Phil Brickell
Labour - Bolton West
4,945 (11.1%) majority - 2024 General ElectionFirst elected: 4th July 2024
Division Voting information
Debates during the 2024 Parliament
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
(16 debate interactions)
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
(11 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(17 debate contributions)
(17 debate contributions)
(8 debate contributions)
(7 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(2,809 words contributed)
(1,334 words contributed)
(817 words contributed)
(776 words contributed)
Bolton West Petitions
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
of 14,033 signatures (1.03%)
of 59,407 signatures (0.32%)
of 237,537 signatures (0.22%)
of 53,633 signatures (0.21%)
of 237,537 signatures (0.22%)
of 247,920 signatures (0.20%)
of 227,381 signatures (0.20%)
of 161,204 signatures (0.19%)
c. 749 added daily
136,652
(Estimated)
Apply for the UK to join the European Union as a full member as soon as possible
Sign this petition Gov Responded - 19 Nov 2024 Debated on - 24 Mar 2025 View Phil Brickell's petition debate contributionscloses in 0 minutes
I believe joining the EU would boost the economy, increase global influence, improve collaboration and provide stability & freedom. I believe that Brexit hasn't brought any tangible benefit and there is no future prospect of any, that the UK has changed its mind and that this should be recognised.
Latest EDMs signed by Phil Brickell
Commons initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Phil Brickell, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Phil Brickell has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Phil Brickell has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Phil Brickell has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Phil Brickell has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Latest 50 Written Questions
(View all written questions)1 Other Department Questions
APPGs are already required to publish a list of all their members. The reporting requirements for APPGs are set out in the Guide to the APPG Rules. Paragraph 67(b) of the Guide to the Rules requires APPGs to publish on their website, or provide on request if they do not have a website, a list of its members (both parliamentary and external).
Changes to the APPG Rules are approved by the House on the recommendation of the Committee on Standards. The Committee on Standards, not the House of Commons Commission, is responsible for updating and issuing the Guide to the APPG Rules.
This Government is committed to cracking down on serious fraud and economic crime.
The Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has expressed support for the incentivisation of whistleblowers and the SFO Strategy 2024-29 committed to explore options for achieving this, working with partners in the UK and abroad.
The Government will continue to work with the SFO to understand what reforms could be made to help them deliver their mission as effectively as possible.
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are restoring confidence in government and the highest standards in public life and have already taken steps to improve probity and transparency, including through issuing a new Ministerial Code which highlights the importance of the principles of public life, by strengthening the terms of reference for the Independent Adviser, and by introducing a new monthly Register of Gifts and Hospitality.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Honorable Member to PQ UIN 20199.
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK is facing an ever-changing and growing set of risks. All risks in the National Risk Register, which is the public-facing version of the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment, are kept under review to ensure that they are the most appropriate scenarios to inform emergency preparedness and resilience activity.
The National Risk Register will be updated in the coming months.
Lead government departments are responsible for providing updates and use the latest evidence and analysis to ensure the government’s assessment of risks reflects the risk landscape.
The Government is committed to opportunities for openness and scrutiny, for example, the opportunity to discuss risk assessment at the Public Accounts Committee on Extreme Weather events in February 2024.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The government has committed to reviewing and updating the Business Appointment Rules. An update on this work will be provided in due course.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government committed in its manifesto to reform the process of appointments to the House of Lords to ensure the quality of new appointments and to seek to improve the national and regional balance of the second chamber and is actively considering how this can be achieved.
This Government has also already introduced the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. This Bill delivers the Government’s manifesto commitment to bring about an immediate reform by removing the right of the remaining hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMRC are responsible for the conduct of origin verification checks on imported goods. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. Data on imports from Israel is available on www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data.
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government works with the British Business Bank to improve the access to finance landscape for smaller businesses. An example of the Bank’s interventions is the Start Up Loans programme which provides personal loans to start up a new business or develop an existing early-stage business. The programme also offers pre-application support and post-loan mentoring advice. Programme evaluation in December 2024 found just over two-thirds of the finance provided by Start Up Loans would not have been provided by mainstream providers.
