Gregory Stafford

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has advised milk from cows given Bovaer is safe to drink. Bovaer has undergone a rigorous safety assessment and is approved for use in Great Britain.

Regulation of feed additives and materials, such as kelp, is the responsibility of the FSA. Both synthetic and natural feed products must be demonstrated as safe for use to be added to the GB Register of Feed Materials.

There are no regulations that require the labelling of halal meat, but where any information of this nature is provided it must be accurate and must not be misleading to the consumer. The Government respects religious freedoms and expects the industry, whether food producer or food outlet, to provide consumers with all the information they need to make informed choices.

Parking in the nation’s forests is an operational matter for Forestry England. Forestry England values accessibility for all visitors. It is not currently able to mark out designated spaces for disabled parking in some forests due to the location of these car parks within woodland environments and the unsuitability of the surfaces. This includes for Bourne Woods, Surrey. Forestry England is looking at alternative options to address this issue and will be trialling potential approaches across its car parks nationally.

The Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, set up under the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, provides a platform for information sharing and discussion on each of the Parties’ import and export requirements. It is using this mechanism that Defra could raise questions regarding the EU’s export regulations as they relate to plant health measures, if it were deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstance.

Non-compliant consignments imported into Great Britain from any country, including EU Member States, are monitored daily. Defra works together with the country concerned to identify and resolve any recurring issues. Between 01 January 2023 and 31 August 2024, Defra has notified the EU of 3525 non-compliant consignments. More data on EU non compliances can be found on the UK Plant Health Portal.

It is a criminal offence to sell, gift, exchange, advertise or offer for sale any prohibited dog breeds. The maximum penalty for doing so is up to six months in prison and or an unlimited fine.

The Government has strongly encouraged all online selling sites to run automated checks for words and terms relating to these prohibited breed types, reporting this to enforcement authorities where relevant.

The transition to zero emission buses represents a great opportunity for UK bus manufacturers, both to supply the zero emission buses needed here in the UK and to win export orders abroad as other countries upgrade their bus fleets.

On 8 October, the Department announced plans to create a new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel. This panel will bring together industry experts and local leaders to explore ways to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. More details on this will be set out in due course.

All manufacturers must demonstrate that their vehicles and equipment comply with international vehicle approval requirements before they are permitted to offer their products for sale, and these include detailed provisions for vehicle lighting. The approval requirements are complemented by the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 to ensure that vehicles operating on the roads of Great Britain continue to have effective and safe lighting systems whilst in service.

All vehicle lighting requirements, including the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, are kept under review and amended as necessary to account for advances in vehicle lighting technologies and emerging evidence to ensure regulatory effectiveness is maintained.

The government is committed to delivering better, more frequent and more reliable bus services for passengers. We have already made significant progress, introducing the Bus Services Bill to help give local leaders the powers they need to take control of their local services if they choose to do so, and announcing investment of over £1 billion to support and improve bus services.

Those of state pension age, currently sixty-six, have access to free off-peak bus travel under the terms of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme.

There are no plans to amend section 170 of the Road Traffic Act to make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats.

Although there is no obligation to report all collisions with animals on roads, Rule 286 of The Highway Code advises drivers to report any collisions involving an animal to the police, and if possible, they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals and advise them of the situation.

Since June this year, all cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, unless exempt or free-living. This will increase the likelihood that cats can be reunited with their owners.

Non-UK / Irish citizens can only access benefits like Universal Credit if they have an immigration status that provides recourse to public funds. Those without immigration status or with a no recourse to public funds condition on their status are not entitled. An individual’s specific nationality is not relevant to their claim.

The Department checks immigration status when assessing eligibility, but this information is not collated centrally and hence not readily available. We are, however, exploring the feasibility of developing suitable statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK / Irish customers.

No such assessment has been made. We are absolutely committed, through the Triple Lock, to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.

