Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey and President Erdoğan about the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul; and what information they have about the legitimacy of the reasons for which he has been detained.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As a close friend and ally of Turkey the Government is closely monitoring the situation. Recent arrests are subject to ongoing domestic Turkish legal process. The UK expects Turkey to uphold its international commitments and the rule of law, including swift and transparent judicial processes. We regularly engage with the Turkish government and there has been Ministerial contact with counterparts in recent days to raise these issues. The UK supports democracy, human rights and the rule of law across the world and will always support the fundamental rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and peaceful protest.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government why membership of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists is not a recognised Property Professional Accreditation within the Government Property Profession Career Framework.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Property and Built Environment has a large number of professional bodies and routes to qualification. The Government Property Profession Career Framework, which was introduced in 2020, sets the standard for accreditation across roles in the government property profession.

Departments are still able to set their own accreditation requirement where a role is particularly specialist or does not fit well in the Government Property Profession Career Framework. This means that if a department needs to recruit an Architectural Technologist, they would be able to do so.

In addition, in 2025/26 we will be reviewing the framework to ensure roles, skills and required accreditations reflect the current civil service workforce and future industry demands. We will engage with the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists as part of this process.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a nationwide accreditation scheme for tested and repaired products similar to the Revolve programme in Scotland.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. To support the Government in achieving this goal, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has convened the Circular Economy Taskforce to help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England, which will be supported by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. Through this work we are considering the evidence for interventions right across the economy. We are exploring the circularity impacts of a wide range of levers, including encouraging reuse and repair, as we develop our strategy.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Greater Manchester Renew Hub on circular consumer practices, and what plans they have to replicate this project in other areas.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have not made an assessment into the impact of the Greater Manchester Renew Hub. However, at the heart of the Circular Economy Strategy is delivering circular economy principles through local action; this is something the Secretary of State for Environment – a former Council leader – is passionate about. We recognise the Greater Manchester Renew Hub as an excellent example of local action that we can learn from as we work on developing the Circular Economy Strategy for England.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce VAT on reuse and repair practices.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial 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 vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.

One of the key considerations when assessing a 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. The Government therefore has no plans to introduce a new VAT relief on reuse and repair practices.

The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions have taken place at Cabinet level on the issue of large-scale housing development being accompanied by social and community infrastructure and access to green space.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its committees is not normally shared publicly.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) costs, and (2) benefits, to local authorities of reuse and repair practices.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There have been no formal assessments made on the costs and benefits for local authorities on reuse and repair practises.

Defra recognises that repair and reuse are fundamental tenets of any circular economy, and a successful transition aims to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency. We will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy for England.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings of the Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy (CE-SMG) have taken place.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy has met twice so far:

• The first meeting of the CE-SMG was held on 15 October where the terms of reference for a Circular Economy taskforce and the CE-SMG itself were agreed.
• The second meeting on 10 February 2025 focused on the progress of the Circular Economy Taskforce to date and the Circular Economy programme across Government.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the terms of reference of the Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy (CE-SMG).

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The terms of reference for the Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy focus on:

• Steering the Circular Economy agenda across Government, noting that responsibility for this agenda sits across a wide range of departments.
• Ensuring that the Government is maximising the opportunities to be had from properly joining up and integrating circular economy activity.

Ensuring the Government’s circular economy agenda is always driving forward the Government’s five missions, with a particular focus on kickstarting economic growth and making Britain a clean energy superpower.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that more products are designed to be reused and repaired to generate economic, environmental and social value for communities and businesses.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. To support the Government in achieving this goal, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has convened the Circular Economy Taskforce to help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England, which will be supported by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. Through this work we are considering the evidence for interventions right across the economy, with an aim to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency.

We are exploring the circularity impacts of a wide range of levers, including encouraging reuse and repair, as we develop our strategy. The outputs of the strategy aim to support economic growth, deliver green jobs, promote efficient and productive use of resources, minimise negative environmental impacts and accelerate to Net Zero.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to support local authorities to focus on reuse and repair practices as part of a circular economy.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra recognises that repair and reuse are fundamental tenets of any circular economy, and a successful transition aims to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency. We will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy for England.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of impact of growth in the reuse and repair sector on opportunities for green skilled jobs.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

No formal assessment has been made of the impact of growth in the reuse and repair sector on opportunities for green skilled jobs.

Defra recognises that repair and reuse are fundamental tenets of any circular economy, and a successful circular transition will deliver increased supply chain resilience, economic productivity, and economic growth. Furthermore, capitalising on the opportunity to effect a circular transition will attract investment into new product manufacturing and processing infrastructure; create new highly skilled green jobs in circular product design and development; and help our economy retain more of the critical resources on which it depends. We will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy for England.

Found: April 2025 11.05 am Watch the meeting Members present: Baroness Morris of Yardley (The Chair); Lord Blencathra

Found: March 2025 11.05 am Watch the meeting Members present: Baroness Morris of Yardley (The Chair); Lord Blencathra

Found: including 3 April 2025 [Amendments marked ★ are new or have been altered] After Clause 1 LORD BLENCATHRA