Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish a breakdown of funding for passengers with reduced mobility services at United Kingdom airports provided by her Department.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the UK law, the managing body of the airport is responsible for ensuring the provision of free assistance, for disabled or less mobile passengers. The UK aviation sector operates in a private market, therefore the sector is responsible for funding the provision of assistance.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 10393 on NHS, whether the Health Minister in each devolved Administration is a working level contact.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
An interministerial group meeting is currently being diarised for December 2024. At this meeting, all of the Health Ministers from across the United Kingdom will convene to discuss the 10-Year Health Plan in further detail, including any opportunities for alignment and information sharing across the UK.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Government issues rallying cry to the nation to help fix NHS, published on 21 October 2024, whether he plans to have discussions with the devolved Administrations on the future of the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department officials working on the 10-Year Health Plan have had, and will continue to have, meetings with working level contacts in each of the devolved administrations. These conversations will continue to explore how best to identify potential areas of United Kingdom-wide policy alignment, as the plan is developed.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government are taking to ensure the continued supply of medicines to Northern Ireland, in the context of the implementation of the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Windsor Framework secures the long-term stability of medicines supply to Northern Ireland, ensuring that medicines will be available in the same packaging and with a single licence across the UK, reflecting the long standing preference of industry.
The Government continues to work closely with industry to support readiness for the implementation of these arrangements from 1 January 2025 and ensure there is no disruption. Transitional measures are also available to support companies, such as the temporary use of stickers and the arrangement that all medicines that are on the market before 1 January 2025 can continue to be supplied in existing packaging.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Consumer Credit Directive, which came into force in Northern Ireland on 23 November 2023, on cancer patients and their families.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The European Union’s Consumer Credit Directive 2008 was implemented into UK law in 2010. In November 2023, the EU passed a new Consumer Credit Directive that will replace the previous Directive and which Member States must transpose into domestic law by November 2025. As the UK has left the European Union, this Directive will not apply in the UK, including Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to bring forward proposals to counter financial discrimination against cancer survivors.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of access to useful and appropriate financial products. We work closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator of the UK's financial services sector, to ensure that customers are treated fairly by firms.
While the pricing and availability of financial services and products is a commercial decision for firms, FCA rules require the price a consumer pays for a product or service be reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive. The FCA also expects that customers get the right support with their financial products, particularly where their personal circumstances, including health conditions, may make them more susceptible to harm.
The Government is committed to improving financial inclusion and will continue to work with regulators, firms, and the third sector to this end.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has agricultural property relief been worth in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC holds the information of those estates which make claims for Agricultural Property Relief (APR) within its digital administrative systems if the estate was taxpaying, or could be taxpaying after compliance checks have been performed.
It does not hold readily available information about the geographical location of the assets qualifying for the relief – it only holds the value of the assets qualifying for the relief, and the amount of relief given against those assets, in a format available for further analysis.
As such, it is not possible to provide this information within current cost limits.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the cross-Government Taskforce on motor insurance will include representation from Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We recognise that the concerns the Taskforce will work on are shared across the UK. Therefore, we have proposed a meeting of the Taskforce that includes representatives from the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to discuss any key differences in markets across the UK and how these affect the cost of insurance for consumers.
This Government committed in its manifesto to tackle the high costs of motor insurance. To deliver on this commitment, the UK Government formed a cross-government Taskforce on motor insurance, co-chaired by the Department for Transport and His Majesty’s Treasury, which met for the first time on 16th October.
The Taskforce is comprised of ministers from relevant Government Departments and by the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The Taskforce is supported by a separate Stakeholder Panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector.
This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. It will evaluate the impact of increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies and communities.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 has taken with external stakeholders to remove excess phosphorus from cattle and pig slurry.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A recent £15 million round of the Farming Innovation Programme focussed on nutrient management, funding research projects to develop ideas and technology enabling farmers to manage their inputs and reduce environmental risk more effectively. Managing and recovering phosphorous in slurry is in scope of this competition and the successful projects will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 protect the wild salmon population.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Between 2019 and 2023, the Environment Agency mitigated 58 barriers to fish passage on England’s salmon rivers. The Environment Agency also manages salmon fisheries in England, ensuring that 95% of salmon catches in 2023 were released, alive, through a combination of voluntary and mandatory measures.
Cleaning up the water environment is a key priority for Defra. The Government will be carrying out a review of the water sector regulatory system, with further details to be set out later this year.
Defra is also working internationally to protect salmon populations through participation in the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO). A full list of actions related to salmon conservation can be found in the England and Wales NASCO “Implementation Plan”, along with annual progress updates. The Environment Agency is currently re-assessing the key pressures on salmon, in England, ahead of producing a new Implementation Plan in 2025/26, to cover the 2025 – 2030 reporting cycle.