Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has provided in Bereavement Support Payments in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department provided £208m in Bereavement Support Payments during financial year 2024/25 (the latest year for which figures are currently available). Full figures are available in the outturn & forecast tables, found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2026 to Question 115740 on Ajax Vehicles: Procurement, what remedies his Department has available should General Dynamics UK be in material breach of its obligations under the contract to supply Ajax-family vehicles.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
DEFCON 514 did not exist at the point the Ajax contract was placed. However, the narrative conditions included in the Ajax contract are at least as favourable to the Authority as DEFCON 514.
If General Dynamics UK are determined to be in Material Breach of its obligations under the contract, the Authority has a range of remedies available to them to secure the successful delivery of the vehicles, including but not limited to, step in rights, demand recovery plans, or terminate.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2026 to Question 115740 on Ajax Vehicles: Procurement, for what reason DEFCON 514 was excluded from his Department’s contract with General Dynamics UK for the supply of Ajax-family vehicles.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
DEFCON 514 did not exist at the point the Ajax contract was placed. However, the narrative conditions included in the Ajax contract are at least as favourable to the Authority as DEFCON 514.
If General Dynamics UK are determined to be in Material Breach of its obligations under the contract, the Authority has a range of remedies available to them to secure the successful delivery of the vehicles, including but not limited to, step in rights, demand recovery plans, or terminate.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the number of staff dedicated to preparing the Defence Investment Plan over the last twelve months.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Investment Plan has been supported by a flexible cross‑Defence team, with personnel allocated at the right level to reflect the complexity of the work and ensure progress to publication.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has considered replacing the mark 1 30mm cannon on the Type 45 with the DS30M mark 2.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence keeps the capabilities of all Royal Navy platforms under regular review to ensure they remain aligned with operational requirements. The Type 45 Destroyers are equipped with a range of layered defensive systems that continue to meet current operational needs.
Any future consideration of alternative weapon systems would be assessed against cost, capability need, platform integration requirements, crew impacts, and overall value for money in the context of the developing Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
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 support hospices in Lewes constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the majority of palliative care and end-of-life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play a vital part in providing support to people at the end of their life, as well as their loved ones.
The Government is providing £125 million in capital funding for eligible adult, and children and young people’s, hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. Of this, St Peter and St James Hospice is receiving £392,580, St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Eastbourne is receiving £793,464, and the Southern Hospice Group, which includes Chestnut Tree House Hospice and Martlets, is receiving £2,985,422, and together, these services support people in the Lewes constituency.
Children and young people’s hospices in England are receiving an additional £26 million in revenue funding for 2025/26, of which Chestnut Tree House will receive £713,000.
We have also recently announced the continuation of this funding, with approximately £80 million in revenue funding, to be provided over the next three years. I can confirm that Chestnut Tree House will receive £728,000 in 2026/27.
Additionally, the Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. It will drive improvements in access, quality, and sustainability, and support integrated care boards to commission high-quality, personalised care. Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services, and we will also consider contracting and commissioning arrangements.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his department updated the Leonardo contract for new medium helicopters (NMH) in line with inflation.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Tenderers were required to hold their price for the duration of the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) procurement process, and there has been no change to the contract price from the received tender.
As I noted in my Written Statement to the House of 3 March 2026, this contract will supply our military with 23 modern helicopters, built in the UK, directly sustaining 3,300 British jobs at Leonardo Yeovil, and enables the potential for over £15 billion of export opportunities over the next decade.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is his Department taking to help ensure hospices receive sufficient funding to carry out at home visits.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have provided a £125 million capital funding boost for eligible adult, and children and young people’s, hospices in England. This can be used by hospices to improve IT systems, making it easier for general practices and hospitals to share vital data on patients. It can also help hospices to develop and better their outreach services to support people in their own homes when needed.
We are also providing £80 million for children’s and young people’s hospices in England over the next three financial years, giving them the stability to plan ahead and focus on what matters most, caring for their patients, whether that is on a hospice inpatient ward or in patients’ own homes.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting integrated care boards to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead. Officials are working closely with a number of stakeholders from the hospice sector in the development of the MSF.
The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and palliative and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift. The MSF will address the drivers and incentives that are required in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of UK Visa and Immigration holding applicants' passports for multiple months on those applicants.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards.
With the introduction of the eVisa digital permission, eligible customers can complete their biometric appointment at the Visa Application Centre (VAC) and retain their passport. Where customers applied before eVisa rollout, passports are retained whilst a decision is being made on their visa application by the Home Office and when a decision is made, this is communicated to the Visa Application Centre who in turn contact the customer to arrange collection of their passport. Some customers can purchase an optional service to retain their passport whilst a decision is being taken.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is her department taking to ensure all UK Visa and Immigration applications are processed in a timely manner.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards.
With the introduction of the eVisa digital permission, eligible customers can complete their biometric appointment at the Visa Application Centre (VAC) and retain their passport. Where customers applied before eVisa rollout, passports are retained whilst a decision is being made on their visa application by the Home Office and when a decision is made, this is communicated to the Visa Application Centre who in turn contact the customer to arrange collection of their passport. Some customers can purchase an optional service to retain their passport whilst a decision is being taken.