Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications have been made to the War Widows Recognition Payment Scheme in each month since it was announced.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The War Widow(er)s Recognition Payment Scheme has received 330 applications and accepted and paid 209 claims since it was launched on 16 October 2023. Of those, 90 per cent of all claims have been processed and 97 per cent of payments made to those eligible within the published timescales. The Recognition Payment Scheme is delivering effectively to those it was established to recognise.
The shortest time taken between an application being received and a payment being made was 19 working days and the longest 88 working days, with an average of 56 working days.
The below table shows the number of applications made to the War Widow(er)s Recognition Payment Scheme in each month since it was launched on 16 October 2023.
Month | Number of applications received |
October 2023 | 165 |
November 2023 | 86 |
December 2023 | 25 |
January 2024 | 15 |
February 2024 | 22 |
March 2024 | 10 |
April 2024 | 6 |
May 2024 | 1 |
Total | 330 |
The scheme is administered by a dedicated team of six staff, and application support is available through the Veterans Welfare Service (VWS).
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department work on the War Widows Recognition Payment Scheme.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The War Widow(er)s Recognition Payment Scheme has received 330 applications and accepted and paid 209 claims since it was launched on 16 October 2023. Of those, 90 per cent of all claims have been processed and 97 per cent of payments made to those eligible within the published timescales. The Recognition Payment Scheme is delivering effectively to those it was established to recognise.
The shortest time taken between an application being received and a payment being made was 19 working days and the longest 88 working days, with an average of 56 working days.
The below table shows the number of applications made to the War Widow(er)s Recognition Payment Scheme in each month since it was launched on 16 October 2023.
Month | Number of applications received |
October 2023 | 165 |
November 2023 | 86 |
December 2023 | 25 |
January 2024 | 15 |
February 2024 | 22 |
March 2024 | 10 |
April 2024 | 6 |
May 2024 | 1 |
Total | 330 |
The scheme is administered by a dedicated team of six staff, and application support is available through the Veterans Welfare Service (VWS).
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, with reference to paragraph 8 of the Eighth Report of Session 2022-23 of the Committee on Standards, All-Party Parliamentary Groups: final proposals, HC 228, published on 5 April 2023, what steps the Commission is taking to tackle the risk of improper (a) access and (b) influence by foreign actors through APPGs.
Answered by Charles Walker
The Commission does not control or regulate All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs).
The Committee on Standards put forward recommendations which were approved by the House on 19 July 2023. These included the following provisions which are now contained within the APPG rules:
a) groups are not permitted to have a secretariat either provided or funded by a foreign government.
b) a group’s officers must undertake due diligence as to whether a foreign government is the eventual funder of a secretariat or other benefit. If a group receives a benefit (other than a secretariat) from a foreign government, this is permissible but must be registered.
c) for groups receiving over £1500 in benefits in a calendar year, the group shall publish an annual report explaining its work and a due diligence statement in relation to foreign government funding.
As the Committee recommended, the Parliamentary Security Department and the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards on 20 September 2023 issued guidance on due diligence. That guidance was emailed to all APPG Chairs and is available here: Guide to the rules on All-Party Parliamentary Groups - UK Parliament
There is no ban on the receipt of benefits from foreign governments, but such benefits must be registered.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, with reference to paragraph 17 of the Eighth Report of Session 2022-23 of the Committee on Standards, All-Party Parliamentary Groups: final proposals, HC 228, published on 5 April 2023, what steps the Commission is taking to ensure that Secretariats of APPGs (a) are not funded by and (b) do not receive benefits from foreign governments.
Answered by Charles Walker
The Commission does not control or regulate All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs).
The Committee on Standards put forward recommendations which were approved by the House on 19 July 2023. These included the following provisions which are now contained within the APPG rules:
a) groups are not permitted to have a secretariat either provided or funded by a foreign government.
b) a group’s officers must undertake due diligence as to whether a foreign government is the eventual funder of a secretariat or other benefit. If a group receives a benefit (other than a secretariat) from a foreign government, this is permissible but must be registered.
c) for groups receiving over £1500 in benefits in a calendar year, the group shall publish an annual report explaining its work and a due diligence statement in relation to foreign government funding.
