Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rates are of (a) former Imprisonment for Public Protection prisoners following the termination of their licence period, (b) the general prison population and (c) prisoners released under the revised early release scheme since August 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Reoffending rates for offenders released from an IPP sentence are measured from the point of prison release in line with the published methodology, not from the point of licence termination. The latest proven reoffending rate for offenders released from an IPP sentence was 8.4% in 2021/22.
The proven reoffending rate for the adult cohort who were released from custody was 37.0% in 2021/22.
The number of people who have reoffended following release under the early release scheme (SDS40) forms a subset of prison releases data which is scheduled for future publication. In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we are not permitted to give any early indication of the contents of this statistical report.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on developing a strategy for preventing violence and abuse against older people.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is clear that violence and abuse towards anybody is unacceptable. Though anyone can suffer from domestic abuse, for older victims, abuse may be more disguised or compounded by other age-related factors such as ill health. I have had meetings on these issues with the specialist domestic abuse sector, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and Ministerial counterparts as part of the Government’s agenda to protect victims.
The Home Office has funded Hourglass, a specialist elder abuse charity, for a number of years to enhance their helpline, provide casework support, and train specialist Independent Domestic Violence Advisers. We are committed to halving violence against women and girls in a decade, which includes reducing the prevalence of domestic abuse against all victims.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of economic abuse of older people.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Economic abuse is recognised as a form of abusive behaviour under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. This Government is committed to halving violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse, in a decade. Though the Department does not hold prevalence data for economic abuse specifically, I have had several meetings with the specialist domestic abuse sector and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, and am due to speak to Ministerial colleagues specifically on this issue.
In addition, the Department for Health and Social Care oversees The Care Act 2014, which makes it clear that local authorities have a statutory duty to investigate safeguarding concerns. Since April 2023, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have had a duty to assess local authorities’ delivery of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2024.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ring-fencing a proportion of the funding provided to Police and Crime Commissioners for the provision of (a) independent domestic violence advisers and (b) independent sexual violence advisers.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Supporting victims and witnesses remains a priority focus for the Department and Ministers. Collectively, we are committed to the Government’s pledge to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a decade.
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales receive grant funding from the Ministry of Justice’s victim and witness budget to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types. For 2022-25 this includes:
From 2025/26, the ISVA/IDVA ringfenced fund has been merged with the domestic abuse and sexual violence ringfenced fund. This was assessed to be the best-balanced approach, providing flexibility for local areas to adapt to challenges in their area whilst retaining a focus on VAWG. PCCs can commission ISVA and IDVA support from this funding stream.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of British Council's repayment of its pandemic loan on its ability to promote UK soft power.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to a successful British Council that is financially stable. The Government recognises the value of the British Council as a UK soft power asset through its important work in promoting the English language, UK arts and culture and education. The Government remains committed to recovering the loan as soon as the British Council's finances allow. We are working closely with the British Council and HM Treasury on this issue. FCDO will provide the British Council with £162.5 million Grant-in-Aid in 2024/25. Funding for 2025/26 will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of legal protections against the (a) abuse and (b) neglect of older people.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any form of elder abuse or neglect is unacceptable.
Local authorities have a statutory duty to investigate safeguarding concerns under the Care Act 2014. The statutory guidance of the Care Act 2014 makes it clear that local authorities must ensure that the services they commission are safe, effective, and of high quality. Since April 2023, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has had a duty to assess local authorities’ delivery of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps are being taken to prioritise Official Development Assistance aid for education in (a) countries where (i) literacy and (ii) numeracy rates are lowest and (b) protracted crisis settings.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
The UK Government prioritises reaching the most marginalised children with basic literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills, including through our 18 bilateral education programmes. Our centrally managed Scaling Access and Learning in Education and Data for Foundational Learning programmes will also transform the effectiveness of education spending in low- and lower middle-income countries and improve learning outcomes on literacy and numeracy. Our investment in the International Finance Facility for Education will unlock an additional $1 billion in education finance for lower middle-income country governments to invest in their reform agendas.
The UK is a top bilateral donor to the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait (ECW), both global funds delivering education in crisis settings. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary announced a doubling of UK aid for Sudan and neighbouring countries, including support for ECW to provide safe learning spaces and psychosocial support for 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the recommendations from the United Nations Secretary General's High-level Panel on the Teaching Profession, published in February 2024, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those recommendations in supporting teachers in emergencies.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
Education is critical to our vision for a world free from poverty on a liveable planet. Ensuring access to education in emergencies provides children with normality, protection and hope. Teachers are crucial to this, and supporting teachers underpins FCDO education policies and programmes. The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies. ECW recruited or financially supported 23,449 teachers in 2022-23 (45 percent women). ECW also provided psychosocial support for teachers in Afghanistan, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Syria and Uganda, to help them to continue to teach in the most difficult circumstances. The UK is working in partnership with the World Bank and UN Refugee Agency on a new programme, the Inclusion Support Programme for Refugee Education (INSPIRE), to unlock funding for host countries that are committed to including refugees within their own education systems. The programme works with teachers to address issues such as language of instruction, psychosocial support for children and teachers and negative stereotyping towards refugee children.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) farmers and (b) landowners on the proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We are listening to the sector to ensure their views are heard. We have met with a range of farming stakeholders over the past weeks, including the National Farmers Union (NFU), the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), and the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), and has meetings planned with trade associations in the coming weeks.
The Secretary of State Steve Reed met with NFU President Tom Bradshaw to clarify changes in the Budget. We have also met with NFU, TFA and CLA representatives and recently attended the Eggs and Poultry Industry Conference as part of ongoing engagement with the sector.
The Secretary of State spoke at the CLA’s annual conference on 21 November to hear from farmers directly. His speech can be found here.
Minister Zeichner recently attended and spoke at Northern Farming Conference, the Eggs and Poultry Industry Conference, the Agricultural Industries Confederation Conference, The Tenant Farmers Association Executive Committee and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution’s parliamentary reception.
We will continue to listen to farmers’ concerns to ensure their views are heard.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reversing the changes to VAT on double cab pick-ups .
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The VAT treatment of double cab pick-ups (DCPUs) has not changed. DCPUs are subject to the standard 20 per cent rate of VAT.
As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, following a Court of Appeal judgment, the Government will treat DCPUs with a payload of one tonne or more as cars for the purposes of Benefit in Kind and Capital Allowances taxation.
However, for VAT purposes, DCPUs with a payload of one tonne or more will continue to be classed as vans, meaning VAT-registered businesses will continue to be able to recover the VAT paid on them in line with normal VAT recovery rules. The definition of a motor car, and what does not constitute a car, for VAT purposes is set out in SI 1992/3122 – Value Added Tax (Cars) Order 1992.