Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help protect workers from (a) dismissal and (b) other disciplinary action arising from their participation in legal strikes.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under existing legislation employees taking part in official protected industrial action lasting up to 12 weeks are protected from dismissal. The question of what other disciplinary action an employer can take in these circumstances was recently considered by the Supreme Court in the case of Mercer v Alternative Futures Group Ltd. The Government is carefully looking at the judgment in that case and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what technologies his Department is using to enhance defence against (a) cyber-propaganda and (b) misinformation campaigns.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) doesn’t focus on a technological solution to cyber-propaganda and misinformation campaigns because it is fundamentally a human issue rather than a technological one. There is a cross-Government effort to identify, counter and shut down sources of malign narratives and dis/misinformation, but ultimately our focus is on ensuring our people – military, civilian, and supporting industry – are resilient to it. Additionally, misinformation can be produced far faster than it can be countered and therefore providing MOD personnel with the right skills and mindset, including through regular mandatory training, is the best way to ensure we have resilience in the face of cyber-propaganda and misinformation campaigns.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what support his Department provides to nations in West Africa to strengthen their counterterrorism capabilities.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK recognises the increased threat of instability in West Africa. As part of our efforts to support partners in the region, we have agreed and are developing new programmes, including through HMG's Integrated Security Fund. Combined with our existing Security and Defence Partnerships with Ghana and Nigeria, these programmes will further build resilience to and counter violent extremism in the region. They include a range of interventions with international, government and non-government partners across the region to address challenges including Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR), Terrorist Financing, crisis response and strategic communications.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the presence of foreign military bases on the sovereignty of host countries in West Africa.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Decisions about hosting foreign military bases in Africa are for host countries to make. The UK supports the sovereignty of states and encourages all actors to ensure foreign forces are deployed in line with African Union and UN frameworks on peacekeeping and security operations. This ensures respect for international law and human rights, and accountability, are upheld. UK military will continue to work with, and at the invitation of, elected governments to support on security.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to evaluate the effectiveness of the impact on bilateral relations of its military training programmes abroad.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Military training is an important part of our bilateral defence relationship with many countries, helping to build influence, understanding and interoperability. All training is considered and evaluated on a case-by-case basis using insight from our defence attaches at post, other parts of the global defence network, and set against broader defence and wider Government objectives. Feedback is also received from training recipients which can be used to shape potential further opportunities. Wider Defence engagement is also monitored and evaluated as part of Defence's annual review cycles.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to manage prison population levels.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We continue to focus on the prison capacity challenge.
To meet rising demand, we are building c.20,000 modern, rehabilitative prison places – the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two new 1,700 places prisons, HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way, and c.590 Rapid Deployment Cells across 11 sites. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total.
On 11 March, I announced the next steps in our plan, to allow us to go further and faster in removing FNOs. This includes expediting prisoner transfers with our priority partners such as Albania and the creation of a new taskforce across the HO and MoJ to change the way we process FNO cases radically.
We have also put in place short-term measures across the prison estate to expand useable capacity, while ensuring our prisons remain safe for staff and offenders.
The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation with demand for prison places carefully, so that we can make sure we have the right approaches in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) educational and (b) vocational training opportunities are not reduced in prisons; and whether he plans to use those training opportunities to help reduce prison overcrowding.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Education is key for reducing reoffending and research indicates that prison education reduces reoffending by 9 percentage points. In September 2023, we set out our plans to deliver an improved Prison Education Service that will support more prisoners to improve their literacy and numeracy and increase the number of prison leavers employed on release.
Over the past 12 months we have seen a sustained delivery in the number vocational courses undertaken by prisoners following increases to 95,000. To ensure the right education and vocational training opportunities are available across prisons we have:
I am pleased to say that we have seen positive outcomes in employment in support of our work to make best use of prison capacity. The proportion of prison leavers in employment six months after release has more than doubled in the two years to March 2023, from 14% to over 30%and between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 31.3% to 25.2%.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to support the (a) establishment and (b) maintenance of (i) cinemas and (ii) cultural venues in towns.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that cinemas and cultural venues are a hugely important part of the UK’s cultural landscape. We are committed to supporting them and the cultural sector more broadly.
HM Government provides funding opportunities for the arts and other cultural organisations in a range of ways, including direct Government funding, via arm’s-length bodies like Arts Council England, and indirectly through local authorities.
Through Arts Council England’s current investment programme, more than £444 million of public money is being invested each year in arts and culture across England. This is an increase from £410 million in the previous portfolio, and will support 985 organisations across England – more than ever before. In addition, through Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grant funding, over £105 million of awards were provided to individuals and arts organisations in 2022/23. This funding programme is open for applications from organisations anywhere in England.
The British Film Institute (BFI) is also conscious of the pressures faced by the cinema sector. The BFI’s Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK. Film hubs are centres of expertise and support which connect cinemas, festivals, and creative practitioners. You can read more about the National Lottery funding the BFI makes available to bring film to a wider UK audience, including through BFI FAN, at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/bring-film-wider-uk-audience.
The Government’s £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps to ensure that important parts of the social fabric, such as cinemas, pubs, sports clubs, and theatres, can continue to play a central role in towns and villages across the UK. Round 4 is the final round of the Community Ownership Fund, and the last window for bids will open in late May. You can find out more about the next round of the Community Ownership Fund at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-ownership-fund-prospectus