Written questions by Lake.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take legislative steps to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty.

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Ocean Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Work is in hand on the measures needed to implement the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement before the UK can ratify.

Innovation and Technology, what discussion he has had with (a) Skills England and (b) the equivalent agencies in the devolved nations on the AI Opportunity Action Plan.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan government response commits to working with Skills England, as well as devolved and local governments, to assess the country’s AI and digital skills. This will expand education pathways into AI, ensure lifelong skills programmes are prepared for AI, and identify AI adoption opportunities to drive growth.The Secretary of State engaged with all devolved administrations and key departments on the Action Plan. Skills England will collaborate with devolved administrations to boost growth and spread opportunities across the UK, addressing challenges within the UK skills system and establishing cross-border linkages to facilitate investment in skills.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations on the AI Opportunity Action Plan.

We are committed to building an AI sector that can scale and win globally, ensuring global AI companies want to call the UK home, and boosting the responsible adoption of AI across all parts of the economy.The plan sets out our intention to deliver growth across the entire UK via collaboration with devolved and local governments, regional businesses and trade bodies to devise strategies best suited to the context of these regions. I have spoken with ministers from all the Devolved Administrations about the Action Plan, emphasising how important it is for the whole of the UK to benefit.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure that that the skills needed for the implementation of the AI Opportunity Action Plan are developed across all four nations of the UK.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan will ensure the UK builds a strong and diverse talent pipeline, realising AI benefits across all UK nations.Skills England will build highly trained workforces to meet national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade. Skills England will collaborate with devolved administrations, regional partners, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Education, aligning with devolution agreements and the Government’s commitment to simplify and devolve adult skills funding to Combined Authorities. Cross-UK collaboration will spread best practices and equip the four nations in boosting growth and spreading opportunity.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (England and Wales) Regulations 2024 on the timely registration of deaths.

The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, including the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Regulations 2024, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. The median time taken to register a death since the introduction of the reforms in England and Wales has typically been eight days. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days. It’s important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct before and after comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from.The core purposes of the death certification reforms are to introduce scrutiny of the cause of death to detect and deter malpractice, to improve reporting, and crucially to put the bereaved at the centre of the process by offering a conversation with the medical examiner about the cause of death. The expectation on doctors and medical examiners is clear, that they should complete certification as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the Department is working with all stakeholders to make sure this is the case.

How many deaths were registered in Wales between 9 September 2024 and 31 December 2024.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 13th January is attached.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending deemed reseller rules to include UK-established sellers.

Since 1 January 2021 overseas sellers, or online marketplaces where they facilitate the sale, are required to be registered and account for VAT for supplies of low value imports of £135 or less. Where an overseas seller sells goods located in the UK at the point of sale via an online marketplace, the online marketplace is liable for the VAT for goods of any value.    The changes ensure a level playing field for UK high street and online retailers, ensure the continued flow of goods at the border and improve compliance. Certified analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates the changes will raise £1.8 billion per annum by 2026-27.    The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process.

How many deaths were registered in Wales between 1 January 2024 and 8 September 2024.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 13th January is attached.

Of the deaths registered in Wales between 9 September 2024 and 31 December 2024 and which were not reported to the Coroner, how long on average did it take for a certificate for (a) burial or (b) cremation to be issued.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 13th January is attached.

Of the deaths registered in Wales between 1 January 2024 and 8 September 2024 and which were not reported to the Coroner, how long on average did it take for a certificate for (a) burial or (b) cremation to be issued.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 13th January is attached.

What estimate she has made of the revenue raised by extending deemed reseller rules to include UK-established sellers.

Since 1 January 2021 overseas sellers, or online marketplaces where they facilitate the sale, are required to be registered and account for VAT for supplies of low value imports of £135 or less. Where an overseas seller sells goods located in the UK at the point of sale via an online marketplace, the online marketplace is liable for the VAT for goods of any value.    The changes ensure a level playing field for UK high street and online retailers, ensure the continued flow of goods at the border and improve compliance. Certified analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates the changes will raise £1.8 billion per annum by 2026-27.    The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process.

What estimate she has made of the extent of VAT non-compliance by overseas retailers selling (a) goods and (b) services in the UK through online marketplaces.

Since 1 January 2021 overseas sellers, or online marketplaces where they facilitate the sale, are required to be registered and account for VAT for supplies of low value imports of £135 or less. Where an overseas seller sells goods located in the UK at the point of sale via an online marketplace, the online marketplace is liable for the VAT for goods of any value. The changes ensure a level playing field for UK high street and online retailers, ensure the continued flow of goods at the border and improve compliance. Certified analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates the changes will raise £1.8 billion per annum by 2026-27.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the retained margin element of the NHS drug tariff.

The adequacy of medicine margin that pharmacies are allowed to retain, with medicine margin being the difference between how much pharmacies are reimbursed and how much pharmacies were charged by suppliers, is currently being considered as part of the wider funding for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on upholding the human rights of members and those associated with the Gulen Movement.

We fully recognise how seriously the Turkish Government takes the Gülen movement which they proscribe as a terrorist organisation. We consistently encourage Turkey to uphold the rule of law. The UK Government believes that all legal cases should be treate...

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to enable unearned (a) income and (b) assets be considered in initial Child Maintenance Service calculati

The Department has been conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s social trends. The review will also consider the treatment of unearned income and assets within the automatic calculat...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 15678 on Mohammed Hamouda, what information he has received on Dr Hamouda’s (a) status and (b) well-being.

We are concerned by the reports that Dr. Mohammed Hamouda was detained by the Israeli authorities on 6 November. I raised his case with the Israeli Ambassador on 18 November and FCDO officials have been following up the case since then. Whilst we do not c...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps is he taking to help ensure that (a) protections under international humanitarian law for medical professionals in Gaza are upheld and (b) people who violate such

It is unacceptable that over 1000 health workers have reportedly been killed since 7 October 2023. Israel must do more to protect civilians and those working to support those in such desperate need. The UK has raised protection of civilians and the destru...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps is he taking to tackle (a) detention and (b) mistreatment of healthcare workers in Gaza.

Medical workers and facilities, including ambulances and rescue personnel, must be protected in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and allowed to provide life-saving services. It is unacceptable that northern Gaza now has no functioning hospit...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help prevent the development of illegal settlements in North Gaza.

The UK's position on settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution.  To date, we have sanctioned eight individuals responsible for inciting and perp...

Communities and Local Government, how much funding her Department plans to provide through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to projects in Wales in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial year by project.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) operates under a delegated delivery model, meaning lead local authorities are responsible for managing the funding for their area and the allocation of funds to projects.Lead local authorities in Wales have been paid ...