This means that from April 2025, subject to Parliamentary approval, the basic and new State Pensions will be increased by 4.1%. The full yearly basic State Pension will increase by around £360, and the full yearly rate of the new State Pension will increase by around £470.

This Government is committed to pensioners. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.  We will do this through protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and bringing real stability to people’s lives.

However, given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

For those with long-term illnesses, the “extra costs” disability benefits, namely Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA), provide a tax free, non-income-related contribution towards the extra costs people with a long-term health condition can face, such as additional heating costs. They are paid monthly throughout the year, can be worth up to £9,583.60 a year and recipients are free to use their benefit according to their own priorities.

Receipt of AA can provide a passport to additional amounts in means-tested benefits (notably Pension Credit and Housing Benefit) for those on low incomes providing they meet the other eligibility criteria.

Further, over the course of this Parliament over 12 million pensioners will benefit, with many expected to see their new State Pension increase by around £1700 as a result of our commitment to protect the Triple Lock.

We also know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. The government will work with external partners and local authorities to boost the uptake of Pension Credit. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them.

Through the delivery of the UK Biological Security Strategy, the Government is committed to ensuring the United Kingdom is resilient to a spectrum of biological threats, as well as being a world leader in innovation. As part of this strategy, the Government is undertaking a programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data to protect our burgeoning bioeconomy and build confidence in sharing personal data, to improve health outcomes in the UK and across the world.

Department officials are working closely with UK Biobank, Genomics England, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Bioresource on this programme of work, and there will be continued engagement with my Cabinet colleagues.

The Government continues to review the evolving national security risks in the life sciences sector, including engaging with partners and allies, while ensuring that the United Kingdom is at the forefront of innovation.

The Procurement Act will come into force in 2025 and will include a Debarment Review Service, which aims to safeguard public procurement from suppliers deemed to pose a risk. As with all national security risks, there will be engagement with colleagues across Cabinet and Parliament to ensure we maintain a robust approach to managing these risks as they evolve.

The Department does not hold this information.

NHS England issued a letter to all integrated care boards (ICBs) in August 2023 which included the recommendation that all trusts should be working towards the United Kingdom Accreditation Service’s (UKAS) Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) accreditation, as part of the Paediatric Hearing Services Improvement Programme. This includes that ICBs should ensure that there are plans in place to implement, achieve, or maintain accreditation using the available tools, and that there is oversight of quality management systems. Further information on NHS England’s issued letter is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/paediatric-hearing-services-improvement-programme-system-recommendations-for-immediate-action/

As part of the programme, NHS England is working with the Care Quality Commission to increase uptake of the UKAS’s IQIPS accreditation and ensure compliance with national diagnostic regulatory standards, alongside a range of other interventions to improve the quality and resilience of these services.

There are 140 providers of audiology services for children in England. Currently, 30 providers meet the UK Accreditation Services Improving Quality in Physiological Services Accreditation standards. Two providers are pending re-instatement of accreditation, and a further 16 have applied for accreditation.

The base on Diego Garcia is critical to national and international security. It has enabled the UK, the US, and our allies and partners to combat some of the most challenging threats to global peace and security, including those from terrorism, organised crime, and wider instability.

Following this agreement, for the first time in over 50 years, the base will be undisputed and legally secure, able to operate to its full strategic capability without risk of challenge. The Agreement will mean that the UK and US will continue to operate the base well into the next century with strong protections from malign influence.

HMG recognises India's longstanding relationship with Russia. We regularly raise Russia's illegal war in Ukraine with the Government of India. The Foreign Secretary did so most recently with India's External Affairs Minister in September. More broadly, the UK and India are close bilateral partners, and we are exploring ways to enhance our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. When he visited India in July, the Foreign Secretary discussed with Prime Minster Modi, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and NSA Doval how we might strengthen the UK-India relationship for economic growth as well as improve cooperation on defence, technology, climate and education.

