Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect Jewish communities from terrorist attacks.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
In her speech to the annual dinner of the Community Security Trust on 26 March, the Home Secretary made clear the Government’s commitment to protect Jewish communities against antisemitic attacks and other security threats. The full speech is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretary-speech-at-the-community-security-trust
The Jewish Community Protective Security (JCPS) Grant provides protective security measures (such as security personnel services, CCTV and alarm systems) at synagogues, Jewish educational establishments and community sites. It is managed on behalf of the Home Office by the Community Security Trust.
From 2024/25 to 2027/28, the Community Security Trust has been allocated £18 million annually through the JCPS Grant to continue this important work. We continue to work closely with the CST to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities across the UK.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of legislation covering hate crimes at providing police with sufficient powers to pursue incidents that occur on social media platforms.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have robust legislation in place to deal with threatening, abusive, or harassing behaviour and incitement to hatred, including laws to tackle perpetrators who stir up racial and religious hatred and hatred based on sexual orientation. Importantly, the law also ensures that people are protected against criminal activity, including threatening and abusive behaviour both online and offline.
Hate crime is listed as a “priority offence” in the Online Safety Act 2023. These priority offences reflect the most serious and prevalent illegal content in relation to which companies must take proactive steps to ensure their services are not used to facilitate or commit these types of crime. Under their new Online Safety Act legal duties, online platforms need to put in place systems and processes to proactively prevent, identify, and remove priority illegal content and activity online. This includes safety by design measures to mitigate the likelihood of the most serious illegal content from appearing on platforms in the first place. They also need to have systems and processes to take down other illegal content.
The Government funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these abhorrent offences.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consider extending statutory regulations so that all social media platforms are covered by legislation on hate crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have robust legislation in place to deal with threatening, abusive, or harassing behaviour and incitement to hatred, including laws to tackle perpetrators who stir up racial and religious hatred and hatred based on sexual orientation. Importantly, the law also ensures that people are protected against criminal activity, including threatening and abusive behaviour both online and offline.
Hate crime is listed as a “priority offence” in the Online Safety Act 2023. These priority offences reflect the most serious and prevalent illegal content in relation to which companies must take proactive steps to ensure their services are not used to facilitate or commit these types of crime. Under their new Online Safety Act legal duties, online platforms need to put in place systems and processes to proactively prevent, identify, and remove priority illegal content and activity online. This includes safety by design measures to mitigate the likelihood of the most serious illegal content from appearing on platforms in the first place. They also need to have systems and processes to take down other illegal content.
The Government funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these abhorrent offences.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the release of Dr Wang Bingzhang.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government stands firm on human rights in China. We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their counterparts (President Xi, Foreign Minister Wang, Vice Premier He and Vice Premier Ding respectively).
We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations and will continue to call on China to uphold its commitments under international law.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that Scotland benefits from nuclear energy developments in the UK.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
Nuclear energy creates well-paid jobs and develops vital transferable skills. Investment in new nuclear power stations brings billions of pounds into local communities. It is good for the environment and good for national energy security.
So, what do the SNP say to all that? No thank you! But of course, they are happy to accept Scotland’s energy baseload coming from English nuclear power.
Their outdated, ideological opposition is holding Scotland back.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what long term support the Government plans to provide the International Commission on Missing Persons to support their work in identifying those still missing from (a) the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and (b) the Genocide at Srebrenica.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports post-conflict reconciliation in the Western Balkans, through diplomatic and programmatic efforts. This has included funding for the International Commission on Missing Persons for work in the Western Balkans, including for Regional Co-operation through the Missing Persons Group. The UK allocated £150,000 to the International Commission on Missing Persons for the period 1 July 2024 to 1 July 2025. The UK does not currently have plans for funding beyond this period.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding the Government plans to provide to Regional Co-operation in Accounting for Missing Persons in the Western Balkans (The Missing Person Group) of the International Commission on Missing Persons in the (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27 financial years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports post-conflict reconciliation in the Western Balkans, through diplomatic and programmatic efforts. This has included funding for the International Commission on Missing Persons for work in the Western Balkans, including for Regional Co-operation through the Missing Persons Group. The UK allocated £150,000 to the International Commission on Missing Persons for the period 1 July 2024 to 1 July 2025. The UK does not currently have plans for funding beyond this period.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the regulations on the sale of energy drinks to children under the age of 16.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the King’s Speech, we plan to bring forward the necessary secondary legislation to deliver on our commitment to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years old.
We are developing plans which consider the potential impact of high-caffeine energy drinks on children, and will set these out in a consultation in due course.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the DVLA licensing backlog.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The quickest and easiest way to transact with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays or backlogs for vehicle applications or straightforward driving licence applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days following a successful application.
Driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer depending on the condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from third parties, for example doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a decision on whether to issue a licence can be made.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on reducing the DVLA backlog.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The quickest and easiest way to transact with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays or backlogs for vehicle applications or straightforward driving licence applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days following a successful application.
Driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer depending on the condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from third parties, for example doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a decision on whether to issue a licence can be made.