Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many welders have been given visas to work in the UK under the skilled worker visa scheme over the last five years.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on sponsored work visas by occupation in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on grants of visas are published in table ‘Occ_D02’ of the sponsored work visas by occupation and industry dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is from January 2021 up to the end of June 2026.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support and encourage grey-water recycling and rainwater harvesting systems in (a) new-build properties, (b) public buildings, (c) retrofitted social housing stock and (d) retrofitted private housing.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the benefits of greywater reuse and rainwater harvesting across all property types. Following our commitment in the Water White Paper, we are enabling measures to drive up the adoption of water recycling and reuse through the Clean Water Bill. Our assessment of these measures considers the holistic benefits of its adoption including to the drainage system and consumer bills.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of grey-water recycling and rainwater harvesting systems on (a) tackling water shortages, (b) reducing water bills and (c) reducing the amount of run-off and waste water in the sewerage system.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the benefits of greywater reuse and rainwater harvesting across all property types. Following our commitment in the Water White Paper, we are enabling measures to drive up the adoption of water recycling and reuse through the Clean Water Bill. Our assessment of these measures considers the holistic benefits of its adoption including to the drainage system and consumer bills.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to monitor and assess the potential impact of the Heather and Grass Burning Regulations on carbon emissions from (a) controlled burning and (b) wildfires; and whether her Department plans to publish an assessment of the net impact of those regulations on carbon emissions.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not hold an assessment of the net impact of The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021 on carbon emissions. Carbon emissions associated with controlled burning and wildfires are influenced by a range of factors, making it difficult to attribute changes specifically to the Regulations. We do not currently plan to publish an assessment in this area.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she will publish the cross-government Wildfire Action Plan by the end of 2026.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and MHCLG are developing an England Wildfire Action Plan and will set out further details in the coming months. We are already taking practical action to strengthen wildfire resilience. For Defra, this includes a new £25 million peatland restoration grant scheme and an updated Environmental Land Management capital offer to support measures such as fire ponds and fire breaks.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, further to the Written Ministerial Statement of 2 July 2026 (HLWS178), what progress has been made on developing a solution to the VAT treatment of free-of-charge drugs supplied under Early Access Schemes; whether the Treasury plans to consult patient groups and clinicians affected by the withdrawal of such schemes, including sarcoma patients; and what estimate has been made of the number of patients who have been unable to access treatment as a result of scheme withdrawals since the VAT change took effect.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 19 October in response to Question 30531.
The Government has not made any assessment of the number of patients who have been unable to access treatment as a result of scheme withdrawals. The new approach to the VAT treatment of free of charge medicines will apply permanently, and it will be effective for all donations made on or after 23 June 2026 to support companies to resume free-of-charge schemes as soon as possible.
Since the announcement on 23 June, Department of Health and Social Care and HM Treasury officials have been working with stakeholders to develop a solution to the VAT issues associated with free-of-charge supplies of innovative medicines, including through early access and compassionate use schemes.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of classifying fruit juice as less healthy on fruit and vegetable intake and vitamin C consumption among children, particularly in lower-income households.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer provided on 5 June in response to Question 1997, the Department is now considering responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of classifying fruit juice as less healthy under the 2018 Nutrient Profiling Model on 5 A Day intake.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer provided on 5 June in response to Question 1997, the Department is now considering responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing tax incentives for the redistribution of surplus food to charities and community organisations; and if he will consider amending the tax treatment of surplus food to ensure that redistribution is the most economically viable option for businesses ahead of disposal, animal feed or anaerobic digestion.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The tax system already supports businesses that donate surplus food. Where trading stock is donated to a charity, businesses can generally deduct the cost of that stock when calculating their taxable profits and are not required to recognise income for the value of the donated goods.
In addition, Autumn Budget 2025 introduced a VAT relief for eligible goods donated by businesses to charities for onward distribution or use in charitable activities.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of investing in alternative and supplementary diagnostic methods for bovine TB, as a means of reducing reliance on the single intradermal comparative cervical tuberculin (SICCT) skin test; and what steps she is taking to standardise the administration and interpretation of the SICCT test, including the calibration and pressure applied by callipers used to measure skin reactions, across veterinary practitioners.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The SICCT test is the internationally accepted standard for detecting TB infected cattle and is the cornerstone of bovine TB control in Great Britain. This is often supplemented in TB breakdown herds by the interferon-gamma and TB antibody blood tests.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency supports consistency in the administration and interpretation of the SICCT test through standardised instructions, training and competency requirements, regular revalidation, and quality assurance.
The Government funds research into improved TB diagnostics, including jointly funded research with the Welsh and Scottish Governments exploring use of constant-pressure callipers to improve measurement consistency.
The recommended bovine TB control strategy for England proposes greater flexibility for privately funded supplementary testing. The Government will respond in due course.