Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many outstanding calculations remain for retired police officer pensions arising from the McCloud Judgement within each police force in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Calculations for the police pension scheme, including those related to the McCloud remedy, are produced for each scheme member by the relevant scheme administrator.
While the Home Office has responsibility for overarching policy and legislative changes to the police pension regulations in England & Wales, the police pension scheme is locally administered by individual police forces. The devolved governments have overarching policy and legislative responsibility in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
It is for each Chief Constable, in their role as scheme manager for their force, to determine their administrative timetable.
The Home Office is actively collaborating with policing to support the effective implementation of the McCloud remedy for all affected individuals.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the McCloud judgement [2018] EWCA Civ 2844, how many outstanding police pensions cases HMRC had yet to assess on 6 February 2025; and what HMRC's timetable is for the completion of this work.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC is committed to providing a good customer service for individuals affected by the McCloud remedy. It is working closely with individual pension schemes to ensure they and their members have the support they need. For police, HMRC has received 662 and processed 136. HMRC has 526 police force cases which have been submitted and are yet to be processed.
HMRC checks and processes the submissions based on the information provided and has 90 days in which to process a refund where applicable.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department plans to take to increase the market for small (a) artisanal brewers, (b) distillers and (c) vintners.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) supports growth and increases the market for small brewers, distillers, and vintners by leveraging trade agreements, removing market entry barriers, and showcasing producers at global trade shows. We recently led a drinks trade mission to India and will support UK companies to participate in ProWein Dusseldorf in March 2025.
DBT's Export Academy launched a food and drink programme in October, which offers upskilling opportunities for emerging and experienced brewers, distillers and vinters looking to grow through exports. DBT also works closely with trade bodies in each sector to drive growth and signpost export opportunities.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the press release of 14 November 2024 entitled PM boosts UK aerospace industry with £975 million to drive growth and jobs, how much of that funding will be spent in each of the devolved administrations.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Budget confirmed £975m over 5 years to the Aerospace sector, which will be delivered through the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme. UK based industry applications for R&D co-investment from the Programme enter a competitive process. Competition for funding is fierce and only the best projects are selected: those that offer real innovation, reduced emissions, and tangible UK economic benefits. As the Programme is industry led and competitive the budget is not pre-allocated to regions or devolved administrations.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of (a) the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 and (b) subsequent amendments to that Act; and how many prosecutions there have been under the Act in each year since it came into force.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 (as amended) currently provides an effective framework for managing public processions and related protests in Northern Ireland. As set out in the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements, any alternative arrangements for managing public processions in Northern Ireland would need to be agreed by the Northern Ireland Executive. Prosecutions under the Act are a matter for the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Public Prosecution Service.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether obligated packaging producers will be required to pay Extended Producer Responsibility fees for packaging data submitted to his Department for 2024.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Yes. If the company is still a producer at the start of the 2025 assessment year then 2024 tonnage data will be used to calculate their obligation in 2025. This is in line with the current producer packaging recycling obligations that have been in place since 1997.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to charge Extended Producer Responsibility fees retrospectively for obligated packaging producers.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No. The amounts of the fees are calculated by reference to producers’ activities in the previous year, they are not fees payable in arrears for that previous year.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to provide British citizenship to the children of British National (Overseas) passport holders from Hong Kong that are in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
British National (Overseas) status holders who are on the BN(O) route in the
UK may apply for British citizenship after 5 years’ qualifying residence, and being free from immigration time restrictions for a further year.
Their children who have come to the UK as their dependants can apply when they meet the requirements.
Children born to BN(O)s in the UK will be able to apply for registration as a British citizen once their parent becomes settled.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's budget is for armed forces (a) uniforms and (b) protective clothing in the 2024-25 financial year; and what the value is of orders placed with companies in Northern Ireland to provide (i) uniforms and (ii) protective equipment for the armed forces in the same period.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Logistics Commodities and Services Transformation (LCST) budget for all Clothing Raw Materials and Consumables purchases in the 2024-25 financial year (FY) is £79.839 million.
The value of orders placed with companies based in Northern Ireland for FY 2024-25 to date totals £16,441,905. We are forecast to spend an additional £11,755,371 for the remainder of the FY2024-25.
It has not been possible to identify which items are classed as uniform or which are protective clothing within the timeframe permitted.
Notes:
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of pausing the implementation of the Extender Producer Responsibility scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) as a vital first step to cracking down on waste as we move towards a circular economy. It will create 21,000 jobs, stimulate more than £10 billion investment in the recycling sector over the next decade, and see packaging producers, rather than the taxpayer, cover the costs of managing waste. Delay to the implementation of the scheme would defer these environmental and economic benefits.
We will continue to work closely with businesses on the implementation of this programme and provide them with the clarity they need to prepare.