Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has considered international policy frameworks that distribute responsibility for emissions reductions to account for historic and present inequalities between high-emitting and low-emitting nations.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under the Paris Agreement, 194 parties have committed to act to limit global warming.
It is right that developed countries should take the lead by undertaking economy-wide absolute emission reduction targets.
However, every country must accelerate action to tackle climate change this decade, recognising different national circumstances and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.
Countries on the front lines of the climate crisis face barriers to investment and increasing costs of dealing with the current and future impacts. The UK is committed to supporting them build resilience to current and future climate impacts.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international counterparts to ensure Doctors Without Borders are able to access Gaza to provide aid to Palestinians.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement to the House I made on 5 January, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and several of her counterparts on 30 December, available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jointstatementon-the-gaza-humanitarian-response. My officials continue to engage closely with Médecins Sans Frontières on this issue.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what will be the remit of the new Road Safety Investigation Branch in relation to cycling and e-bikes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is a key priority. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government is working hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users including cyclists.
The detailed remit of the Road Safety Investigation Branch is still to be determined, but it will be built around the core objectives of the Data-led Road Safety Investigation Branch, namely using large cross-sector datasets and connected vehicle data to identify risks and thematic priorities, and providing insights and recommendations to support continuous safety learning and decision-making.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the road safety strategy on deaths and serious injuries from cycling and walking.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Road Safety Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035. This target will focus the efforts of road safety partners across Britain, with measures to protect vulnerable road users, update vehicle safety technologies and review motoring offences.
One of the Safety Performance Indicators which will be monitored alongside delivery of the Strategy is: the rate of cyclists/pedestrians killed or seriously injured on England’s roads, measured as the number of fatalities and serious injuries per billion miles walked and cycled. Monitoring this should enable government to understand the impact that the Strategy is having on deaths and serious injuries of those cycling or walking.
Our roads aren’t just for motorists; it is vitally important that everyone using our roads is kept safe. With that in mind on the 10 December 2025 we announced that we are allocating £626 million for local authorities from 2026-27 to 2029-30 to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling schemes.