Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support otter conservation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to restoring and protecting nature. Later this year we will publish a revised Environmental Improvement Plan which will set out how we will meet our ambitious Environment Act targets. These include legally binding biodiversity targets on species abundance, species extinction, and habitat creation and restoration, which will support many of our priority species including otter.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 impact of the levels of protection for species-rich meadows in devolved Administrations on UK-wide nature recovery objectives.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As responsibility for the conservation of habitats is a devolved matter Defra continues to be guided by co-ordination and expert advice from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the UK wide Statutory adviser on Nature. The primary mechanism for assessing the state of change to species rich grasslands across the UK is through reporting obligations under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and related regulations covering Scotland and NI. The next round of reporting under this legislation is currently being undertaken by each country due for publication in 2026. JNCC are providing the co-ordination to maintain sufficient consistency in each country report to facilitate cross UK integration and comparison, enabling the countries to gain insight on effectiveness of country level policies. The previous report (2019) is available through the JNCC website.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to increase the number of trees planted for the purpose of improving carbon capture.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Trees and forests are essential to our climate and nature goals. Tree planting rates in England are at their highest in 20 years and in March we launched the Western Forest, the first new national forest in 30 years.
Working together with forest countries, the UK is also playing a leading role in driving international efforts to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030 for people, nature and climate.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to assess land use changes in applications for new energy infrastructure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The implications of land use change are already considered as part of the examination and determination of all applications for new energy infrastructure. In future, optimal locations for energy infrastructure will be identified by the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP). We are ensuring that, in its development, the SSEP considers wider demands on land and sea, including (but not limited to) food production, transport, water supply, nature recovery and fisheries. The SSEP’s recommendations will not take precedence over other land uses but will exist alongside other sectoral spatial plans and frameworks.
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to ensure that Natural England accepts requests to meet members of Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As our main arm’s length body for nature in England and in line with its statutory purpose, Natural England is keen to keep Parliament and Parliamentarians up to speed with its operations. Natural England makes its wealth of science, evidence and experience of delivery available to Parliament in a number of ways including regular contributions to Parliamentary Select Committee inquiries and Parliamentary groups such as APPGs as well as individual meetings with MPs, Peers and Parliamentary staff where that is appropriate and adds value.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has set a target number of days by which individual applications to the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme need to have been assessed by.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Due to the unique nature of each application, and the need to assess each on a case-by-case basis, the Ministry of Defence is unable to set a target number of days by which individual applications to the LGBT Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme need to have been assessed.
The assessment process is complex, and processing times will vary based on the specific circumstances of each Veteran’s application. This work must be conducted thoroughly to ensure fair and accurate outcomes for applicants and the responsible management of public funds.
We have been prioritising payment to the elderly and those with serious health conditions to ensure they receive support as quickly as possible, with the first payments issued as planned within 15 weeks of the Scheme going live to these prioritised groups.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the conservation of mountain hares.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to restoring and protecting nature. We will deliver for nature by taking action to meet our Environment Act targets, working in partnership with civil society, communities and businesses to restore and protect our natural world. Later this year we will publish a revised Environmental Improvement Plan which will set out how we will meet our ambitious Environment Act targets.
Defra Ministers support the ambition to introduce a close season for hares in England. England and Wales stand out as being among the few European countries not to have a close season for their resident hares. A close season should reduce the number of adult hares being shot in the breeding season, meaning that fewer leverets (infant hares) are left motherless and vulnerable to starvation and predation.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the report by ActionAid UK entitled Who Pays the Price?, published in April 2025.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is restoring the global leadership needed to tackle the climate and nature crisis, and aiming to make Britain a clean energy superpower with zero carbon electricity by 2030.
At COP 29, the Prime Minister announced the UK’s ambitious and credible Nationally Determined Contribution target to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, excluding international aviation and shipping emissions. We must unlock a much greater scale of climate and nature finance to support developing countries’ energy transitions and those most vulnerable to climate change and nature degradation.
While the UK government does not set out what private companies, including banks, should invest in, we are supportive of the standards published by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in June 2023 and are consulting on the UK version of these standards, UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. These aim to support long-term, sustainable decision-making by the business and investment community by providing high-quality information about the sustainability-related risks and opportunities that businesses face.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a clear and affordable route for permanent leave to remain in the UK for Ukrainians who (1) hold visas, (2) are established in, and contributing to, their communities, (3) are employed, and (4) have children in education.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which opened to applications on 4 February 2025, provides up to an additional 18 months’ permission to stay in the UK for those with existing Ukraine Scheme permission.
The scheme provides the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare, and education as the existing Ukraine schemes.
This extension represents a generous and meaningful commitment. It aligns with the UK Government’s ongoing support for Ukraine and its people, while also respecting the Ukrainian Government’s strong desire for the eventual return of its citizens. It is for this reason that our offer of sanctuary through the Ukraine schemes remains temporary in nature and does not lead to settlement in the UK.
There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements, such as work routes and family routes. These routes are published on GOV.UK at: Work in the UK - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab) and Family in the UK - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).
The UK Government continues to keep both the Ukraine Schemes and the evolving situation in Ukraine under active review.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the Charity Commission on the activities of (a) Dar Al-Hekma and (b) Abrar Islamic Foundation.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth recently met with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues. The Charity Commission has live regulatory compliance cases open into the Abrar Islamic Foundation and the Dar Alhekma Trust and they will not hesitate to take regulatory action if necessary. Given the nature of the allegations, the Commission has also referred the serious allegations to the Metropolitan Police Service.
As the independent regulator, the Charity Commission has a wide range of powers to tackle misconduct or mismanagement in charities. It acts robustly to tackle those who abuse charities. We keep the Charity Commission's powers under regular review and are actively considering whether further powers are required.