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Written Question
Castes
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to exclude caste as a protected characteristic from the Equality Act 2010.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The government’s position remains as stated by the then Minister for Women and Equalities, the member for Portsmouth North, in her statement to Parliament on 23 July 2018.

We do not intend to make an order determining caste to be an aspect of ‘race’ for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

We will repeal the statutory duty to make such an order once a suitable legislative vehicle becomes available.


Written Question
Low Incomes: Rents
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support low-income renters.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We spend around £30bn annually on housing support for low-income renters in the private and social rented sectors.

From April we are investing £1.2bn increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of market rents, ensuring 1.6m private renters gain on average almost £800 in 2024/25 in additional support towards rental costs. This significant investment will cost £7bn over five years.

Discretionary Housing Payments are available for those who need additional support. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7bn for DHPs to local authorities.


Written Question
Social Rented Housing: Standards
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the consultation on a direction to the Regulator of Social Housing to set a Competence and Conduct Standard for social housing, published on 6 February 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending competency and mandatory qualification standards to residential property managers who are responsible for (a) tall and high-risk and (b) other residential buildings.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

We are currently consulting on a direction to the Regulator of Social Housing to set a Competence and Conduct Standard for social housing, which closes on 2nd April. We will analyse responses and respond in due course.

PAS 8673 (Competence requirements for the management of safety in residential buildings) already sets out a competence framework for people involved in managing residential buildings. This includes support for accountable persons and others in managing building safety risks in higher risk buildings, and for those managing non higher-risk residential buildings.


Written Question
Offenders
Tuesday 20th February 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that offenders are prepared for life outside prison.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Effective resettlement is a core part of our efforts to reduce reoffending.

We are introducing resettlement passports, bringing together key information and services in one place, to address individual drivers of repeat offending and enable continuity of support on release.

We have introduced ID and Banking Administrators in 93 prisons to ensure prisoners leave custody with the basics required to start work, find accommodation and claim Universal Credit, with over 26,000 IDs arranged since April 2022.


Written Question
Abortion: Demonstrations
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the enforcement of safe access zones is proportionate to other (a) protests and (b) gatherings.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government has recently published and consulted on draft guidance on the enforcement of abortion safe access zones.

The Home Office is now considering the responses before we publish a final version.

The Home Secretary is committed to ensuring that women in England and Wales feel safe and protected whilst exercising their legal right to access abortion services and I am confident that this guidance will support the effective introduction of Safe Access Zones.


Written Question
Sri Lanka: Civil Liberties
Monday 5th February 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Sri Lankan Online Safety Act on freedom of expression and religion in that country.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Despite concerns expressed by civil society, opposition parties and international internet providers regarding the potential negative impacts of the Online Safety Act, the Sri Lankan Parliament passed it into law on 24 January. The UK also raised concerns about the impact of this Act on freedom of expression and economic growth, including when I met Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe in October, and when Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia, met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry on 25 January. The UK will continue to closely follow developments on this Act.


Written Question
Hamas: Hostage Taking
Tuesday 30th January 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK government has been working with partners across the region to secure the release of hostages, including British nationals and their families. Release of hostages was a priority for the recent Foreign Secretary visit to the Middle East where he held high level talks with regional leaders and met with hostage families. We are calling for an immediate humanitarian pause now to get aid in and remaining hostages out, and as a vital step towards building a sustainable, permanent ceasefire. To achieve that, Hamas must agree to the release of all hostages.


Written Question
Schools: Antisemitism
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle antisemitism in schools.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

It is deeply concerning to see the huge rise in antisemitism following Hamas’s terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023. To see this form of hatred also take place in education is unacceptable.

The government took immediate action in October 2023. First, to increase security measures at Jewish schools, colleges and nurseries - we announced £3 million of additional funding to the Community Security Trust.

The Secretary of State also wrote to all schools and colleges on 17 October 2023, urging them to support Jewish students and highlighting our political impartiality guidance and advice on the Prevent programme.

To support schools and colleges we published learning resources on our Educate Against Hate website.

We are also providing over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations, which includes projects to tackle hate-related bullying on the basis of race and faith.

The department has networks of ‘Prevent’ practitioners who provide training to school staff on radicalisation and empower teachers to challenge extremism in the classroom.

We continue to monitor the situation carefully. Ministers have conducted several visits recently to listen to the experience of Jewish communities, including meeting with Dr David Landau who is Chair of Governors Menorah High School, one of the settings that temporarily closed in October over safety concerns.

We are engaging regularly with faith groups and school leadership organisations to understand their concerns and use it to shape our response. This includes the Board of Jewish Deputies and Chinuch UK.

In the Autumn Statement, on 22 November 2023, the government announced a further £7 million of funding over the next three years to help tackle antisemitism. This will help support schools, colleges, and universities to understand, recognise and deal with antisemitism effectively. We are preparing to issue an invitation for interested organisations to tender in the coming weeks.

If anyone feels that specific issues in education are not being addressed, they can raise them directly to the department through the Counter Extremism helpline or our “Report Extremism” online form. We then engage with the police and local authorities to consider what action is needed.


Written Question
Dangerous Dogs
Monday 22nd January 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on trends in the number of dog attacks on cats; and if he will take legislative steps to help prevent such attacks.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra does not hold information on the number of dog attacks on cats. Any information on the number of reported dog-on-cat attacks will be held by individual local authorities and individual police forces.

It is an offence under section 3(1) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to allow a dog to be dangerously out of control.

We are currently working in partnership with the police, local authorities and animal welfare organisations to ensure that the full range of existing dog control powers are effectively applied to encourage responsible dog ownership and reduce the risk of dog attacks.


Written Question
Bangladesh: Elections and Human Rights
Wednesday 17th January 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is taking steps together with international partners to help ensure that the Bangladeshi government is held accountable for (a) its human rights record and (b) the conduct of the national election of 8 January 2024.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Bangladesh is a Human Rights Priority Country for the UK. We regularly raise human rights issues with the Government of Bangladesh bilaterally and in concert with our international partners. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, raised human rights with Prime Minister Hasina when they met in October. Respect for human rights, rule of law and due process are essential elements of the democratic process. These standards were not consistently met during the election period. We continue to work with likeminded partners to encourage all political parties to address their differences and find a common way forward in the interests of the people of Bangladesh. The UK government will continue to advocate for democracy with the Government of Bangladesh.