In addition, a call for evidence has been launched by the Department on small business access to finance, seeking views on how far existing policies meet business needs, and where we may be able to go further.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is updating whistleblowing laws through the Employment Rights Bill which will strengthen the protections for whistleblowers, by making it explicit that sexual harassment can be the basis for a protected disclosure.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Official statistics on the value of collected late filing penalties are published in the annual report of Companies House. We have excerpted and reproduced the relevant figures for companies failing to file their annual accounts within the deadline below:
2018-19 | £95,972,000 |
2019-20 | £95,728,000 |
2020-21 | £96,695,000 |
2021-22 | £173,673,825 |
2022-23 | £164,663,042 |
2023-24 | £158,479,669 |
Expenditure for the LFP scheme activity is not funded through fees. Penalties collected in respect of company accounts filed late with Companies House are paid to HMT, net of costs incurred in running the scheme.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The whistleblowing framework enables workers to seek redress if they are dismissed or suffer detriment because they have made a ‘protected disclosure’. The standard employment law definition of worker has been extended to provide whistleblowing protections to NHS job applicants and other categories of worker such as trainees, agency workers and certain NHS workers. The government has no plans to extend the protections more generally but to qualify for protection, the worker must make their disclosure in accordance with the Employment Rights Act 1996, which can include making it to a ‘prescribed person’. DBT regularly updates the list of prescribed persons.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
1 Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Questions
(View all Phil Brickell's DSIT questions)Ofcom does not publish coverage data at the local level, but their WebChecker indicates that while outdoor 4G coverage is available from all four mobile operators in Chew Moor, large parts of the village have limited 4G indoor coverage. According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report (published on 5 December 2024) 99% of the Bolton West constituency has 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators, while 5G is available from at least one operator outside almost 100% of all premises. I have raised my concerns about the accuracy of their coverage reporting with Ofcom and I welcome their continuing efforts to make improvements.
The government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. Our ambition is for all populated areas, including Chew Moor, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030.
We work closely with the mobile industry and are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition in the market.
Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The apprenticeship evaluation surveys commissioned by the department provide insights into the satisfaction rates of employers and apprentices.
For employers, overall satisfaction rates were 83% for all commercial employers and 89% for all employers who reported a wage bill of over £3 million. Employers with wage bills of over £3 million were eligible for the Apprenticeship Levy. These figures are published on sheet 55 of the ‘Apprenticeship evaluation 2023: employer survey data tables (overall)’, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-evaluation-2023-learner-non-completer-and-employer-surveys.
In the 2023 apprenticeship evaluation survey, 86% of all apprentices were satisfied with their apprenticeship overall. Satisfaction rates are not broken down according to whether their employer paid the Apprenticeship Levy. Further details can be found on page 113 of the ‘Apprenticeship evaluation 2023: learner and non-completer surveys research report’, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-evaluation-2023-learner-non-completer-and-employer-surveys.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Qualification achievement rates for apprenticeships are published annually at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/2024-25. Data for the 2023/24 academic year is available at this link.
The department holds all apprenticeship training providers to account for quality delivery through its Apprenticeship Accountability Framework, which encompasses a wide range of quality indicators, including retention rates, employer and apprentice feedback, as well as achievement rates. Further detail about the framework can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-training-provider-accountability-framework/apprenticeship-training-provider-accountability-framework-and-specification--2.
Ofsted routinely inspects the quality of training delivery in all apprenticeship providers, including higher education (HE) providers, and will ensure that all apprenticeship training providers are inspected by September 2025. A summary of Ofsted’s inspection findings up to 31 August 2024 is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/further-education-and-skills-inspections-and-outcomes-as-at-31-august-2024/main-findings-further-education-and-skills-inspections-and-outcomes-as-at-31-august-2024#data-4.
