Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the human rights situation in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the fall of the Assad regime, we continue to monitor the human rights situation closely. Accountability and protection of human rights are critical parts of a sustainable transition, and we continue to advocate for them to be part of the transitional process. As we made clear in our joint statements with G7 leaders, and following the Aqaba contact group meeting on Syria, we stand ready to support a transition process that leads to credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance with respect for human rights.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of passenger flights in the UK using sustainable aviation fuel in 2023-24.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not require, and has no plans to require, data from commercial operators on the number of passenger flights using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It has set ambitious but realistic targets for SAF supply through a SAF mandate scheme introduced on 1 January 2025 and against which progress is being measured.
The uptake of SAF was previously supported through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. In 2023 97 million litres of SAF was supplied under the RTFO, the equivalent of 0.7% of all jet fuel supplied in the UK that year. Progress towards targets set through the SAF mandate will similarly be reported in the Department’s renewable fuels statistics.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the resilience of power lines in the event of extreme weather.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Emergencies Executive Committee (E3C) work to identify lessons after all large energy incidents to ensure continuous improvement to the network. Network operators have completed a significant number of improvements to the resilience of Great Britain’s electricity network which means the electricity system is in a much better place to mitigate power disruption during extreme weather events such as those seen during Storm Darragh and Storm Eowyn.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the expansion of Heathrow Airport on (a) noise pollution, (b) air quality and (c) carbon targets.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer.
Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow.
The government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding commitments on carbon and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consultation she has undertaken with local communities on Heathrow airport expansion.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer.
Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement in line with the requirements of the Planning Act 2008, and in doing so the Secretary of State will comply with any statutory requirements relating to consultation and publicity.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for disabled residents.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The previous Government consulted on Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans, identifying concerns over their practicality, proportionality and safety.
Following further consultation, Government has committed to introduce legislation later this year to mandate an alternative package of measures called Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for mobility-impaired residents of high rise residential blocks, and of 11-18 metre high residential blocks with a simultaneous evacuation strategy in place.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to end the use of hotels in Runcorn and Helsby constituency to house people and families seeking asylum.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of people stuck in limbo without any prospect of having their claims processed. At their peak use under the previous government, in the autumn of 2023, more than 400 asylum hotels were being leased by the Home Office, at a cost of almost £9 million a day.
We took immediate action to resolve that chaos by restarting asylum processing, establishing the new Border Security Command to tackle the people-smuggling gangs, cracking down on illegal working across the country, and increasing the return and removal of people with no right to be here.
Inevitably, due to the size of the backlog we inherited, the Government has been forced to continue with the use of hotels for the time being. This is not a permanent solution, and the small increase in the number in use at the end of last year was just a temporary but necessary step to manage pressures in the system, which is now in the process of being reversed. The number of hotels in use at present is 218. Since the General Election, there has been a net increase of six hotels in use; however, nine are scheduled for closure by the end of March 2025.
It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs. In the interim, we are also continuing to increase our operational activity against smuggling gangs and illegal working, and we have increased returns to their highest level since 2018, with 16,400 people removed in the first six months this government was in office.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of halting changes to the threshold for agricultural property relief and business property relief.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
In 2021-22, the most recent year for which data is available, the median value of assets qualifying for agricultural property relief was £486,000 and three-quarters of estates claimed for agricultural property below £1 million. The data also shows that a very small number of claimants each year claim a very significant amount of relief – 40 per cent of the total Exchequer cost of the relief went to the top seven per cent of claims. It is not fair to maintain such a significant relief for a very small number of claimants, when this money could better be used to fund our public services.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of pet insurance premiums in the last 12 months.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Pet insurance providers are private businesses and are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential environmental impact of bottom trawling on marine protected areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is essential to manage bottom trawling in our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) appropriately due to the significant damage it can have on protected seabed habitats. Fisheries regulators make detailed assessments of the impact of all fishing activities on the protected species and habitats in our MPAs and develop byelaws to restrict fishing when it has been assessed as damaging. These site-by-site assessments help to ensure fishing is not unduly restricted. Recent examples of these assessments can be found at Stage_2_MPA_Fisheries_Assessment.pdf and Dogger_Bank_SAC_Fisheries_Assessment.pdf.