Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the National Union of Students to take action to combat antisemitism on university campuses.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government remains disengaged from the National Union of Students (NUS) while the NUS continues to take robust action against antisemitism within its membership.
The department is pleased to see that the NUS is implementing the recommendations from the Tuck Report and will continue to monitor its progress carefully.
On 9 May 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, chaired a roundtable at 10 Downing Street with Vice Chancellors from leading universities across the UK and was joined by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, and other Ministers to discuss tackling antisemitism in higher education (HE). The discussion focused on tackling antisemitism in HE, including preventing an escalation of protest activity such as that seen in the United States in recent weeks.
On the same day the department announced the intention to provide £500,000 to the University Jewish Chaplaincy, enabling it to rapidly boost the vital support it offers to Jewish students on campus.
In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £7 million to tackle antisemitism in education. The cornerstone of this package for higher education will be a new framework that will enable universities to demonstrate through their processes and practice a commitment to preventing and tackling antisemitic abuse.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the most recent figures for the volume of trade between Holyhead and the Republic of Ireland; and how these compare with corresponding figures in 2015.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The volume of trade between Holyhead and the Republic of Ireland from 2021 to 2024 is as follows:
Table1: Republic of Ireland trade with Holyhead port, imports and exports trade value and net mass (2021-2024)
Exports to Ireland | Imports from Ireland | ||||
Statistical Value (£) | Net Mass (kg) | Statistical Value (£) | Net Mass (kg) | ||
Holyhead | |||||
2021(1) | 5,914,018,273 | 742,755,135 | - | - | |
2022 | 8,710,696,860 | 836,776,181 | 6,219,013,646 | 675,794,695 | |
2023 | 9,197,743,475 | 943,345,494 | 7,685,784,587 | 811,262,695 | |
2024(2) | 1,983,688,480 | 247,346,818 | 2,094,184,476 | 262,110,514 | |
25,806,147,088 | 2,770,223,628 | 15,998,982,709 | 1,749,167,904 | ||
Data Source: HMRC, Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics | |||||
(1) HMRC does not have data for 2021 imports as Staged Customs Controls (SCC) allowed an extended period for traders to complete their declarations. During this period HMRC continued to source intra-EU data from Intrastat declarations. (2) 2024 only contains data relating to January, February, and March. | |||||
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not have port data prior to 2021 as the UK was part of the European Union and customs declarations were not required for these movements. Trade data for intra-EU movements was collected via monthly Intrastat declarations which did not collect information on ports.
Also, HMRC does not have data for 2021 imports as Staged Customs Controls (SCC) allowed an extended period for traders to complete their declarations. During this period HMRC continued to source intra-EU data from Intrastat declarations.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with his Zimbabwean counterpart on the (a) economic and (b) humanitarian situation in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK believes that the economic reforms agreed to by the Zimbabwean Government as part of the arrears clearance dialogue remain essential for improving Zimbabwe's long term economic trajectory. The UK is therefore engaging constructively on the Zimbabwe arrears clearance dialogue led by African Development Bank President Adesina and former Mozambican President Chissano. I (Deputy Foreign Minister) recently met Zimbabwe Finance Minister Ncube at the World Bank Spring Meetings to discuss the dialogue. I also regularly speak to a range of ministers and experts across Southern Africa on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe and in Southern Africa, where we continue to provide support following the recent declaration of drought, including through Africa Risk Capacity, a UK-supported African Union-led disaster risk insurance mechanism.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with the British High Commission in Kampala on the Ugandan elections in 2026.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Electoral Commission of Uganda issued its strategic plan in October 2022 and outlined a roadmap for the 2026 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. The UK has not taken any decision on election observation. The UK provides financial support to the African Union via the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa and to the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to a recent poll conducted by the National Farmers Union which showed that business confidence among farmers is at its lowest since 2010, what steps they are taking to support the agricultural sector to ensure food security.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food security is more important than ever – which is why we need to back British farmers to keep putting food on our tables while protecting the environment.
That is why we are supporting farmers with £2.4 billion of annual spending. This includes an increase in payment rates, with the average value of a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement increasing by 10%. Around 50 new paid-for actions will also be added to the SFI and Countryside Stewardship (CS) schemes from summer 2024, giving farmers more choice with an offer for all farm types and locations.
Additionally, at the NFU Conference this February, the Prime Minister announced more funding for farmers. This included the doubling of the SFI Management Payment, which supports many farmers to participate in the SFI scheme, and the planned launch of the biggest ever package of grants this year to boost productivity and resilience. This grants package, which will total £427 million, includes funding for the Improving Farming Productivity scheme to invest in things like robotics and barn-top solar; funding for a new round of the Farming Equipment and Technology fund, worth £70m; and targeted schemes to support farmers in improving the viability of their businesses, delivering environmental outcomes and supporting sustainable food production.
