Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to take steps to support the use of the Cornish language on official documents.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK Government recognises Cornish as a minority language under Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
There are no statutory requirements for the Home Office to provide official documents in Cornish. Responsibility for promoting and supporting the Cornish language sits with Cornwall Council, with UK-wide policy oversight led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the inclusion of women and girls in the development of global climate resilience (a) policies and (b) programmes.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To ensure gender equality and inclusion characteristics are a key part of UK International Climate Finance (ICF) funded programmes including on resilience, in May 2025 we published Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Guidance for ICF delivery partners. The guidance provides a common framework to integrate gender equality, disability and social inclusion into ICF programme design and delivery and outlines minimum standards and ambitions on GEDSI. The guidance supports our ambition to ensure all new ICF programmes are designed to be 'GEDSI empowering', delivering positive and equitable outcomes for all people.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 improve bilingual provision in (a) Cornish and (b) English in agricultural (i) guidance and (ii) communications for farmers in Cornwall.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cornish is not currently a legally recognised formal language under UK law. Any translations or bilingual materials would be a matter of voluntary policy or local practice. Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a coastal strategy which includes the Cornish language.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to promoting economic growth in all parts of the country including coastal communities. It has introduced a new, targeted approach to support regional growth, tackle deprivation, and restore pride to communities. These new programmes are just one component of the government’s strategy, which also includes the publishing of the Industrial Strategy; and the expansion of devolution.
MHCLG Area Teams will continue to work with local stakeholders to understand challenges and opportunities from across all communities, reflecting these into the relevant government departments and policy teams.
On 19 May, Defra launched the “Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund” that will invest £360 million over the next 12 years to help support the UK fishing industry and revitalise coastal communities. Defra will be engaging with stakeholders to understand how to target this funding where it matters most.
MHCLG will continue to work with Cornwall Council and its partners to encourage the further development of Cornish culture and heritage. This will follow up work including the funding of £500,000 for Cornish language and culture as part of Cornwall’s Devolution Deal in 2023.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 help prevent the spread of (a) bee pests and (b) diseases linked to the importation of non-native honey bee strains.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Apis mellifera also known as the Western honey bee is native to Europe. All consignments of honey bees (Apis mellifera) imported into the UK must be accompanied by health certificates confirming that the area the bees originated from is free of certain pests and diseases. The health certificate must be issued no more than 24 hours prior to dispatch and the certifying officer must also confirm that a pre-export inspection took place.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 (a) native and (b) varroa-tolerant bee breeding programmes in England.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Developing varroa-tolerant bees through selective breeding is likely to be very difficult as it requires geographic isolation or artificial insemination to preserve the resistance traits being selected for, as well as large numbers of colonies to ensure that the resulting strains maintain good genetic diversity. There is advice for beekeepers about how to manage Varroa and queen rearing on BeeBase, the website managed by the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Sheep Carcase (Classification and Price Reporting) (England) Regulations 2025 on (a) small-scale and (b) hill farmers in South East Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department has made no specific assessment of the impact of the Sheep Carcase (Classification and Price Reporting) (England) Regulations 2025 on small scale and hill farmers in South East Cornwall.
The mandating of sheep carcase classification and price reporting will create a more transparent, productive and efficient sheep market across the UK. It will encourage producers to improve productivity and to rear sheep to better meet market specifications and consumer demand, bringing the sector in line with the beef and pig sectors. Carcases will be assessed against a consistent grading and pricing system rewarding producers for the quality of lambs being sent for slaughter.
The regulations will be applicable to abattoirs with a throughput of at least 2,000 sheep per week. Abattoirs processing 1,000 to 1999 sheep per week are able to opt into the mandatory scheme. The weekly throughput of 2,000 sheep per week will exempt smaller abattoirs from the scheme so that we do not place additional regulatory and administrative burdens on them.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to introduce legislation to ban the importation of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods originating in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK's current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
There are clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity. UK Government guidance equips individuals and businesses to make their own informed choices regarding such commercial activities.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with civil society organisations on the proscription of Palestine Action.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
Every proscription decision is made through careful consideration by the Home Secretary and follows advice from the cross-government Proscription Review Group, which involves technical assessments and deep engagement with subject matter experts including policy officials and law enforcement.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences have been granted for experiments using (a) dogs,(b) cats and (c) primates since 4 July 2025.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 4 July 2025 to the present day, no new project licences have been granted that authorise the use of dogs, cats or primates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.