Geraint Davies

The UK has been working closely with Egypt and the UAE, as incoming COP27 and COP28 Presidencies, with the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Secretariat and other international organisations, to ensure commitments and agreements made at COP26 are built upon and delivered. The UK remains committed to playing a leadership role on the global stage tackling climate change.

The UK is showing global leadership on reducing our methane emissions, cutting emissions across energy, waste and agriculture by just over 60 percent since 1990, more than any other OECD country.

The UK will continue to implement domestic methane emissions reductions as we strive to meet our net zero target by 2050. For example, as set out in the Net Zero Strategy we are exploring policies to work towards the near elimination of biodegradable municipal waste to landfill by 2028. Building on our commitments under the Global Methane Pledge, we will publish a methane memorandum by COP27.

The UK has been working closely with Egypt and the UAE, as incoming COP27 and COP28 Presidencies, with the UNFCCC Secretariat and other international organisations, to ensure commitments and agreements made at COP26 are built upon and delivered. The UK remains committed to playing a leadership role on the global stage tackling climate Change.

The UK is showing global leadership on reducing our methane emissions, cutting emissions across energy, waste and agriculture by just over 60 percent since 1990, more than any other OECD country.

The UK will continue to implement domestic methane emissions reductions as we strive to meet our net zero target by 2050. For example, as set out in the Net Zero Strategy we are exploring policies to work towards the near elimination of biodegradable municipal waste to landfill by 2028. Building on our commitments under the Global Methane Pledge, we will publish a methane memorandum by the end of the year.

We have long recognised the threat that climate change and environmental degradation poses to the lives and wellbeing of individuals and communities across the world, including the most marginalised and vulnerable.

We share the concerns set out in the recent Save the Children report that climate and environmental threats are disrupting the education of nearly 40 million children each year and that the impacts of climate change will disproportionately affect women and girls, particularly those living in low income countries.

The UK is a global leader in girls’ education and the largest donor to Education Cannot Wait – the global fund for education in emergencies. At COP26, the UK will use our unique position as host and as a leading international donor on girls’ education to sound the alarm on the impact climate change is having on education, and advocate for the role of education in helping to tackle the crisis. This will include calling for action at both global and country levels and giving young people the opportunity to use their voices to call for the changes they think are needed. We will also be supporting Education Cannot Wait’s call for funding to ensure it can meet the needs of children in crisis.

The UK COP26 Presidency is committed to amplifying the voices of young people from across the world in the lead up to, and at, COP26 this November. I have committed to meeting with young people in every international visit over the last year and have established the COP26 Civil Society and Youth Advisory Council. At COP26, we will host a dedicated Youth & Public Empowerment Day to elevate youth voices and demonstrate the critical role of education and empowerment to drive climate action. We have been working closely with YOUNGO (the official children’s and youth constituency to the UNFCCC) to co-create the events programme for the day.

We have long recognised the threat that climate change and environmental degradation poses to the lives and wellbeing of individuals and communities across the world, including the most marginalised and vulnerable.

We share the concerns set out in the recent Save the Children report that climate and environmental threats are disrupting the education of nearly 40 million children each year and that the impacts of climate change will disproportionately affect women and girls, particularly those living in low income countries.

The UK is a global leader in girls’ education and the largest donor to Education Cannot Wait – the global fund for education in emergencies. At COP26, the UK will use our unique position as host and as a leading international donor on girls’ education to sound the alarm on the impact climate change is having on education, and advocate for the role of education in helping to tackle the crisis. This will include calling for action at both global and country levels and giving young people the opportunity to use their voices to call for the changes they think are needed. We will also be supporting Education Cannot Wait’s call for funding to ensure it can meet the needs of children in crisis.

The UK COP26 Presidency is committed to amplifying the voices of young people from across the world in the lead up to, and at, COP26 this November. I have committed to meeting with young people in every international visit over the last year and have established the COP26 Civil Society and Youth Advisory Council. At COP26, we will host a dedicated Youth & Public Empowerment Day to elevate youth voices and demonstrate the critical role of education and empowerment to drive climate action. We have been working closely with YOUNGO (the official children’s and youth constituency to the UNFCCC) to co-create the events programme for the day.

We have long recognised the threat that climate change and environmental degradation poses to the lives and wellbeing of individuals and communities across the world, including the most marginalised and vulnerable.

We share the concerns set out in the recent Save the Children report that climate and environmental threats are disrupting the education of nearly 40 million children each year and that the impacts of climate change will disproportionately affect women and girls, particularly those living in low income countries.

