Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
What steps he is taking to replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The approach taken by the previous Government to address legacy was wrong. It caused immense pain to victims and survivors, and in many respects has been found to be unlawful.
In December, I laid a proposal for a draft Remedial Order in Parliament, to remedy the human rights deficiencies in the Act identified by the courts, and when parliamentary time allows, I will introduce primary legislation to implement other measures to ensure that the Government fulfils the commitments it has made.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to protect Royal Navy war graves in international waters.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The term “war graves” is one which applies to the final resting places of fallen soldiers on land, and locations designated as a war grave by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
However, as a matter of customary international law, all naval warships, state vessels and associated artefacts are afforded protection through the principle of Sovereign Immunity. The UK is of the view that, unless expressly relinquished or abandoned by the Flag State, the Sovereign Immunity of the wreck of any Crown vessel remains in place, regardless of where the wreck in question is located, and those who lost their lives in service of our country should be left in situ and undisturbed.
Some warships are also afforded additional protection under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will implement an energy debt relief scheme available to all customers.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In December, Ofgem published an updated debt strategy which included two consultations; one of which proposed an energy debt relief scheme for consumers who accrued debt during the energy crisis. The second consulted on ways to improve debt standards, guaranteeing high standards of care and customer service for those in debt. Both of these consultations have now closed and Ofgem will carefully consider the feedback received. We stand ready to work closely with them on their findings.
On 25 February, we announced that we will be working to accelerate work with Ofgem on this potential energy debt scheme, helping consumers in significant debt to bring down their level of debt down and support them to pay for their energy moving forward.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to (a) mitigate the impact for consumers of the recent increase in the energy price cap and (b) ensure that retail energy costs fall in line with wholesale prices.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Energy bills are forecast to rise for the period 1 April to 30 June 2025 due to an increase in international gas prices.
The Government believes the only way to protect consumers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.
We continue to monitor energy prices and the price cap and are working to ensure bills are affordable for consumers in the long-term, including through our work with Ofgem to reform standing charges, and through our Warm Homes Plan which will upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with Apple Inc. on the continuing provision of its advanced data protection system in the UK.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not comment on operational matters, including for example confirming or denying the existence of any notices. This has been the longstanding position of successive UK Governments for reasons of national security.
The UK has a longstanding position of protecting people’s privacy whilst also ensuring action can be taken against child sexual abusers and terrorists.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to abolish clawback by pension providers.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The aim of integrated or so-called ‘clawback’ schemes is to provide, overall, the same level of benefits before and after a person reaches State Pension age. A higher amount of occupational pension is paid before the member begins to receives their State Pension, thereby smoothing benefit income over time.
The Government has no plans to abolish the provision of integrated pensions.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to support the development of new agricultural technologies.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of innovation and technologies in supporting farmers to drive productivity and profitability, boosting Britain’s food security and improving nature’s recovery.
The Government is supporting the development of agricultural technologies through a range of policies.
Defra has announced the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) Fund which will launch in Spring 2025, enabling farmer-led trials to bridge the gap between new technologies and their real-world application.
Legislation to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 will be introduced in Parliament before the end of March. When in force, this will enable farmers to grow crops with higher yields and that are more resistant to drought, pests and diseases.
Defra will collaborate closely with industry partners, such as The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture, a professional body established in 2021 that aims to drive greater uptake of professional skills, including in relation to new technologies, among farmers and growers for a more prosperous Sector.
Defra will continue to look carefully at how to position future investment and support to enable the benefits of new technologies to be fully realised and integrated into farming practices.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned increase in employer National Insurance contributions on charities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government highly values the charity sector, and its positive contribution across society.
Due to the difficult economic inheritance from the previous government, we have had to take a number of difficult decisions on tax, welfare and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability.
The Government has considered the implication of this policy change on the charity sector, and the impacts have been published in the usual way by HMRC as part of the Autumn Budget process.
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN), which gives a clear explanation of the policy objective and an assessment of the impacts, was published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on 13 November 2024. This Note includes the impacts of the policy on the Exchequer; the economic impacts of the policy; and the impacts on individuals, businesses, civil society organisations and equality impacts.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of temporarily closing the capital grants scheme for new applications on farmers.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have allocated the largest ever budget for sustainable food production through the farming budget. In the first week of December, we paid £343 million into the rural economy, benefiting more than 31,000 farmers. After unprecedented demand, parts of the Capital Grant have been temporarily closed. We are reviewing the offer and will provide a further update in early 2025.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education on a Level 7 apprenticeship qualification for teachers of sensory impairment; and when the apprenticeship is expected to start.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises the significant impact this profession has on the lives of children and families, and is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including children with a sensory impairment.
The department is reforming the apprenticeship levy into a new growth and skills levy, which will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers.
At the same time, the department is prepared to make the tough choices needed on how funding should be prioritised in future. That is why, taking advice from Skills England, we will be asking more employers to step forward and fund level 7 apprenticeships outside of the apprenticeship budget in future.
The department will be setting out our final decisions on funding level 7 apprenticeships, such as the qualification for teachers of sensory impairment, in the new year.