Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the UK, mandatory climate-related financial disclosure requirements are set under the Companies (Strategic Report, Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022 and the Limited Liability Partnerships (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022. The requirements are aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). The regulations apply to the following groups with more than 500 employees: listed companies, banks and insurance companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), and Alternative Investment Market-listed companies. They also apply to companies and LLPs who are not included in the list above, which have more than 500 employees and more than £500m turnover.
Under UK Listing Rules, listed companies must disclose in their annual report whether their climate-related disclosures are consistent with TCFD recommendations, or explain why not.
UK pension schemes whose relevant assets are £1 billion or more at the end of the scheme year must also disclose climate-related information in line with TCFD recommendations, under the Occupational Pension Schemes (Climate Change Governance and Reporting) Regulations 2021.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Internationally, Defra is one of the largest donors to and supporters of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), providing funding to enable voluntary market adoption and to address knowledge, capacity-building and data needs of market participants.
Domestically, Defra is funding the TNFD’s UK National Consultation Group – convened by the Green Finance Institute - to support UK companies and financial institutions in building awareness and capacity on nature and the TNFD, building the case internally for TNFD-aligned reporting and collecting feedback on the recommendations.
HMG has backed the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop standards that provide globally comparable and decision-useful information for investors regarding sustainability-related financial disclosures. Following ISSB’s consultation on future priorities, we welcomed and look forward to the results of their work to research disclosures on risks and opportunities associated with biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services – drawing on the work of the TNFD. I met recently with the Director of Sustainable Finance for the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss these matters.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) assessments and (b) controls are in place to ensure the (i) integrity and (ii) effectiveness of measures implemented to achieve biodiversity net gains in development projects.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is a mandatory requirement in the planning process, and developments (unless exempt) need to submit information to the relevant local planning authority to demonstrate how they intend to deliver a 10% ‘net gain’ calculated using the statutory BNG metric. This could be through measures taken on-site, off-site or by purchasing government issued credits as a last resort. Any significant on-site (and any off-site) gains must include a legal agreement (covering at least 30 years) and a habitat management and monitoring plan as part of their application.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on issuing payments under the LGBT Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme launched on 13 December 2024. As of 31 March 2025, 917 applications had been received. Fighting With Pride, the Royal British Legion and Veterans UK are providing ongoing support to veterans with their applications.
The process of gathering evidence and records for the creation of casefiles is underway for these applications. This is the largest part of the process as this requires the collation of information from a variety of sources, including historical records.
Terminally ill veterans are being prioritised and we expect payments to begin for these veterans by the end of April 2025.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing free covid vaccinations to unpaid carers.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of severe illness, involving hospitalisation and/or death, arising from COVID-19.
The JCVI’s advice for autumn 2024 noted that in the era of high population immunity to COVID-19, and with all cases due to highly transmissible omicron sub-variants, any protection offered by the vaccine against the transmission of infection from one person to another was expected to be extremely limited. On this basis, the JCVI did not advise offering vaccination to unpaid carers. The Government accepted the JCVI’s advice for autumn 2024, with both the advice and the Government’s response available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-accepts-advice-on-2024-autumn-covid-vaccine-programme
On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme covering vaccination in 2025 and spring 2026. In line with its advice for the autumn 2024 campaign, the JCVI does not advise COVID-19 vaccination for unpaid carers. This advice is available at the following link:
The Government has accepted the JCVI’s advice on eligibility for the spring 2025 COVID-19 vaccination programme. The Government is considering the advice for autumn 2025 and spring 2026 carefully, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that veterans who participated in lawful military operations during the Northern Ireland Troubles are treated fairly in relation to investigations or judicial proceedings; and if he will increase (a) legal protections and (b) welfare support for those veterans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government recognises the important service of Armed Forces personnel and the sacrifices they made to keep us all safe in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. We are exploring measures to ensure that the legacy of the past is addressed sensitively, efficiently, and lawfully, including with veterans’ groups. When a veteran faces judicial proceedings in relation to their duties, we offer, at public expense, legal support and representation as appropriate. Veterans are also offered welfare support tailored to their individual needs and circumstances.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the cost effectiveness of the outsourcing the (a) assessment and (b) administration of welfare.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not outsource the assessment or administration of social security in any wholesale manner, although some elements of these services are outsourced to third parties.
Where these services have been outsourced, each arrangement is subject to individual scrutiny both at the planning and commissioning stages, where a number of steps are conducted:
When we do decide to outsource, at the end of the commercial process a contract will be executed, which will capture the key requirements for provision of the service and the service levels expected of the provider to enable the anticipated value for money to be delivered. This will be managed closely by contract management practitioners accredited to, or studying towards accreditation, at Expert or Practitioner level (depending on the complexity of the contract) of the Contract Management Capability Programme managed by Cabinet Office. This enables and ensures that the department realises the best value for money possible from the third party services and the optimum cost effectiveness.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that people with care needs can continue to pay for carers following changes to eligibility for Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026.
The changes will focus PIP more on those with the greatest needs, ensuring those who are unable to complete activities at all, or who require more help from others to complete them, still get support.
Through the Green Paper we are consulting on the support needed for those who may lose any entitlements as a result of receiving PIP daily living and what this support could look like.
We will also work closely with the DHSC and others on how the health and eligible care needs of those who would lose entitlement to PIP could be met outside the benefits system. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has regular discussions with Cabinet members, including in relation to benefit reform.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what fiscal measures her Department has considered to help facilitate the renovation of existing residential sites.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to supporting estate regeneration schemes to transform neighbourhoods by delivering well designed housing and public space, a better quality of life and new opportunities for tenants.
As of June 2023, grant funding provided through the government’s Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 can be used to fund replacement homes alongside new affordable homes, as part of wider estate regeneration plans.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to (a) support the development of battery-electrified trains and (b) ensure that those trains are made using British critical minerals.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is supporting the development of battery-electric trains as they are an integral part of the plan to decarbonise the railway network by 2050. This includes innovative projects such as the Greenford fast-charge battery train trial, a recent battery trial on a TransPennine Express unit, as well as the full deployment of multi-mode trains with batteries by Transport for Wales and Merseyrail. We are progressing work on a whole systems approach to decarbonisation, ensuring both track and train are considered.
The Government published a Critical Minerals Strategy in 2022, which sets out its approach for ensuring the secure supply of critical minerals for key technologies including batteries.