Liz Saville Roberts

The Law Commissions of England & Wales and Scotland plan to publish the report of their long-standing review of UK surrogacy legislation in November 2022. Upon receipt, the Government will consider the timetable for introducing this to Parliament for pre-legislative scrutiny.

The COP President meets Cabinet colleagues regularly on a wide range of issues.

The UK and our international partners stand united in condemning the Russian government’s reprehensible actions, which are an egregious violation of international law and the UN Charter. The world must focus on generating cheaper, cleaner power that is not subject to volatile international markets.

I have regular discussions with my European counterparts on reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and accelerating a well-managed transition to cleaner, more efficient energy systems to deliver energy security.

The LGBT Advisory Panel was created under the previous administration and the term of all panel members ended on 31 March. The Minister for Women & Equalities has written to panel members to thank them for their contributions. I will shortly set out further details on our plans for the International LGBT Conference and banning conversion therapy, including how we will engage those with relevant expertise.

The provisions within the Equality Act 2010 protect everyone equally, if they hold a recognised religion or belief or if they have a lack of any such religion or belief. The Act does not list or codify recognised religions or beliefs as this is a matter for the courts. Exceptions in the Act recognise the legitimate requirements of organised religions, such as allowing religions to require that its ministers hold that particular faith. We believe this is an effective legislative approach.

The Ministerial Code makes clear that Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise. It is the personal responsibility of each Minister to decide whether and what action is needed to avoid a conflict or the perception of a conflict, taking account of advice received from their Permanent Secretary and the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ interests.

As set out in Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code, there is an established regime in place for the declaration and management of private interests held by ministers. Cabinet members appointed on 13 November 2023 are following this standard process. On appointment to each new office, ministers must provide their Permanent Secretary and Independent Adviser with a full list of interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict. This includes interests of the minister’s spouse or partner and close family which might be thought to give rise to a conflict.

The Independent Adviser publishes a list of relevant interests. Work is underway on the next List which will include all ministers appointed week commencing 13 November.

The Crown Commercial Service, on behalf of the Cabinet Office, continues to work alongside the national food industry, including the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, to make sure that suppliers’ concerns are being factored into the development of the agreement.

We regularly engage with colleagues from the devolved nations, including customers and suppliers across Wales, on their commercial requirements and how we can support them.

SMEs and wholesalers are crucial to the food supply chain and have been consulted as part of supplier engagement. These stakeholders have been from across the whole of the UK. The UK Government always seeks to work constructively with devolved administrations, including the Welsh Government, and feedback from this process shaped the procurement strategy for the framework agreement.

The UK Government has made important changes to ensure SME producers across the country will have increased opportunities to work with the public sector. Furthermore, customers will be able to request nominated local products (subject to the local supplier/producer meeting the minimum technical standards). These products would be consolidated into a single delivery with their food order.

Lastly, this will be the first procurement for CCS in the food market, which will actually bring additional choice to public sector food buyers.

This information is not held centrally.

The Government Communication Service is a cross-government function with teams embedded in departments. Departments are responsible for their own advertising spend across all communication channels.

Cabinet Office publishes expenditure on government communication spend, including our national campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements at the link below: www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-spend-data.

We work closely across the United Kingdom to ensure that government communication activity reaches the intended audiences effectively.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The Government protects the post office network by setting minimum access criteria to ensure that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a post office. These criteria ensure that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.

​Post Office continue to ensure that at least the three core services of mails, cash and basic banking, and bill payments are provided within a reasonable distance for customers as defined by the Government-set Access Criteria. This ensures that these services remain easily accessible to all customers.

The Post Office operates as a commercial business and the company has the freedom to deliver the branch network within the parameters we set. The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that services remain within local reach of all citizens, including rural communities.

​Providing outreach services is a measure that Post Office takes to ensure communities have the access they require to Post Office products and services, particularly in local areas where permanent solutions are not always possible due to lack of premises or retailers. In these communities, outreach branches ensure customers are not left behind and can continue to access the Post Office services on which they rely.

The Government protects the Post Office network by setting minimum access criteria to ensure that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a post office. These criteria ensure that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.

Post Office network coverage data is not available in the detail requested. However, according to the most recent Post Office Annual Network Report, there were 566 rural branches in Wales as of March 2023.

There are no import sanctions on goods originating from Israeli settlements and no plans to introduce any bans. The UK government has always been clear on this. Under the existing UK-Israel trade agreement, goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the agreement between the UK and Israel, nor the agreement between the UK and the Palestinian Authority. I can confirm that this will not change in the upgraded free trade agreement with Israel.

