Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces have suspended the grant of new fire arms certificates.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police to determine how their force firearms licensing departments deals with applications for firearms certificates subject to the relevant legislation and Statutory Guidance issued by the Home Secretary. However, we would expect police forces to provide an efficient and effective service and we understand that there are concerns about the performance of some forces in this respect. Together with the local Police and Crime Commissioner, I have therefore commissioned an inspection of firearms licensing in Devon and Cornwall Police, and I will receive the report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) later this summer. There will also be a wide thematic inspection of firearms licensing in police forces by HMICRFS in 2024/25 that will look at a number of forces.
In addition, force performance is being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing.
I have also written to all Police and Crime Commissioners about the importance of an efficient and effective firearms licensing process in police forces and I continue to receive updates on force performance. A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police on Firearms Licensing was published on 14 February 2023, and that contains, amongst other matters, new content about the importance of forces managing caseloads effectively to avoid backlogs. This includes a deadline of 14 August to move away from the routine use of temporary permits.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he (a) received and (b) plans to publish the Reserves Forces' and Cadets' Association External Scrutiny Team 2022 Report.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Reserves Forces' and Cadets' Association External Scrutiny Team 2022 Report was received on 8 September 2022. The Secretary of State for Defence will issue a full Departmental response to the report in the coming weeks. A copy of the report and the response will be placed in the Library of the House together.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many new-build properties in Gravesham were allocated to each of the Council Tax Bands for the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Estimates of new-build properties delivered in Gravesham in each year, are shown in Live Table 123, at the following link.
The Department does not centrally collect figures on the allocation of new-build properties by Council Tax Band. This information may be held locally by Gravesham district authority.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the ONS publication entitled How the population changed in Dartford: Census 2021, published on 28 June 2022, if he will review the capacity of Darent Valley Hospital in the context of an above national average population increase in the local area in the period 2011 to 2021.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Health and Care Act 2022 established 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England. ICBs empower local health and care leaders to integrate planning and provision of services and will produce five-year joint forward plans with partner National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts to respond to local health needs. This may include consideration of the needs of a changing population.
There are no current plans to review the capacity of Darent Valley Hospital. Kent and Medway ICB are responsible for planning and commissioning healthcare services, including inpatient acute and emergency and urgent care services.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ease congestion arising from lorry traffic departing Dover.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Recent increase in traffic queues for freight and passenger travel in Kent was caused by a combination of factors. Disruption began because of adverse weather conditions causing delays to sailings from Port of Dover and the situation was significantly exacerbated by the well-documented actions of P&O Ferries which account for over 35% of the market share of Dover. Coupled with the brief cessation of Eurotunnel services due to a breakdown and an increase in passenger and freight traffic, disruption quickly grew in Kent.
The Kent Resilience Forum’s (KRF’s) traffic management and enforcement plans, including activation of Operation Brock on the M20, were put in place in late March to ensure continued flow of vehicles through Kent to ports whilst also trying to maintain local mobility as much as possible. Additional resilience measures were put in place, which had a positive impact on maintaining throughput to the ports and keeping local roads moving.
Over the May half-term and Jubilee Weekend, there was no significant disruption on the Kent strategic road network. Operation Brock has now been deactivated as of 5 June, but the Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) will reconsider deploying it ahead of the start of the school summer holidays.
To further ease congestion in Dover, we are strengthening enforcement against those hauliers deviating from Operation Brock and causing gridlock on local roads, and greater usage of freight parking capacity at Sevington Inland Border Facility and Ashford Truck Stop when Operation Brock is reaching its capacity. These measures will help to keep the M20 open to all vehicles and enable local and passenger traffic to keep flowing throughout Kent.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the published response of 20 April 2022 to the Rt hon Member for South West Surrey, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, for what reason the Government has decided not to embed (a) early intervention and (b) other types of school and community-based measures for the mental health support of children and young people in statute.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
No such decision has been made. We continue to consider the Committee’s recommendations in the context of the development of a long term, cross-Government plan for mental health. We will update our response to the Committee’s recommendations once the final plan is published.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) trained workforce requirement and (b) weapon inventory of support weapons for an army reserve infantry battalion was in January 2022; and what it is planned to be in the future, listed by category (i) anti-tank weapons, (ii) mortars, (iii) machine guns, (iv) assault pioneers.
Answered by James Heappey
In January 2022, the workforce requirement varied for each of the Army Reserve infantry battalions. Under Future Soldier, structures will be standardised to mitigate such variations and bring coherence. All Army Reserve infantry battalions will therefore adopt a common structure based on either a three or four sub-unit model in the future.
Whilst there are changes under Future Soldier, the requirement for each Army Reserve infantry battalion to provide a support weapons capability will endure, to deliver reinforcement to the Army's regular battalions for warfighting.
As with Regular Army battalions, I am withholding a breakdown of both the workforce requirement and weapon inventory as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the British Army.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answers of 9 February 2022 to Question 117745 on Army Reserve: Training and of 28 March 2022 to Question 906313 on Army Reserve, what recent estimate he has made of the trained workforce requirement of the Army Reserve, excluding those personnel undergoing phase 1 training, under future plans, broken down by (a) the British Army, (b) Strategic Command, (c) the Royal Navy, (d) the RAF and (e) other; and if he will provide those figures in comparison to those given in Answer to Question 117745.
Answered by James Heappey
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 9 February 2022 to Questions 117744 and 117745 to the hon. Member for South Norfolk, as the figures showing future workforce requirement of the Army Reserve have not changed.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the 2021 report of the RFCA External Scrutiny Team was received by his office; and when he plans to publish it.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Ministry of Defence received the Reserves Forces External Scrutiny Team's report last year.
A copy of the report was placed in the Library of the House on 26 May 2022: Reserve Forces and Cadets Association External Scrutiny Team Report 2021 DEP2022-0444.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an assessment has been made of the potential merits of extending the Thameslink service from Ebbsfleet to Essex to help reduce pressure from the Dartford crossing.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Ebbsfleet International is served by Southeastern and HS1, and I can confirm the Department has not assessed, nor has it asked Southeastern to investigate, the feasibility of running services from Ebbsfleet International to Essex.
Thameslink services do not serve Ebbsfleet International at present. This would only be possible with significant investment in infrastructure, as there is no railway currently connecting Ebbsfleet International to the Thameslink route.