Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on implementing the recommendations included in the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime report entitled Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit Report, published in 2021.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We welcomed the UN Office of Drugs and Crime report and the fact that it recognised the UK's global leadership in fighting wildlife and forestry crime. We invited the UN to undertake this analysis and we are proud to be the first G7 country to request this assessment.
We have carefully considered all the recommendations of the report and they are informing our work to help us build on the positive progress we have already made in tackling wildlife crime. This will include strategic engagement with our partners that have responsibilities where individual recommendations are concerned such as the devolved administrations, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU).
Many of the resourcing recommendations fall outside of Defra's remit but progress has already been made in response to the report. For example, in 2022 Defra more than doubled its funding of the NWCU to £1.2 million for the three-year period from 2022 to 2025, compared to £495,000 in the three years previous. Additionally, Border Force has increased numbers in their team specialising in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the scale of illegal hunting with dogs in (a) England and (b) Wales.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police. This is in line with their duties to keep the peace, protect communities and prevent the committing of offences, working within the provisions of the legal framework set by Parliament.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Minister for the Environment in the Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Regular engagement with the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs at Ministerial and official level is a priority for the Secretary of State and he will meet Minister Muir at his earliest convenience.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on rural communities in (a) Wales and (b) England of anti-social behaviour associated with hunting with dogs.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act. Since the introduction of the Act, many hunt organisations across the country have worked hard to adapt their activities towards trail hunting, which is intended to retain important traditions as part of the fabric of rural life without harming wildlife. We recognise it is possible that dogs may on occasion pick up and follow the scent of live foxes. If this occurs, it is the responsibility of the dog owner to control their dog. Those found guilty under the Hunting Act are subject to the full force of the law, and enforcement is an operational matter for the police.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of community service.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There is persuasive evidence indicating that community sentences in general can be more effective for reducing reoffending than custodial sentences. The Department’s latest published reoffending statistics (Proven reoffending statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) show that 55% of those released from prison after serving a custodial sentence of less than twelve months were convicted for a proven offence in the following 12 months. This compares to 32% of those serving a court order (community sentence or suspended sentence order) or 24% of those serving a suspended sentence with requirements served in the community.
Community Payback completed over 4.7 million hours in 2023 undertaking work to improve communities, the environment and supporting charities. In 2023, Rapid Deployment pilots tackling anti-social behaviour hot spots has seen 8,809 hours of community payback completed and 509 different people involved and given its success this initiative is being rolled out to areas in all Probation regions.
A process evaluation by the Ministry of Justice of Unpaid Work commenced in 2022 to assess what works in the delivery of Unpaid Work. An impact and economic evaluation comparing the effectiveness of Unpaid Work to other punitive sentences in reducing reoffending will report in March 2025.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of measures to reduce the need to seize dogs which are likely to be exempted from Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Dogs that are prohibited under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and which do not have a valid certificate of exemption could be seized by the Police.
In these cases, there is an interim exemption scheme which allows suspected prohibited dogs to remain with their owners in advance of a court hearing. It is for the Police to determine whether to make use of this scheme on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will take steps to help tackle the causes of self-immolation and suicide by Tibetan monks.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government consistently raises human rights issues with the Chinese authorities, including in relation to Tibet. I raised human rights during my visit to China in April, and the Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting in February with China's Foreign Minister. We also regularly raise concerns about China's actions in Tibet in multilateral fora, for example, in January at China's Universal Periodic Review, and in March as part of our Item 4 statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps he is taking to help support victims of crime in Newport West constituency.
Answered by Fay Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
The protection of victims across England and Wales, including Newport West, is a key priority for the Government. Through the Police Uplift Programme, Gwent Police now has 227 more officers, with a total of 1527 officers serving the people of Gwent. Furthermore, funding for Gwent Police is being increased by up to £13m compared to 2023/24.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Wales on supporting small businesses in (a) Newport West constituency and (b) Wales.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Secretary of State is regularly assessing the impact of economic growth, working with the Secretary of State for Wales to support SMEs.
The Government continues to support businesses, through Help to Grow: Management, Business Support Helpline and GOV.UK.
Wales is benefiting from £2.5 billion in levelling up funding to create jobs and grow the economy, and there will be two Investment Zones in Wales worth £160 million each, with one located across Cardiff and Newport.
The Government has provided business rates relief in England, whilst the Welsh Government has cut the rates relief, effectively doubling business rates in Wales.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of recent economic growth figures on small and medium businesses in (a) Newport West constituency and b) Wales.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Secretary of State is regularly assessing the impact of economic growth, working with the Secretary of State for Wales to support SMEs.
The Government continues to support businesses, through Help to Grow: Management, Business Support Helpline and GOV.UK.
Wales is benefiting from £2.5 billion in levelling up funding to create jobs and grow the economy, and there will be two Investment Zones in Wales worth £160 million each, with one located across Cardiff and Newport.
The Government has provided business rates relief in England, whilst the Welsh Government has cut the rates relief, effectively doubling business rates in Wales.