Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many privately-owned e-scooters have been seized or confiscated by the police for illegal use on the road or pavement, by police force.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects and publishes statistics annually on police use of powers (available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales) including fixed penalty notices issued for motoring offences, however information on the numbers of vehicles removed or seized by the police is not collected.
Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for individual police Chief Officers in conjunction with local policing plans.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to introduce information on cyclists in speed awareness courses.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
National Speed Awareness courses are offered under the police controlled and operated National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS). The content and running of these courses are, therefore, a matter for chief officers of police and the course providers.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences have been (a) granted and (b) amended to allow for research and tests on animals into the SARS-CoV-2 virus and covid-19.
Answered by James Brokenshire
There have been 11 project licences granted and 29 project licences amended under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to authorise work relating to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 research.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 May 2020 to Question 41398 on Animal Experiments: Inspections, whether (a) planned and (b) unannounced on-site inspection visits by the ASRU Inspectorate have resumed following the updated guidance on social distancing.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
No, the on-site activities of the inspection programme have not fully resumed.
Inspection activities to assess compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act are being continued remotely, for example by telephone and email. Requirements for planned on-site inspection visits to assess compliance are considered on a case-by-case basis and will be planned in accordance with the updated guidance.
On-site inspection visits will be resumed in due course in accordance with the updated guidance.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) investigations and inspections conducted by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) Inspectorate continue uninterrupted during the covid-19 crisis, (b) any staff shortages pertaining to requirements set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 are reported so that the ASRU Inspectorate is able to assess the risk of non-compliance and (c) cases of non-compliance due to staff shortages are described and publicly reported.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Establishments are responsible for the welfare of animals in their care. The Home Office has published guidance on Business Continuity Planning for Establishments, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-on-the-operation-of-the-animals-scientific-procedures-act-1986#business-continuity-planning-guidance.
The Animals in Science Regulation has currently suspended on-site inspection visits. Inspection activities to assess compliance are being continued remotely, for example by telephone and email. There may be occasions where on-site inspection visits need to be considered. Any such inspections will be planned on a case by case basis in accordance with the Government measures. Inspectors have specifically inspected establishments for preparedness for the care and protection of animals during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Cases of non-compliance continue to be investigated. Identified cases will be reported in the relevant Annual Report. Previous Annual Reports can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward plans for permanent funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit from a single budget in time for the next Comprehensive Spending Review.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
In line with other government funded bodies, decisions about Home Office funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2021 will be taken as part of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Animals in Science Regulation Unit is taking to encourage the replacement of the use of animals in scientific procedures.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The steps that the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) takes to encourage the replacement of the use of animals in scientific procedures are part of a wider strategy on the rigorous application of the 3Rs principles – replacement, reduction and refinement.
Procedures on animals are only authorised after an assessment process, which is undertaken by the Home Office Inspectorate. All project licence applicants are required to describe and justify why available non-animal alternative methodologies could not be used to achieve their scientific objectives.
In 2018 ASRU signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) to support the uptake of 3Rs approaches. The NC3Rs leads the discovery and application of new technologies and approaches to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in scientific procedures. ASRU supports the NC3Rs drive to accelerate the development and use of models and tools, based on the latest science and technologies, to address important scientific questions without the use of animals.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of children in families that are unable to satisfy the requirements for a spousal visa.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office does not collate or publish the information requested. However, the Home Office does publish data on the outcomes of entry clearance visa applications at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/managed-migration-datasets.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking in (a) the UK and (b) overseas to tackle (a) working conditions and (b) exploitation in the food supply chain.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, large businesses with a turnover of £36m or more are required to publish annual modern slavery statements detailing the steps they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their UK operations and global supply chains. The requirement applies to all sectors, including agriculture. The Government is committed to doing more and will shortly be launching a consultation to strengthen the transparency in supply chains legislation, making it harder for companies to avoid scrutiny.
The Home Office regularly engages with businesses across a range of sectors to accelerate progress in tackling modern slavery in global supply chains.
The Gangmasters Labour and Abuse Authority (GLAA) licenses UK businesses which provide workers to the farming, food processing and shellfish gathering sectors to make sure they meet the employment standards required by law; and carries out inspections and enforcement activity. The GLAA also partner with businesses such as Sainsbury’s to deliver training sessions to their suppliers, equipping them to better identify and manage risks in their supply chains.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the forthcoming national alcohol strategy will be published.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We are considering the precise timing of next steps across Government