Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what Rural Payments Schemes are available to (a) farmers and (b) rural businesses in the next financial year; and how much has been paid out under those schemes in this financial year.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra operates a page on gov.uk, “Funding for farmers, growers and land managers” ( https://www.gov.uk/guidance/funding-for-farmers ). This page advises about grants and other funding currently open or opening soon and includes links to the relevant scheme or grant webpage.
The farming blog published on Wednesday 12th March set out Defra’s spend for 24/25 and 25/26 split across the Farming and Countryside Programme schemes.
Defra manages the farming budget flexibly to respond to demand, and achieve our intended outcomes for farm productivity, environment, climate and animal health and welfare.
In line with its obligations under the Agriculture Act 2020, Defra regularly publishes an annual report, setting out commitments in the previous financial year.
Separately, the Rural England Prosperity Fund funds capital projects for small businesses and community infrastructure in rural areas. The REPF provided £110 million of funding to eligible local authorities between 2023 and 2025. Additional funding of up to £33 million will be available in 2025/26.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether he has produced legal advice on the compatibility of (a) Article 2 of the European Commission on Human Rights, (b) probate law and (c) civil procedure rules with the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by, or requested of, the Law Officers, and it applies to your question.
The Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:
“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making her advice to Cabinet colleagues on the legal implications of bills available to the police.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The fact that the Law Officers advise on Bills through the government collective agreement process before they are introduced to Parliament is public knowledge. However, on specific matters, the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised, and the content of their advice, must not be disclosed outside government without their authority. Such authority is rarely given. This principle is known as the Law Officers’ Convention and can be found at paragraphs 21.27 of Erskine May and 5.14 of the Ministerial Code.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) impact, (b) economic and (c) equalities assessments for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill before 8 May 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government expects to publish the impact assessment and equalities impact assessment before Members consider the Bill on Report.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the prevalence of asbestos in school buildings in Walsall and Bloxwich constituency.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department takes the safety of children and those who work with them incredibly seriously, which is why we expect all local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts as responsible bodies to have robust plans in place to manage asbestos in school buildings effectively, in line with their legal duties, drawing on appropriate professional advice.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as the regulator for asbestos, undertook inspections of a number of schools across the UK between September 2022 and April 2023 to look at compliance under Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. The inspections showed that most schools were complying with the legal duties and effective management systems are in place to manage and monitor the condition of asbestos-contained materials onsite.
Additionally, the department is collecting data on the condition of school buildings in England as part of the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme, in which we will visit all government-funded school buildings in England between 2021 and 2026. To date, we have visited 46 schools in the Walsall and Bloxwich constituency, and 33 schools have reported the presence of asbestos. CDC2 visits to the remaining schools in the constituency are scheduled to be completed by September 2025.
The department follows the advice of the HSE as regulator that, as long as asbestos-containing materials are undamaged, and not in locations where they are vulnerable to damage, they should be left undisturbed and their condition monitored.
The department has been clear, however, that when asbestos does pose a risk to safety and cannot be effectively managed in place, it should be removed. The decision to remove asbestos should be considered on a case-by-case basis and, annual condition funding provided by the department can be used for this purpose.
As part of the 2025/26 budget, we have increased capital allocations to improve the condition of school buildings to £2.1 billion, £300 million more than this financial year. This is on top of the School Rebuilding Programme and targeted support for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to begin negotiations for a new trade agreement with the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I am responding as the Minister responsible for EU relations. This government is committed to improving the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU to tackle unnecessary barriers to trade, including by seeking to negotiate a SPS agreement. We are working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, and as part of this we will welcome EU leaders to the UK for the first UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on 19 May.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the requirements for (a) 24-hour pre-notification of invoices, (b) physical vehicle checks and (c) refusals of clearing charges by EU customers.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK and EU are like-minded partners with similarly high standards. We have been clear that the trading relationship can be improved, and that is why we are working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. We are not going to provide a running commentary on the details of those discussions.