Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support farmers with the increasing rising cost of fertiliser as a result of the conflict in Iran.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has asked the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) to increase the frequency of its fertiliser price reporting. AHDB now publishes data on their Fertiliser Price page weekly, giving farmers more up‑to‑date information to help with decision‑making. This will give farmers more timely and transparent information to support their decision-making.
Defra wants to support farmers to increase their resilience to future fertiliser price volatility by maximising the use of nutrients from both mineral fertilisers and organic materials such as slurry. Defra’s Nutrient Management Planning Tool is a free resource to help farmers plan and manage nutrient use and reduce costs by matching inputs to crop and soil needs.
Defra has committed £120 million in funding starting in 2026 to improve productivity, trial new technologies and drive innovation in the agricultural sector. This includes up to £50 million for Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) grants (for the 2026 scheme covering productivity, slurry and animal health and welfare) and up to £70 million available for Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) innovation grants.
This funding can help farmers use nutrients from fertilisers and their own organic materials most effectively to increase resilience.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what role her Department has in supporting investigations into deaths of people abroad who held Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK but were not British citizens; and what guidance is provided to UK authorities on cooperating with relevant foreign authorities where questions arise regarding investigative jurisdiction.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government publishes information on the support that can be provided overseas on GOV.UK, including information about how departments and agencies work together when a British person is a victim of murder or manslaughter overseas. Questions about UK investigations are a matter for the police.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to increase the production of domestic clean power in supporting energy security.
Answered by Ed Miliband - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
We are accelerating investment in homegrown clean power to boost energy security and cut exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets. In response to this crisis, we’re bringing forward the next renewables auction to July, introducing low‑cost “plug‑in solar” for households, and we will implement the Fingleton Review to speed up delivery of critical zero carbon infrastructure.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had discussions with EU counterparts on establishing reciprocal arrangements for the duration of visa-free tourist stays between the UK and countries in the Schengen Area.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMG officials and Ministers, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals.
The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period which is standard for third nationals travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with schools to help reduce the number of minors being treated for drug use, including in Medway.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools and colleges have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE), available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2, is the statutory guidance that all schools and colleges must have when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
The statutory curriculum for health education requires all pupils in state-maintained schools to be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and the associated risks to physical and mental wellbeing, including smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking.
By the end of secondary school, pupils should know the facts about which drugs are illegal, the risks of taking illegal drugs, including the increased risk of potent synthetic drugs being added to illegal drugs, the risks of illicit vapes containing drugs, illicit drugs and counterfeit medicines, and the potential health harms, including the link to poor mental health.
This complements content about substances within the national curriculum for science.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of exempting veterinary treatment for companion animals from VAT, in the context of existing VAT exemptions for certain essential goods and services.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for public services, and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.
Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
One of the key considerations for any potential new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates, meaning that cutting VAT may not be an effective way to reduce prices for consumers.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances. Since taking office the Government has taken a number of decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability. This stability is critical to boosting investment and growth, and to making people across the UK better off.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his department is taking to help ensure that the Access to Work scheme supports people with multiple sclerosis in employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The support that a customer will receive from Access to Work is dependent upon their needs and circumstances at the time they make an application. Case managers will use the current guidance to ensure Access to Work principles are considered when making a decision on support. All assessments are done on an individual basis with all conditions, including Multiple Sclerosis where applicable, considered as part of an individual’s application.
We continue to engage disabled people’s organisations and individuals with lived experience, drawing on their insights alongside the National Audit Office’s recommendations as we take forward improvements to the scheme.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many defendants elected trial by jury in either-way cases in each of the last a) three years and b) five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice published data on those electing for jury trials in either-way cases covering periods from 2014 up to the first quarter of 2023. This information is published in the Criminal Courts Statistics release in Table_AC10: Criminal court statistics quarterly: January to March 2023 - GOV.UK
At present, around 15% of either-way receipts into the Crown Court have an unknown reason for sending recorded in HMCTS reporting systems. Work is underway to reduce this rate of unknowns so that robust data can be published in future releases.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of (a) respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions (i) in Chatham and Aylesford constituency and (ii) nationally; and what steps he is taking to ensure respiratory health is prioritised nationally.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.
Data is available for emergency finished admission episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. Data for Chatham and Aylesford is shown in the table.
Activity in English National Health Service Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector | ||
Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence (Office for National Statistics) | 2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025) | 2025/26 (April 2025 to November 2025, provisional) |
Chatham and Aylesford | 840 | 530 |
England | 608,449 | 423,588 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England |
| |
Available data on trends in respiratory conditions is available at the Department of Health and Social Care Fingertips website. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency, but is available at regional, county, unitary authority and integrated care board level. Information for Kent is available at the following link:
The Government has committed to delivering three big shifts that our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the country.
Through our community diagnostic centres (CDCs), we are building capacity for respiratory testing and enabling people to get diagnosed closer to home. 101 CDCs across the country now offer out of hours services, 12 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around busy working lives. This is alongside action being taken to expand capacity and improve the quality of pulmonary rehabilitation services to support patients living with respiratory conditions.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether apprentices who commenced a Level 7 apprenticeship before 1 January 2026 will continue to have government funding protected through to completion under the apprenticeship funding rules; what guidance he has issued to providers and employers to ensure this protection is applied; and what arrangements exist where a provider discontinues a programme or must transfer apprentices to an alternative provider.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Level 7 apprentices, that started prior to 1 January 2026, will be funded through to completion. As with funding for all apprenticeships, this is subject to employer and training provider compliance with the apprenticeship funding rules and the apprenticeship employer and provider agreements.
Apprentices concerned about ongoing training provision should contact customer.help@service.education.gov.uk.