Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sanctions imposed in response to the situation in Myanmar.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has led international efforts to put pressure on the military regime and reduce its access to revenue, arms and equipment through targeted sanctions, without harming the wider population. We continue to work closely with our partners in the US, Canada and the EU to ensure a strong, coordinated and targeted response to the military regime's actions. On 27 March the UK announced its fifteenth round of sanctions, designating those who profit from the supply of aviation fuel and restricted goods and technology to the Myanmar Armed Forces.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding from the Tampon Tax Fund has been allocated to (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last two years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2020/21 and 2021/22, the Tampon Tax Fund was allocated between each administration using the Barnett formula.
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
England | £11,995,000 (inc £150k administration costs ) | £9,000,000 (inc £150k administration costs ) |
Wales | £905,000 | £675,000 |
Scotland | £1,570,000 | £1,181,250 |
Northern Ireland | £530,000 | £393,750 |
Total | £15,000,000 | £11,250,000 |
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many applications from groups and organisations in Northern Ireland for funding from the Tampon Tax Fund have been received in each of the last two years; and how many and what proportion of those applications were successful.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The 2021/22 round of the Tampon Tax Fund (TTF) received six applications from organisations delivering solely in Northern Ireland. Of these, two did not meet eligibility criteria. Of the remaining four, one bid was successful in being awarded funding.
There were no applications to the 2020/21 round of Tampon Tax funding from organisations delivering solely in Northern Ireland.
The minimum application threshold was also reduced for the 2021/22 round of TTF to £350,000 specifically to enable more bids from organisations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with Royal Mail on the impact on consumers of the rise of the cost of postal services.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial decisions, including the prices of stamps and other services.
In setting its prices, Royal Mail must observe the regulatory framework set by Ofcom which imposes prices controls, ‘safeguard caps’, on certain second-class products to ensure a basic universal service is available to all at affordable prices.
Ofcom will conduct a public consultation in 2023-24 to inform a review of the safeguard caps that should apply from April 2024.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to help bring about a resolution to the healthcare workers pay dispute in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Government is acutely aware of the pressures facing the health service in Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State met with representatives of the Health Unions in Northern Ireland on 5 April to offer clarity on the Government’s pay offer to healthcare workers in England. As this is a devolved matter, the Secretary of State does not have the authority to negotiate on pay.
A fully functioning devolved government is the best way to deliver the necessary reforms to transform healthcare. That is why the Government is doing all it can to restore the Executive as soon as possible.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what support the Government is providing to the Electoral Office in Northern Ireland to raise awareness of the local elections.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
Raising awareness of elections is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission which runs a variety of media and social media campaigns, as well as providing resources to interested groups to inform the public about elections and encourage engagement. The Northern Ireland Office highlighted the date change of the local elections in Northern Ireland through social media channels and the UK Government continues to use social media to support the work of the Electoral Commission to raise awareness of elections in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to help the Department of Education in Northern Ireland to maintain the (a) Engage and (b) Healthy Happy Minds programme.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
Education is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Department of Education has the responsibility for matters relating to the provision of the Engage and Healthy Happy Minds programmes in Northern Ireland.
In the absence of functioning devolved institutions, Northern Ireland Office officials are working with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Department of Finance to set the Northern Ireland budget for the 2023-24 financial year.
The right people to make these decisions are locally elected politicians in a fully functioning Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly. In the absence of these, it will be for the relevant Northern Ireland department, in this case the Department of Education, to manage its funding, including provision for the Engage and Health Happy Minds programmes.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy on obesity levels amongst people aged 18 and under.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
To date, Government has not assessed the impact of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) on obesity levels amongst people aged 18 years old and under.
Rogers et al. (2023) undertook an independent assessment of obesity prevalence in English primary school children and the United Kingdom SDIL. This assessment found that the SDIL was associated with decreased prevalence of obesity in Year Six girls, with the greatest differences in those living in the most deprived areas. They estimated that the reduced sugar-sweetened beverages consumption of drinks covered by SDIL may have prevented around 5,000 cases of obesity in Year Six girls aged 10 to 11 years old, across all socio-economic groups.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the importance of (a) healthy cholesterol levels and (b) regular cholesterol checks.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department continues to support the national implementation of the National Health Service Health Check programme. The check involves awareness, assessment and management of the top six risk factors for cardiovascular disease, one of which is cholesterol. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is working with local Government to modernise the NHS Health Check programme and delivering social marketing and behavioural interventions to improve health.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with officials of EU Commission officials on implementation of the Windsor Framework since it was announced.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Following the announcement of the Windsor Framework in February, the Foreign Secretary and European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič convened a formal meeting of the UK-EU Joint Committee on 24 March to formally adopt the new arrangements set out in the Framework. Officials remain in ongoing contact with the Commission to discuss the implementation of the Framework, and will continue to make use of the formal meeting structures under the Framework (including the Specialised Committee and the Joint Consultative Working Group) to advance this work.