Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will publish a timeline for the Law Commission of England and Wales’s review of the homicide law.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Law Commission is independent of Government and responsible for the review of homicide law and sentencing for murder, including publishing their proposed timeline. The Government understands, however, that the Law Commission intends to publish a timeline for their homicide review imminently.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2025 to Question 44809 on Local Housing Allowance: Wales, what (a) metrics, (b) data points and (c) analysis were used to assess the impact of Local Housing Allowance rates referenced his answer; and whether this included the impact on the number of people becoming homeless.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The impacts referenced in the previous answer were determined using a wide variety of metrics, data and analysis. These included:
As covered in the previous answer, the causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and interact dynamically. This makes it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors such as individual benefit rates. But interactions with key measures such as Temporary Accommodation were considered with input from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
At Autumn Budget the Government prioritised a downpayment on poverty, by introducing a Fair Payment Rate for Universal Credit (UC) customers with deductions to retain more of their benefit award. We have invested £1bn in extending the Household Support Fund and maintaining Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) at current levels (including Barnett impacts) for 2025/26.
We continue to work across Government on the development of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping strategy in England. Housing and homelessness policy is devolved to Wales.
Any future decisions on LHA policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the fiscal context.
DHPs are available from local authorities and can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or UC who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he has taken under the Shared Rural Network programme to map investment in the hardest-to-reach areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ofcom reporting indicates areas of poor mobile coverage across the UK. The Government has worked closely with the mobile network operators to identify locations where upgrading or building new masts can improve connectivity in rural areas where there is no or limited coverage, including utilising the Emergency Service Network (ESN) where feasible. The location of masts is also determined according to how quickly they can be delivered and the public benefit they provide.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to publish an updated response to the Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Lord Chancellor set out the Government’s plans for reforms to sentencing of domestic homicides in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 6 December 2024 (HCWS286). The Law Commission has accepted our request to undertake a review of the law of homicide and the sentencing framework for murder. Drivers for this review include concerns related to gendered disparities for murders committed in a domestic context. The Terms of Reference and more information on the review can be found on the Law Commission’s website and they will publish a detailed timeline for the project shortly.
We are also taking more immediate action in the short-term by implementing two of the outstanding recommendations in the independent Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review which was undertaken by Clare Wade KC under the last Government. These measures are statutory aggravating factors for murders involving strangulation and those connected with the end of a relationship. We intend to lay a Statutory Instrument to implement these measures when parliamentary time allows and we have recently completed a statutory consultation with the Sentencing Council that must precede this process.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help improve mobile phone coverage in rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Shared Rural Network continues to deliver 4G connectivity where there is limited or no coverage. Beyond this, our ambition is for all populated areas, including rural communities, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030.
We are working with Ofcom and the industry to ensure we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition in the market.
Ofcom have written to me confirming that their improved online coverage checker will go live in the second half of June, which will better reflect people’s real experience. A copy of my letter and their letter has been deposited in the libraries of both houses.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of widening the eligibility criteria for organisations seeking to engage with the HMRC Wealthy External Forum.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Wealthy External Forum (WEF) is a joint forum between HMRC and a cross-section of professional bodies representing wealthy individuals.
The WEF is focused on discussing the operational processes and technical tax issues that impact wealthy customers. It is not a decision-making body.
Details of the forum, its membership and records of meetings are published on gov.uk: Wealthy External Forum - GOV.UK
The Wealthy External Forum is one of a number of HMRC Stakeholder Forums. This network of forums ensures that HMRC consults with a wide range of external stakeholders.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2025 to Question 44809 on Local Housing Allowance: Wales, what (a) metrics, (b) data points and (c) analysis were used to determine the impacts of Local Housing Allowance rates referenced his Answer; and whether the effect on the number of households becoming homeless was factored into that analysis.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The impacts referenced in the previous answer were determined using a wide variety of metrics, data and analysis. These included:
As covered in the previous answer, the causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and interact dynamically. This makes it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors such as individual benefit rates. But interactions with key measures such as Temporary Accommodation were considered with input from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
At Autumn Budget the Government prioritised a downpayment on poverty, by introducing a Fair Payment Rate for Universal Credit (UC) customers with deductions to retain more of their benefit award. We have invested £1bn in extending the Household Support Fund and maintaining Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) at current levels (including Barnett impacts) for 2025/26.
We continue to work across Government on the development of the Homelessness and Rough \Sleeping strategy in England. Housing and homelessness policy is devolved to Wales.
Any future decisions on LHA policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the fiscal context.
DHPs are available from local authorities and can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) the Vrynwy Frankton pylon project and (b) other pylon projects on farm animals.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Developers of electricity network projects in England & Wales must assess the impacts of their proposals in line with the National Policy Statement for electricity network infrastructure (NPS EN-5). Alongside this, developers undertake Environmental Impact Assessments which can include considerations related to farm animals if there are impacts on agricultural land. The Government does not make assessments of specific projects until they come to the Secretary of State for a final planning decision.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Vrynwy Frankton pylon project on net zero.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Electricity networks are a critical enabler for net zero, linking new low-carbon generation to electricity demand. To accommodate both the generation needed for clean power as well as increasing demand as heating, transport and industry electrification will require an expansion of electricity networks at a scale and pace not seen for decades, at both transmission and distribution level. Though the department does not conduct analysis for individual projects, the Vrynwy Frankton pylon project is part of this transformation.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) the Vyrnwy–Frankton pylon project and (b) other pylon projects on local businesses that rely on tourism.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Developers of electricity network projects in England & Wales must assess the impacts of their proposals in line with the National Policy Statement for electricity network infrastructure (NPS EN-5). Government assesses specific projects only once they come to the Secretary of State for a final planning decision. Businesses with pylons sited on their land are entitled to compensation for the value of their land, as well as for any losses or expenses incurred. Acquiring authorities are also able to offer extra discretionary payments.
Government published relevant guidance in March 2025 outlining how communities should benefit from new transmission infrastructure.