Found: In the final session, we took evidence from Lord Benyon, Minister for Biosecurity, Marine and Rural

Found: OFFICIAL OFFICIAL The Rt Hon Lord Benyon Minister of State for Climate, Environment

Found: “Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover, has had meetings with both Lord Benyon and myself, to discuss this.

Found: OFFICIAL OFFICIAL The Rt Hon Lord Benyon Minister of State for Climate, Environment

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 12 July 2023 (HL9069), which stated that “Introducing a close season for brown hares remains an option”, what indicators they are using to assess the necessity of this option, and how frequently they review it.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The proposal to introduce a close season for the brown hare, referred to in HL9069, was set out in the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare. In terms of the necessity of a close season from a wildlife conservation perspective, the brown hare is one of the indicator species for our legally binding targets in England to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and then reverse declines by 2042. We know that in order to meet these targets we will need large-scale habitat creation and restoration and improved connectivity but this will be supplemented where appropriate by intelligence on individual species. While there are no immediate plans to undertake a national mammal population review as was conducted in 2018, we should get an idea of trends in our brown hare population from published surveys, for example from the British Trust for Ornithology’s mammal recording, which it has been conducting since 1995 with a view to helping improve our knowledge of the distribution and population trends of some of our commoner mammals.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 ministers have asked to forego a ministerial salary, either full or in part; and who were those ministers.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

• Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

• The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

• The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

• The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

• The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

• The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

• Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

• The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

• The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

• The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

• The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.

Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 ministers have been asked to forego a ministerial salary; and what were the reasons for those requests.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

• Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

• The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

• The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

• The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

• The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

• The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

• Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

• The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

• The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

• The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

• The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.

Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 a minister has foregone a ministerial salary at the request of the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

• Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

• The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

• The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

• The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

• The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

• The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

• Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

• The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

• The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

• The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

• The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.

Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a cap on the combined total for ministerial salaries in any financial year.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

• Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

• The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

• The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

• The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

• The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

• The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

• Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

• The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

• The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

• The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

• The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.

Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the severity of the current conflict in North Kivu between M23 rebels and Democratic Republic of the Congo forces; and what diplomatic action they are taking to support a regional peace deal.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is concerned by intensification of fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its humanitarian consequences. We continue to urge all parties to deliver on their commitments, agreed through regional peace processes. I [Lord Benyon] visited Kinshasa this week and discussed the matter with President Tshisekedi and other senior ministers in DRC. In February, the UK Great Lakes envoy joined a UN-led trip to the region, where Envoys emphasised the need for political solutions and a return peace processes. We continue, alongside partners, to promote confidence building measures and peace building activity.

Found: Marine Minister Lord Benyon said: “We are firmly committed to safeguarding our oceans and the precious

Found: Green Finance Minister Lord Benyon, speaking at the Natural Capital Conference, said: “Nature underpins

Found: Marine Minister Lord Benyon said: “We are firmly committed to safeguarding our oceans and the precious