Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) her Department and (b) any intelligence body holds written guidance, instructions, emails and briefings relating to supervision, accompaniment and activity restrictions concerning Lord Mandelson following his vetting outcome.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Prime Minister on 21 April, and his answers to the questions raised in response, including his commitment that the Government would continue to comply with the instructions of Parliament in the Humble Address of 4 February.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support rewilding in Devon.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Rewilding projects tend to be run by environmental NGOs and private organisations. Defra’s focus is to support nature recovery through a range of mechanisms, funding and policies. While Defra does not lead on nature recovery projects directly, it supports Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry England in their regulatory and partnership roles at a local level – including in Devon. Examples range from local projects such as species reintroductions to catchment scale habitat and river restoration, providing benefits to people and nature.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Peter Mandelson required a (a) chaperone and (b) accomplice as condition for his security vetting clearance.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Prime Minister on 21 April, and his answers to the questions raised in response, including his commitment that the Government would continue to comply with the instructions of Parliament in the Humble Address of 4 February.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the business rates relief given to pubs to independent gyms and other leisure businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Pubs rents in business rates valuations are analysed differently to some other sectors. While most hospitality and leisure properties are valued by comparing the size of the property, pubs are valued by comparing their turnover potential. Industry bodies have highlighted concerns with how costs are accounted for in this methodology, particularly during periods of high inflation. The Government agrees this needs to be looked at and is therefore launching a review which will explore how pubs are valued for business rates. In the meantime, pubs are being provided with additional support.
Independent gyms and other leisure businesses will continue to benefit from the wider £4.3 billion support package announced at Budget, which protects against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.
The Government has also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and benefit over 750,000 properties, including gyms and other leisure businesses.
As a result, over half of ratepayers see no bill increases this year, including 23 per cent whose bills go down. Most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15 per cent or less this year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for the NHS Federated Data Platform after 15 February 2027.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medium-Term Planning Framework 2026/27 to 2028/29 sets out the expectation that all providers and integrated care boards onboard to the NHS Federated Data Platform and start making use of core products, data capabilities, and population health management tools by 2028/29. The framework available at the following link:
The supplier contract will be reviewed this year in line with standard contract management processes, and a decision will be made on its extension.