Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent (a) harassment and (b) violence against (i) women and (ii) elderly people from the UK's Eritrean community.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Public sexual harassment is an appalling crime, and the Government has already taken significant action to tackle it. We have ensured that new guidance was published for police and prosecutors on existing offences, have provided £120 million through the Safer Streets and Safety of Women at Night Funds to make our streets safer, have created the new SafeStreet tool which allows people to pinpoint where they have felt unsafe and the police to take action.
The Government also supported the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023, which makes public sexual harassment a specific offence. The Act received Royal Assent on 18th September 2023.
Tackling violence against women and girls is a government priority. It is unacceptable and preventable, and an issue which blights the lives of millions. In July 2021, we published our cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy to help ensure that women and girls are safe everywhere -- at home, online, at work and on the streets.
Older people and women from the Eritrean community who are victims and survivors of VAWG have access to a range of support provided through the Government’s Domestic Abuse Plan and VAWG Strategy. This support includes:
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of costs in the private veterinary industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department has made no specific assessment of the implications on Defra policies of trends in costs in the private veterinary industry. However, policies are impact assessed in line with the Better Regulation Framework and such assessments consider costs in relation to relevant sectors, which may include the private veterinary sector.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of racism in the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces, and Defence as a whole, are committed to taking action to eradicate racism and have a zero-tolerance approach towards it. We are committed to solidifying racial equality as a fundamental principle in Defence, creating a more inclusive environment for all, enabling everyone, irrespective of background, to deliver our outputs, enhance our operational effectiveness and better represent the nation we serve. Our department-wide Diversity and Inclusion strategy, the Armed Forces Race Action Plan, and the Civil Service Race Action Plan clearly set out a challenging vision, goals, objectives, and commitments of where we want to see change.
We continue a wide programme of work to prevent and tackle unacceptable behaviour. All allegations of such behaviour are taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly. Service personnel have a number of routes to raise such issues, either with the military police, within the Chain of Command or independently with Diversity and Inclusion Advisers. Defence has mandated Active Bystander training so that personnel have the skills to challenge unacceptable behaviour effectively when it does occur.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle racism in the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces, and Defence as a whole, are committed to taking action to eradicate racism and have a zero-tolerance approach towards it. We are committed to solidifying racial equality as a fundamental principle in Defence, creating a more inclusive environment for all, enabling everyone, irrespective of background, to deliver our outputs, enhance our operational effectiveness and better represent the nation we serve. Our department-wide Diversity and Inclusion strategy, the Armed Forces Race Action Plan, and the Civil Service Race Action Plan clearly set out a challenging vision, goals, objectives, and commitments of where we want to see change.
We continue a wide programme of work to prevent and tackle unacceptable behaviour. All allegations of such behaviour are taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly. Service personnel have a number of routes to raise such issues, either with the military police, within the Chain of Command or independently with Diversity and Inclusion Advisers. Defence has mandated Active Bystander training so that personnel have the skills to challenge unacceptable behaviour effectively when it does occur.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has set targets for the recruitment of (a) women and (b) ethnic minorities to the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces are committed to attracting, retaining and developing the best talent from the broadest diversity of skills and background, to reflect the society we serve.
A Level of Ambition of 30% inflow of women by 2030 was approved by the then Secretary of State and announced in 2021, building on the content of the previously published Defence Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2018-2030. This is both "stretching and challenging" and a clear statement that Defence wants to improve, recognises the mission critical value women bring and is creating conversations and driving improvement activities.
At this time no equivalent Level of Ambition has been published for the inflow of ethnic minority recruits. However, Defence is undertaking a wide range of activities to increase their recruitment into the Armed Forces, through better understanding and greater engagement with ethnic minority communities, reviewing recruitment processes and more targeted marketing and communications towards potential ethnic minority applicants.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to improve (a) assessment and (b) diagnosis processes for adults with (i) autism and (ii) ADHD.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when commissioning services, including assessment and diagnosis services.
In respect of autism, on 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance will help the National Health Service improve autism assessment services and improve the experience for people referred to an autism assessment service.
Each ICB must have an Executive Lead for learning disability and autism to support them to deliver care and support for autistic people in their area. NHS England has published statutory guidance on these Executive Lead roles. This year, we are updating the Statutory Guidance on Autism to support the NHS and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people.
Regarding ADHD, NICE guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and management aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and the quality of care and support people receive. The Department is investigating options for improving data collection and reporting on waiting times for ADHD assessments and diagnoses, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way and in line with the NICE guidelines.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of masking on adult (a) autism and (b) ADHD assessments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No such assessment has been made. We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) and National Health Service trusts to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism when commissioning and providing services for people, including assessments. It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, in line with these NICE guidelines.
In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This framework aims to help the NHS improve the quality of their autism assessment services and improve the experience for people who are referred to an autism assessment service. It also includes operational guidance, intended to guide strategic decision making about the range of autism assessment services that should be provided in each area. It makes clear that clinicians should offer a comprehensive assessment that includes considerations of different factors that may be relevant for confirming a diagnosis of autism.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of providing additional support for community energy projects.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government recognises the role community groups play in efforts to minimise climate change and already offers a range of support to community energy projects. This support is outlined in the Net Zero Strategy and Net Zero Growth plan and is in addition to the new £10m Community Energy Fund, which enables both rural and urban communities across England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects for investment. The Government has also recently committed to publishing an annual report on community energy and to consult on the barriers the sector faces when developing projects.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the types of (a) knives and (b) other sharp instruments that have been used in (i) homicides and (ii) other offences involving those instruments in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office Homicide Index holds detailed data on homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales. Information on the type of sharp instrument used in a homicide was added to the collection in April 2022. These data, for the year ending March 2023, are due to be published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in February 2024.
The Home Office does not routinely collect information on the types of knives or sharp instruments used in other offences.
The year ending June 2023 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) published by the ONS shows that violent incidents have fallen by 52% since the year ending March 2010.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of (a) homicides and (b) other offences involved the use of a ninja sword in the last three years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office Homicide Index holds detailed data on homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales. Information on the type of sharp instrument used in a homicide was added to the collection in April 2022. These data, for the year ending March 2023, are due to be published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in February 2024.
The Home Office does not routinely collect information on the types of knives or sharp instruments used in other offences.
The year ending June 2023 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) published by the ONS shows that violent incidents have fallen by 52% since the year ending March 2010.