Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on implementing the Nine-point plan for seafarers published 6 July 2022.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Since announcing the Nine Point Plan the Government has:
Seafarer welfare is inextricably linked to international maritime law and regulation. As such it must be addressed with international partners and through international fora. The UK will continue to lead the way in seafarer welfare and will not shy away from its role as an international leader in championing this important cause.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that there is adequate focus on cancer in the Major Conditions Strategy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Major Conditions Strategy will draw on previous work on cancer, including over 5,000 submissions provided to the Department as part of our Call for Evidence last year. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders, citizens and the National Health Service to identify actions for the Strategy that will have the greatest impact.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that victims of crime (a) feel confident and (b) are supported when reporting crimes to the police.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Protecting victims and improving their experience and the support they receive is a key priority for the Government.
All police forces must comply with the Victims Code which sets out the services and minimum standards all victims have a right to receive. Police and Crime Commissioners have a legal duty to consult with victims in setting the policing priorities in their area and to hold the Chief Constable of the police in their area to account, and are responsible for commissioning many of the victim support services.
The introduction of the Victims and Prisoners Bill 2023 will strengthen victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system and will make sure that victims of crime are properly supported.
Government has committed to publishing national and local Criminal Justice System (CJS) Delivery Data Dashboard (formally called CJS scorecards) which bring together data from across the system to increase transparency, understanding of the justice system, and support collaboration.
The Home Office is also investing in a new Victim Satisfaction Survey to drive improvements in the support police forces provide to victims, and gain new insights into why victims withhold or withdraw support for investigations.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that survivors of domestic abuse are supported to report that abuse to the police.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Domestic abuse is a horrific crime and improving the response to domestic abuse is a key priority. That is why we introduced our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (the Act), which will provide further protections to the millions of people who experience domestic abuse and strengthen measures to bring perpetrators to justice, as well as transform the support we give to victims ensuring they have the protection they deserve.
We expect police to treat all victims of domestic abuse with the sensitivity and compassion they deserve, which plays an important part in encouraging victims and survivors to report. Therefore, to strengthen the police response to domestic abuse and as part of our commitment in the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan 2022 to support the development and further rollout of the Domestic Abuse Matters training, we have committed up to £3.3 million up to 2025 to bolster and encourage the uptake of this training in forces. We will beprioritising funding for those forces who have yet to undertake the training. As part of this commitment, we are also funding the development of a newmodule of the training that is targeted at officers investigating domestic abuse offences to enable further improvement in police responses to domesticabuse incidents.
The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS), also known as Clare’s Law enables the police to disclose information to a victim or potential victim of domestic abuse about their partner’s or ex-partner’s previous abusive or violent offending either following a request for information by a victim, potential victim or an associated third party or following the police being in receipt of information requiring a disclosure. We have recently commenced section 77 of the Act which places the guidance which underpins the DVDS into statute and published updated guidance ahead of this. This places a duty on the police to apply the guidance unless there is good reason not to and will strengthen the visibility and consistent operation of the scheme. The guidance also makes clear that safeguarding the victim or potential victim is, at all times, a priority.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to reduce litter in (a) Watford constituency and (b) nationally.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our new Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan sets out how we will support councils to take tougher action against those who litter. This includes significantly raising the upper limit on fixed penalty notices from £150 to £500, and measures to help councils issue more penalties.
Our Litter Strategy for England sets out our aim to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering within a generation. It contains a number of commitments and progress reports are available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-strategy-for-england-progress-reports.
Since publishing the Litter Strategy, we have published guidance on the provision of litter bins and provided nearly £1 million across 44 councils to help councils purchase new bins. Watford Borough Council were one of the recipients of this grant funding.
We have also announced our plans for a Deposit Return Scheme for drinking containers. We estimate that where the rate of return reaches 90% in year 3 of the scheme there will be an equivalent 90% reduction of in-scope containers discarded as litter.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she has taken to implement her hospitality strategy policies on improving the resilience of (a) pubs, (b) brewers and (c) other hospitality businesses in (i) Watford and (ii) the UK.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are working closely with the Hospitality Sector Council to deliver the 2021 Hospitality Strategy, and brought forward a Delivery Report on 1 March to show progress made. Business-led working groups are considering ways to improve business resilience, including innovation and sustainable practices, energy efficiency, jobs and skills, local partnerships, and improving access to finance.
The Government continues to support businesses with their costs, and we are legislating to increase the new Draught Relief from 5% to 9.2% for beer and cider draught products and from 20% to 23% for wine, spirits based and other fermented draught products.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the progress of bilateral wage corridor negotiations for seafarers.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The UK’s Seafarers’ Wages Act obtained Royal Assent earlier this month. I am also pleased to report progress in the French National Assembly of the French Government’s legislation on minimum wages for seafarers. When our respective legislation comes into force, the UK and France will have created a minimum wage corridor on the short strait, enhancing the livelihoods of the seafarers that work on this important route.
We continue to engage with a range of international partners, including France, to further enhance seafarer protections internationally.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made in analysing the responses to the Consultation on cat and dog microchipping legislation in England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will shortly issue the summary of responses and the Government’s response to the ‘Consultation on cat and dog microchipping legislation in England’ which was launched in Spring 2022.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to provide long term (a) financial and (b) other support to the hospitality sector.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Spring Budget 2023 included an increase in Draught Relief from 1 August to 9.2%, freezing the duty charged on a typical pint of beer in the pub and ensuring this will always be lower than in the supermarket.
The Autumn Statement 2022 included a package of changes to business rates worth £13.6bn over the next 5 years in lower bills. This is in addition to the Energy Bills Discount Scheme; the increased Employment Allowance of £5,000, which takes the smallest 40% of businesses out of paying any National Insurance at all; and setting the Annual Investment Allowance at £1 million permanently.
My department recently published an update on progress towards delivery of the Government’s Hospitality Strategy, with the key ambition of building the sector’s long-term resilience.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the local council’s powers to deal with litter (a) nationally and (b) in Watford constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In recent years we have bolstered local authority enforcement powers by raising the upper limit on fixed penalty notices for littering and introducing powers to issue the keeper of a vehicle, from which litter is thrown, with a civil penalty. We have also published guidance on the provision of litter bins and provided nearly £1 million across 44 councils to help them purchase new bins.
We will be undertaking a research project which considers the effectiveness of the different enforcement options available to local authorities, including fixed penalties, and the barriers they face in using these. The results of this research will inform policy development in this area.