Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the new guidance on the good character requirement for British citizenship complies with the UK’s obligations under Article 31 of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We take our international obligations very seriously, including those under the Refugee Convention 1951. The good character policy is compliant with those obligations.

Each citizenship application will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis considering all positive and negative factors. The Secretary of State may choose to apply discretion to grant citizenship on an exceptional basis where there are particularly exceptional, compelling, or mitigating circumstances.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has targets for the time taken to process Attendance Allowance.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Actual Average Clearance Time for Attendance Allowance claims for January 2025 was 23 working days. There is a quick application process for people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and aren't expected to live more than 12 months. These claims are fast tracked.

Attendance Allowance is currently undergoing a significant modernisation reform through the piloting of an on-line digital claim process as a part of the department’s wider Service Modernisation plans.

Please note, the Average Actual Clearance Time figures shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. It is rounded to the nearest working day.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will review the name of the Attendance Allowance.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

There are no plans to change the name of Attendance Allowance in England and Wales.

Attendance Allowance is a devolved matter in Scotland. The Scottish Government is currently replacing it with Pension Age Disability Payment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she will reply to correspondence sent from the Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East on pensioner poverty of (a) 25 November 2024 and (b) 14 January 2025.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

I replied to the Hon.Member on 6 March. I apologise for the delay.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on the potential inclusion of US (a) beef and (b) chicken products being included in a trade deal with the US.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK and US have a strong economic relationship which is fair, balanced and reciprocal. We have $1.5 trillion invested in each other’s economies and over 2.5 million jobs across both countries.

The Prime Minister and President Trump agreed to deepen this relationship and that we should work together to agree a trade deal focused on technology.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has (a) made an assessment and (b) commissioned analysis of the potential impact of a trade deal with the US on agriculture.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK and US have a strong economic relationship which is fair, balanced and reciprocal. We have $1.5 trillion invested in each other’s economies and over 2.5 million jobs across both countries.

The Prime Minister and President Trump agreed that we should work together to deepen this relationship and to agree a trade deal focused on technology.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he will reply to correspondence from the Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East on climate change emissions of (a) 11 October 2024, (b) 25 November 2024 and (c) 14 January 2025.

Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

I wrote to the Hon. Member on 21 February, in response to the Hon. Member’s correspondence about how the Government plans to deliver emission cuts, generate jobs, lower energy bills and restore nature. In that response I apologised for the delay in replying. As the hon. Member is aware this correspondence was passed to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Trade Act 2021 to prevent future international trade agreements from including provisions relating to the operation of the NHS.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government’s policy position is to protect the National Health Service and the services it provides in trade agreements. The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade to defend this position in all trade policy and trade agreement considerations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has a policy on the inclusion of provisions on the supply of services to the NHS within the proposed free trade agreement with the US.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government’s policy position is to protect the National Health Service and the services it provides in trade agreements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of a free trade agreement with the US on the NHS.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is considering the impact of a potential trade deal between the United Kingdom and the United States. As my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said last week, “we’re clear the NHS is not on the table. It’s not up for sale. But when it comes to life sciences and medical technology… we’ve got a lot to offer the United States, and we’ve got a lot to get from the United States in return”.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Trade Act 2021 to prevent future international trade agreements from including provisions relating to the operation of the NHS.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Section 2(5) of the Trade Act already ensures that international trade agreements, within the scope of the Act, cannot include provisions which are inconsistent with maintaining a UK publicly funded healthcare service.

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DARC in Wales

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National Railway Heritage Awards success

Cairngorm Brewery award success

Youth Olympics success

Frankie Ralph 100 mile run for Alzheimer's research

Sir Jim Walker

Success of Brodie Countryfare