Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK is actively enforcing its fishing rights.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As an independent coastal state, the UK has full responsibility over how it ensures compliance in its fisheries. All fishing vessels in UK waters are required to fish in accordance with UK laws and the conditions of their licences. As control and enforcement is a devolved matter, Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive work together to share information and ensure a coordinated approach to monitoring, compliance and enforcement across UK waters.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent steps have been taken to (1) raise awareness of the risks, and (2) promote responsible practices, in relation to online gambling, particularly among vulnerable groups such as young people and individuals with mental health challenges.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble online without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. It is particularly important to take steps to protect vulnerable groups, including young people, from risks associated with online gambling.
In April the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a White Paper following our review of the Gambling Act 2005. The White Paper outlined a series of measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and to ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected. These include new, frictionless financial risk checks, a stake limit for online slots games, improvements to customer-led tools, and tougher restrictions on bonuses and direct marketing. These measures will be complemented by strengthened informational messaging about the risks associated with gambling. The White Paper also contained a commitment to introduce a new statutory levy paid by operators to fund research, prevention, and treatment. In July the Gambling Commission also published a vulnerability statement, outlining its approach to identifying, supporting, and protecting consumers who are in vulnerable situations.
We are working with the Gambling Commission and others to bring the measures from the White Paper into force as quickly as possible, and have already published consultations on a number of important proposals so that we can finalise details ahead of their implementation.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people who have entered the UK illegally via Northern Ireland’s border with the Republic of Ireland during the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
To maintain the highest standards of accuracy, the Home Office prefers to refer to published data, as this has been subject to rigorous quality assurance under National Statistics protocols prior to publication.
Information about illegal entry to the UK is not currently available in our published data.
Our published data is available at the following link: Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve mental health support services for military veterans, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Service Personnel who have been assessed and diagnosed with a mental health need are able to access the Ministry of Defence community mental health services for up to six months after discharge, to provide continuity of care during the transition period, until appropriate handover to the National Health Service and other services can be completed as required.
In April 2023, NHS England commissioned Op COURAGE which is the veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service providing a comprehensive mental health treatment pathway to respond to veterans’ needs. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans. There is ever increasing investment in this area with the highest level to date in 2023/2024 with planned spend of £23.5 million. Following the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, an additional £2.7 million was pledged over three years until March 2025, to expand Op COURAGE services to support those experiencing complex mental and/or physical trauma or alcohol and substance misuse.
The Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the United Kingdom and enable it to become self-sustaining.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of mental health services available for Armed Forces across the UK; and whether they plan to make further changes.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All Service personnel have access to mental health support throughout their career, including medical and non-medical services. This includes, but is not limited to, preventative support such as wellbeing services, digital content, access to trained mental health first aiders, interventional support, and appointments with clinical staff.
For Armed Forces personnel requiring mental healthcare, the Defence Medical Services (DMS) provides a responsive, flexible, accessible, and comprehensive treatment service. This is available in the UK and overseas firm base (non-deployed, permanent locations) and on operations as required. The Defence Mental Health Service (DMHS) supports the provision of mental healthcare that is available through Primary Care facilities and is configured to provide community-based mental health care in line with national best practice.
Work is ongoing within DMS to reshape mental health provision to reduce waiting lists and support patients by providing fully integrated, safe, effective, and efficient mental healthcare.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of UK intelligence services' overseas operations in addressing security threats to the UK; and what steps they will take to further enhance intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is a long standing policy of successive British Governments that we do not comment on intelligence matters. The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament has statutory oversight of the UK Intelligence Community, they oversee and report on the policy, expenditure and administration of the UK Intelligence Community. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the UK Intelligence Community for their continued work in keeping the UK safe.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the support available to victims of Northern Ireland-related acts of terrorism in mainland Great Britain.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government is determined to make sure that victims of terrorism receive the support they deserve. Victims of terrorism in Great Britain are provided with practical and emotional support from specialist service providers, enabling them to cope with the immediate impact of a terrorist attack and to recover from the longer-term consequences. Further details on the range of support available can be found at https://victimsofterrorism.campaign.gov.uk/
The Victims and Survivors Service (VSS) in Northern Ireland, in collaboration with community-based partner organisations, provides a broad range of support and services to victims of the Troubles. Some of this support, which includes heath, wellbeing, and advocacy services, is available to victims in Great Britain. The South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF) provide access to fully qualified counsellors, complementary therapies, and other health and wellbeing services. Further information can be found on their website: https://seff.org.uk/gb-project