Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 10916 on Chelsea Football Club: Sales, for what reason the Government is unable to access these funds.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club are currently frozen in a UK bank account. A licence from the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) is needed to move or use the proceeds, but they are not Government funds.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of harmful pesticides on the number of bees in Hertfordshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of pesticides on Hertfordshire’s bee population.
Defra funds a monitoring programme providing information about the concentrations of different pesticides in honey collected from beehives across England, and the subsequent risk to honeybees.
Defra partly funds the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) which generates systematic data on the abundance of bees and other flower-visiting insects at a national scale. Data from PoMS insect surveys contributes to providing an invaluable resource from which to measure trends in pollinator populations and target conservation efforts.
England biodiversity indicators provide data about the relative abundance of wild bees.
These schemes collect data from around the country and have been designed to ensure regional representation, but do not allow assessment of the impact of pesticides on bee populations locally.
Pesticides are only authorised following a thorough scientific risk assessment that concludes all safety standards are met. This includes an evaluation of the effect on bees.
Use of the neonicotinoid pesticide Cruiser SB is not allowed on sugar beet in England in 2025 as an application for its emergency use was not approved. This decision underlines the Government’s commitment to protecting pollinators and the wider environment.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of repurposing decommissioned Bofors anti-aircraft weapons for use in Ukrainian.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We have not assessed the potential merits of repurposing decommissioned Bofors anti-aircraft weapons for Ukraine, as the system was withdrawn from UK service in the 1970s and Defence no longer holds these systems. We have not received any requests from the Armed Forces of Ukraine for Bofors guns.
We continue to work closely with the Ukrainian Government to ensure the capabilities we provide meet the tactical demands of the conflict as it evolves to resist Russia's illegal invasion. We have provided a number of capabilities to Ukraine that are similar to Bofors anti-aircraft weapons, and we have refurbished a number of previously decommissioned capabilities.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the supply of computer numerical control machines to Ukrainian defence companies.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Computer numerical control (CNC) machines enable the precise production of advanced components. We have not received requests for CNC systems in the last two years. The Ministry of Defence is not taking any steps to increase the number of systems to Ukraine as we have not provided these type of systems to Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defence has and continues to work closely with the Armed Forces of Ukraine to understand their specific requirements, this includes the provision of components and specific tools to enable production of systems and capabilities in Ukraine.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase the number of computer numerical control machines exported to Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Computer numerical control (CNC) machines enable the precise production of advanced components. We have not received requests for CNC systems in the last two years. The Ministry of Defence is not taking any steps to increase the number of systems to Ukraine as we have not provided these type of systems to Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defence has and continues to work closely with the Armed Forces of Ukraine to understand their specific requirements, this includes the provision of components and specific tools to enable production of systems and capabilities in Ukraine.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of joint ventures between the UK and Ukrainian defence industries.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK recognises the need to develop strong defence industrial partnerships with Ukraine to accelerate and deepen UK and Ukrainian defence industrial capacity and capability, and to rebuild its defence industrial base.
Through Task Force HIRST, we actively encourage the development of partnerships and joint ventures between UK defence industry and local Ukrainian companies, and HMG has led five successful Trade Missions to Ukraine to bring together UK and Ukrainian Government and defence industry representatives, as well as international partners, to identify opportunities for developing sustainable, long-term cooperation and partnerships.
I recently led a trade mission of UK, Dutch and Norwegian firms to Ukraine in support of these and other aligned objectives.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on the potential impact of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 on the number of walkers in Scotland.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No, the Secretary of State has not had discussions with the Scottish Government on the potential impact of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 on the number of walkers in Scotland.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of the public's right to roam on levels of (a) mental health, (b) obesity and (c) stress.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. We will be working across Government departments to achieve this, including with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Defra is already working closely with DHSC, alongside other partners, in the delivery of the Green Social Prescribing programme which directly examines the impact of increased use of nature-based interventions and activities on participants’ health and wellbeing. The first phase of the programme ran from October 2020 - March 2023, achieving around 8,500 referrals and demonstrating statistically significant improvements in participants’ mental health.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to extend the right to roam.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our countryside and green spaces are a source of great national pride, and which boost public health and wellbeing, but too many across the country are left without access to the great outdoors. That is why the last Labour Government expanded public access by introducing the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which provided the public a right of access to large areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. We will be reviewing the maps of this open access land ahead of the statutory deadline of 1 January 2031, to ensure that the public have clear information which can help them to access this land.
The Government has decided to repeal the cut-off date which will save hundreds of miles of unregistered historic rights of way from the threat of extinguishment in 2031 ensuring that they can continue to be enjoyed by the public for years to come.
We are continuing to increase access to nature for families to enjoy, for example through our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new National River Walks, plant three new National Forests, and empower communities to create new parks and green spaces in their communities with a new Community Right to Buy.
We will announce further details on our plans for improving access to nature in due course.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the number of vape shops on high streets in Hertfordshire on the prosperity of those high streets.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The quality of the public realm and the prosperity of high streets and town centres is of vital importance. The Government is supporting local efforts to reduce vacancy on high streets, including through High Street Rental Auctions, because of the damaging effect persistently empty shops can have on the vitality of town centres.
The Government also recognises public sentiment about the value of some high street businesses will be mixed. Occupation of vacant units must in general be preferred to the alternative, including because of the benefits to high street footfall. The government encourages local partnership working between landlords, local government, businesses and residents to develop a unique vision for their high street. The planning system provides some tools to support these efforts, including the emphasis placed on local plans and diversification of primary shopping areas in the National Planning Policy Framework.