Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on policy priorities in advance of COP 29.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State continues to have ongoing discussions with colleagues concerning Departmental business.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will continue to lead on international climate policy across Government, working closely with other Departments to raise ambition and drive forward action to deliver on the Paris Agreement at COP29 and at other key international meetings, including the G7 and G20.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she (a) has taken and (b) plans to take with the devolved Administrations to integrate (i) climate and (ii) nature plans.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ works closely with the Devolved Administrations on climate and net zero issues, including through the Interministerial Group for Net Zero, Energy and Climate Change which supports effective engagement and collaboration in areas of shared interest between the UK administrations. The group last met on 13 March.
Many UK Government departments play a vital role in delivering carbon budgets, with DEFRA ensuring that nature-based solutions are a core part of Government action to tackle climate change. Integration of climate and nature plans is a matter for my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she (a) has taken and (b) plans to take with the devolved Administrations to achieve the (i) mission, (ii) goal and (iii) targets of the Paris Agreement 2015.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ works closely with the devolved administrations (DAs) on international climate obligations and reporting to the UNFCCC. DESNZ worked with the DAs on the development of the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and this year will be seeking their views for the 2035 NDC. This reflects the role the DAs play in the UK-wide drive to decarbonise the economy. DESNZ accredited 20 delegates from DAs to attend COP28 and will accredit DAs delegates to attend COP29.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she (a) has taken and (b) plans to take with the devolved Administrations to improve coordination of efforts towards achieving the UK's international (i) climate and (ii) biodiversity obligations.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ works closely with the devolved administrations (DAs) on international climate obligations and reporting to the UNFCCC. DESNZ worked with the DAs on the development of the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and this year will be seeking their views for the 2035 NDC. This reflects the role the DAs play in the UK-wide drive to decarbonise the economy. DESNZ accredited 20 delegates from DAs to attend COP28 and will accredit DAs delegates to attend COP29.
Through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, which advises UK-wide and international nature conservation, the four nations will coordinate to further our ambitious biodiversity agenda.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in his Department are on a maximum payscale below (a) £34,500 and (b) £38,700.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Within the Home Office, as of March 2024, there are 31,936 staff that have a maximum payscale below (a) £34,500 and 37,096 staff that have a maximum payscale below (b) £38,700.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who were given (a) entry clearance and (b) leave to remain on the grounds of family life as a partner under Immigration Rules Appendix FM were granted access to public funds following a successful change of conditions application in each year since 2012.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The number of applications for Entry Clearance and to stay in the UK that are made on the basis of family life as a partner or parent and any exceptional circumstances in compliance with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the number of applicants granted access to public funds following a successful entry clearance or leave to remain change of conditions application, do not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
The transparency data does, however, include a range of processing data and the latest data can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been given leave to remain on the basis of (a) family life as a (i) partner and (ii) parent and (b) exceptional circumstances in compliance with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in each year since 2012.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The number of applications for Entry Clearance and to stay in the UK that are made on the basis of family life as a partner or parent and any exceptional circumstances in compliance with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the number of applicants granted access to public funds following a successful entry clearance or leave to remain change of conditions application, do not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
The transparency data does, however, include a range of processing data and the latest data can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been given entry clearance to the UK on the basis of family life as (a) a partner, (b) a parent and (c) exceptional circumstances in compliance with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in each year since 2012.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The number of applications for Entry Clearance and to stay in the UK that are made on the basis of family life as a partner or parent and any exceptional circumstances in compliance with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the number of applicants granted access to public funds following a successful entry clearance or leave to remain change of conditions application, do not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
The transparency data does, however, include a range of processing data and the latest data can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations in the report entitled Creating a nature-rich UK: Unleashing the potential of nature-based solutions, published by Zero Hour on 13 September 2023.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is already carrying out a programme of large-scale habitat creation and restoration to implement nature-based solutions. Taking actions for nature, including protecting our land and species, is also a core part of our third National Adaptation Programme.
Through the Environment Act 2021, we have committed to the legally binding targets of creating or restoring more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside of protected sites by 2042 and increasing the tree canopy and woodland cover of England to 16.5% by 2050. We have also made a number of further commitments in the Environmental Improvement Plan, including restoring approximately 280,000 hectares of peatland in England by 2050 and encouraging and supporting increased agroforestry with an aim to increase silvo-arable agroforestry to 10% of all arable land by 2050.
We are providing significant funding in this area. Our transformational, £675m, Nature for Climate Fund has supported tree planting to reach the decade’s highest levels, with more than 15 million trees planted in England during this Parliament. In February we awarded £25 million funding to 40 schemes around England for improving flood resilience through a new natural flood management programme.
The Government has guaranteed an average annual budget of £2.4 billion for the farming sector for the life of this Parliament. Our reforms require specific actions to be taken that enhance the environment and protect food production. This includes paying farmers to restore valuable habitats such as lowland peat and to engage in sustainable agroforestry and wetland management, which will support adaptation to climate change.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the video entitled The first individuals set to be removed to Rwanda, posted on X by his Department on 1 May 2024, what the objectives of posting the video were; when the video received ministerial clearance; and if he will publish the minutes of the meeting in which the decision was made to produce the video.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Videos on government social media accounts should inform the public about government policy and delivery. This video showed Immigration Enforcement officers executing thier public duties as they do all the time. It was produced by civil servants as part of their routine duties and involved no additional costs. As with all videos featuring service users or sensitive content, every care was taken to protect subjects’ identities. The video went through normal approval processes for social media content.