In line with international rules, the UK provides Official Development Assistance (ODA) only to countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita below $13,846. All recipients of our ODA have a lower GNI per capita than the UK, including when adjusted for purchasing power parity.

The government is committed to a business rates system which raises the same revenue but in a fairer way. The government has pledged to level the playing field between the high street and online giants, incentivise investment, tackle empty properties and support entrepreneurship.

The government will work closely with all stakeholders, including those businesses that shoulder the greatest burden from business rates, as it develops the detail of its reforms. The Government will set out further details in due course.

The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential public services, including investing in the state education system.

The Prime Minister has been clear that if a child has an Education, Health and Care Plan that requires them to attend a private school because their needs cannot be met in the state sector, they will not feel an impact from VAT being charged on fees. The Chancellor has also been clear that changes will not come into force until 2025.

Further details on this policy will be set out in due course. The Government engages with a wide range of stakeholders with an interest in Government policy, including VAT, as part of the policy development and implementation process as a matter of course.

The Tackling Organised Exploitation Programme (TOEX) continues to work to develop a whole system approach to improving intelligence, analysis, and tasking to enhance the law enforcement response to the exploitation of vulnerable people, including sexual exploitation and abuse. This includes supporting the work of the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to give practical, expert, and on the ground support for local forces investigating child sexual abuse, with a focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation.

In November 2024, the Taskforce published its latest 2023 data on group-based offending, including any offence with two or more perpetrators. That data is available publicly online via https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/publications/hydrant-publications#LatestNews) which includes available data on ethnicity. The Government will be working with the Taskforce to improve data collection, including seeking to improve the accuracy and comprehensiveness of data on ethnicity.

The statistic that I referred to in the question referenced an ad-hoc statistical release published by the Home Office on 4 November containing data on enforced and voluntary returns between 5 July and 28 October 2024, which can be accessed here: Returns from the UK between July and October 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Home Office does not comment on individual cases.

The Immigration Rules provide for the refusal of entry clearance, permission to enter and permission to stay on general grounds, regardless of the category in which an individual makes an application.

A person will usually be refused on general grounds if there is any evidence in their background, immigration history, criminal records or past behaviour which shows that they should not be allowed to enter or stay in the UK.

Tenders to supply items of military clothing are conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which ensure best value for the taxpayer in the delivery of Defence requirements. Through the Logistics Commodities and Services Transformation contract with Leidos Europe Limited, Defence Equipment & Support procures approximately 16,000 different clothing items, plus a further 1,300 supporting ceremonial accoutrements such as cuirasses and sabres that form a part of ceremonial uniforms. Uniforms are not purchased fully assembled but rather as individual items.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that substantial weight should be given to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements, including bringing back into residential use empty homes and the development of under-utilised land and buildings, to meet the need for homes and other uses.

Changes we made to the National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024 broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas.

On 22 September 2024, we published a ‘brownfield passport’ policy paper inviting views on how we might further prioritise and fast-track building on previously used urban land.

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Full-time students are generally disregarded for council tax purposes. Where all residents of a dwelling are disregarded, due to being full-time students, the dwelling will be exempt from council tax. Additionally, where a hall of residence is provided predominantly for the accommodation of students it will also be exempt for council tax purposes.

The Government recognise that requests for large amounts of rent in advance can put financial strain on tenants and can exclude certain groups from renting all together. We want to ensure that the Renters’ Rights Bill protects renters against such demands, and we will keep the matter under review as the Bill progresses.

Although the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) has responded well to the significant increase in appeals it has experienced in recent years, we acknowledge that more needs to be done to reduce the time parents and young people have to wait to have their appeals determined. An additional 70 judges have been recruited for this jurisdiction and will begin sitting from September 2024, with further recruitment scheduled.

I look forward to working with my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and her Ministerial team to consider ways to reduce the demands on the tribunal so that the outstanding caseload, and the time within which the tribunal can determine appeals, can be brought down.