Lord Swire

On 22 October 2024, together with the Scottish and Welsh Governments, we commissioned NESO to produce the first ever Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP), to support a more actively planned approach to energy infrastructure across Great Britain, including for overhead power lines. The SSEP will be subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulation Assessment and take into account views of both rural and urban communities to ensure the impacts of infrastructure on local areas are properly considered.

Fly-tipping is a serious crime which blights communities and the environment and dealing with it imposes significant costs on both taxpayers and businesses. In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment, and other actions to tackle fly-tipping, in due course.

In the meantime, Defra will continue to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders such as local authorities, the Environment Agency and National Farmers Union, to promote good practice with regards to tackling fly-tipping, including on private land.

The Minister of State Stephen Doughty MP made clear in a statement on 27 October our support for the findings of the preliminary report of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights election monitoring mission. That report notes that the election day itself was well-organised and administered in an orderly environment. However, it highlighted concerns, including breaches of voter secrecy, procedural inconsistencies, reports of intimidation and pressure on voters that negatively impacted public trust in the process. Elections were not to the standard expected of an aspiring member of NATO. Allegations of irregularities must be investigated thoroughly and independently.

This government is working hard to ensure the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible, in line with the UK's unilateral declaration. The government is fully committed to that position, as part of our iron-clad support for Ukraine. UK officials continue to hold discussions with Mr Abramovich's representatives, experts and international partners, and we are doubling down on our efforts to reach a resolution.

The September 2024 UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) damage assessment shows two-thirds of all buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since October 2023. Schools, warehouses and offices run by UN agencies have been severely affected along with much of the civilian infrastructure in the Strip, hindering efforts to preserve access to basic services - safe drinking water, shelter and healthcare. We remain deeply concerned over aid workers' safety in Gaza. Israel must take concrete steps to improve deconfliction at all levels of its command-and-control structures, so the UN and its humanitarian partners can operate safely and effectively.

Police forces maintain details of perpetrators of knife crime on local record management systems and this will usually include key demographic data. However, when a suspect has not been arrested this may be based on the perception of the victim or witness rather than their actual characteristics.

The Home Office only collects detailed records from forces on the sex, age and ethnicity of suspects of homicides committed by a knife or sharp instrument.

Police forces and the Independent Office for Police Conduct are independent of government and decisions concerning investigations are operational ones for them to make.

Disciplinary proceedings concerning Operation Midland remain ongoing and it would therefore be inappropriate for the Government to comment while that remains the case.

The Government has no plans to regulate religious dispute resolution processes (such as sharia courts) where all parties consent to those processes. This is consistent with Britain’s long history of freedom of worship and religious tolerance, and the legal rights and remedies of the parties involved remain in place.

Decisions of such bodies are only enforceable if there is a valid arbitration agreement by which all parties have consented to the process, as provided under the terms of the Arbitration Act 1996 for any arbitration panel.