The Office for Students is the independent regulator of English HE providers and works with other organisations to make sure degree apprenticeships meet the right quality and standards. This includes considering the inspections that Ofsted carries out to decide whether a provider is complying with its conditions of registration in this area. Its regulatory framework can be found at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/regulatory-framework-for-higher-education-in-england/.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department believes all children and young people should have access to outdoor learning and the opportunity to learn about and connect with nature. Access to green space has been shown to have positive impacts on the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of young people. The National Education Nature Park, a key initiative of our Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, provides the opportunities for children and young people to benefit from spending time in nature.
The department is also working to make sure that all children and young people have access to a variety of enrichment opportunities at school, including outdoor learning, as an important part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. We recognise that these activities are a vital way for children and young people to gain skills, supporting them to achieve and thrive. Outdoor education specifically is linked to improved motivation, social capital and sense of belonging in school.
Beyond outdoor education through schools, many outdoor education organisations could be considered out-of-school settings. The government recognises that out-of-school settings can supplement schools’ learning and enriching activities for children, with significant educational benefits for children’s mental health, wellbeing, and social development.
Minister of State (Education)
10 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Questions
(View all Phil Brickell's Defra questions)Section 3(3)(a) of the Water Industry Act 1991 sets a requirement on water companies ‘to have regard to the desirability of preserving for the public any freedom of access to areas of woodland, mountains, moor, heath, down, cliff or foreshore and other places of natural beauty’.
The Secretary of State is not currently investigating or undertaking enforcement action under Section 18 of the Water Industry Act in respect of this requirement.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is water companies’ responsibility to comply with their obligations in respect of the Code of Practice on Conservation, Access and Recreation. The Secretary of State will take companies’ actual or likely non-compliance with the Code of Practice into account where applicable.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Current estimates are that around 4%, or 1,400 miles, of rivers in England and Wales have a public right of navigation. There are around 3,500 miles of canal and river navigations that have a public right of access through the licensing regimes operated by the navigation authorities that own them.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors, including blue spaces, for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. This is why we have set out our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors. We are currently developing policy to improve access to nature, including onto unregulated inland waterways, working closely with key stakeholders to reduce barriers preventing people from accessing green and blue spaces.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is water companies’ responsibility to comply with their obligations in respect of the Code of Practice on Conservation, Access and Recreation. The Secretary of State will take companies’ actual or likely non-compliance with the Code of Practice into account where applicable.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to delivering the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers in October 2027, as agreed with the devolved Governments of the UK, and in accordance with the Joint Policy Statement published in April 2024.
We plan to lay the DRS regulations for England/Northern Ireland before Parliament in late 2024 and for them to come into force in early 2025 (assuming parliamentary time allows) and for the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO), who will run the scheme, to be appointed in April 2025 as planned.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our countryside and green spaces are a source of great national pride, but too many across the country are left without access to the great outdoors. That is why the last Labour Government expanded public access by introducing the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which provided the public a right of access to large areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. 2024 marks 75 years since the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, which secured public access and preserved natural beauty.
This Government will continue to increase access to nature for families to enjoy, boosting people’s mental and physical health and leaving a legacy for generations to come. We will create nine new National River Walks, plant three new National Forests and empower communities to create new parks and green spaces in their communities with a new Community Right to Buy. We will announce further details on our plans for improving access to nature in due course.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government does not believe the Scottish or Scandinavian models are the right approach in England. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 provides the public a right of access to areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. We will be considering whether any changes are required to the current right to roam regime in due course.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency will publish the 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The data for previous years is available here.
I would also refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Northern trains have no plans to reduce services on the Manchester-Southport line that serves Westhoughton. Some Sunday services have been temporarily removed from the timetable. This was agreed by Northern leaders as part of Northern’s work to stabilise and then improve services, including to Westhoughton.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The membership of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel comprises two classifications: Standing Members and Additional Members. Standing Members include Government departments and wider industry bodies. Industry bodies include the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the Urban Transport Group (UTG), Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and the Association of Local Bus Managers (ALBUM).
Additional Members will be invited to relevant meetings when particular issues are under consideration. These include bus manufacturers, operators and mayoral combined authorities. This decision was taken to ensure that the expertise of additional members is reflected during relevant meetings when specific issues are under discussion.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which licensing authorities in England administer the taxi and private hire vehicle licensing regime. Under this system licensing authorities have the flexibility to set the standards they consider appropriate to demonstrate that a private hire vehicle driver or operator are fit to hold a licence and that vehicles are safe.
