Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies on China of the case of Carmen Lau.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of Government.
The Government, working alongside operational partners, keeps potential threats to the UK and its residents, including from China, under constant review and, where necessary, we use all the tools at our disposal to mitigate these.
Where we identify individuals at heightened risk, we are front footed in deploying protective security guidance and other measures as appropriate.
Where individuals have concerns for their safety, they are advised to contact the police via 101, a local police station or dial 999 in an emergency.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the influence of the Chinese state on British residents.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of Government.
The Government, working alongside operational partners, keeps potential threats to the UK and its residents, including from China, under constant review and, where necessary, we use all the tools at our disposal to mitigate these.
Where we identify individuals at heightened risk, we are front footed in deploying protective security guidance and other measures as appropriate.
Where individuals have concerns for their safety, they are advised to contact the police via 101, a local police station or dial 999 in an emergency.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with Ukrainian egg farmers on improving the welfare standards of imported eggs.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers have not had direct discussions with Ukrainian egg farmers or with Ukrainian counterparts on egg production standards. However, as set out in the UK’s Trade Strategy, the Government will not lower food standards and will uphold high animal welfare standards. All agri-food products must comply with our import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market.
Government officials regularly meet with Ukraine counterparts to discuss trade as part of the Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish the research commissioned on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising the most complex housing archetypes.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government commissioned research to gather data on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising the most complex housing archetypes, including the use of alternative low-carbon heating solutions where appropriate.
The results of this research are expected to be received by the end of the year, and we aim to publish findings by Spring/Summer 2026. This research supports the Warm Homes Plan which will be published by the end of the year. We are working across government on a comprehensive plan which aims to upgrade up to five million homes by accelerating the installation of efficient new heat technologies.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of an agreement with Ukraine on egg imports on domestic egg production,.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under our Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, tariffs on all goods are temporarily removed until March 2029, except for poultry and eggs, where the liberalisation is due to end on 31 March 2026.
We consistently consider the views and impact on our domestic industry, and this is reflected in our approach to tariff liberalisation support for Ukraine. We will continue to take these views into account as part of our policy development process.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he considered including people suffering from Long Covid within the Clinical risk group eligible for the covid-19 vaccination in the Autumn 2025 vaccination programme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness (hospitalisations and deaths) arising from COVID-19. Population immunity to COVID-19 has been increasing due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.
The focus of the JCVI advised programme has therefore moved towards targeted vaccination of the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality. These are the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed.
On 13 November 2024, JCVI published advice on who should be offered vaccination in autumn 2025. On 26 June 2025, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that in autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to the following groups:
The Government has no plans to change eligibility for autumn 2025. It has accepted the JCVI advice for this campaign in full. As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) are responded to within the appropriate time frame; how many complaints have been recorded against the RPA each year for the past five years; and what processes the RPA is putting into place in order to deliver the next generation of the Sustainable Farming Incentive effectively.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Rural Payments Agency RPA) are supporting Defra as they continue to develop the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive. This includes fully considering deliverability and opportunities to simplify scheme administration.
The RPA administers a wide range of services, including applications for Grants and subsequent payments, applications for cattle documentation to support animal traceability requirements and applications for licences.
Performance is reported each year within the RPA Annual Report and Accounts within the Performance Overview section. This provides the most recent public information across all areas of the Agency’s delivery.
The table below shows the number of complaints received by the RPA over the last 5 years.
Year | Number of Complaints Received* |
2020 / 2021 | 657 |
2021 / 2022 | 497 |
2022 / 2023 | 440 |
2023 / 2024 | 349 |
2024 / 2025 | 322 |
*Between 01/04 and 31/03 of each year.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that supermarkets are required to use packaging that is recyclable through household recycling systems; and whether she has considered taking legislative steps to promote the use of such packaging.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is taking several steps to incentivise the use of use or recyclable packaging by supermarkets and other producers.
Under the UK wide Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) scheme, which came into effect on 1 January 2025, producers are incentivised to reduce their material footprint and use easier to recycle packaging by being required to bear the end-of-life costs associated with packaging that they place on the market. The Scheme Administrator, PackUK, can modulate (increase or decrease) the household packaging waste disposal fees for each category of packaging a producer supplies. This will reflect the environmental sustainability of the packaging and provide an incentive to the producer to use more environmentally sustainable packaging.
Additionally, under Simpler Recycling, every household and workplace (such as businesses, schools, and hospitals) across England will be able to recycle the same materials in the following core groups: metal; glass; plastic: paper and card; food waste; garden waste (household only). This includes cartons (as part of the plastics recyclable waste stream). More consistent collections will help reduce contamination, improve material quality and boost recycling rates.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking in response to the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 3 September to question 71442.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with the Palestinian Authority to support a two-state solution.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the announcements made by the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary on 21 September, further details of which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-formally-recognises-palestinian-state.