Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will hold discussions with the Parole Board on the potential impact of the release of James Hurley on PC Frank Mason's family.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
James Hurley is rightly serving a life sentence for the murder of PC Frank Mason. The Court set his minimum term for the purposes of retribution and deterrence at 20 years. The minimum term expired on 8 January 2022, and from that date he became eligible for a review of his imprisonment by the independent Parole Board.
To assist the Parole Board in making its determination, it received detailed risk assessments from experienced probation and prison officers. The Lord Chancellor also submitted an overarching view of Hurley’s remaining risk of serious harm. In the overarching view, the Lord Chancellor concluded that Hurley should not be released, because she had concluded that his risk remained too high for him to be safely managed in the community.
Having considered all the reports, on 31 October 2024 the Parole Board directed Hurley’s release on life licence. The Lord Chancellor currently has only limited power to challenge a release decision by the Parole Board. Under the Parole Board Rules, she may apply to the Board to reconsider its decision where she has an arguable case that the decision is irrational or based on an error of law or reached in a procedurally flawed way. Unfortunately, there was no basis to apply for reconsideration, meaning that the release became final. Whilst the Lord Chancellor was disappointed by the outcome, she has to respect the independence of the Parole Board. By law, HMPPS then had to release him from prison.
Hurley will be on licence for the rest of his life. He is currently subject to stringent licence conditions, including exclusion zones, and faces being recalled to prison if he breaches them. Mrs Neaves will be informed by her Victim Liaison Officer of any developments whilst Hurley is on licence. He is managed under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements. The statutory MAPPA framework requires the Probation and Police Service to work together to assess and manage the risks presented by known dangerous offenders.
My thoughts are with Mrs Neaves at this difficult time.
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, what information his Department holds on the level of Russian involvement in the attack by pro-Assad forces prior to the outbreak of violence on the west coast of Syria in March 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The events in Syria at the start of March 2025 were deeply concerning, and reports that large numbers of civilians have been killed are horrific. We are working as quickly as possible to establish from reliable sources of information what exactly happened and who was responsible.
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.