Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing wrongly convicted applicants to the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme with the £600,000 fixed-sum award as an upfront payment.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government remains committed to providing full and fair redress to those affected by the Horizon scandal.
In Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry report, Sir Wyn Williams noted that he could not be convinced 'that the Fixed Sum Offer should, in effect, become a guaranteed minimum payment'. The Department agrees with Sir Wyn and believes it is important to retain the distinction between interim payments and a final settlement. A settlement is the final, total compensation amount agreed upon to resolve a claim, whereas an interim payment is an early, partial payment made before the claim process fully concludes.
The interim payment policy is designed to provide claimants with breathing space, and a meaningful opportunity to consider whether a full assessment would be beneficial to them.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what engagement his Department has had with a) recognised trade unions and b) affected staff regarding the potential impact of the proposals to remove caretaker posts from the Army Reserve and University Officers’ Training Corps estate.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The Army Caretaker Review remains ongoing and no final decisions have been made. Consultation on the proposed implementation plan is taking place with the recognised trade unions. Affected employees have been informed of the proposal and indicative timeline and will be updated following consultation.
Of the 123 caretakers currently in scope of the review, 89% occupy accommodation linked to their caretaker role. This data is correct as at 1 September 2026. The proposed timetable for vacating linked accommodation, including cases where employment may continue beyond 31 March 2027, remains subject to consultation and implementation planning.
The Department recognises the uncertainty and potential impact on affected caretakers and their families. Housing-related issues, including transitional arrangements and the proposed timetable for vacating tied accommodation, are being considered as part of implementation planning. Requests to remain in accommodation beyond the end of the role, under a different rental agreement, would be considered on a case-by-case basis by the property owner, taking account of Defence requirements, site security, estate plans and individual circumstances.
Affected employees will receive support through line management, Human Resources , trades union representatives and the Employee Assistance Programme. Army caretakers across the UK, will also be encouraged to engage early with local housing authorities and relevant independent advice services where they may need support to secure alternative accommodation.
Work is underway to identify suitable redeployment opportunities within Defence and the wider Civil Service. Redundancy would only be considered where suitable redeployment cannot be secured. Any financial assistance or compensation would be considered in line with the relevant Civil Service compensation scheme provisions and wider departmental policy.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking through the Defence Investment Plan to support defence supply chains in Mid and South Pembrokeshire constituency.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Investment Plan commits £298 billion over the next four years, backing British industry and strengthening defence supply chains across the UK.
Additionally, in January we launched the Defence Office for Small Business Growth which means we will spend an additional £2.5 billion with SMEs by 2028. This is a 50% increase of direct spend with SMEs.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has considered the potential merits of reviewing the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate to ensure it supports the competitiveness of the SAF industry.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The SAF Mandate has been designed to drive decarbonisation at an acceptable cost.
There are, however, inherent uncertainties given the nascency of the SAF industry. We intend to publish an update on SAF before the Summer recess on a range of topics, subject to usual cross-Government approvals. This will include a Call for Evidence on whether additional flexibility is needed in the SAF Mandate to account for uncertainties in global production capacity without undermining investor confidence.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support the decarbonisation of industry in South West Wales through the development of non‑pipeline carbon capture, utilisation and storage projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government recognises the importance of CCUS and NPT to the decarbonisation of South Wales. As part of the CCUS Programme, we are working with the South Wales Industrial Cluster to assess viable decarbonisation pathways, including CCUS enabled solutions via non-pipeline transport.
The government’s consultation on its proposals for NPT deployment across the UK has just concluded and we are in the process of analysing responses.
Alongside this, the government launched the NPT Pathfinder Selection Process on the 9 April. This is the first time NPT projects will be eligible to apply for storage at the East Coast Cluster and we look forward to seeing which projects come forward to take up this exciting opportunity.
Both initiatives will help inform further NPT deployment in the future, and as such, support the decarbonisation of South Wales.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support the development and use of green methanol in the road haulage sector.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The supply of green methanol for use in road vehicles is eligible for support under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). The RTFO, a certificate trading scheme, has been successful in supporting a UK market for renewable fuels since 2008. In 2024, 68 million litres of renewable methanol was reported as supplied under the RTFO scheme. This is equivalent to around 2% of renewable fuel supplied under the scheme.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of Stare for Energy Security and Net Zero, on the potential inclusion of refined petroleum products within the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism; and when the outcomes of those discussions will be made available.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025 the government is considering the feasibility and impacts of including refined products in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in future. The government recognises that refineries play a role in energy security and the UK’s industrial base. Government Ministers are holding a roundtable with the refining sector on 4 February 2026 and will also publish a call for evidence on the fuel sector shortly.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to begin a formal assessment of the potential addition of refined petroleum products to the scope of the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025 the government is considering the feasibility and impacts of including refined products in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in future. The government recognises that refineries play a role in energy security and the UK’s industrial base. Government Ministers are holding a roundtable with the refining sector on 4 February 2026 and will also publish a call for evidence on the fuel sector shortly.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to improve mobile connectivity in a) Mid and South Pembrokeshire and b) Tenby.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This ambition includes villages and rural communities as well as towns and cities.
We expect this ambition to be delivered through commercial rollout plans from the network operators. Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators to ensure their continued investment into the expansion and improvement of mobile networks and that this translates into benefits for communities right across the UK, as well as identifying and addressing barriers to deployment where they exist and it is practical to do so.
In Ofcom’s Connected Nations Annual Report, published on 19 November 2025, it is reported that 4G is available across 90% of the Mid and South Pembrokeshire constituency from all four operators, while 5G (combined standalone and non-standalone) is available outside 87% of premises in the constituency from at least one MNO.
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of indexing payments from the Financial Assistance Scheme for pensions accrued before 1997 by Allied Steel and Wire members.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are committed to consider what we have heard on this issue. I have heard first hand all the challenges facing ASW workers and others with pre-1997 accrued pensions. However any change in this area has significant implications on public finances for the taxpayer funded Financial Assistance Scheme.
We will continue to work through these important issues with the Pension Protection Fund. The PPF has recently reviewed, and made publicly available, its assessment of the potential impacts of addressing pre-1997 indexation for all the schemes within its remit.