Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) feasibility and (b) effectiveness of a prospective agreement between the UK and other parties withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK withdrew from the Energy Charter Treaty on 27 April 2025. Ten other Energy Charter Treaty Contracting Parties have withdrawn, or are withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty.
The UK Government is committed to delivering its Growth and Clean Energy Missions agendas and to working multilaterally to achieve this, such as at the OECD and the UN.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it is his Department's policy to seek an investor-state dispute chapter during negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty with India.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK withdrew from the Energy Charter Treaty on 27 April 2025. Ten other Energy Charter Treaty Contracting Parties have withdrawn, or are withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty.
The UK Government is committed to delivering its Growth and Clean Energy Missions agendas and to working multilaterally to achieve this, such as at the OECD and the UN.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts in countries that plan to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty on the potential merits of entering into an agreement with each other to mutually disapply the agreement's sunset clause.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK withdrew from the Energy Charter Treaty on 27 April 2025. Ten other Energy Charter Treaty Contracting Parties have withdrawn, or are withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty.
The UK Government is committed to delivering its Growth and Clean Energy Missions agendas and to working multilaterally to achieve this, such as at the OECD and the UN.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
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 made of the potential impact of the Energy Charter Treaty's sunset clause on fossil fuel assets on the financial risk of legal challenges to the UK.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK withdrew from the Energy Charter Treaty on 27 April 2025. Ten other Energy Charter Treaty Contracting Parties have withdrawn, or are withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty.
The UK Government is committed to delivering its Growth and Clean Energy Missions agendas and to working multilaterally to achieve this, such as at the OECD and the UN.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to tackle global climate change.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to tackling climate change at home and abroad. At COP29, the Prime Minister committed to reduce the UK’s emissions by at least 81% by 2035, compared to 1990 levels.
Working internationally is key to accelerating the clean energy transition – that is why the Government set up the Global Clean Power Alliance, to scale up the deployment of clean energy globally by overcoming the barriers to delivering clean power transitions. We are continuing to drive forward progress in key sectors through initiatives such as the Breakthrough Agenda and Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made on the potential impact of changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain on people working (a) part-time and (b) on low wages.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
A technical annex has been published alongside the White Paper. It can be found in the following link: Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK.
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain on people seeking to buy property in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
A technical annex has been published alongside the White Paper. It can be found in the following link: Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK.
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed extension of the qualifying period for indefinite leave on levels of poverty in migrant communities.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
A technical annex has been published alongside the White Paper. It can be found in the following link: Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK.
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and will provide details of how the scheme will work at that time.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave on families with British-born children.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We will reform our settlement and citizenship rules by expanding the Points-Based System and increasing the standard qualifying period for settlement to ten years.
Individuals will have the opportunity to reduce the qualifying period to settlement and citizenship based on contributions to the UK economy and society.
Paragraph 265 of the White Paper states that we will continue to offer a shorter pathway to settlement for non-UK dependants of British citizens of five years, provided they have remained compliant with the requirements of the relevant family route.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings she has had with (a) SMEs and (b) other businesses on understanding the proposed EHRC Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions, and Associations.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:
HMT ministers' meetings, hospitality, gifts and overseas travel - GOV.UK
The EHRC’s sponsor department within the government is the Office for Equality and Opportunity, part of the Cabinet Office. The EHRC are presently consulting on the practical implications of the judgment and how this may be best reflected in their updated Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations.