Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the upcoming Defence Industrial Strategy will consider the potential impact of US trade tariffs against UK companies.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The United States remains the United Kingdom's foremost defence and security partner. The UK has a strong and balanced trading relationship with the US worth £315 billion which supports 2.5 million jobs across both countries. This Government is seeking to negotiate an agreement with the US to deepen our economic relationship, while ensuring all options are considered in response to tariffs.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what changes her Department plans to make to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) reassessments for claimants suffering from longer-term degenerative conditions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Award reviews are an important feature of Personal Independence Payment to ensure people receive the correct level of benefit, both for those whose needs will increase and those whose needs may decrease. People who receive the highest level of PIP and whose needs will not improve, receive a PIP award for a continuous period with a light touch review at the 10-year point.
In the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working published on 18 March we outline plans to consider changes to improve the experience for people who receive these ongoing awards in PIP. These include improving the information we provide when we write to people about ongoing PIP award decisions, what support is offered between ‘light touch’ reviews and reviewing the length of time between ‘light touch’ reviews.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, column 634, if he will list the reviews relevant to national security that are taking place across the Government that will be included in the development of a new National Security Strategy.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As announced by the Prime Minister, a new national security strategy will be published in June, ahead of the NATO Summit.
There are several reviews and strategies being developed across government that will be taken into consideration. This includes the Strategic Defence Review, Defence Industrial Strategy, AUKUS Review, Industrial Strategy, and Trade Strategy. The Strategy will also take into account other ongoing national security policy development.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department will take to assess the job performance of the National Armaments Director.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The parameters and performance targets for the National Armaments Director will be agreed in line with the salary approval from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury as part of the recruitment process.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in deprived communities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care, and work is underway to ensure that patients can access the 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments, with integrated care boards (ICBs) asked to make these available from 1 April 2025.
The most common reason children aged five to nine years old are admitted to hospital is for tooth decay. We have confirmed an investment of £11 million to rollout a national supervised toothbrushing programme for three to five year olds. This will reach up to 600,000 children in the most deprived areas of England.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the ICBs across England. For the North Devon constituency, this is the NHS One Devon ICB.
ICBs have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending business rate relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses beyond March 2026.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) relief has been extended year-by-year by previous governments since the pandemic. It has been a stopgap measure, and we recognise that businesses need longer term certainty on their liabilities.
Without any government intervention, RHL relief would have ended entirely in April 2025, creating a cliff-edge for businesses. Instead, the Government has decided to provide a 40 per cent discount to RHL properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business in 2025-26, ahead of introducing permanently lower rates for RHL properties, with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Digital Services Tax.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK remains committed to reaching a global solution on the taxation of the digital economy through Pillar 1 of the G20-OECD Inclusive Framework project. It is the UK’s intention to repeal our Digital Services Tax (DST) when this international solution is in place.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press notice entitled Major defence reforms launched, with new National Armaments Director to tackle waste and boost industry, published on 25 October 2024, what steps he is taking to (a) harmonise procurement and (b) streamline his Department’s governance and processes.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The new National Armaments Director will ensure our Armed Forces are properly equipped to defend Britain, will build up the British defence industry, and will reduce waste.
Key to success will be harmonising procurement, which includes driving forward common procurement guidelines and processes to reduce inconsistencies; greater transparency for suppliers; international cooperation, notably with NATO allies; bulk purchasing, leading to better pricing and reduced costs; spiral acquisition; and, increased use of digital platforms for efficiency.
This will be delivered by taking a Defence wide approach to procurement that breaks down previously vertical structures that do not allow cross Services procurement ways of working, and prioritises activity at Departmental level.
The Ministry of Defence will work closely with wider Government, industry, academia, and international partners to deploy best practice and optimise investment.