Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to publish a formal response to the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of 19 July 2024 on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided for question 83315 on 29 October 2025.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time is for the DVLA to (a) review and (b) reinstate driving licences suspended on medical grounds following a head injury.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated can take longer as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is often reliant on receiving information from third parties, including doctors, other healthcare professionals or the applicant themselves, before a licensing decision can be made.
In the current financial year to September, the average time taken to make a licensing decision in cases where a medical condition needed to be investigated before a licence could be issued was 47 working days. Information is not held by specific medical conditions (for example, head injuries).
The DVLA understands the impact that not having a driving licence can have on a person’s everyday life. However, when the DVLA is made aware of a condition that could affect an individual’s ability to drive safely, they must ensure that the required medical standards for driving are met before a licence is issued.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to (a) review or (b) update his Department's guidance to UK businesses on trade with entities based in the West Bank following the Government’s recognition of the State of Palestine.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Overseas Business Risk service provides information on various risks in overseas markets. The Government keeps this advice, available on gov.uk, under constant review. We intend these pages to support and guide businesses alongside other sources of information, and the UK government does not advise on or undertake due diligence for individual companies.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK technology companies working with Israeli companies in the (a) defence and (b) surveillance sectors comply with UK (i) human rights and (ii) export control policies.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Where an item, including technology, is specified in the UK’s Strategic Export Control list, its export or transfer by electronic means is subject to export control. Exporters of such items must seek an export licence from the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), who assess applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.
These criteria include ‘respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms’, and consideration of where there is a clear risk an export may be used to commit or facilitate internal repression, or a serious breach of international humanitarian law.
All licences are kept under careful and continual review as standard. We are able to suspend, refuse or revoke licences as circumstances require.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
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 quota application mechanism pilot for 2025 that allocated 2800 tonnes of Western Mackerel, how much has been (a) caught, (b) landed in UK ports and (c) landed in ports outside the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Landings for Western Mackerel allocated through the Quota Application Mechanism so far this year amount to 0.8t of the 3619.2 t allocated.
All 0.8t was landed into Castletown Bearhaven in the Republic of Ireland.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to announce his decision on bathing water designation; and for what reason this announcement has been delayed.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The summary of responses and government response to the consultation on 27 proposed bathing water sites was published on GOV.UK on 13 May: Bathing waters: proposed designation of 27 new bathing waters in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The newly designated sites will be added to the list of bathing waters with effect from the 2024 bathing season. Defra received 10,962 responses to the consultation on designating these sites, and ensured the confirmation of designations was made before the start of the bathing season, which begins on 15 May.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
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 his Department's press release entitled, Compensation scheme announced to support pollack fishers, published on 10 April 2024, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential (a) costs and (b) impact of setting the Pollack compensation scheme thresholds at different percentage levels.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The department made the required assessment ahead of the Ministerial Direction to evidence a range of options for consideration, which included costs. As part of the assessment, the department sought to balance supporting as many fishers who have been affected most by the zero Total Allowable Catch restrictions while bearing in mind the overall cost of the scheme.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2024 to Question 22013 on White Fish: Fishing Catches, how he plans to fund the compensation scheme through his Department's existing budget; and whether his Department (a) has a budget surplus and (b) will make reduce expenditure to fund the scheme.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Funding for the compensation scheme will be found by examining current spending priorities to ensure efficient use of budgets. The Department does not have a budget surplus, so adjustments and optimisations will be made to accommodate the compensation scheme without requiring substantial reductions in expenditure elsewhere in the Department.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many vessels that mainly land catches in Plymouth are eligible for payments from the Pollack compensation scheme.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has confirmed that there are 12 vessels that have Plymouth registered as their home port and are eligible for the compensation scheme. 8 of these have submitted their applications and received payment, totalling £62,480. Every application received has been paid within 24 hours.
MMO has contacted all eligible fishers via email and is calling those who have yet to apply. Fishers who believe they meet the requirements of this scheme but have not heard from MMO by Monday 29 April 2024 should contact MMO by sending an email to UKFisheriesSupport@marinemanagement.org.uk.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many vessels that mainly land catches in Brixham are eligible for payments from the Pollack compensation scheme.
Answered by Mark Spencer
MMO have confirmed that there are four vessels that have Brixham registered as their home port and are eligible for the compensation scheme. Three of these vessels have submitted their applications and received payment, totalling £14,030. Every application received has been paid within 24 hours.
MMO have contacted all eligible fishers via email and are calling those who have yet to apply. Fishers who believe they meet the requirements of this scheme but have not heard from MMO by Monday 29th April 2024 should contact MMO by sending an email to UKFisheriesSupport@marinemanagement.org.uk.