The UK is a global leader in girls’ education and the largest donor to Education Cannot Wait – the global fund for education in emergencies. At COP26, the UK will use our unique position as host and as a leading international donor on girls’ education to sound the alarm on the impact climate change is having on education, and advocate for the role of education in helping to tackle the crisis. This will include calling for action at both global and country levels and giving young people the opportunity to use their voices to call for the changes they think are needed. We will also be supporting Education Cannot Wait’s call for funding to ensure it can meet the needs of children in crisis.

The UK COP26 Presidency is committed to amplifying the voices of young people from across the world in the lead up to, and at, COP26 this November. I have committed to meeting with young people in every international visit over the last year and have established the COP26 Civil Society and Youth Advisory Council. At COP26, we will host a dedicated Youth & Public Empowerment Day to elevate youth voices and demonstrate the critical role of education and empowerment to drive climate action. We have been working closely with YOUNGO (the official children’s and youth constituency to the UNFCCC) to co-create the events programme for the day.

The Attorney General’s Office uses the free subscription services only on departmental social media accounts and therefore has had a nil spend on social media advertising.

Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010 which outlines the requirements to ensure that Civil Servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition. The Civil Service must also ensure that detailed pre-employment checks (such as appropriate levels of security clearance) are carried out before employment can begin.

Information on the average time to hire across departments can be found in the recent National Audit Office report published on ‘Civil service workforce: Recruitment, pay and performance management', found here: https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/civil-service-workforce/

As set out in the Civil Service People Plan published on 10 January 2024, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds, to create a brilliant Civil Service now, and for the future.

We must modernise the ways we recruit, speed up and simplify the process and improve the candidate experience without compromising on quality or fairness. We must also continue to expand the use of secondments and other direct entry routes (including the Fast Stream and apprenticeships), ensuring they are properly embedded in the skills and resourcing strategies of all departments and professions.

The Cabinet Office is introducing a set of consistent and comparable Civil Service recruitment measures and benchmarks which will be implemented across the Whitehall 17 departments. This will give greater transparency of metrics across the recruitment cycle.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 1 December is attached

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Questions of 19 May are attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Questions of 19 May are attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Questions of 19 May are attached.

The UK is an open economy and we welcome global investment. UK firms that have financial ties to Sovereign Wealth Funds already have to abide by the UK's regulatory regimes for corporate practice, including the Companies Act, 2006.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to my Hon. Friend the Member for Henley on 18^th May 2023, UIN 183392.

As an independent nation in control of our trading future, the UK government considers a broad range of factors when developing international trade policy – including benefits to the UK economy and our international obligations.

In line with those international obligations, the Government will continue to ensure that our trade policy reflects our high standards and protections – both in new trade agreements and via multilateral fora.

Having secure and growing trading relationships can increase UK influence and assist open conversations with partners on a range of issues, many of which are listed in the Council of Europe report “Doc. 15739”.

The Department takes note of the report.

The Department is aware of the impacts of domestic cooking appliances on indoor air quality. In particular, we are currently considering the impacts of potential updates to Ecodesign and energy labelling requirements for domestic cooking appliances, including the societal benefits of reduced asthma rates caused by an increased use of electric cooking appliances reducing amounts of NOx and small particulates in the home. The published report reinforces the importance of retaining these benefits as a key consideration in ongoing policy development in this area.

The Department is also a member of the cross-Government Working Group on indoor air quality which is led by Defra. We will continue to ensure that the Department is represented in that group.

The Government has made available funding to support the development of low and zero carbon technologies with relevance to construction vehicles, including through the Advanced Propulsion Centre and the Red Diesel Replacement Competition. The use of renewable fuels in construction vehicles is also encouraged through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. Government has committed to publishing a decarbonisation strategy for Non-Road Mobile Machinery which includes construction vehicles intended for use on site, with a Call for Evidence on decarbonisation options to be issued shortly.

Neither Woodsure nor HETAS have declared any conflicts of interest since 1 January 2022.

The Government’s landmark Energy Act 2023 gained Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. While the Department has not issued guidance for owners, operators, or occupiers of large buildings on the requirements of the Energy Act 2023, details of the Act have been published on the Gov.UK website.

The Department has recently completed a consultation on consumer protection for heat network customers and intends to lay secondary legislation before Parliament in 2024. We will also publish a consultation on zoning regulations for heat networks shortly. The Department is engaging with heat network customers, owners, operators, and other key stakeholders to inform them of future changes to heat networks policy, and to ensure that regulations provide fair prices for consumers, mitigate risk for heat network developers and ensure heat networks form an effective part of the UK’s net-zero commitment.