Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the consistency of scrutiny applied under the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme to Russian-linked institutions compared with institutions linked to other foreign states.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government remains alert to the risk that foreign states may seek to use a range of organisations (including religious and cultural centres), proxies and influence networks, to advance their objectives in the UK.
The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) supports transparency around activity directed by foreign states. We have placed Russia and Iran on the enhanced tier of FIRS, requiring those carrying out any activity in the UK at the direction of the Russian or Iranian states to register or face criminal penalties.
The Government is focused on ensuring compliance with FIRS, including referring cases to the police where we believe a criminal offence has been committed. There will be an annual report on the operation of the scheme, including total numbers of registrations under the enhanced tier, which will be published later this year.
More recently, the Home Secretary has introduced a new designation power enabling her to designate bodies involved in foreign power threat activity, including state-linked proxies and affiliated structures. The UK has also imposed extensive sanctions in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, including sanctions against Vladimir Gundyayev (Patriarch Kirill), the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, for his public support for and endorsement of Russia's invasion.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are being taken to ensure that organisations in the UK which may be acting at the direction of the Russian state or Russian state-controlled entities, such as the Russian Orthodox Church, are appropriately assessed for compliance with the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme established under the National Security Act 2023.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government remains alert to the risk that foreign states may seek to use a range of organisations (including religious and cultural centres), proxies and influence networks, to advance their objectives in the UK.
The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) supports transparency around activity directed by foreign states. We have placed Russia and Iran on the enhanced tier of FIRS, requiring those carrying out any activity in the UK at the direction of the Russian or Iranian states to register or face criminal penalties.
The Government is focused on ensuring compliance with FIRS, including referring cases to the police where we believe a criminal offence has been committed. There will be an annual report on the operation of the scheme, including total numbers of registrations under the enhanced tier, which will be published later this year.
More recently, the Home Secretary has introduced a new designation power enabling her to designate bodies involved in foreign power threat activity, including state-linked proxies and affiliated structures. The UK has also imposed extensive sanctions in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, including sanctions against Vladimir Gundyayev (Patriarch Kirill), the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, for his public support for and endorsement of Russia's invasion.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential risk that Russian religious or cultural institutions operating in the UK may be used to facilitate foreign influence activity.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government remains alert to the risk that foreign states may seek to use a range of organisations (including religious and cultural centres), proxies and influence networks, to advance their objectives in the UK.
The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) supports transparency around activity directed by foreign states. We have placed Russia and Iran on the enhanced tier of FIRS, requiring those carrying out any activity in the UK at the direction of the Russian or Iranian states to register or face criminal penalties.
The Government is focused on ensuring compliance with FIRS, including referring cases to the police where we believe a criminal offence has been committed. There will be an annual report on the operation of the scheme, including total numbers of registrations under the enhanced tier, which will be published later this year.
More recently, the Home Secretary has introduced a new designation power enabling her to designate bodies involved in foreign power threat activity, including state-linked proxies and affiliated structures. The UK has also imposed extensive sanctions in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, including sanctions against Vladimir Gundyayev (Patriarch Kirill), the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, for his public support for and endorsement of Russia's invasion.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the decision by the Israeli Government to recognise the Armenian genocide.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The long-standing position of successive UK governments remains as set out in the answer of 23 November 2021 to Question HL4071. The position of other governments is a matter for them.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons some profits from (a) the Duchy of Lancaster and (b) the Duchy of Cornwall are not received by the Treasury.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall are private estates held in trust and do not involve taxpayers' money. It is a long-established principle that the annual net surpluses of the Duchies provides income for the Sovereign and the Prince of Wales respectively.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what factors she considered when considering the level of the core element of the Sovereign Grant.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The 2026 Review of the Sovereign Grant by the Royal Trustees was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Sovereign Grant Act 2011, which requires the Trustees to review the percentage used in the Sovereign Grant calculation formula.
In determining the appropriate percentage for the Sovereign Grant calculation formula, the Royal Trustees considered a range of factors. These included: how the Grant had been utilised since the previous review; the Royal Household's expected costs over the period 2027-28 to 2031-32, including planned maintenance work on the Occupied Royal Palaces, replacement of ageing legacy systems to strengthen cyber security, and work to install energy-efficient heating systems; and the expected future level of The Crown Estate's revenue account profit. The Trustees also took account of the fact that funding would no longer be required for the Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme.
The Royal Trustees determined that a reference rate of 20.5 per cent was appropriate for the funding formula. The legislation the Government is bringing forward proposes to apply this percentage in calculating the Grant for 2027-28, resulting in an annual Grant amount of £99.9 million, compared with £137.9 million in 2026-27.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy that income from ticket sales for entry to royal palaces is received by the Treasury.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out in the Sovereign Grant framework agreement, the Royal Household seeks to optimise income from non-Treasury sources where this is consistent with the main functions of the Sovereign Grant. In line with this, it charges the Royal Collection Trust for the use of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle for public admissions. This income is used to supplement the Sovereign Grant to support official activities, reducing the requirement for public funding.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, whether he plans to take steps to improve parliamentary scrutiny of the public finances of the Royal Family.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Oversight and accountability arrangements for royal finance matters have been set by Parliament in legislation. The provisions in the Sovereign Grant Act 2011 subject the funding for the Monarch’s official duties to the same audit scrutiny as other government expenditure. The Sovereign Grant accounts are audited by the National Audit Office and laid before Parliament every year, and the Sovereign Grant is within scope of the National Audit Office's value‑for‑money examinations.
The Sovereign Grant Bill will be brought forward during the current session of Parliament, as part of which Hon. and Rt Hon. Members will have the opportunity to debate and scrutinise the public finances of the Royal Family.
There are also a number of other ways Hon. and Rt Hon. Members can secure a debate on this topic, such as applying for a Westminster Hall debate.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if he will institute an annual debate on public funding for the Royal Family.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Oversight and accountability arrangements for royal finance matters have been set by Parliament in legislation. The provisions in the Sovereign Grant Act 2011 subject the funding for the Monarch’s official duties to the same audit scrutiny as other government expenditure. The Sovereign Grant accounts are audited by the National Audit Office and laid before Parliament every year, and the Sovereign Grant is within scope of the National Audit Office's value‑for‑money examinations.
The Sovereign Grant Bill will be brought forward during the current session of Parliament, as part of which Hon. and Rt Hon. Members will have the opportunity to debate and scrutinise the public finances of the Royal Family.
There are also a number of other ways Hon. and Rt Hon. Members can secure a debate on this topic, such as applying for a Westminster Hall debate.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government will publish an organisational chart, business case, or other assessment setting out how the functions of the former International Humanitarian Law Unit are now carried out within the Department.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As I explained in the answer of 29 April to Questions 129692-95, the media stories on which these questions are based were misleading, and as I reiterated in the House on 1 July, our function in this important area remains and the unit has not closed.