Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts in (a) Rwanda and (b) Uganda on the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We support the Peace Agreement signed in Washington in June and the Declaration of Principles signed in Doha in July. The Minister for Africa discussed next steps with the US Secretary of State on 21 July and the Qatari Minister of State on 25 July. Continued clashes on the ground highlight the need for sustained peace efforts. On 14 July, the Foreign Secretary spoke with President Tshisekedi, and on 9 July with President Kagame, urging full implementation of the Washington Peace Agreement. The Minister for Africa reinforced this message on 22 July during discussions with the UN Permanent Representatives of Rwanda and DRC. We remain in close contact with regional partners, particularly Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Togo, and support efforts towards peace by the African Union (AU) and East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Minister for Africa discussed the conflict with the Ugandan Prime Minister in July and President in April; the British High Commissioner also spoke with the President in July. Highlighting the potential of regional economic integration, on 5 June, the UK convened DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and investors to discuss the Ruzizi III hydropower project.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We support the Peace Agreement signed in Washington in June and the Declaration of Principles signed in Doha in July. The Minister for Africa discussed next steps with the US Secretary of State on 21 July and the Qatari Minister of State on 25 July. Continued clashes on the ground highlight the need for sustained peace efforts. On 14 July, the Foreign Secretary spoke with President Tshisekedi, and on 9 July with President Kagame, urging full implementation of the Washington Peace Agreement. The Minister for Africa reinforced this message on 22 July during discussions with the UN Permanent Representatives of Rwanda and DRC. We remain in close contact with regional partners, particularly Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Togo, and support efforts towards peace by the African Union (AU) and East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Minister for Africa discussed the conflict with the Ugandan Prime Minister in July and President in April; the British High Commissioner also spoke with the President in July. Highlighting the potential of regional economic integration, on 5 June, the UK convened DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and investors to discuss the Ruzizi III hydropower project.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help bring about peace in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We support the Peace Agreement signed in Washington in June and the Declaration of Principles signed in Doha in July. The Minister for Africa discussed next steps with the US Secretary of State on 21 July and the Qatari Minister of State on 25 July. Continued clashes on the ground highlight the need for sustained peace efforts. On 14 July, the Foreign Secretary spoke with President Tshisekedi, and on 9 July with President Kagame, urging full implementation of the Washington Peace Agreement. The Minister for Africa reinforced this message on 22 July during discussions with the UN Permanent Representatives of Rwanda and DRC. We remain in close contact with regional partners, particularly Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Togo, and support efforts towards peace by the African Union (AU) and East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Minister for Africa discussed the conflict with the Ugandan Prime Minister in July and President in April; the British High Commissioner also spoke with the President in July. Highlighting the potential of regional economic integration, on 5 June, the UK convened DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and investors to discuss the Ruzizi III hydropower project.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the number of businesses that will no longer be eligible for Small Business Rate Relief as a result of inflationary and revaluation-driven increases in rateable values at the 2026 revaluation.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property with a rateable value (RV) below the threshold of £15,000. If a business expands to a second property, it retains SBRR on the first property for 12 months. Following that, the business is not eligible for SBRR unless additional properties have an RV below £2,899 and their total property portfolio has an RV below £20,000 (£28,000 in London).
Currently, over a third of properties (more than 700,000) pay no business rates as they receive 100 per cent SBRR, with an additional c.60,000 benefiting from reduced bills as this relief tapers.
Every three years, all commercial properties are revalued by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The 2026 revaluation, which will take effect from April 2026, will update RVs and may, therefore, affect businesses’ eligibility for SBRR. The revaluation process is ongoing and the VOA are required to publish a draft of all properties’ new RVs this year.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to continue the 40 percent relief on business rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure businesses into the 2026-27 financial year.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) relief has been extended year-by-year by previous governments since the pandemic. It has been a stopgap measure, and we recognise that businesses need longer term certainty on their business rates liabilities.
Without any Government intervention, RHL relief would have ended entirely in April 2025, creating a cliff-edge for businesses. Instead, the Government is providing a 40 per cent discount to RHL properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business in 2025-26, ahead of introducing permanently lower rates for RHL properties with rateable values below £500,000 from April 2026.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evidence (a) his Department and (b) the MHRA have on the numbers of people harmed by Sodium Valproate in pregnancy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone who has been harmed from sodium valproate has our deepest sympathies. The Department does not collect information about the numbers of people harmed by sodium valproate in pregnancy.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received 1,169 United Kingdom spontaneous suspected adverse drug reaction reports for sodium valproate related to use during pregnancy, from the initial licensing of the medicine up to 24 June 2025. The majority of reports relate to birth defects or developmental delays in the child.
These are well documented risks for women taking sodium valproate during pregnancy, and as such sodium valproate must not be prescribed to women under the age of 55 years old who are able to have children, unless two specialists independently consider and document that there is no other effective or tolerated treatment, and the patient fulfils the conditions of a Pregnancy Prevention Programme.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of people affected by Valproate.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone who has been harmed from sodium valproate has our deepest sympathies.
The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England, which collects and quality assures data about people with congenital anomalies and rare diseases across the whole of England, is assessing the feasibility and reliability of better ascertainment of foetal sodium valproate syndrome by linking data in the congenital anomaly register to primary care prescription data. Further information on the National Disease Registration Service is available at the following link:
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to financially respond to increases in the number of children affected by Valproate in pregnancy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report in due course.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is considering placing Fujitsu on the High Risk Vendor list as a result of its involvement in the Horizon IT system failures.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
The High Risk Vendor process is not one that the Department for Business and Trade is responsible for.
We welcome Fujitsu’s acknowledgement of their moral obligation to contribute to the cost of the Horizon scandal. Fujitsu have also announced they will voluntarily not bid for new contracts unless requested by Government. The contract with Fujitsu to supply the Post Office Limited’s IT system is time limited - we are working with the Post Office and Fujitsu to ensure the transition is as soon as practically possible.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57631 on Horizon IT System: Compensation, whether the Government has formally invited Fujitsu to re-bid for the Trader Support Service.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
All of our contract opportunities are publicly available through Contracts Finder and/or Find-a-Tender Service and are available to any economic operator that is able to meet the requirements of the procurement in compliance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or The Procurement Regulations 2024, as applicable.