Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what his planned timetable is for implementing the reforms to the Electronic Communications Code through the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Most reforms to the Electronic Communications Code through the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 have already been implemented. Government is committed to implementing the remaining provisions as soon as possible.
A technical consultation on provisions from the Act that - when commenced - make changes to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 and the Business Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 is open until 2 July. We expect to publish a response to this consultation later this year. The exact timeframe depends on the responses to the consultation and issues raised.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 61108 on Import Duties: Israeli Settlements, what compliance checks HMRC undertakes to identify goods whether goods labelled as originating from Israel were produced in Israeli settlements located in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; what estimate HMRC has made of the number and proportion of goods imported from Israel which are labelled as produced in Israel but were produced in Occupied Palestinian Territories; and whether HMRC levies sanctions in relation to the mislabelling of goods.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel
Where there are doubts about the origin of goods that have been declared as being of Israeli origin, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. HMRC does not however provide specific details regarding checks as it may serve to undermine compliance activity
HMRC encourages members of the public to report cases of potentially fraudulent activity either via the ‘report fraud to HMRC’ function on GOV.UK or the HMRC fraud hotline on 0800 788 887 available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. HMRC takes such matters seriously and investigates them in detail
The overseas business risk guidance, available on GOV.UK, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled.
Data on imports from Israel are available from UK Trade Info: uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the total value of imports from Israel that were deemed ineligible for preferential tariff treatment under the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement in 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel
Where there are doubts about the origin of goods that have been declared as being of Israeli origin, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. HMRC does not however provide specific details regarding checks as it may serve to undermine compliance activity
HMRC encourages members of the public to report cases of potentially fraudulent activity either via the ‘report fraud to HMRC’ function on GOV.UK or the HMRC fraud hotline on 0800 788 887 available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. HMRC takes such matters seriously and investigates them in detail
The overseas business risk guidance, available on GOV.UK, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled.
Data on imports from Israel are available from UK Trade Info: uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the number of patients waiting longer than the Kent Integrated Dermatology Service's four week deadline for issuing biopsy results, in each of the last six months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the number of patients waiting longer than four weeks for their biopsy results.
The Government is spending £600 million of capital this year on diagnostics, including funding for the automation of histopathology laboratories, for the first time ever, to improve productivity. We are also funding all pathology networks to increase digital capabilities by March 2026, which will reduce unnecessary waits and repeat tests, to ensure that patients receive their results sooner, including those in Kent.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money the UK Government collected in 2024 from tariffs imposed on goods imported from illegal settlements within the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC only publish receipts at a national level, and they cannot be broken down further with sufficient accuracy, due to the way the information is captured.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating more supported living accommodation for autistic adults.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises the important role played by supported housing in helping disabled, older and other vulnerable people to live safely, well and independently, including autistic adults. The 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme includes delivery of supported housing. Through the Spending Review announced on 11 June, we are providing the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation, confirming £39 billion for a successor to the Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. We are also announcing a 10-year social housing rent settlement from 2026 at Consumer Price Index + 1%, alongside a consultation to follow shortly on how to implement social rent convergence.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve ambulance response times in Tunbridge Wells.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the pressures on the National Health Service and the impact this is having on ambulance response times, including in Tunbridge Wells.
We are determined to turn things around, and our 10-Year Health Plan will be published in the summer, setting out major NHS reforms to move healthcare from the hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.
The NHS Urgent and Emergency care plan 2025/26, published on 6 June 2025, requires health systems to focus on those areas likely to have the biggest impact on urgent and emergency care services this year. The plan includes actions that will reduce category 2 ambulance response times to 30 minutes and reduce ambulance handovers to 45 minutes, helping to get 550,000 more ambulances back on the road.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 56005 on Visas: Health Professions, what provisions are in place to appeal visa applications for dependents of skilled health workers that were rejected due to issues with birth certificates issued by the country of origin.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Individuals in those circumstances are entitled to apply for an administrative review of the decision. If they wish to challenge the outcome of that review, they can apply for judicial review.
There is no right to an appeal or an administrative review of a decision to reject an invalid application. Such decisions are subject to judicial review.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applications for dependents of skilled health workers were rejected due to issues with birth certificates issued by the country of origin in 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of implementing the Firearms Act 2023 without a transitional period to apply for personal firearm certificates on miniature rifle clubs.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Firearms Act 2023 introduced legislation to strengthen firearms controls by making it a requirement for the operator of a miniature rifle range to have a firearm certificate and undergo police licensing checks.
The Firearms Act 2023 was commenced on 1 May 2025 and police forces had been preparing for implementation in advance of this date, including by considering applications from miniature rifle club operators prior to commencement to ensure that operators could comply with the requirements of the new legislation.