First elected: 4th July 2024
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Don't change inheritance tax relief for working farms
Sign this petition Gov Responded - 5 Dec 2024 Debated on - 10 Feb 2025 View John Milne's petition debate contributionsWe think that changing inheritance tax relief for agricultural land will devastate farms nationwide, forcing families to sell land and assets just to stay on their property. We urge the government to keep the current exemptions for working farms.
These initiatives were driven by John Milne, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
John Milne has not been granted any Urgent Questions
John Milne has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
John Milne has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
John Milne has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Local power generation is an essential part of the UK’s energy generation and increasing support from Great British Energy will ensure that local communities benefit as the UK supercharges its mission to become a clean energy superpower.
We recently announced that Community Energy Groups will be able to access a share of £5 million in grant funding through the Great British Energy Community Fund to help communities develop their own clean energy projects.
Great British Energy will also work closely with Community Energy Groups, providing commercial, technical, and project-planning assistance to increase their capability and capacity to build a pipeline of successful projects in their local areas.
The Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) is the national-level plan covering GB, whilst Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs) will work with organisations at a local level to plan how local energy systems need to be developed to reach net zero, considering both the national targets set by government and local needs. Great British Energy will also provide increased funding and support to ensure that local communities continue to directly benefit from clean energy projects.
In the Clean Power Action Plan, we made clear that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should feel tangible and enduring benefit of doing so. We are exploring options in this area, including community funds and shared ownership.
The Government has already announced bill discounts for communities living nearest to new electricity transmission infrastructure, and published guidance on community funds for electricity transmission infrastructure.
The Government intends to publish community benefit guidance for onshore wind in England, and Solar Energy UK has also committed to publishing further guidance.
The UK, Scottish and Welsh governments have commissioned the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to develop the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan. NESO is independently producing the plan, with oversight from the three governments and Ofgem.
My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues.
The Government is currently consulting on the Land Use Framework, which aims to use the most sophisticated land use data ever published, to provide the principles, advanced data, and tools to support decision-making by stakeholders to make the most of our land. Views are currently being sought in the public consultation, which closes on 25 April.
The previous Government consulted on the barriers to community energy through a Call for Evidence and published a response to this Call for Evidence on 21 March. The evidence is being used to inform potential changes that could be put in place to overcome these barriers. The Government is committed to growing community energy and supporting its important role in the energy transition.
The Teesside Carbon Capture and storage cluster includes the projects mentioned below:
NEP (Transport and Storage Network) - New network with Northern Endurance Partnership
Net Zero Teesside (NZT) - New dispatchable gas-fired power station with carbon capture technology
H2 Teesside - New build CCUS-enabled hydrogen production plant
BOC - Existing industrial plant owned by BOC looking to add CCUS technology
The NEP and NZT are included in the current funding envelope related to the funding announcement made in October 2024.
H2 Teesside and BOC are currently a part of the Project Negotiation List (PNL). Following a period of assessment and due diligence, the Track 1 PNL was determined and published in March 2023. Projects that were most likely to be delivered within our required timeframes and budget and storage capacity were selected.
The Government recognises the importance of having robust measures in place to manage battery energy storage system (BESS) safety. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates BESS under a regulatory regime which requires BESS designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary health and safety measures throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning.
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are considering funding into alternatives for animal testing as part of the Spending Review, and cannot commit funding amounts in advance of this process.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Office for Life Sciences Officials have met with Dr Michaelis to discuss lobular breast cancer. The Government does not ringfence funding for specific cancer types. DSIT invests approximately £200 million into cancer research annually via UK Research and Innovation, and The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spent £121.8 million in 2022/23 on cancer research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. DHSC is currently developing a new National Cancer Plan which will outline the Government’s strategy to improve patient outcomes for all cancer types, including breast cancer.
The Government doesn’t ringfence funding for specific diseases but is committed to funding cancer research, including lobular breast cancer. The Department of Health and Social Care spent £121.8 million in 2022/23 on cancer research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology funds cancer research via UK Innovation and Research (UKRI). UKRI invests approximately £200 million annually into cancer research, of which £10m per year is for breast cancer research.
Office for Life Sciences’ Cancer Healthcare Goals programme funds innovations at the earlier stages of the research and development pipeline. Such innovations will have the potential to diagnose multiple tumour types, including breast cancer.
We have allocated £1.3 million of funding for a National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) project that will assess the effectiveness of a new form of MRI scan to detect breast cancers that have been missed by mammograms.
Further NIHR research infrastructure funding supports Biomedical Research Centres and the NIHR Research Delivery Network, which has enabled delivery of 10 lobular breast-cancer studies.