As part of the ongoing evaluation of the current iteration of the Energy Company Obligation scheme, ECO4, we are gathering feedback from a sample of households on their satisfaction with the installation of energy efficiency measures.

Installations of measures under ECO4 are carried out by TrustMark registered businesses and must adhere to the industry-developed Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2035/2030 standards.

The scheme administrator, Ofgem has set out a comprehensive route to redress for any issues arising from measures installed under the scheme, which can be found at: www.ofgem.gov.uk/eco4-complaints-process.

In response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) green heating and insulation review, the government also announced work which is being undertaken to improve consumer protection. A link to the government’s written statement of 21 February 2024 can be found here.

We remain fully committed to protecting all consumers undertaking home retrofit work.

As part of the ongoing evaluation of the current iteration of the Energy Company Obligation, ECO4, we are gathering feedback from a sample of households on their satisfaction with installations. Installation companies must be registered with TrustMark, the UK Government endorsed Quality Scheme for home improvements. TrustMark registered businesses are required to adhere to Publicly Available Specification (PAS) standards, providing a warranty to the householder when a measure is installed in case something goes wrong. Ofgem, the scheme administrator, has a route to redress for consumers should they be dissatisfied with the measures delivered.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) places a requirement on larger energy suppliers to deliver heating and insulation measures to eligible households. Energy suppliers are assumed to recoup the cost of delivery through consumer bills. Homes benefitting from ECO4 are assumed to cut an average of £430 off their annual energy bills based on the latest price cap.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) places a requirement on larger energy suppliers to deliver heating and insulation measures to eligible low-income and fuel poor households. Energy suppliers recoup delivery costs through consumer bills.

Homes benefitting from ECO4 will cut approximately £430 off their energy bills.

The Department does not hold data on the number of households affected by poor standards of workmanship under ECO. Through the ongoing evaluation of ECO4, we are gathering feedback from a sample of households on their satisfaction with installations.

Wales is home to significant national research capabilities including the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult based in Newport and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University. Excellence is a key criterion for the allocation of research funding to institutions in all parts of the UK. It is central to the Research Excellence Framework, managed by the research funding bodies including the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

In addition, the Government has given UKRI a new organisational objective to support levelling up, and increase consideration of local growth criteria and impact in R&D fund design.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that eligible hospices are protected from excessively high energy costs over the winter period. Following an HMT-led review, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April until March 2024, and continue to provide a discount to eligible hospices. Both energy schemes apply across all of the United Kingdom, including Wales. The Government will continue to engage with devolved administrations in its design and implementation plans for the new scheme.

Domestic customers should be able to access their energy supplier’s telephone customer services easily and without high call charges by offering freephone or low-cost geographic numbers. The decision to provide a freephone number is a commercial matter for individual companies and there are no plans to discuss this matter. Energy suppliers who have signed up to Energy UK’s Vulnerability Commitment must have a freephone number for consumers who are in debt. Some also have a designated freephone line for prepayment meter and Priority Service customers.

The Government keeps energy efficiency support for businesses, including SMEs, under review. Existing initiatives include an exemption on business rates for green technology, providing small businesses grants under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and support under the £289million Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.

The Government is reviewing what additional levers can be introduced to help small businesses to be more energy efficient, including financial support such as those suggested by the Federation of Small Businesses. As part of this, in the Autumn Statement my Rt Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that Government will establish a new Energy Efficiency Taskforce to help achieve the Government's target to reduce energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030.

First generation (SMETS1) smart meters are being remotely moved onto the national smart metering communications network, run by the Data Communications Company (DCC), so that consumers regain smart services and keep them if they switch energy supplier in the future. Second generation smart (SMETS2) meters are connected to the national network from the point of installation.

BEIS does not hold data on the average time households wait for a smart meter to be migrated. However, the vast majority of SMETS1 meters – which had previously lost smart services – have now been connected to the national communications network. Industry is continuing work at pace to enrol remaining “active” SMETS1 meters, that are connected to energy suppliers’ own communications systems and continue to provide smart services.

The Government continues to work closely with the DCC and energy suppliers to monitor and drive progress.

First generation (SMETS1) smart meters are being remotely moved onto the national smart metering communications network, run by the Data Communications Company (DCC), so that consumers regain smart services and keep them if they switch energy supplier in the future. Second generation smart (SMETS2) meters are connected to the national network from the point of installation.

BEIS does not hold data on the average time households wait for a smart meter to be migrated. However, the vast majority of SMETS1 meters – which had previously lost smart services – have now been connected to the national communications network. Industry is continuing work at pace to enrol remaining “active” SMETS1 meters, that are connected to energy suppliers’ own communications systems and continue to provide smart services.

The Government continues to work closely with the DCC and energy suppliers to monitor and drive progress.