Barry Gardiner

All UK greenhouse gas emissions are compiled and reported consistent with international guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories provide a methodology for the reporting of emissions from bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) that the UK will follow when the technology is operating at sufficient scale. In line with all IPCC reports, the 2006 Guidelines were written by world-leading experts, underwent multiple rounds of review from other experts and Governments and were formally accepted by Governments including the UK.

Since the publication of the Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative, we have continued our work to minimise and, where possible, eliminate the bycatch of sensitive marine species. That has included renewing Clean Catch for a further 3-year period. This flagship programme will be focused on collaborative trials with the fishing industry to establish practical ways to minimise bycatch, delivery of research on potential bycatch hotspots and of best practice guides tailored to fishermen’s needs, and critical knowledge exchange both within and beyond the UK.

In addition to that, in 2025, we are considering further measures to reduce bycatch of seabirds. We have not published an implementation plan but will consider the need for this when working with stakeholders to identify and implement these measures. This builds on wider work done under the English Seabird Conservation and Recovery Pathway. For more information see: English Seabird Conservation and Recovery Pathway (ESCaRP) - ME6044.

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Work is in hand on the measures needed to implement the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement before the UK can ratify. Legislation to implement the BBNJ Agreement will be introduced as soon as the legislative timetable allows.

In 2020, Defra commissioned an independent review of the Darwin Plus programme. This found Darwin Plus projects to have a strong, positive impact on the capacity of the Territories to deliver long-term strategic outcomes for the natural environment, which enhances protection of biodiversity ecosystems. During his Kew Lecture on 17 September 2024, the Foreign Secretary declared reversing the decline in global biodiversity as a Government priority. It is estimated that the UK Overseas Territories are home to over 90% of known endemic British species.

Information on individual projects funded under Darwin Plus is available on the programme website (https://darwinplus.org.uk/). The programme’s performance is reviewed annually and published on the UK Government’s online Development Tracker.

In November 2024, Minister Doughty and Minister McCarthy met with the elected leaders and representatives of the Overseas Territories at the UK Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council. The UK Government confirmed that it would continue to work in partnership with the Territories to support the protection of their unique environments and to help address biodiversity loss.

Total funding allocated to Darwin Plus projects in each financial year since 2019-20 is provided in the table below.

Ministers regularly consider visits across the country to see the impact of their policy areas. Any plans to visit specific locations will be notified to the relevant Members of Parliament in advance.

The Department has no current plans to establish such a national training centre. The Department continues to work with the National Health Service and other partners to develop pathways for delivering innovative medical technology into the hands of front-line clinicians.

The curricula and method of delivery of surgical specialty training is set by the Royal College of Surgeons. The General Medical Council approves curricula and assessment systems for each training programme.

The Department and NHS England support the development and use of innovative surgical approaches across the system, where clinically appropriate. Use of such innovative approaches can drive efficiency and improve patient outcomes, but should and will be driven by local and specific need.

The curricula and method of delivery of surgical specialty training is set by the Royal College of Surgeons. The General Medical Council approves the curricula and assessment systems for each training programme.

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Legislation to implement the BBNJ Agreement will be introduced as soon as the legislative timetable allows.

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Ocean Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Legislation to implement the BBNJ Agreement will be introduced as soon as the legislative timetable allows.

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Oceans Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Work is in hand on the measures needed to implement the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement before the UK can ratify.

Since it was first launched in 2021, the Waking Watch Replacement Fund has made £82.6 million in grant funding available to support the installation of common alarm systems to replace costly waking watch measures in residential buildings. The current iteration of the fund was reopened in May 2023, extending support to all residential buildings where a waking watch is currently in place in England, regardless of where the costs of the waking watch fall. We know that waking watch measures are still being used too often, and that in too many cases, costs continue to be passed onto leaseholders. Reducing the excessive use of Waking Watch is a priority for this government, and in the meantime, we have extended the Waking Watch Replacement Fund until March 2026 with long-term plans for the fund to be confirmed at the end of the next Spending Review in Summer 2025.

Since Royal Assent, parts of the Building Safety Act measures have been amended under the Leasehold Freehold Reform Act to reduce costs on residential leaseholders. These ensure that costs of ‘interim measures’ (such as waking watches and fitting simultaneous evacuation alarms) and expert reports can be recovered through remediation contribution orders. The costs of temporary accommodation if residents are decanted from their homes on building safety grounds, can also be recovered.

Any contribution required from those holding a qualifying lease for non-cladding defects and interim measures is capped and spread over 10 years, This means that, for the majority of qualifying leaseholders, the maximum amount that can be charged for non-cladding remediation and interim measures is £15,000 in Greater London (or £10,000 elsewhere in England). Qualifying leaseholders with a leasehold property worth more than £1 million and less than £2 million can be charged up to £50,000, while those with a leasehold property worth more than £2 million can be charged up to £100,000.

The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced new legal requirements for those responsible for managing building safety risks in higher-risk buildings when they are occupied. Under the Act, costs incurred in meeting these ongoing obligations can be passed to leaseholders via the service charge. The government considers these requirements as vital for ensuring structural and fire safety risks are properly managed, so that residents are and feel safe in their homes. We appreciate concerns about the costs of compliance with these requirements for leaseholders, and will continue to work with the Building Safety Regulator to monitor the situation.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer to Question UIN 18874 on 17 December 2024.

The government is committed to reinvigorating commonhold and making it the default tenure.

Our forthcoming White Paper on reforms to commonhold will outline proposed reforms to the model and our plans to introduce a comprehensive new legal framework.

The government has also made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny.

We will also engage with stakeholders on the process for converting existing flats to commonhold and consult on the proposed ban on new leasehold flats. We will set out further details in due course.

The government is committed to reinvigorating commonhold and making it the default tenure.

Our forthcoming White Paper on reforms to commonhold will outline proposed reforms to the model and our plans to introduce a comprehensive new legal framework.

The government has also made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny.

We will also engage with stakeholders on the process for converting existing flats to commonhold and consult on the proposed ban on new leasehold flats. We will set out further details in due course.

The government is committed to reinvigorating commonhold and making it the default tenure.

Our forthcoming White Paper on reforms to commonhold will outline proposed reforms to the model and our plans to introduce a comprehensive new legal framework.

The government has also made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny.

We will also engage with stakeholders on the process for converting existing flats to commonhold and consult on the proposed ban on new leasehold flats. We will set out further details in due course.

The number of judges who have been elevated from the first-tier tribunal within six months of receiving formal advice of misconduct from the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office in the last five years is one.

The majority of appointments to judicial office are based on selection by the independent Judicial Appointments Commission, which has a statutory duty to make selections based on merit alone.

The number of judges who have been elevated from the first-tier tribunal within six months of receiving formal advice of misconduct from the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office in the last five years is one.

The majority of appointments to judicial office are based on selection by the independent Judicial Appointments Commission, which has a statutory duty to make selections based on merit alone.

Circuit Judges are appointed by the King, on the advice of the Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice, following a fair and open competition administered by the Judicial Appointments Commission.

The number of judges who have been appointed as Circuit Judges having been tribunal judges, within six months of receiving formal advice of misconduct from the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office in the last five years is one.