Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether medical evacuation flights can currently leave from St Helena Airport following the airport regulators downgrade; and what emergency support is being provided to the St Helena Government to ensure medical safety.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is actively providing assistance, working in partnership with the St Helena Government and Governor. I have been in contact with the St Helena Chief Minister to underline our support and met the St Helena Health Minister and London Representative on 11 February. The St Helena airport now has approval to accept small aircraft, including medical evacuation flights from the island in the case of emergencies. We will work together at pace to urgently ensure a return to full operations at the airport.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support her Department is providing to the St Helena Government following the aviation regulator downgrade of St Helena Airport and subsequent suspension of flights.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is actively providing assistance, working in partnership with the St Helena Government and Governor. I have been in contact with the St Helena Chief Minister to underline our support and met the St Helena Health Minister and London Representative on 11 February. The St Helena airport now has approval to accept small aircraft, including medical evacuation flights from the island in the case of emergencies. We will work together at pace to urgently ensure a return to full operations at the airport.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she will respond to Written Question 106338 which was due on 21 January 2026.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The response to Written Parliamentary Question 106338 was published on 2 February.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department holds data on the proportion of roles employed offshore by UK-headquartered companies, broken down by sector and salary band.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not hold data on the proportion of roles employed by UK-headquartered companies to this level of granularity.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to extend the improved settlement terms announced following the McCann Review to individuals who have already settled their Loan Charge liabilities with HMRC.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those affected, ensure fairness for all taxpayers and ensure that appropriate support is in place for those subject to the loan charge.
The Government accepted the review’s conclusion that the loan charge was an extraordinary piece of Government policy which necessitated an exceptional response, and is now legislating a new settlement opportunity that will assist those who have not yet settled to do so.
As a result, most individuals could see reductions of at least 50% in their outstanding loan charge liabilities, and an estimated 30% of individuals could have these liabilities written off entirely. To encourage more people to settle, the Government will write off the first £5,000 of liabilities in addition to the proposals put forward by Ray McCann.
The Government’s response to the review represents a fair and proportionate attempt to provide a route to resolution for those who have not yet been able to settle with HMRC. In turn, this requires those individuals to now come forward and engage with HMRC in good faith.
Tax avoidance deprives the Exchequer of funds needed to deliver vital public services and it is right that resources are targeted to stop this. There are no plans to apply the review’s recommendations beyond those individuals and employers with outstanding liabilities that were the focus of the review.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people she expects to settle their disguised remuneration liabilities as a result of the McCann Review into Loan Charge settlement terms.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those affected, ensure fairness for all taxpayers and ensure that appropriate support is in place for those subject to the loan charge.
The Government accepted the review’s conclusion that the loan charge was an extraordinary piece of Government policy which necessitated an exceptional response, and is now legislating a new settlement opportunity that will assist those who have not yet settled to do so.
As a result, most individuals could see reductions of at least 50% in their outstanding loan charge liabilities, and an estimated 30% of individuals could have these liabilities written off entirely. To encourage more people to settle, the Government will write off the first £5,000 of liabilities in addition to the proposals put forward by Ray McCann.
The Government’s response to the review represents a fair and proportionate attempt to provide a route to resolution for those who have not yet been able to settle with HMRC. In turn, this requires those individuals to now come forward and engage with HMRC in good faith.
Tax avoidance deprives the Exchequer of funds needed to deliver vital public services and it is right that resources are targeted to stop this. There are no plans to apply the review’s recommendations beyond those individuals and employers with outstanding liabilities that were the focus of the review.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of Conflict Management Dogs as a less-lethal option for Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms Officers; and what plans she has to ensure that capability is maintained.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Armed policing capabilities are built upon ongoing assessments of operational threat and risk and are used in threat to life situations. The use of firearms by the police should always be the last resort, considered only where there is a serious risk to public or responder safety. Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms Officers (CTSFOs) receive the highest level of police firearms training and can provide a second-wave response to more complex or long running attacks.
The Home Office works closely with the police to ensure they have the necessary capabilities and their capacities to respond to a range of incidents across the policing and counter-terrorism landscape, while respecting their operational independence from Government.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to incentivise UK-based companies to retain and create skilled jobs in the UK rather than offshore them.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Our modern Industrial Strategy is a 10-year plan to back our strengths and create a highly skilled, economically prosperous country, with key objectives to drive up business investment and create high-quality jobs across the UK. We are focused on capturing a greater share of internationally mobile capital and supporting businesses to employ skilled workers in the UK, including through investing over £1 billion in tailored sector skills packages. We have also published the Clean Energy Jobs Plan with ambitions to recruit 400,000 people in the UK, with Jobs Plans covering other priority sectors to follow.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the security of prisons holding ISIS members following gains by the Syrian army against the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the written ministerial statement published on 28 January. Any further updates on the issues addressed in that statement will be made in the normal way in due course.