As the Committee recommended, the Parliamentary Security Department and the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards on 20 September 2023 issued guidance on due diligence. That guidance was emailed to all APPG Chairs and is available here: Guide to the rules on All-Party Parliamentary Groups - UK Parliament
There is no ban on the receipt of benefits from foreign governments, but such benefits must be registered.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will make it its policy that former Ambassadors and High Commissioners may not work in the Secretariats of APPGs on countries to which they were accredited.
Answered by Charles Walker
The Commission does not control or regulate All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs).
The Committee on Standards put forward recommendations which were approved by the House on 19 July 2023. This included the provision that groups are not permitted to have a secretariat either provided or funded by a foreign government. The Committee made no recommendations about the role of former Ambassadors or High Commissioners.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to ensure that secretariats of All-Party Parliamentary Groups do not pass sensitive information to foreign governments.
Answered by Charles Walker
The Commission does not control or regulate All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs).
The rules for APPGs are approved by the House. The Guide to the APPG Rules by the Committee on Standards makes clear that each group’s Chair and Registered Contact is responsible for ensuring that if any person or organisation provides a secretariat or support service, that person or organisation is aware of and complies with the rules of the House. Members of the House are subject to the provision in the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament that “Members must only use information which they have received in confidence in the course of their parliamentary activities in connection with those activities, and never for other purposes”.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards may investigate allegations of a breach of the Code of Conduct and the associated APPG Rules, and he may report to the Committee on Standards any findings from such an investigation.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the NFU's report entitled Farming for Britain's Future, published in December 2023, what steps his Department has taken to increase confidence within the agricultural industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer
In 2020 we published the Agricultural Transition Plan (ATP), setting out our plan for farmers, allowing them to make business planning decisions with confidence. Since then, we have launched our reforms, aiming to give farmers more choice and ensuring there are offers available for all farm types and locations. This includes the rollout of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and our Innovation and Productivity schemes such as the Farming Investment Fund (FIF).
We also continue to expand and improve our offers in response to farmers’ feedback. Recently, the Government has confirmed farmers will benefit from the improved SFI from July this year, following the announcement by the Environment Secretary Steve Barclay in January. The improved offer includes a 10% increase in the average value of agreements in SFI and Countryside Stewardship (CS); a streamlined single application process for farmers to apply for the SFI and CS Mid-Tier; and around 50 new actions that farmers can get paid for.
Furthermore, to aid the transition, and to give farmers confidence in their choices and the best chance of benefiting from our reforms we are also providing support via the Future Farming Resilience Fund. This fund is designed to provide free business support to farmers and land managers in England during the early years of the agricultural transition.
Lastly, on 14 May 2024 we published our Blueprint for Growing the UK Fruit and Vegetable Sector, which aims to boost production of fresh produce and reduce reliance on imports. This is backed by our new Horticulture Resilience and Growth Offer, where Defra will look to double to £80m the amount of funding given to horticulture businesses when compared to the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme, which will be replaced from 2026 onwards. We are also unlocking the opportunities of gene editing with £15m investment into Genetic Improvement Networks, helping to boost access to more resilient crop varieties, that require fewer inputs and cut farmer costs.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time taken is for a child maintenance case to come before a tribunal.
Answered by Mike Freer
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will conduct a freedom of navigation exercise around Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb for the purpose of establishing their non-Iranian status.
Answered by Leo Docherty
We are not conducting freedom of navigation operations around these islands. However, we keep operations in the Gulf under constant review. The UK supports the United Arab Emirates’ call to reach a peaceful solution to the dispute over the three islands – Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa – through bilateral negotiations or the International Court of Justice, in accordance with the rules of international law including the UN Charter.
The UK is dedicated to defending freedom of navigation in the Gulf, which is crucial for the global trading system and world economy, with the deployment of HMS DIAMOND to enhance our current footprint in the region. We are proud to be partnering with other members of the international community to uphold the rules based approach.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Western Sahara Campaign UK v Secretary of State for International Trade & Anor. [2022] EWHC 3108 (Admin), when UK Export Finance will provide credit for British businesses operating in Western Sahara.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK government regards the status of Western Sahara as undetermined and supports United Nations-led efforts to achieve a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. UK Export Finance does not currently provide support for exports to, or investment in, Western Sahara.