Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he will commit to publishing a clear timetable for closing the 10 year sentencing starting point gap between most domestic murders and other murders.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
On 30 June, the Deputy Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to introduce a new 25-year sentencing starting point for domestic murders, which will apply to offenders who murder their current or former intimate partner.
This change can be implemented by secondary legislation, subject to the affirmative resolution procedure and following a statutory consultation with the Sentencing Council for England and Wales as per paragraph 19(2) of Schedule 23 to the Sentencing Act 2020. A statutory instrument will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessments he has made of the potential risk that arms exports licensed by the UK Government to the United Arab Emirates might be diverted and used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We take very seriously any allegations of UK military equipment ending up in Sudan in breach of the UK arms embargo. However, after extensive assessment, we have found no evidence of UK weapons or ammunition being used in Sudan.
We keep all our licensing decisions under close review, and we reviewed over 3,000 current and historic licences in recent months, considering any destinations where there are allegations of diversion to Sudan. We have not found any that required suspension or revocation.
Between 2021-2025, there were 29 refusals for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) for the UAE, the majority of which were under Criteria 7 of the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, which considers risk of diversion.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps does her Department take to protect against the diversion of arms exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for use in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 8 June to Question 4500.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to raise the case of Lindsay and Craig Foreman with her US counterpart.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary has said, Craig and Lindsay's detention in Iran is completely appalling and unjustified. We regularly engage likeminded states on issues of mutual interest, including the detention of our nationals abroad.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment has her Department made of the potential for the diversion of UK arms exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for use in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 8 June to Question 4500.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the list of species the Department considers to be of conservation concern under the proposed legislation to ban imports of hunting trophies; and how the Department developed its criteria.
Answered by Mary Creagh
This Government is committed to delivering on its manifesto commitment to ban the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern. Defra is continuing to engage with relevant stakeholders to help determine the most appropriate scope for a ban. Species of conservation concern are listed primarily on Appendices I and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) based on the level of threat that international trade poses to their conservation status.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on providing step-free access at Ruabon station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 15 January, Ministers announced Ruabon station as one of 23 stations across Great Britain selected to progress to the next stage of the Access for All programme. The scheme will now move into detailed design, which is expected to be completed by Autumn 2027.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to accept the recommendation of the Animal Welfare Committee's report entitled The welfare impacts on pigs of high concentration CO2 gas stunning and of potential alternative stunning methods, published on 16 October 2025, to prohibit the use of high concentration CO2 as a method of stunning for pigs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 20 May 2026 to PQ UIN 316.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper, whether moving to all schools being part of school trusts means academy trusts.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In the Schools White Paper, we introduced a new term ‘school trusts’ to refer to existing academy trusts and new trusts, including academy trusts established by local authorities or local area partnerships. We will also update co-operative academy school trust model articles of association so that they effectively support purposeful, large-scale cooperation.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made contingency arrangements in the event of Royal Mail becoming insolvent.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department develops and maintains contingency plans for a range of scenarios as part of its regular resilience planning. This regular planning includes contingency plans for the insolvency of Royal Mail as the universal service provider.