Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure retention and recruitment of staff for Royal Navy support ships.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Recruitment and retention of staff are a priority for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and there are a number of initiatives underway in support of this.

For recruitment, the RFA is fostering relationships with universities and colleges to raise awareness of the opportunities available, planning to launch a graduate engineer scheme, sponsoring academic top up schemes to attract newly qualified engineers, and introducing a mechanism for seamless transfer to the RFA for Royal Navy (RN) service leavers. In addition to this work, the RFA plans to release a focused RFA recruitment marketing campaign.

For retention, the RFA is undertaking a number of initiatives which include: enhancing human resources management with more efficient, digitised processes for claims and reporting; maximising development opportunities; enabling participation in team building and physical activities; introducing a dedicated wellbeing team and creating new and exciting shore posts.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the lack of an appeals process for Visitor Visa's on tourism numbers coming to the UK.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The department has not conducted an assessment of tourism numbers and appeals. When appeals for family visitors were abolished in 2013, the assessment was that the quicker and more cost-effective remedy for those refused was a fresh application, with judicial review available where necessary. These options are open to tourists, who therefore have no reason to be deterred by the lack of an appeal. In 2023, the number of visitor visas issued was up by 40% on 2022.

In 2014, the immigration appeals system was reserved for cases raising issues of fundamental rights, and in those rare cases where a visit engages human rights an appeal is still available.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the visual quality of images on Armed Forces Veteran Cards.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The image used on the Armed Forces Veteran Cards is provided by the individual themselves and, similarly to passport applications, detailed guidance on image standards is provided within the application process. All images are checked before printing to ensure that the photograph is appropriate and that a good likeness can be established.

Of the 67,335 Phase 2 cards issued since the new digital application and verification service launched on 28 January 2024, a small percentage were misprinted due to printer error. The causes of the misprints have been identified and are being addressed. These errors are well within levels expected from a new, high volume, automated process which delivers significant cost savings for the taxpayer.

The automation of printing and enveloping means that printed cards are not individually checked before despatch. However, any card reported as poorly printed on receipt is investigated and a new card is printed and sent directly to the individual.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using Universal Credit graduated income deduction rules for income that is received in the form of student loans.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made.

There are no plans to change the way student loans are treated.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2024 to Question 15683 on National Insurance: Foster Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of topping-up the National Insurance contributions of foster carers who were unable to work due to the rules that were in place before 2003.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Between 2003 and 2010, foster carers could claim Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) to protect their National Insurance record. Foster carers who did not claim HRP at the time can make a retrospective claim now – guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/home-responsibilities-protection-hrp

There are no plans to extend this period to allow foster carers to claim HRP before 6 April 2003.

For periods prior to 2003, foster carers could have paid voluntary NICs to protect their National Insurance (NI) record subject to the normal time limits. Time limits for voluntary NICs are an important feature of the NI system, which operates on a pay as you go basis; the National Insurance contributions (NICs) paid now are used to fund today’s contributory benefits.

There are no plans to allow foster carers to pay voluntary NICs for periods before 2003 to top up their NI records, outside of the existing rules for voluntary NICs. This maintains fairness for other individuals who have paid voluntary NICs within the required time limits.

At Spring Budget 2023, the government increased the amount of income tax relief available to foster carers and shared lives carers. The threshold of income at which qualifying carers begin paying tax on care income was increased to £18,140 per year plus £375 to £450 per person cared for per week for 2023-24 (the weekly amount range is based on age of the child or adult under care). Both the threshold and weekly amounts will then be index-linked from 2024-25 onwards, representing a tax cut worth approximately £450 per year on average

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps Border Force is taking to (a) identify and (b) detain people crossing the border who have been involved in the (i) funding and (ii) supply of munitions to Russia.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office’s priority is to deliver a safe and secure border and we will never compromise on this. Border Force maintain 100% checks for all scheduled arriving passengers into the UK.

We operate the Authority to Carry Scheme 2023 to prevent certain individuals from travelling to or from the UK when that is necessary in the public interest.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the funding allocation for HM Revenue and Customs in financial year 2024-25.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The government regularly reviews the levels of funding provided to HMRC. The 2021 Spending Review settlement gave HMRC a £0.9bn cash increase over Parliament, from £4.3bn in 2019/20 to £5.2bn in 2024/25.

Additional funding was also provided to HMRC at the recent Budget to ensure the department is able to collect the taxes that are due.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions her Department has had with Ofgem on (a) the best practice for the provision of details to clients of any electricity prices that will be charged on a caravan site, and (b) the level of enforcement action Ofgem have commenced against caravan sites that are overcharging for electricity.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government regularly engages with Ofgem on consumer issues. Under Ofgem’s Maximum Resale Price Provisions caravan site owners must not resell energy to residents at a higher price than what they paid to their licensed energy supplier. Residents are also entitled to see documentation, including a breakdown of the rates included in a bill or a contract.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on joining Czechia's artillery ammunition purchasing initiative to help support Ukraine.

Answered by James Heappey

The Secretary of State regularly holds discussions with his Cabinet colleagues on the war in Ukraine and how we can continue to best support Ukraine going forward. As a NATO ally, we also engage directly with Czechia on matters of international security.

The UK remains fully engaged with the international capability coalitions and numerous other partners to understand where further opportunities may exist to increase our support to Ukraine. To date the UK has provided over 300,000 artillery shells to Ukraine, and has committed to delivering tens of thousands more this financial year (FY), and a further investment of £245 million on artillery ammunition in FY 2024-25.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions her Department has had with Ofgem on alternative energy meter arrangements for households reliant on Radio Teleswitch.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

In their recent open letter, the Office for Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) set a clear expectation that energy suppliers must replace Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meters in a timely and efficient manner, before the RTS is switched off (now confirmed by EnergyUK as the end of June 2025). Households should contact their energy supplier to arrange their upgrades, so they can continue to benefit from multi rate tariffs.

The Department will continue to engage with Ofgem and industry on this matter.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce call waiting times to the child maintenance service; and whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of call handling times by that service.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

As part of its Modernisation Programme, CMS continues to improve how it communicates with customers and how customers access its service. When a customer first applies for CMS they are enrolled on the online service which provides them the ability to update their information and request changes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The majority of our customers make use of these online services to effectively meet their needs every day, though we are actively engaged in improving the service further and increasing customer take up.

We recognise some customers need alternative methods to contact us or choose to call us, and on occasion call wait times on our inbound phone lines can be longer than we would like. Speed to answer is continually reviewed throughout the working day and operational resource is regularly reviewed and flexed to minimise excessive wait times.

Over the coming year we will increase customer education on what can be raised and progressed using our online services and encourage more customers to make use of this as the primary channel for their CMS enquiries. This will help protect our inbound phones lines for our customers that need to access our service in this way and reduce the wait time they experience.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week

Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund and Nestlé

Referral of matters of 21 February 2024 to the Committee of Privileges

ITC Hydraulic Services Limited

First anniversary of Clyde Coast and Cumbraes Men’s Shed

St. Anthony's Football Club Ladies Team

Leanne Maiden and the World's Toughest Row

Found: Q92 Drew Hendry: Good morning.

Found: Q131 Drew Hendry: Should they?

Found: Q15 Drew Hendry: Good morning. Can I start with you, Richard?