Our plan will mean farmers always come first – with fair prices for goods, less bureaucracy and more funding as we continue to protect our food security. On May 14, the Prime Minister hosted the second annual Farm to Fork Summit at Downing Street, focused on how the Government will support domestic food production, boost innovation, support the sector to reach its economic potential and recruit the next generation of farming leaders. The Summit also saw publication of the first draft Food Security Index, setting out key data and trends to allow government and industry to monitor domestic food production, land use, input costs and farmer productivity on an annual basis.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he plans to send an election observer mission to Uganda for the 2026 elections.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Electoral Commission of Uganda issued its strategic plan in October 2022 and outlined a roadmap for the 2026 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. The UK has not taken any decision on election observation. The UK provides financial support to the African Union via the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa and to the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
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 reduce (a) fly-tipping and (b) the impacts of fly-tipping on (i) natural environments and (ii) natural environments in rural areas.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are encouraging councils to take tougher action against fly-tippers. Under the Prime Minister’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan we have significantly increased the upper limit on fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping to £1,000 and the income from these penalties must now be reinvested in enforcement or cleaning up sites affected by fly-tipping, such as natural environments.
We appreciate the difficulty that fly-tipping poses to landowners. We are working with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, to share good practice including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. We are also currently funding a post within the new National Rural Crime Unit to explore how the police’s role in tacking fly-tipping can be optimised, with a focus on rural areas.
Across three rounds of our fly-tipping grant scheme, we have now awarded nearly £2.2m to help more than 50 councils tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots, including in rural areas, such as by installing CCTV. In addition to supporting more infrastructure, the latest round of projects will also help to raise awareness of the household waste duty of care to reduce the chance of waste getting into the hands of fly-tippers in the first place. A selection of case studies from earlier projects have been published so that others can learn about those interventions which were most successful. These are available here.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress he has made on the establishment of the Castelreagh Foundation.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I am currently considering the next steps in support of our commitments to the Castlereagh Foundation following the publication of the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the UK Address to the UN Security Council on 19 April, what is their assessment of the international community's efforts to end the war in Sudan and bring to justice those responsible for atrocity crimes.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to work with a wide range of countries and bodies, including Gulf and African partners, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN, to achieve a ceasefire, and a sustained and meaningful peace process that leads to the resumption of civilian rule in Sudan. The UK uses its position as penholder on Sudan at the UN Security Council (UNSC) to increase pressure on the warring parties. The UK remains committed to ensuring that those responsible for atrocities in Sudan are held to accounts. In October, the Human Rights Council adopted the UK-led 'Sudan Core Group' resolution to establish an independent and international Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) to ensure the credible allegations of human rights violations and abuses by all sides, including the horrific atrocities being committed in Darfur, will be investigated impartially. We continue to support the essential work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan (OHCHR) and the International Criminal Court in investigating and documenting reports of atrocities.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to help tackle waste crime in rural areas.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to tackling waste crime, and we are preparing significant reforms to continue to increase the pressure on illegal waste operators. Reform of the waste exemptions regime will close loopholes and prevent exemptions from being misused to permit risky and illegal activity. Our planned electronic waste tracking reforms will make it harder than ever to mis-identify waste or dispose of it inappropriately. Planned changes to the Carriers, Brokers and Dealers licensing regime will modernise licensing and make it harder still for rogue operators to escape detection. These will come in addition to measures in the Environment Act 2021 which gives agencies stronger powers of entry and access to evidence in prosecuting waste crime as well as providing the Environment Agency with the ability to recover costs of investigation, intervention and enforcement at illegal or non-compliant waste sites.
The Government also launched the Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC). It brings together the Environment Agency, HM Revenue & Customs, the National Crime Agency, the police, waste regulators from across the UK and other operational partners to share intelligence and tasking to disrupt and prevent serious organised waste crime. Since its launch the JUWC has worked with 131 partner organisations and engaged in 253 multi-agency days of action, which have resulted in 180 associated arrests by other agencies.
Alongside this we are working with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, to share good practice including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. We are also currently funding a post within the National Rural Crime Unit to explore how the police’s role in tacking fly-tipping can be optimised, with a focus on rural areas.
Across three rounds of our fly-tipping grant scheme we have now awarded nearly £2.2 million to help more than 50 councils tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots, including in rural areas, such as by installing CCTV and raising awareness of the household waste duty of care. Case studies from completed projects have been published so that others can learn from successful interventions.