Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making manufacturers operating under SIC codes 2599 and 2790 eligible for support under the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government can confirm that manufacturers operating under SIC codes 2599 and 2790 are within the scope of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme.
Businesses must meet all of the scheme's eligibility criteria to be eligible and are encouraged to use the online eligibility checker to assess their likelihood of being eligible.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Category D1 minibus licensing regime on Community Transport provision.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Category D1 licence rules changed almost 30 years ago, when the EU Second Driving Licence Directive removed automatic entitlement to Category D1(101) for Category B (car) licence holders.
Category D1(101) allows licence holders to drive minibuses when operated on a not for hire or reward basis. There are also more limited circumstances in which a minibus can be driven on a Category B driving licence.
The community transport sector reports that they are seeing an increase in the shortage of minibus drivers as those with D1(101) licences retire. However, despite the previous Government’s Call for Evidence in 2022, no evidence was provided that road safety would not be compromised by a relaxation of the licencing requirements.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the scope of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme to include oil refineries.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme is a targeted scheme designed to support a defined group of businesses within the Industrial Strategy sectors, where it can have the biggest impact on growth. Final eligibility was determined after a multi-stage economic and strategic analysis , alongside formal consultation with business and stakeholders. Our focus now must turn to implementing the scheme as effectively as possible.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many seizures of illegally imported meat products have been made at UK borders in each of the last three years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Information on the number of seizures of imported products of animal origin is published by Border Force in the Multi-Annual National Control Plan (MANCP) annual reports.
The latest report, published on GOV.UK here, gives the latest available data on the annual number of seizures of imported products of animal origin as:
2022/23 - 3069
2023/24 - 2896
2024/25 - 2987
These figures may be amended in later MANCP annual reports to correct any errors found.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Border Force, the Animal and Plant Health agency and Port Health Authorities on strengthening control against illegal meat imports.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials have been engaging regularly with Border Force, the Food Standards Agency, Port Health Authorities, other Government departments and the Devolved Governments over the past year to strengthen controls against illegal imports of animal products. The Animal and Plant Health Agency is an agency of Defra and has also been involved. These discussions form the routine mechanism through which the Secretary of State is kept informed of operational progress, and they will continue as part of the standard model for developing and enhancing controls.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of insourcing the Civil Service Pensions Scheme.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are actively developing a strategy the options for the long-term delivery of the scheme, including options to bring scheme administration back in-house in line with our manifesto commitment to oversee the biggest wave of insourcing of public services in a generation, and we will update on this in due course.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) banning imports into the UK of goods and services originating from illegal settlements in the West Bank and (b) prohibiting the export of UK goods and services to illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK is clear that Israel's illegal settlements and decisions designed to further them are a flagrant violation of international law. The measures announced by the Foreign Secretary on 8 September will restrict the import of goods originating in illegal settlements into the UK. Furthermore, we are taking action on services, creating new designation powers to go after individuals and companies that support, facilitate or profit from illegal settlement activity. In addition, we will ban advertising or promotion of land and property in illegal settlements and strengthen our existing global human rights sanctions regime to go after those who defy international humanitarian law, in Palestine, and around the world.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on Debt Management and debt recovery of making advance payments to Universal Credit claimants before the conclusion of their assessment period.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
New Claim Advances give customers the option to spread twenty-five Universal Credit payments over twenty-four months, giving them more flexibility over the payments of their Universal Credit award. Advances are not considered a loan so no interest is charged, nor any enforcement action taken, however Advances are recoverable. They are ordinarily repaid through deductions from subsequent Universal Credit awards over an agreed repayment period of up to 24 months. Customers must repay their advances over a maximum period of 24 months.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of the different rates of Universal Credit standard allowance payable to single claimants and to couples on a) incentives for fraudulent claims and b) any resulting effects on the housing sector.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Universal Credit is assessed at the household level. Different standard allowance rates apply to single claimants and couples to reflect that people living together may share household resources and living costs, and support is therefore calculated for the household as a whole rather than for each individual separately. Universal Credit awards comprise a standard allowance together with additional amounts that may be payable in recognition of specific needs, such as eligible housing costs, caring responsibilities or disability.
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of the different Universal Credit standard allowance rates on incentives for fraudulent claims or any resulting effects on the housing sector.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing wrongly convicted applicants to the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme with the £600,000 fixed-sum award as an upfront payment.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government remains committed to providing full and fair redress to those affected by the Horizon scandal.
In Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry report, Sir Wyn Williams noted that he could not be convinced 'that the Fixed Sum Offer should, in effect, become a guaranteed minimum payment'. The Department agrees with Sir Wyn and believes it is important to retain the distinction between interim payments and a final settlement. A settlement is the final, total compensation amount agreed upon to resolve a claim, whereas an interim payment is an early, partial payment made before the claim process fully concludes.
The interim payment policy is designed to provide claimants with breathing space, and a meaningful opportunity to consider whether a full assessment would be beneficial to them.