The Government agrees with the need to have robust measures in place to manage the risks associated with facilities that use large numbers of lithium-ion batteries. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates grid-scale lithium-ion batteries within a robust regulatory framework which requires Battery Energy and Storage Systems (BESS) designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary measures throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning to ensure its health and safety.
Defra is considering further options, including environmental permitting, for managing the environmental and public health risks from fires at BESS sites.
The Government agrees with the need to have robust measures in place to manage the risks associated with facilities that use large numbers of lithium-ion batteries. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates grid-scale lithium-ion batteries within a robust regulatory framework which requires Battery Energy and Storage Systems (BESS) designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary measures throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning to ensure its health and safety.
Defra is considering further options, including environmental permitting, for managing the environmental and public health risks from fires at BESS sites.
The Government agrees with the need to have robust measures in place to manage the risks associated with facilities that use large numbers of lithium-ion batteries. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates grid-scale lithium-ion batteries within a robust regulatory framework which requires Battery Energy and Storage Systems (BESS) designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary measures throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning to ensure its health and safety.
Defra is considering further options, including environmental permitting, for managing the environmental and public health risks from fires at BESS sites.
The Department announced on 4th March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money for new projects in rural areas.
The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes have been determined through the departments business planning exercise. Future funding decisions remain subject to the government spending review.
Defra announced on 4 March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money for new projects in rural areas.
The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes have been determined through the department’s business planning exercise. Future funding decisions remain subject to the Government spending review.
As outlined in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 18 March, we need to get the balance right between supporting employers to understand and provide reasonable adjustments as part of their legal duties, and interventions that go beyond this this to enable employment. There are no plans to require employers to provide measures beyond a reasonable adjustment.
We will assess any new intervention through evaluation, ensuring its impact and value for money.
Information on the impacts of the “Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper” will be published in due course, with some information already published alongside the Spring Statement.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
In our Green Paper, Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, we announced our plans to scrap the Work Capability Assessment and use the single Personal Independence Payment assessment to assess entitlement for the Universal Credit health element. We are considering how change of this kind could affect individuals who currently meet limited capability for work and work-related activity criteria due to non-functional special circumstances; including those currently classed as having substantial risk.
We also announced plans to launch a process to review the PIP assessment. We will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. Any changes to the PIP assessment will need to work alongside the reforms set out in the Green Paper.
No such assessment has yet been made.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
From 7 April 2025 the weekly earnings limit in Carer's Allowance increased to £196 net earnings, the largest cash increase ever. All things being equal, the earnings rule change will result in more people being entitled to Carer’s Allowance. There are no other planned changes to the entitlement conditions. Local authorities are responsible for their own "care service" arrangements and these may differ between authorities.
In our recent Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced a broad package of reforms to the health and disability benefit and support system, including changes to Personal Independence Payment. For those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including for linked entitlements such as Carer’s Allowance, we are consulting on how best to support this group, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
No assessment has been made. The Social Security Administration Act 1992 requires the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to review benefit and State Pension rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. Where the relevant benefit or State Pension rates have not retained their value, legislation provides that the Secretary of State is required to, or in some instances may, up-rate their value.
Following this review, benefit and State Pension rates are increased in line with statutory minimum amounts and others are increased subject to Secretary of State’s discretion.
Following the Secretary of State’s up-rating decisions for 2025/26, DWP expenditure on state pensions and benefits will increase by £6.9 billion.
There are no terms of reference for the review process and we expect the review to take place throughout 2025.
The Government is fulfilling its manifesto commitment to review Universal Credit in a range of ways. We have already announced dedicated strands of activity, like the child poverty taskforce, as well as this work to take stock of the core structures and policies of Universal Credit. We are engaging with a multitude of groups and people. We have begun to invite stakeholders to set out their concerns around Universal Credit and ideas for where it could improve.
The review has already begun with the announcement of the Fair Repayment Rate in the Budget, giving 1.2m households an average of £420 per year. We are continuing to review the benefit to ensure it makes work pay and reduces poverty.
The Government is fulfilling its manifesto commitment to review Universal Credit in a range of ways. The Universal Credit review process is working alongside the child poverty taskforce and others to consider how the full range of Universal Credit policy areas contribute to our objectives to tackle poverty, make work pay and boost growth. We are not expecting to produce a formal report but as part of the review, Parliament will be regularly updated on progress and any future changes.
The Department has been regularly engaging with stakeholders since the election and is committed to continuing to do so, on Universal Credit and other issues. We recognise the important role of people with a lived experience of receiving Universal Credit in the review process.
We plan to engage with a multitude of groups and people and will continue to use existing forums as well as set up new sessions. In addition, we have also created a mailbox where any customer can express their views on how Universal Credit could be improved to support them, and we will be launching a survey covering customer’s circumstances, knowledge of Universal Credit and their labour market aspirations.
No assessment has been made at this point. The Government recognises the critical role Universal Credit has to play in tackling poverty and making work pay and has already taken steps to help those in need.
Benefit rates are reviewed each year, increasing by 6.7% in April 2024 and by a further 1.7% from April 2025, in line with inflation.
Around 5.7 million Universal Credit families are forecast to benefit from uprating in financial year 2025 to 2026, with an average annual gain for a family estimated to be £150.
The Fair Repayment Rate, to be introduced from April, will reduce the Universal Credit overall cap on deductions from 25% to 15%. This measure will help approximately 1.2 million of the poorest households benefit by an average of £420 a year.
We have heard from pension schemes and industry representatives about the impacts arising from this judgment for pension schemes, their members, and sponsoring employers. Potential impacts are likely to be different for individual schemes.
Where schemes do not have a way to demonstrate that historic benefit changes met the reference scheme test, we recognise that this could lead to uncertainty and additional costs.
No final decisions have been made but we are actively considering our next steps and will provide an update in due course.
We have heard from pension schemes and industry representatives about the impacts arising from this judgment for pension schemes, their members, and sponsoring employers. Potential impacts are likely to be different for individual schemes.
Where schemes do not have a way to demonstrate that historic benefit changes met the reference scheme test, we recognise that this could lead to uncertainty and additional costs.
No final decisions have been made but we are actively considering our next steps and will provide an update in due course.
The total number of Pension Credit online applications started is unavailable because only data from users who opt-in to performance cookies on GOV.UK is collected.
His Majesty’s Treasury allocated DWP £110m to deliver on the fraud, error and debt Autumn Budget measures over the next financial year. As part of this, the Department is hiring an additional 3,000 staff to expand DWP’s Fraud, Error and Debt (FED) operations.
No assessment has been made. The Social Security Administration Act 1992 requires the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to review benefit and State Pension rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. Where the relevant benefit or State Pension rates have not retained their value, legislation provides that the Secretary of State is required to, or in some instances may, up-rate their value.
Following this review, benefit and State Pension rates are increased in line with statutory minimum amounts and others are increased subject to Secretary of State’s discretion.
Following the Secretary of States’ up-rating decisions for 2025/26, DWP expenditure on state pensions and benefits will increase by £6.9 billion.
We are committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels.
On 30 July, the Secretary of State held a food poverty roundtable with key food poverty stakeholders to understand the key priorities in this area.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into food poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November will target and tackle economic inactivity and unemployment and join up employment, health and skills support to meet the needs of local communities.
Additional steps include our plans to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April 2025 to boost the pay of 3 million workers.
In addition, on 17th July, we announced our joint ministerial taskforce, jointly chaired Work and Pensions and Education Secretaries, to begin work on an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start in life.
The Taskforce’s publication of 23 October ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’ sets out how we are developing the Strategy, exploring all available levers across Government to deliver an enduring reduction in child poverty this parliament. This is part of a 10-year strategy for lasting change which will be published in the Spring.
The Midlife MOT initiative consists of three key work strands: the Job Centre Plus (JCP) Midlife MOT, the Private Sector Midlife MOT and the Digital Midlife MOT.
The Private Sector Midlife MOT pilot programmes concluded at the end of June 2024. Findings from qualitative research, conducted in house by the Department for Work and Pensions, will be published in early 2025.
The evaluation for the Job Centre Plus Midlife MOT is not yet complete but is planned for publication during 2025. The Digital Midlife MOT Website evaluation will start in February 2025, and we plan to publish once complete.
The Government is committed to enabling savers to achieve security in retirement. We’ve announced as part of the King’s Speech that the Pensions Bill will include measures to give savers the benefit of guided retirement products, with a retirement income; this will change the experience of Defined Contribution savers as our approach would provide a secure income over retirement as a default, unless the member chooses something different.
We have also committed to assess adequacy for future savers as part of the second phase of the pensions review. We closely monitor the decumulation decisions of Defined Contribution savers. This has included research on retirement planning and decumulation decisions, such as Planning and Preparing for Later Life and analysis of Pensions Freedoms.
Planning and Preparing for Later Life - GOV.UK
Pension Freedoms: a qualitative research study of individuals’ decumulation journeys - GOV.UK
The information is not available. There are two sources which provide relevant data in relation to the request. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publish the number accessing a pension pot in the contract-based market (from 2015/16 to 2023/24) and whether this was accessed following financial advice, a Pension Wise appointment (and no financial advice), or no financial advice or guidance: Retirement income market data 2023/24 | FCA.
The Money and Pension Service (MaPS) have previously published survey data on outcomes of Pension Wise appointments. A copy has been attached (see figure 12).
