Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to address the pension shortfalls experienced by police officers who, affected by the McCloud judgement, are classified as being in Immediate Detriment.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
While the Home Office has responsibility for overarching policy and legislative changes to the police pension regulations in England & Wales, the police pension scheme is locally administered by individual police forces. The Home Office is working with the policing sector to support the effective implementation of the McCloud remedy for all affected individuals.
It is for each Chief Constable, in their role as scheme manager for their force, to determine their administrative timetable, including when remedy payments will be distributed.
The devolved governments have overarching policy and legislative responsibility in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help protect female members of the armed forces from sexual harassment.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Sexual Harassment has no place in our Armed Forces.
Every individual must be treated with dignity and respect.
We have a Zero Tolerance policy in Defence – unacceptable behaviour of any kind is not tolerated people will be held accountable.
All criminal behaviour is investigated by the Service police and those found to be below the standard will be met with sanctions, including Termination of Service.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2024 to Question 11845 on Employers’ Contributions: Essex, whether she plans to (a) collect and (b) publish data on the number of (i) businesses and (ii) employers impacted by changes to employer National Insurance contributions at constituency level; and whether she has had discussions with local authorities on the regional impact of those changes.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMRC monitors Employer National Insurance Contributions through receipts monitoring, and information collected from Real Time Information returns.
Receipts are published via the monthly HMRC tax and National Insurance receipts publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the independent review into the loan charge will include consideration of the issuing of section 684 notices prior to 2011.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Budget, the Government committed to an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will take steps to re-establish a separate department for International Development.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
As set out in the 2024 Labour Party manifesto, the Government's plans are to strengthen international development work within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help (a) raise awareness of neglected tropical diseases and (b) tackle neglected tropical diseases.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
The UK's new Eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis in Africa programme (ELFA), that will receive £15 million of funding from 2024-25 to 2026-27, supports the broader Reaching the Last Mile Fund initiative to eliminate the neglected tropical diseases lymphatic filariasis and river blindness from Africa by 2030. Part of the programme supports work to raise awareness and change behaviours in order to reduce the impact of lymphatic filariasis. The FCDO is also in the process of renewing funding for research and development through Product Development Partnerships including for neglected tropical diseases.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting an exemption to the extra money owed in vehicle tax for cars with a list price of more than £40,000 if the vehicle is a registered taxi with wheelchair accessibility improvements.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) is an additional Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) supplement payable from year 2-6 of a car’s lifecycle, and liable on new cars with a list price of £40,000 or more.
Any vehicle modifications for disabled users made prior to first registration are not included when calculating the list price for the purposes of ECS. However, there is no exemption from the ECS for modifications made to taxis for disabled users after the first registration.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Pakistani counterpart about (a) freedom of religion in that country and (b) the case of Ehsan Shan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan. I underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony when I met with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister Azam Tarar on 19 November. On 20 November, I attended a meeting with Pakistan's Minister of Interior Mosin Naqvi, where the British High Commissioner and I raised concerns about threats of violence directed towards Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan. Officials at the British High Commission Islamabad regularly raise our concerns surrounding the mistreatment of minorities with the Pakistani authorities, including law enforcement officials. We regularly raise our opposition to the death penalty and concerns about the misuse of blasphemy laws, both in principle and in relation to specific cases.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to review bilateral development aid to India in the context of India’s continuing trade relationships with Russia.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK Government recognises India's long and historic relationship with Russia. The UK Government regularly raises Russia's actions in Ukraine with India. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary raised this with Indian External Affairs Minister in September.
Most of FCDO's bilateral development funding for India is targeted at helping tackle climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This is primarily done through investments and sharing expertise.
Ministers are reviewing the FCDO's ODA budget to ensure it delivers on our priorities. We are committed to transparency and will publish ODA allocations for 2024-25.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure the safety of and (b) mitigate potential risks posed by the decommissioning of nuclear submarines at Rosyth Royal Dockyard for surrounding residential areas.
Answered by Maria Eagle
All the submarines currently stored at Rosyth have already been defueled, which has significantly reduced overall potential risk. Further, steps include contractual requirements with Babcock International around safety and environmental factors. These include regular sampling of surrounding waters and beaches, and dismantling one boat as a demonstrator to determine the safest methods before starting on other boats.
In addition to the safety and environmental activities the Ministry of Defence and Babcock undertake, we also comply with permits and regulatory requirements from the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR), the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). This includes annual emergency exercises with ONR to plan and test for any potential incidents, in the very unlikely event that a significant issue may occur.