Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Tokyo District Court’s dissolution order against the Unification Church; and what steps he is taking to help protect (a) religious freedom and (b) minority rights.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This is a matter that is subject to ongoing court proceedings. It is therefore reserved for the Government of Japan and institutions of Japan. The UK has always been clear that the right to adopt a religion or belief, practise it without hindrance, and to share it with others are all key freedoms that everyone should have. As the Minister for the Indo-Pacific, I will continue to champion the UK's long-standing policy to defend freedom of religion or belief for all and promote respect between different religious and non-religious communities internationally.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her policies on levels of inflation.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) assessed the impact of Government policies on the level of inflation. While noting they expect inflation to remain close to the 2 per cent target throughout the forecast period, the OBR forecast a temporary rise in inflation, driven by gas and electricity prices and the direct effect of policies announced in the Budget. They conclude that, on average, just under half of the higher inflation in 2025 and 2026 is due to the impact of policies in Autumn Budget 2024.
In March 2025 the OBR assessed that they expected the policies in the forecast to provide a very small boost to CPI inflation, increasing the price level by less than 0.1 per cent by the end of the forecast.
The Bank of England has the responsibility of controlling inflation, and the Government fully supports them as they take action to sustainably return inflation to the 2% target.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with mobile phone providers on inflation-linked price increases in fixed-term mobile phone contracts.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I have not had any such recent discussions but the Government works closely with Ofcom, the independent regulator of telecommunications, to ensure telecom contracts remain fair and transparent, ensuring significant clauses, such as in-contract price increases, are clear at the time of purchase.
Following a review Ofcom banned inflation-linked price rises, since January 2025 providers have been required to inform customers upfront of any in-contract price rises in pounds and pence included in their contract.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) reports and (b) complaints there have been relating to (i) abandoned roadworks equipment and (ii) degraded signage on the (A) A3, (B) A31 and (C) A331 in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Removal of roadworks equipment comes under Section 74 of the New Roads and Street Works Act. The Act enables local highway authorities to charge utility companies for delays in completing roadworks on public highways, and since 2001 regulations have been in place which allow local highway authorities to impose charges on statutory undertakers. Every job has an end date and if works or barriers are still on site past this end date, daily charges can be imposed. These charges start at £250 a day, and on the busiest roads go up to £10,000 a day.
The Department does not hold any information on the number of reports or complaints of abandoned roadworks equipment, only local highway authorities have that information.
The A3, A31 and A331 form part of the Strategic Road Network. As such, National Highways is responsible for installing, maintaining, cleaning, and repairing signage on these roads. Damaged and incorrect road signage on any of these roads can be reported to National Highways at the following link: https://report.nationalhighways.co.uk/
National Highways maintains records of reports and complaints submitted via its online platform, including issues relating to road signage and other highway assets on the Strategic Road Network. The Department does not hold disaggregated data, but National Highways may be able to provide the number of reports concerning abandoned or incorrect equipment on the A3, A31 and A331 upon request.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department has provided to local highway authorities on the timely removal of (a) cones, (b) sandbags, (c) signage and (d) other abandoned roadworks equipment.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Removal of roadworks equipment comes under Section 74 of the New Roads and Street Works Act. The Act enables local highway authorities to charge utility companies for delays in completing roadworks on public highways, and since 2001 regulations have been in place which allow local highway authorities to impose charges on statutory undertakers. Every job has an end date and if works or barriers are still on site past this end date, daily charges can be imposed. These charges start at £250 a day, and on the busiest roads go up to £10,000 a day.
The Department does not hold any information on the number of reports or complaints of abandoned roadworks equipment, only local highway authorities have that information.
The A3, A31 and A331 form part of the Strategic Road Network. As such, National Highways is responsible for installing, maintaining, cleaning, and repairing signage on these roads. Damaged and incorrect road signage on any of these roads can be reported to National Highways at the following link: https://report.nationalhighways.co.uk/
National Highways maintains records of reports and complaints submitted via its online platform, including issues relating to road signage and other highway assets on the Strategic Road Network. The Department does not hold disaggregated data, but National Highways may be able to provide the number of reports concerning abandoned or incorrect equipment on the A3, A31 and A331 upon request.