Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much revenue his Department expects to raise annually from the inclusion of domestic maritime in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme; and what proportion of that revenue will be recycled into maritime decarbonisation projects.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s Impact Assessment estimates that bringing domestic maritime into the United Kingdom Emissions Trading Scheme will increase allowance purchasing revenue by around £1.9 billion over the 20year appraisal period, averaging approximately £95 million a year.
Receipts from the United Kingdom Emissions Trading Scheme support the Government’s wider priorities, including spending that helps deliver the transition to net zero.
The Government recognises that decarbonising the maritime sector requires a suite of policies, and continues to provide funding, guidance and policy support to facilitate the uptake of cleaner technologies across the sector.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to align UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) maritime rules with the EU ETS to help (a) prevent (i) carbon leakage and (ii) port avoidance and (b) maintain competitiveness.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has assessed the impacts of expansion of the Emissions Trading Scheme to domestic maritime. That Impact Assessment concluded that the policy is not expected to materially affect the competitiveness of ports or operators, and that applying the scheme consistently to domestic voyages and at berth emissions does not create a credible incentive for traffic diversion.
This is in part because many of the core maritime rules closely mirror those for the EU Emissions Trading System. This will reduce administrative burden for operators participating in both regimes, and it will also ensure no double charging between the two regimes.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of including domestic maritime within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme on the competitiveness of UK ports and shipping operators; and what steps he is taking to mitigate risks of traffic diversion.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s Impact Assessment for including domestic maritime emissions within the United Kingdom Emissions Trading Scheme concluded that the policy is not expected to materially affect the competitiveness of United Kingdom ports or shipping operators. Compliance costs are proportionate, particularly on a per operator basis, and the scheme is designed to support cost effective decarbonisation across the sector. The Assessment also finds no credible risk of traffic diversion, as the scheme applies uniformly to domestic voyages and at berth emissions.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of expanding the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to maritime on shipping and ferry services serving British Overseas Territories; what assessment has been made of potential impacts on services to and from Crown Dependencies; and whether any mitigations or exemptions are being considered for these routes.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority has recently consulted on proposals to include a share of emissions from international maritime voyages, including voyages to and from Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories. The consultation invited evidence on the potential impacts on their communities and economies.
The Government recognise that some of these communities rely heavily on shipping and will continue to engage with Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories regarding the financial impacts this policy may have on their communities and economies. Policy decisions will be considered once consultation responses have been fully analysed and considered by the UK ETS Authority.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much additional funding has been allocated in the current financial year to expand secondary care capacity, including staffing and bed numbers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Spending Review 2025 has prioritised health, with an increase by £29 billion in real terms by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24, including investment in urgent and emergency care and electives services to deliver the 10-Year Health Plan. The plan includes the shift from hospital to community to bring care closer to home, launching a new neighbourhood health service with easier and more convenient access to a full range of healthcare services on people’s doorsteps, open 12 hours a day, six days a week.
Integrated care board (ICB) revenue allocations for 2025/26 include a total of circa £5.3 billion elective recovery funding to allow the National Health Service to continue to deliver the high levels of elective activity performance seen last year, and to deliver our Plan for Change commitments including care closer to the community. This figure includes funding for cancer services.
Over £6 billion in additional capital will be invested in diagnostic, elective, and urgent and emergency capacity in the NHS over five years, including £1.65 billion in 2025/26 to deliver new surgical hubs, diagnostic scanners and beds to increase capacity for elective and emergency care.
Decisions on staffing and bed numbers are for individual NHS organisations to decide when developing their operational plans in response to the Medium Term Planning Framework 2026/27 to 2028/29.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, under the proposed pay-per-mile road charging scheme, whether mileage accrued by UK-registered vehicles while driving in the Republic of Ireland would be subject to UK charges; and whether mileage accrued by Republic of Ireland-registered vehicles while driving in Northern Ireland would be subject to any equivalent charge.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that EVs (electric vehicles) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. As with VED, eVED will apply to UK-registered vehicles; non-UK registered vehicles will be required to register for eVED after a period of six months in the UK.
The Government has ruled out charging tax based on when or where people drive to protect motorists’ privacy. This means non-UK mileage driven by UK registered cars will fall into scope of eVED, as with fuel duty, which does not vary by basis of where a car is driven.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NICE appraisals were terminated in the five-year period from 2019 to 2024, and how this compares with the preceding five-year period.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appraisals that were terminated between 2019 and 2024, and between 2014 and 2019:
Period | Number of terminated appraisals | Terminated appraisals as a percentage of total appraisals |
2019 to 2024 | 82 | 19% |
2014 to 2019 | 26 | 7% |
Source: NICE.
NICE data shows that terminated appraisals increased in 2019/20 and stabilised with no increasing trend thereafter. This followed NICE’s 2019 commitment to review all new active substances and significant indications. This required industry to submit topics which might otherwise not have been in NICE's work programme. NICE’s data shows that the proportion of terminations has been stable over the last five years, and that terminations reflect that not all products/indications will likely be clinically and cost effective. NICE will continue to monitor terminations with a view to best continuing to support access to clinically and cost-effective medicines for patients in England.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104846, what assessment has been made of the risk that AI initiatives described as operating on a test-and-learn basis do not deliver the scale of efficiency savings assumed in the Departmental Efficiency Plan.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department has not undertaken a specific risk assessment on whether the AI initiatives operating on a test-and-learn basis will deliver the scale of efficiency savings forecast in the Departmental Efficiency Plan. The department has agreed to achieve net efficiency savings of £199m from corporate initiatives, and these will be enabled by a broad range of activities, including the use of digital tools and utilisation of technology beyond specific AI initiatives; we are continuing to assess the impact and potential benefits of implementing AI and will continue to develop our alignment on AI initiatives across DfT, it’s Arm's Length Bodies, and Agencies.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Treasury has conducted or commissioned an impact assessment on how the April 2026 business rates increase may affect the financial sustainability of community pharmacies.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This has led to increases in rateable values for some properties, as current values are based on pandemic-era valuations.
In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.
At Budget, the Government announced wider reforms to business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, reducing tax rates paid for by a higher rate on the top one per cent of most expensive properties.
The introduction of permanent, lower RHL tax rates is worth almost £1 billion to over 750,000 RHL properties. The tax rate on smaller high street businesses will be 25% lower than for businesses with the most valuable properties.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
This includes community pharmacies with rateable values below £500,000 that are open to members of the public. Further details on what is meant by “visiting members of the public” can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-multipliers-qualifying-retail-hospitality-or-leisure.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the planned April 2026 business rates increase on community pharmacies.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This has led to increases in rateable values for some properties, as current values are based on pandemic-era valuations.
In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.
At Budget, the Government announced wider reforms to business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, reducing tax rates paid for by a higher rate on the top one per cent of most expensive properties.
The introduction of permanent, lower RHL tax rates is worth almost £1 billion to over 750,000 RHL properties. The tax rate on smaller high street businesses will be 25% lower than for businesses with the most valuable properties.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
This includes community pharmacies with rateable values below £500,000 that are open to members of the public. Further details on what is meant by “visiting members of the public” can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-multipliers-qualifying-retail-hospitality-or-leisure.