The Department for Transport has however issued statutory and best practice guidance to assist licensing authorities. These aim to promote a consistency in licensing requirements and polices for both taxis and private hire vehicles by setting high but proportionate requirements to enable the sector to provide safe and accessible services that meet a wide range of passenger needs.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Active Travel England (part of the Department for Transport) has engaged regularly with Greater Manchester’s Active Travel Commissioner over the last year, including on the role active travel can play in supporting the development of the Bee Network. This is supported by Active Travel England’s ongoing discussions with officials at Transport for Greater Manchester.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that investment in high quality active travel infrastructure supports its economic growth, health and net zero missions by helping to revitalise high streets; enabling people to live longer, healthier lives; and helping to reduce transport emissions. The Department announced the details of almost £300 million of funding for active travel in 2024/5 and 2025/6 on 12 February.
The Department’s Ministers will be having regular discussions with their Treasury counterparts as part of the ongoing Spending Review which will conclude later this Spring.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We welcome the Care Quality Commission’s Community Mental Health Survey 2024, and we are carefully considering its findings.
Too many people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care that they need. The Government is committed to changing that by improving mental health care across the spectrum of need, from serious mental illness to common mental health conditions.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, create a network of open access community Young Futures hubs, recruit 8,500 mental health workers to ease pressure on busy mental health services, and modernise the Mental Health Act.
The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will set out an agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, including moving care from hospitals to the community. NHS England is currently piloting neighbourhood based, open access community mental health centres in six areas to support people experiencing mental ill health.
We are committing £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres, thereby reducing pressure on busy accident and emergency services, and ensuring people have the support they need when and where they need it.
We have also committed £75 million of capital investment to reduce out-of-area placements.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will make sure the National Health Service has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it. We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. A central part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.
In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
Employers clearly have a key role in retaining staff and making jobs in community pharmacy attractive. To support employers, NHS England has provided several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help support private contractors deliver quality NHS services, including Pharmacy First.
NHS England is keeping the Pharmacy First service under close review. In addition, a National Institute for Health and Care Research evaluation of Pharmacy First will assess how the service has been implemented across England, including impacts on prescribing in the general practice setting, use of hospitals and how the service has impacted access to care and cost for different patient groups.
The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will make sure the National Health Service has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it. We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. A central part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.
In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
Employers clearly have a key role in retaining staff and making jobs in community pharmacy attractive. To support employers, NHS England has provided several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help support private contractors deliver quality NHS services, including Pharmacy First.
NHS England is keeping the Pharmacy First service under close review. In addition, a National Institute for Health and Care Research evaluation of Pharmacy First will assess how the service has been implemented across England, including impacts on prescribing in the general practice setting, use of hospitals and how the service has impacted access to care and cost for different patient groups.
The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will make sure the National Health Service has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it. We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. A central part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.
In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
Employers clearly have a key role in retaining staff and making jobs in community pharmacy attractive. To support employers, NHS England has provided several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help support private contractors deliver quality NHS services, including Pharmacy First.
NHS England is keeping the Pharmacy First service under close review. In addition, a National Institute for Health and Care Research evaluation of Pharmacy First will assess how the service has been implemented across England, including impacts on prescribing in the general practice setting, use of hospitals and how the service has impacted access to care and cost for different patient groups.
The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A) came into force on 6 April 2024 to strengthen requirements for CQC registered care homes, hospitals, and hospices to facilitate visiting, unless there are exceptional circumstances which mean that it is not safe to do so. This can be a visit from a family member, a friend, or a person visiting to provide companionship or support, for example, a care supporter.
We will conduct a review of Regulation 9A from April 2025, 12 months on from the legislation coming into force, to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. Depending on the outcome of the review, we will consider whether further action is needed.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people, and their loved ones, at the end of life.
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by ICB area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth and range of palliative and end of life care provision within their ICB footprint.
