Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision by the US Federal Trade Commission to require online subscription services to allow users to cancel more easily on UK consumers.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Similar measures have already been introduced in the UK through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. This introduces new rules to protect consumers from being trapped in unwanted subscription contracts, including a requirement for traders to provide straightforward ways for consumers to end contracts. These rules apply to all traders who target UK consumers, whether they are located in the UK or not. Nevertheless, the US initiative sets a standard the Government welcomes.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision by the US Federal Trade Commission to require online subscription services to be cancelled more easily on the UK.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Similar measures have already been introduced in the UK through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. This introduces new rules to protect consumers from being trapped in unwanted subscription contracts, including a requirement for traders to provide straightforward ways for consumers to end contracts. These rules apply to all traders who target UK consumers, whether they are located in the UK or not. Nevertheless, the US initiative sets a standard the Government welcomes.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of (a) crew accommodation and (b) crewing levels in the Fleet Solid Support Ships contract following the principal contractor’s completion of the Preliminary Design Review stage.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Navantia UK, the prime contractor for the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship programme, is responsible for delivering the Design and Manufacture contract. The successful completion of the Preliminary Design Review marks the first major milestone in the programme and confirms the robustness and maturity of the ship’s design.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) including representatives from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) are well engaged with Navantia and the British designer of the ship, BMT, to monitor the progress of all aspects of the programme. This includes the RFA’s accommodation requirements, which are designed to a standard that is fully consistent with our expectations and is compliant where practicable with Merchant shipping regulations. The FSS design meets this intent, in order to improve the living conditions for our RFA seafarers.

Crewing levels are based on a detailed analysis of the MOD’s requirements. The core RFA crew is expected to be around 100 in number with additional military augmentees and specialists embarked for specific tasks and roles. As the design matures the MOD, working with the contractor, test the ship design and equipment selection criteria against this headmark, to ensure that the ship can be safely operated and maintained.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what oversight his Department has had in the preliminary design review of the Fleet Solid Support Ships programme.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Navantia UK, the prime contractor for the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship programme, is responsible for delivering the Design and Manufacture contract. The successful completion of the Preliminary Design Review marks the first major milestone in the programme and confirms the robustness and maturity of the ship’s design.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) including representatives from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) are well engaged with Navantia and the British designer of the ship, BMT, to monitor the progress of all aspects of the programme. This includes the RFA’s accommodation requirements, which are designed to a standard that is fully consistent with our expectations and is compliant where practicable with Merchant shipping regulations. The FSS design meets this intent, in order to improve the living conditions for our RFA seafarers.

Crewing levels are based on a detailed analysis of the MOD’s requirements. The core RFA crew is expected to be around 100 in number with additional military augmentees and specialists embarked for specific tasks and roles. As the design matures the MOD, working with the contractor, test the ship design and equipment selection criteria against this headmark, to ensure that the ship can be safely operated and maintained.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has plans to bring forward proposals to make it easier to cancel online subscriptions.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 introduces new rules to protect consumers from being trapped in unwanted subscription contracts, including a requirement for traders to provide straightforward ways for consumers to end contracts. The Government will be consulting later this year on proposals to inform the secondary legislation required to implement the regime.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual cost is of maintaining decommissioned nuclear submarines at (a) Rosyth and (b) Devonport.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The annual cost for maintaining decommissioned submarines varies each year depending on the respective maintenance requirements. In financial year 2023-24, £1.711 million was spent at Rosyth and £7.056 million at Devonport.

150 years of Heart of Midlothian Football Club

Deputy Lieutenant Eunice Simpson and West Lothian African Women’s Network