

Fly-tipping policy is a devolved matter. In England, we are taking action to crack down on fly tipping and support people to dispose of their waste properly. We have announced grants worth £450,000 to help councils in England use innovative methods to tackle fly-tipping and launched a consultation to close a loophole that allows recycling centres to charge for recycling DIY waste.

We have raised our concerns about school naming at senior levels within the Palestinian Authority (PA) and will continue to do so. Our partnership with the PA includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle language and actions that could incite violence or hatred. We continue to assess that the PA’s commitment to peace is in line with our Partnership Principles.

UK support to the PA contributes to the salaries of carefully vetted teachers and education workers in the West Bank through the Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance mechanism, which screens recipients against international sanctions lists.

Passengers currently have an hourly service between Manchester and Castleton which increases to two trains per hour during the morning and evening peak. Northern operates on a complex network and like other operators, it has to make difficult decisions to maximise the number of services it can offer to customers whilst maintaining a high-performing railway that people can rely on.

Environmental sustainability is embodied in HS2’s strategic goals. All phases of the railway have environmental minimum requirements (EMRs) which set out the government’s high level environmental and sustainability commitments across all aspects of the project. HS2 is critical for the UK’s low carbon transport future; providing a low carbon alternative to road and air travel. HS2 will run highly energy efficient electric trains powered by a grid increasingly using zero carbon sources. As the grid moves to supplying 100% zero carbon energy, journeys on HS2 will also move to zero carbon.

The impacts and effects arising from managing the material from HS2 were set out in the Environmental Statements for Phase 1 (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hs2-phase-one-environmental-statement-documents ) and Phase 2a ( https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hs2-phase-2a-environmental-statement ). These were based on a forecast landfill diversion rate of 90% for construction and demolition material. This forecast rate was based on a review of industry good practice landfill diversion rates achieved on other large-scale infrastructure projects in the UK.

HS2 Ltd has set a performance target of 95% diversion from landfill for construction and demolition material in all of its relevant contracts with suppliers.

During route development, design of the scheme and early construction, HS2 Ltd has sought to avoid and reduce impacts on heritage assets, including archaeological remains. HS2’s historic environment programme employs a wide range of specialists to undertake the historic environment works required. This includes historic environment evaluation, recording and investigation, post-excavation assessment, analysis, archiving and dissemination of the results.

Many exciting discoveries have already been made during excavation works on Phase One and these have been shared with communities close to the line and further afield. The creation of HS2’s historic environment physical and digital archive is an integral part of the lasting legacy of the programme. HS2 Ltd and its supply chain continue to host webinars, provide lectures, and work with communities and academics, in order to deepen our understanding of the history of England.

HS2 Ltd’s Environmental Statement and Code of Construction practice states that as the ‘Nominated Undertaker’ HS2 Ltd should plan to move as much material as is reasonably practicable by Rail (or Water) before Road.

Joint industry resources (including Network Rail, the Freight Industry, and HS2 Ltd) have collaborated to develop the Materials By Rail strategy and secure every available opportunity to maximise Materials By Rail volumes and accelerate the materials delivery and removals programme.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidelines on end of life care for adults and care of dying adults in the last days of life. This guidance covers topics such as communication, shared decision-making, and pharmacological interventions.

Ensuring patients, and those important to them, are fully informed regarding their care, including medications, is the responsibility of individual staff and provider organisations. NICE guidance and quality standards, the Ambitions Framework, NHS England’s Palliative and End of Life Care Statutory Guidance for Integrated Care Boards and Care Quality Commission inspection key lines of enquiry all support this by emphasising the needs for individualised care and communication. NHS England also published an Accessible Information Standard to promote the provision of information in a way that meets the needs of each individual.

Iran has been in non-compliance with its Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) commitments since 2019. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified that since April 2021, Iran has produced highly enriched uranium  (HEU) at 60%. It is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons to enrich at 60%.

Iran's continued systematic non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), including its increasing stockpile of enriched uranium, is undermining the non-proliferation benefits of the deal and jeopardising our efforts to preserve it. On 18 February in Paris, the Foreign Secretary joined his French and German counterparts and the US Secretary of State Tony Blinken to discuss concerted action to bring Iran back to full compliance. Our priority is to find a diplomatic way forward with the parties of the JCPoA and the US Administration that realises the benefits of the deal.

The Foreign Secretary has been actively engaged in the run-up to UN talks at the end of April in support of a just and lasting settlement of the Cyprus issue. He visited Cyprus on 4 February and met with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot Communities and encouraged them to show flexibility at the talks and to engage without preconditions. The UK fully supports the UN’s approach to negotiations.

The Foreign Secretary also delivered similar messages to Greek Foreign Minister Dendias and Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu on 2 and 3 February. He has engaged the UN Secretary General on how we make the most of the current opportunity and discussed this further with the UN Special Representative for Cyprus on 4 February.

We strongly condemn the detention of peace activists by Hamas. The UK retains a policy of no contact with Hamas in its entirety. We monitor the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories closely, including reporting on human rights violations in our annual Human Rights and Democracy Report.

We have to stop these dangerous, illegal, and unnecessary crossings and are investing £480m with our French partners on additional personnel, facilities and technology.

Our Illegal Migration Bill will do more to remove those with no right to be here, deter migrants from crossing, and reduce the intolerable cost to the taxpayer. We will also seek permission to appeal the recent judgment about our partnership with Rwanda from the Court of Appeal.

The Skynet programme is currently running a competition to procure up to three Wideband Satellites that are to contain a specified set of technologies that must be UK designed and manufactured. This pass/fail condition will help to secure technological capital and develop the United Kingdom’s space workforce, promoting both the technologies and skills investment in the UK industrial base.

In addition, the social value requirements that feature in all Skynet procurements support our drive to bring new people into the UK space industry, by securing industrial sponsorships of educational schemes and through-life skills development. The MOD is working in close consultation with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on a plan for the space industry that will be published in the coming months. This will increase growth and resilience for this vital part of the economy, generating a demand for additional high-end satellite design skills.

The UK has a strong space industry, which was worth over £17.5 billion in income to the UK in 2022 alone. Space exports are valued at £5.9 billion to the UK economy, and although there is no precise figure for military space exports, UK Defence and Security Exports estimates that UK companies are currently competing for exports totalling around £4.4 billion to be delivered between now and 2030, which will continue to grow.

Recognising the importance of the space to the UK's economy, we deliberately develop and retain skills in the UK as part of our space capabilities. For example, through the social value component of our procurement of the SKYNET secure satellite communications programme, which is largely designed and manufactured in the UK. In addition, UK Space Command is developing the UK Space Academy to enhance space training for both Government and industry.

Skills will also be an important theme in the forthcoming plan for the space sector which will be published soon by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in close consultation with Defence.

The Levelling Up Parks Fund has made available £9 million for local authorities in areas which rate highly on the Index of Multiple Deprivation, to create or significantly refurbish green spaces.

The Fund also requires the planting and maintaining of trees and encourages projects to work towards Green Flag Award status. The local community should also be consulted during project design and delivery.