Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, how many (a) oral statements, (b) urgent questions, (c) end of day adjournment debates and (d) Westminster Hall debates each Department has responded to since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Urgent questions, adjournment debates and Westminster Hall debates are a matter for the House. Information relating to each of these is available on the Parliament website.
The Government is responsible for the arrangement of oral statements. As of 3rd April 2025, there have been 129 oral statements from the following departments:
Department | Number of oral statements |
Department for Business and Trade | 8 |
Cabinet Office | 9 |
Department for Culture, Media and Sport | 4 |
Ministry of Defence | 7 |
Department for Education | 8 |
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | 8 |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 4 |
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 20 |
Department of Health and Social Care | 8 |
Home Office | 15 |
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 8 |
Ministry of Justice | 6 |
Northern Ireland Office | 2 |
Prime Minister | 6 |
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 2 |
Department for Transport | 5 |
Treasury | 6 |
Department for Work and Pensions | 3 |
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the definition of household waste under the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging scheme to apply exemptions to products consumed and disposed of within hospitality venues.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has been engaging extensively with stakeholders from various sectors, including the hospitality sector, to develop a better understanding of the potential impacts of a change in the definition of household packaging. The government will set out its intended next steps on the definition shortly.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging scheme that will be introduced in April 2025 on the drinks industry.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I provided to PQ 33304 on 4 March 2025.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 merits of co-locating solar and onshore wind farms access to battery energy storage systems.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A smart and flexible energy system is essential for meeting net zero. Co-locating solar and onshore wind farms with battery storage are a part of this, making it possible for the delivery of stored electricity when the wind is not blowing, or the sun does not shine.
The Government is supportive of renewable energy deployment alongside other functions, such as energy storage, in order to maximise the efficiency of land use and network infrastructure.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of neonicotinoids that have been used since 2020 following an emergency authorisation on wildlife.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Three neonicotinoids – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – are not permitted for general use because of the risks they pose to pollinators. However, emergency authorisations were granted by the previous Government for the use of the thiamethoxam-containing pesticide Cruiser SB to treat sugar beet seed in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Environmental monitoring activities were undertaken as a condition of the emergency authorisations for the use of Cruiser SB granted by the previous administration, alongside government-funded monitoring projects. The results of this monitoring work can be found within the HSE’s emergency registration reports, published on GOV.UK.
This year I rejected the application for an emergency authorisation to use Cruiser SB on sugar beet in England. I did not take this decision lightly, considering expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive and Expert Committee on Pesticides, the Defra Chief Scientific Adviser and Defra economists. In making my decision, I recognised that the potential adverse effects to bees and other pollinators could not be excluded if the Cruiser SB authorisation were to be granted.
In December last year we published a policy statement outlining our intention to end the use of these neonicotinoid pesticides for good. We will update the guidance that sets out the approach to decisions on applications for emergency authorisations to take full account of the importance of pollinators. Further, we will identify legislative options to prevent future use of emergency authorisations for products containing clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, which are extremely toxic to pollinators.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraphs 82 to 85 of the Fourth Report of Session 2023–24 of the Environmental Audit Committee, The UK’s contribution to tackling global deforestation, HC 405, whether she plans to implement the recommendation on human rights abuses in supply chains.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We note the committee’s recommendations regarding the rights of indigenous people and local communities, and customary land tenure. We will set out our approach in due course.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the scope of the Environment Act 2021 to include more (a) sectors and (b) definitions of (i) legal and (ii) illegal deforestation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The approach to tackling deforestation in UK supply chains is being considered and we will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of broadening the scope of measures within the Environment Act 2021 to help tackle illegal deforestation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The approach to tackling deforestation in UK supply chains is being considered and we will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on dredging rivers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra works closely with the Environment Agency (EA) to ensure it is equipped to carry out its functions effectively and deliver for the public and the environment; this includes flood risk management and watercourse maintenance.
The EA focuses its efforts on those activities which will achieve the greatest benefit in terms of protecting people and property from flooding. Dredging and main river clearance are an important part of EA’s maintenance programme. Before undertaking dredging, the EA will work in close consultation with local communities to assess whether it is technically achievable and cost effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream, and is environmentally acceptable.
In most places there are much more effective and efficient ways to better protect communities and increase their resilience to flooding, as part of a catchment-based approach. Whilst dredging is part of the solution in some locations, it is not a universal solution to what is a complex issue.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to issue guidance to people with a Teachers' Pension on the application of tax for (a) under and (b) over payments in the context of benefit rollback choices for the transitional protection remedy period.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC has published comprehensive guidance on managing the tax implications of the public service pensions remedy, both for impacted pension scheme members and for schemes administrators. This guidance covers the position for under and overpayments of tax following the remedy rollback and is available on GOV.UK.
Members can also use the “Calculate your public service pension scheme adjustment” digital service to simplify the process of calculating whether they owe further tax or may be due a refund.
HMRC have also issued guidance and updates directly to scheme administrators via pension scheme newsletters to support schemes with drafting their own internal member communications.