Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to make the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund a permanent initiative.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
An announcement on funding for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund will be made shortly. All future decisions will be considered as part of the next spending review.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that common land can enter (a) Sustainable Farming Incentive and (b) Countryside Stewardship schemes.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We fully recognise the importance of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) for common land – and we strongly want the schemes to be available to commons as we move forward.
We will be reforming the SFI offer to direct funding towards SFI actions which are most appropriate for the least productive land and have the strongest case for enduring public investment.
We expect to publish more information about the reformed SFI offer in summer 2025. Our intention is that it will be possible to apply for SFI on common land when the reformed SFI offer reopens.
We have published preview guidance for CSHT setting out what funding will be available for farmers and land managers. This includes guidance on entering common land into a CSHT agreement. We will open the rolling application window for CSHT in summer 2025, and we have started inviting farmers and land managers to begin the pre-application process.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent streaming platforms from monopolising digital sports content.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is keen to ensure that key sporting events remain available to watch for free in years to come.
The Media Act 2024 includes several important reforms to the listed events regime. In particular, it closes the potential ‘streamer loophole’ that would have allowed non-PSB services to bypass the regime and which could have seen live coverage intended for UK audiences disappearing behind a paywall.
The Government is working closely with Ofcom to progress implementation of the Media Act. Further information can be found on Ofcom’s website: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/Media-Act-Implementation/.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of people requiring osseointegration transfemoral surgery in England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Using the available data, we are unable to identify the number of people currently waiting for osseointegration transfemoral surgery in England.
Regardless of why patients are waiting for treatment, the Government has committed to reducing waiting times and ensuring that we return to the National Health Service constitutional standard, that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029. We have already made progress, delivering on our commitment to provide an additional two million appointments and publishing our Elective Reform Plan, which details how we will go further to reduce waiting times, increase productivity, and improve patient experience.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to re-open judicial processes for British military veterans in new legacy legislation.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government is committed to repeal and replace the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 and to implement mechanisms that are human rights compliant and can command confidence across communities in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. We have taken important action in fulfilling that commitment by laying a draft remedial order in Parliament that will, amongst other things, remove all provisions from the Act that would have provided immunity from prosecution - including for terrorist crimes.
The approach taken by the last Government was found in many respects to be unlawful and was opposed by many - including families who lost relatives whilst serving the State in Northern Ireland. The veterans I have met, however, have also expressed legitimate concerns that the way we collectively deal with the past must be fair, balanced and proportionate while recognising the circumstances of the time.
This Government’s approach will ensure that legacy cases are dealt with sensitively, efficiently and lawfully, and that veterans who engage with legacy mechanisms are provided with the appropriate support. We remain committed to engaging widely with all interested parties, including veterans, to help determine an appropriate way forward, including what provisions should be included in primary legislation that I have committed to introduce when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to resolve technical issues within the Rural Payments Agency that prevent common landowners applying for the Sustainable Farming Incentive due to incorrect mapping data and the lack of an offline application process.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
68% of common land is currently taking part in our agri-environment schemes. Defra will continue to work with our delivery partners to ensure future schemes will be accessible to managers of common land.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on support for the farming industry in Wales.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
The Government is steadfastly committed to the farming sector. We protected the farm budget at its current level and allocated £337m to the Welsh Government at the Autumn Budget.
The Welsh Government in their budget have used this to maintain the Basic Payment Scheme at its current level for another year, providing much needed support for farmers across Wales….a budget as he knows that his party supported, whilst Tory and Plaid Cymru Senedd members tried to block it.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the planning system supports small-scale self-build developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 includes measures designed to strengthen support for self and custom build housing by promoting mixed tenure development, including plots for self and custom build, and strengthening the wording around small site allocation for SME housebuilders.
We will continue to consider how we can best support the diversification of the housing market, including through the long-term housing strategy the government will publish later this year.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his policy is on the potential establishment of a special international criminal tribunal to investigate and prosecute individuals for the crime of aggression in relation to Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports work towards establishing a Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine as a means of promoting accountability for atrocities in Ukraine. The UK has played an active role in discussions with Ukraine and close partners in the "core group" working to progress this commitment. On 3-4 February, senior UK legal experts participated in a meeting in Brussels that made progress on technical elements of the legal instruments for the establishment of the Special Tribunal. We are working to ensure the instruments are legally sound and therefore able to attract broad international support. We welcome Ukraine's intent to finalise an agreement with the Council of Europe (CoE), enabling the Special Tribunal to make full use of the CoE's existing infrastructure.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is his policy to support the establishment of a special tribunal on the crimes of aggression following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports work towards establishing a Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine as a means of promoting accountability for atrocities in Ukraine. The UK has played an active role in discussions with Ukraine and close partners in the "core group" working to progress this commitment. On 3-4 February, senior UK legal experts participated in a meeting in Brussels that made progress on technical elements of the legal instruments for the establishment of the Special Tribunal. We are working to ensure the instruments are legally sound and therefore able to attract broad international support. We welcome Ukraine's intent to finalise an agreement with the Council of Europe (CoE), enabling the Special Tribunal to make full use of the CoE's existing infrastructure.