The policy for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) programme is based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent expert advisory committee. That advice is provided to the Government to inform, develop, and make policy.
In 2023, RSV programmes for those aged over 65 years old and those aged over 75 years old were assessed by the JCVI for their potential impact and cost effectiveness. There was more certainty in the data available at the time to support a programme for those aged over 75 years old. Therefore, the JCVI advised a programme for older adults aged 75 years old and above. However, the JCVI did note that as more data accumulated, the impact and cost effectiveness for those aged over 65 years old could be kept under review.
The committee keeps all vaccine programmes under review and will continue to update its advice as new evidence emerges.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS independently, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by the NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance. The NICE is currently evaluating givinostat, and its Appraisal Committee will meet to consider its recommendations in May 2025.
ITF Pharma UK, the United Kingdom marketing authorisation holder for givinostat, is providing access to givinostat through a type of compassionate use scheme called an Early Access Programme (EAP). NHS England does not have any initiatives to encourage participation in compassionate use schemes, which are the responsibility of individual pharmaceutical companies. Participation in the EAP for givinostat, which must be through one of the 23 NorthStar Centres in the UK, is decided at an individual NHS trust level, although there is general advice that trusts should engage with the relevant commissioner if they choose to participate. A NorthStar Centre will not be able to provide givinostat if its local trust has not approved participation. Under the EAP, givinostat is free to both patients taking part in it and to the NHS, but the trusts must still cover the cost of administering it to patients. Only Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinicians can make requests for givinostat for their patients. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis for individual named patients aligned to eligibility criteria.
Access to the Early Access Programme (EAP) for givinostat must be through one of the 23 NorthStar Centres in the United Kingdom. However, participation in the EAP is decided at an individual National Health Service trust level, and a North Star Centre will not be able to provide givinostat if its local trust has not approved participation. Under the EAP, givinostat is free to both patients taking part in it and to the NHS, although the NHS trusts must still cover the cost of administering it to patients. Only Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinicians can make requests for givinostat for their patients. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis for individual named patients aligned to eligibility criteria.
The Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future. As part of that work, and in response to the Darzi report, we have launched an extensive programme of engagement to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts, from hospitals to the community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.
In addition, following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will develop a new national cancer plan. The cancer plan will include more details about how to improve outcomes for all tumour types, including lobular breast cancer, and ensure that patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.
We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be, and will provide updates on this, including on publication dates, at the earliest opportunity. We would encourage the Hon. Member for Horsham and Dr Michalis to input to the process, which would help to shape the national cancer plan.
The UK National Screening Committee is aware of the Prostate Cancer UK report, and this will be considered as part of its evidence review process, with further information available at the following link:
The Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme (PCRMP) provides general practitioners (GPs) with information and guidance to counsel men who have no symptoms, but wish to have a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test. It highlights the potential benefits and harms of PSA testing so that men, including those at higher risk, can make an informed decision about whether to have the test.
Based on the current evidence, the PCRMP guidance is for GPs not to proactively offer a PSA to men without symptoms. This is because of the high level of inaccuracy of the PSA test which could lead to unnecessary tests and treatments that carry risks of life-changing harm, such as urinary and faecal incontinence, sexual dysfunction, as well as a smaller but serious risk of sepsis. Additionally, some prostate cancers may not produce elevated PSA levels, leading to false-negative results that provide deceptive reassurance.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office remains committed to helping all British investors affected by the failure of the Paradise Golf & Beach Resort (PGBR) development and will continue in its efforts to work with the Moroccan authorities to help them receive the compensation to which they are entitled. His Majesty's Ambassador to Rabat continues to seek opportunities to raise PGBR with his counterparts and relevant stakeholders in Morocco to encourage a satisfactory resolution to this longstanding issue. FCDO officials in London continue to raise the issue with their counterparts in the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco.
Due to the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in the planning system, it would not be appropriate for me to discuss the details of the Horsham Local Plan and its progress through examination. However, I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss general principles in relation to local development plans and water neutrality and I have asked my officials to contact his constituency office with a view to finding a mutually convenient date and time.
Paragraph 60 of the National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local authorities should plan for as much of an area’s identified housing need as possible, including with an appropriate mix of housing types for the local community.
Addressing the impact of ‘water neutrality’ requirements on housing delivery is a cross-government priority. The way that water resources are planned for is being considered as part of a commission recently announced by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As set out in the King’s Speech, we want to ensure development delivers positive environmental outcomes.
The 2023 Housing Delivery Test outcomes will be published by the end of the year.
The consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year.
Existing procedures are designed to support options other than felling. The relevant guidance makes clear that applications to address tree-related subsidence damage are to be supported by appropriate information, and the standard application form requires evidence that the tree is a material cause of the problem and that other factors have been eliminated as potential influences so far as possible.