Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to the Skilled Worker route for Indefinite Leave to Remain on people already legally resident in the UK; and whether she plans to introduce transitional protections for people in the UK under the existing five‑year settlement pathway.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The Immigration White Paper included a commitment to consult on these changes. The changes involve significant reforms to the settlement pathway, and it is right that we consult to assess their impact on affected groups.
The consultation includes questions intended to seek respondents’ views on the impacts of the proposed model and also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement.
Details of the final earned settlement scheme will be finalised once the consultation has closed and the responses analysed.
The final model will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the mean, medium and mode waiting times are for processing Homes for Ukraine visas; and how many of those visas take more than three weeks to issue.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UKVI are currently assessing Homes for Ukraine visas within the published processing times. Information on visa processing times can be found at Visa processing times - GOV.UK
Average processing times do not form part of any current transparency data for Home for Ukraine applications and are not published.
A range of processing data including case outcomes on Ukraine visa applications, can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK and Migration transparency data - GOV.UK
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will submit details of new AI-enabled IT systems to be procured for the proposed National Police Service for select committee scrutiny.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We will be establishing a programme of work with policing to deliver the National Police Service. The immediate priorities are to develop the legislation to bring about the new police force; and to deliver the integration of existing capabilities and systems in phase 1, such as National IT, Commercial, Forensics and National Police Air Service. These will form the initial functions of the National Police Service. Parliament and its select committees will be able to scrutinise the development of the National Police Service and its systems in the usual way
We recently announced over £115 million over the next three years to support the rapid and responsible development, testing and rollout of AI tools across all 43 police forces in England and Wales. This will be spearheaded by the creation of Police.AI, a new National Centre for AI in Policing. Police.AI will support forces to adopt AI tools and software by testing and assuring AI models, helping with scaling implementation, and providing public facing transparency through a registry of AI tools in use by policing.
The Home Office are now working closely with the NPCC AI portfolio to establish Police.AI. This includes recruiting its staff and securing a host organisation. Police.AI will transition into the National Police Service when it is appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to integrate climate change projections and increased storm frequency into long-term planning for transport and coastal defence infrastructure in Newton Abbot constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has plans in place and underway with industry to adapt to and mitigate the risks of extreme weather caused by climate change. In 2024, the rail industry agreed a set of climate scenarios. This will harmonise data and methods and will help the industry develop consistent approaches to assess physical risks.
Network Rail is undertaking a programme of adaptation pathways across the network, including in Wales and Western region, which covers the Newton Abbot constituency, to develop a long-term strategic adaptation plan and identify priority areas for further adaptation investment. This approach will help identify those parts of the network which may require transformational change to enable safe and reliable services to continue in the future. Network Rail has also produced regional weather resilience and climate change adaptation plans (WRCCA). These explain Network Rail’s understanding of how weather and climate change can affect infrastructure at a more targeted, local level. This work is already informing discussions for future funding periods.
In addition, the Department has requested its train operating companies, including Great Western Railway, South Western Railway and CrossCountry, to produce their own WRCCA strategies due at the end of January 2026 and these will add further detail to our understanding of regional risks.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what process of commercial bidding in IT systems will be required to tender within the new national police service.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Any commercial bidding for IT systems for the National Police Service will follow standard Government procurement processes governed by the Procurement Act 2023.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 104268 on Blue Badge Scheme: EU Countries, if he will hold discussions with his EU counterparts at the next UK–EU summit on EU recognition of the UK-issued Blue Badges for disabled drivers.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The majority of EU Member States already recognise Blue Badges. In 2025, the UK agreed further mutual recognition with France and agreed in the 2025 strategic bilateral framework with Spain to work to sign an arrangement to ensure mutual recognition of parking permits and Blue Badges for Disabled people. The Department for Transport will continue to engage bilaterally with Member States where they don't recognise Blue Badges.
Further information on Blue Badge recognition can be found here: Using a Blue Badge in Europe - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January to Question 103976 on Boris Johnson and Peter Thiel, what searches he conducted to determine whether there is any (a) physical and (b) other form of record of a meeting between the then Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Boris Johnson, and Mr Peter Thiel on 28 August 2019; which repositories and systems he searched (including but not limited to Private Office diaries, visitor logs, security access records, phone logs, ministerial red boxes, briefing packs, email archives, and officials’ notebooks); and which directorates or teams he consulted; what search terms and date ranges he used.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
All of the records of former Prime Ministers are held by the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives unit. The unit searched both physical and digital records. The physical record of the meeting is brief, simply noting the timing of the meeting, and that it was a private meeting. No other details have been found.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 103976 on Boris Johnson and Peter Thiel, if he will publish the physical record.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
All of the records of former Prime Ministers are held by the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives unit. The unit searched both physical and digital records. The physical record of the meeting is brief, simply noting the timing of the meeting, and that it was a private meeting. No other details have been found.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether coastal resilience funding will be made available for the restoration and protection of Teignmouth pier.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Whilst Defra recognises the importance of Teignmouth Pier to the town and visitors alike, the department understands the pier is privately owned and therefore the responsibility to maintain it rests with the owners. The Environment Agency (EA) met with the owners of the pier in 2022 to explain this situation.
Flood Defence Grant in Aid is focused on the repair of flood defences. The EA and Teignbridge District Council are working closely to secure government funding to replace the timber groynes along the beach at Teignmouth and refurbishment of the seawall around the pier to maintain protection to the community.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether pubs that are (a) derelict or (b) under are eligible to access and use the new hospitality support fund.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are currently finalising plans for the new grants scheme ahead of its launch in April. Its primary purpose is to support hospitality businesses to improve their long‑term viability, including through diversification. The fund will also aim to improve productivity through innovation and to help those furthest from the labour market move into hospitality roles.
Eligibility criteria are still being developed. Any organisation that meets those criteria will be able to apply for support once the scheme opens, which will determine whether pubs that are derelict or currently not trading are eligible.