Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support she provides to farmers when changes are made to pesticide regulations; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring the availability of approved alternative substances.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
If changes are made to regulations including pesticides we aim to do so transparently, for example through consultation, with those impacted including the farming sector. When a decision is made about an active substance or plant protection product by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) this is done in line with the legislation which ensures that affected individual farmers and businesses are made aware in sufficient time to make changes.
As set out in the UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP), we want to ensure that farmers and growers have sufficient access to safe and sustainable tools to deal with pests and diseases. This includes improving access to biopesticides.
The HSE runs the biopesticides scheme to support companies who want to apply for approval of a biopesticide. The scheme includes dedicated HSE biopesticide champions, free pre-submission advice, and capped fees for biopesticide active substance approval.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that approved pesticides do not pose a risk to public health.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A pesticide may only be placed on the market in Great Britain (GB) if the product has been authorised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), GB’s pesticide regulator. This only happens following a thorough scientific risk assessment that concludes all safety standards are met.
The GB pesticide Maximum Residue Level (MRL) regime sets high standards of consumer protection to ensure that residues in food do not harm human health. An MRL is the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue in or on food that is legally tolerated. MRLs are always set below the level considered safe for people eating the food.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will have discussions with diplomats and officials on reports of alleged wrongdoing by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in the fulfilment of his public duties as a UK Trade Envoy.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Rt Hon Member would not expect me to comment on a live police investigation, but the Government will obviously assist the police in any way they require.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will (a) release documents relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s time as trade envoy and (b) share relevant documents with the police.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Rt Hon Member would not expect me to comment on a live police investigation, but the Government will obviously assist the police in any way they require.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to investigate reports of alleged wrongdoing by UK Trade Envoys.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Any reports of alleged wrongdoing in public office are taken seriously by the Government. The Government remains committed to meeting its statutory obligations on records management, disclosure, and cooperation with competent authorities, and any requests will be handled in accordance with established procedures.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, a) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the 18-month rule under Section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 in protecting leaseholders from being billed for historic service-charge liabilities issued outside the statutory deadline, and b) whether his Department has considered the potential merits of improving enforcement mechanisms where managing agents fail to comply with that requirement.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has not made a specific assessment of the effectiveness of Section 20B. Under Section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 a landlord must notify leaseholders of service charge costs being incurred or demanded within 18 months of when the costs were incurred. If landlords miss this deadline, leaseholders are not liable to pay these costs unless the landlord sends a written notice within this period about the costs and their future responsibility to contribute. Leaseholders who consider that they received such a demand outside the time limit and without notification should seek advice, for example from the Leasehold Advisory Service. Leaseholders may challenge unreasonable charges at the First-tier Tribunal.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of legal protections preventing leaseholders from being pursued for (a) service-charge and (b) balancing-charge debts relating to periods before they acquired their property.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises the importance of potential buyers having the information they need to decide whether a home is right for them.
There is already a requirement under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 that any information that would help a prospective homebuyer to make an informed decision must not be hidden or omitted.
We would strongly advise prospective buyers and their legal representative to check that all relevant information has been provided. If this information was not provided at the time of purchase, a legal representative could advise on possible options.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Local Power Plan on local jobs and supply chain opportunities for small businesses in the clean energy sector.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Local ownership keeps economic benefits local, supporting local labour markets directly and indirectly. Community-led projects tend to create more local jobs due to local ownership and reinvestment of revenue.
More broadly, our Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan set out Government’s approach to creating investment, growth and jobs in clean energy industries, including supply chains.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps under the Local Power Plan to accelerate grid connections for small business-led renewable energy projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department continues to work closely with Ofgem, NESO and DNOs to ensure wider grid connections reforms benefit community and local energy projects, including: Ofgem starting to implement proposals in the End‑to‑End Review, a systematic review of Transmission Impact Assessment thresholds in Scotland, and ongoing work to explore remaining policy and regulatory issues.
Projects connecting to distribution networks in England and Wales (including the majority of community projects) have benefited from a Transmission Impact Assessment (TIA) threshold increase from 1MW to 5MW in May 2025, meaning more projects can now avoid the more complex, lengthy and costly transmission connection process.
The Department is committed to improving the grid connection experience for all connecting customers, including community and local energy projects.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises are directly impacted by the Local Power Plan, including hosting renewable energy installations and participating in shared ownership models.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This year Government will consult on detailed plans for a possible mandatory shared ownership scheme and Great British Energy (GBE) will develop a Local Energy Platform to provide an end-to-end business solution for onsite renewable generation. This will be available to small and medium sized enterprises.
Great British Energy will set out further funding options in summer 2026. Projects are encouraged to engage early through the EOI form available at https://www.gbe.gov.uk/express-your-interest