Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the impact of the Integrated Rail Plan on Wales.
Answered by Robert Buckland
I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues about transport infrastructure in Wales. The UK Government has already invested over £340 million in rail infrastructure in Wales, including the electrification of the Severn Tunnel and improvements to Cardiff Central Station.
By improving regional connectivity, the Integrated Rail Plan will unify labour markets, so that people can access a much wider range of jobs; bring businesses closer together; and improve access to key international gateways and markets so they become even more attractive locations for business investment. Crewe Northern Connection would improve connections from North Wales to the HS2 network, potentially bringing many passengers within 2 hours 15 minutes of London.
The Hendy Review also recommended a number of connectivity improvements for Wales. The UK Government is considering these recommendations carefully and will respond later this year.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of funding for Safer Streets Fund projects in Wales; and what assessment the Government has made of the impact of that funding on levels of reported crime in Wales.
Answered by Robert Buckland
In total, Wales have been awarded approximately £9 million through the first 4 rounds of the Safer Streets Fund to take forward a variety of interventions aimed at targeting neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls in public, and anti-social behaviour. On 29 July 2022, we announced that 7 bids from Welsh Police and Crime Commissioners were successful in Round 4, totalling £4.1 million investment. Further details of the funding can be found below.
Dyfed PCC | Wales | £292,761.00 | 1 project |
Gwent PCC | Wales | £746,706.00 | 1 project |
North Wales PCC | Wales | £1,568,917.35 | 3 projects |
South Wales PCC | Wales | £1,497,668.35 | 2 projects |
All rounds of the Safer Street Fund are subject to independent evaluation to ensure we learn lessons about what works in preventing crime and informing future government policy and funding. The evaluation of Round One of the Fund is now complete, and we intend to publish in due course.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 17 May 2022 on Ratification of the Istanbul Convention, HCWS34, and the decision to apply a reservation to Article 59 of that Convention, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of safeguards for protecting migrant women in Wales from gender-based violence.
Answered by Robert Buckland
On 21 July, the UK Government ratified the Istanbul Convention, sending a strong message across the UK, and around the world, that this Government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls.
As outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement of 17 May 2022, we decided to apply a reservation to Article 59, which relates to residence permits for migrant victims of domestic abuse, to enable us to ratify, pending the evaluation findings of the Support for Migrant Victims (SMV) scheme pilot. We will carefully consider the findings of the SMV pilot to inform any future policy decisions as soon as is practicable.
We are committed to supporting all victims of domestic abuse, regardless of immigration status. £1.4 million of funding has been allocated in 2022-23 to continue to fund support for migrant victims of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 11 July 2022 from the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, reference POSCMP2022/53996.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DWP provided a telephone response to the office of Gerald Jones MP on 5 September 2022 in relation to his constituent’s enquiry and a full written response has also been issued today.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 17 May 2022 on Ratification of the Istanbul Convention, HCWS34, whether her Department plans to introduce safeguards to protect migrant women from gender-based violence in the context of the decision to apply a reservation to Article 59 of that Convention.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 21st July the UK ratified the Istanbul Convention sending a strong message to women and girls across the UK, and around the world, that the Government is committed to tackling VAWG. The UK applied two reservations, including one on Article 59 which relates to support for migrant victims of domestic abuse.
The last annual progress report on ratification of the Convention confirmed that the UK’s position on Article 59 is “under review” pending the results and evaluation of the Support for Migrant Victims (SMV) Pilot Scheme. The Government will make a longer-term decision about the UK’s position on Article 59, and whether the reservation on that article should be maintained or withdrawn, in the light of the findings of the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme pilot and wider policy considerations. Therefore, we decided to apply a reservation on Article 59, which nine other countries have also done, to enable the UK to ratify as soon as possible.
The Government is committed to supporting all victims of domestic abuse, including migrant victims, regardless of immigration status. Therefore, in the interim, £1.4 million of funding has been allocated in 2022-23 to continue to fund support for migrant victims of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when UK Visas and Immigration will to respond to the correspondence of 14 June 2022 from the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, reference MPAM/0350603/22.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office replied on 18 July 2022.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the impact of delays in processing driving licence renewal applications on the quality of life of people with long-term medical conditions who have an entitlement to the Motability Scheme but are unable to drive while they await their licence.
Answered by Chloe Smith
I have regular discussions with colleagues across Government in my role as Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work.
The Department is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability scheme. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the contract for lease of a car and the administration of the Motability scheme.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in the average time it takes to prosecute an offender for rape in Wales over the last five years; and for what reason prosecutions for rape have declined in England and Wales by 70 per cent during that time.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Specific timeliness data at the stage of prosecution is owned by the CPS and the AGO. However, I am keenly aware that timeliness in rape cases is an issue nationally, and at every stage of the system. Through the data delivery dashboards, we are working with partners at local level, including in Wales, to understand specific contexts and trend analysis, and to make improvements.
In June 2021, we published the End to End Rape Review report and action plan with our plan to transform the way the criminal justice system responds to rape and increase the number of adult rape cases being charged and going to court.
Our research within this report set out that the reasons for the decline in cases reaching court are complex and wide-ranging, including an increase in personal digital data being requested, delays in investigative processes, strained relationships between different parts of the criminal justice system, a lack of specialist resources and inconsistent support to victims.
Since the report was published, we have made significant progress in delivering actions to change the system for the better. We are:
Alongside our progress update published in June, we additionally announced a pilot of enhanced specialist sexual violence support in the Crown Court. This is aimed squarely at doing better by rape victims, giving them the support they need to stay engaged in the process and get the justice they deserve.
We are starting to see the results of these interventions. Rape convictions were up by 67% in 2021 compared to 2020, and 27% compared to 2019.
We are committed to going further and pushing harder on our actions so that we see bigger impacts, deliver wider system change and crucially, deliver justice for victims of rape and sexual abuse.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of the availability of the Driving Mobility Assessments on people receiving a vehicle as part of the Motability scheme.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Motability scheme enables disabled people, their families and carers to lease a car using their disability benefit. The scheme is overseen by the independent charity Motability, and is not the responsibility of the Department for Transport.
The Department provides funding for the mobility centres across England which provide driving, passenger and wheelchair and scooter assessments. Driving Mobility, the charity which manages and accredits the centres, has a service level agreement in place with Motability for the provision of these assessments, and has reported no current issues with their availability.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the waiting time for driving licence applications for people in Wales.
Answered by Robert Buckland
I understand that concerns have been expressed with regards to waiting times for driving license applications. I would like to refer the honourable Member to the response provided by the Department for Transport’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on this matter on 14 June 2022 (UIN 13126).