We understand that, financially, times are difficult for many voluntary and charitable organisations, including hospices, due to the increased cost of living. We want a society where these costs are manageable for both voluntary organisations, like hospices, and the people whom they serve.
We, alongside NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service in England has been surveying sites and undertaking Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) mitigation work since 2019. Once the presence of RAAC is confirmed at a hospital site, it joins NHS England’s national RAAC programme, which is backed by £954 million. This programme has delivered mitigation, safety, and eradication works across all NHS sites in England with confirmed RAAC, to keep facilities safe and open and, over time, remove RAAC fully from the NHS estate. The Department has published a full list of hospitals with confirmed RAAC, which will be updated periodically and is available at the following link:
As of 29 February 2024, there were 54 NHS hospital sites with confirmed RAAC, and RAAC had been eradicated at four sites. Further eradication work has taken place since this date.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not available in the format requested. The latest published National Health Service data, from June 2024, shows that 61.8% of patients were admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.
The Government is committed to supporting the NHS in reducing accident and emergency waiting times, and returning to the standards patients should expect as set out in the NHS Constitution.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware that individuals who have moved to the UK on the British National (Overseas) visa route are having difficulties in drawing down early their pension savings held in Hong Kong. We are committed to supporting the valued BN(O) community in the UK and are clear that discrimination against BN(O) passport holders is unacceptable. We have discussed the matter in detail with the relevant banks and we continue to raise this issue directly with the Hong Kong authorities to encourage a pragmatic solution.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are currently working to assess the implications of the US funding pause across development sectors, geographic regions and multilateral organisations. We are gathering information and working with other donor partners to share analysis of the pause before making any decisions.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Empowering women and girls is a UK Government priority. The UK will take a leading role on the global stage, building partnerships, particularly in the Global South, to promote greater gender equality that strengthens whole societies and economies. Having led on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000, the UK is resolute in its commitment to the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, and intends to build on the ambition displayed in the UK's 5th WPS National Action Plan during this anniversary year. At the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in March 2025, I, alongside Lord Collins, will promote women's economic empowerment, galvanise funding for the global grassroots women's rights movement, support women and girls in Afghanistan, and strengthen global action on conflict-related sexual violence.
The Foreign Secretary has not had discussions with Cypriot counterparts on the use of Cyprus-based financial structures by UK businesses or individuals for tax evasion. The UK and Cypriot governments committed to share expertise and invest in capacity building to tackle illicit finance at the UK-Cyprus strategic dialogue in December 2024.
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
At the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November, I confirmed the UK Government's expectation that Overseas Territories implement fully public registers of beneficial ownership. Fully public registers have already been introduced in Montserrat and Gibraltar, and commitments were made by the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena to introduce these by April 2025. Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands committed to implement registers of beneficial ownership accessible to those with legitimate interest, which offer the maximum possible degree of access and transparency whilst containing the necessary safeguards to protect the right to privacy in line with respective constitutions, at the latest by June 2025.
The Bermudian consultation closed in January, but regulations have not yet been published. The Cayman regulations are a welcome step in the right direction. My officials are working directly with Cayman officials to ensure the regulations meet the JMC requirement of maximum possible degree of access and transparency and are in line with emerging international standards in the EU's 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
A key focus of those discussions is to ensure that the conditions of access do not unduly deter effective proactive investigations and analysis.
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to assisting investigative, prosecuting and judicial authorities in combating international crime. We have robust illicit finance legislation and instruments which can be used to support asset recovery requests. We would not comment on any individual Asset Recovery cases but we are in discussions with the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre hosted by the UK's National Crime Agency and the International Centre for Asset Recovery on how to support the Interim Government of Bangladesh. In October 2024, the UK National Crime Agency visited Dhaka as part of the UK's effort to support Bangladesh in this area, as well as wider engagement on law enforcement issues. We will continue to support these recoveries to the extent that we can.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK-based assets expropriated by the Assad regime remain frozen. As with all our sanctions, we keep our approach under review.
We do not comment on future designations as to do so lessens their potential impact.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)