Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure the safety of (a) asylum seekers and (b) other members of the public while asylum seekers are housed in Badersfield during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
For those asylum seekers in hotel accommodation the hotel services procured ensure access to a single room and all essential needs including three meals a day that cater to individuals’ dietary requirements, supplementary beverages, fruit and personal hygiene products. Where service users are isolating food is placed outside of their rooms, otherwise it is served in communal dining rooms with staggered meal times and appropriate marking to delineate social distancing. Providers are applying controls to further support social distancing, such as tape markings, and providing translated public health guidance and instruction to service users. Full laundry facilities are also made available to all. This replicates the services provided in most initial accommodation facilitates, although rooms there are shared where service users are not self isolating.
In Dispersed Accommodation (and self catered initial accommodation), where the significant majority of our service users reside and consists of houses or homes of multiple occupancy accommodating small numbers, service users have been provided guidance to ensure they socially distance or self-isolate in line with the advice provided to the general public. Additionally, service providers have enhanced their contact management and wraparound services to ensure access to medical care, food packages and other essential items.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on rolling out the shared rural mobile phone network in Broadland constituency.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Shared Rural Network, which the Government announced in March 2025, will see operators collectively increase mobile phone coverage throughout the UK to 95% by the end of 2025, underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments.
The exact site deployment plans and associated timescales will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes, so at this time, and until the operators’ final radio planning exercise is complete, we do not currently have specific details on the precise impact that the Shared Rural Network will have on individual communities across the whole of the UK, including those in the Broadland constituency. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department's policy on parents access to children is based on a presumption of equal access, subject to additional risk factors.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The welfare of the child is the court’s paramount concern when making any decision about a child’s upbringing, including with whom the child is to live or spend time. The legislative framework is contained in the Children Act 1989, which is gender neutral.
While the court must presume that a parent’s involvement in the child’s life will further their welfare this can be rebutted, for example in cases of domestic abuse. If a parent can be involved in the child’s life in a way that is safe, the nature of that parental involvement will then be determined by the court based on all the facts.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the proportion of family court cases where discouraged access to the child was reported by one of the parents.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Incidences of alleged or apparent parental alienation by either parent in relation to family proceedings about child arrangements are not recorded centrally and such information could only be obtained from individual case files at disproportionate cost.
The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) is continuing to develop its work in addressing parental alienation when it arises in such cases. Its Child Impact Assessment Framework (CIAF) includes various tools and guidance that further support social work practitioners in identifying how individual children are experiencing parental separation, including any alienating behaviour by one parent against the other. Further information about the Framework is available on the Cafcass website at www.Cafcass.gov.uk.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the adversarial approach of the Family Courts in dealing with child access cases.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
We are committed to ensuring that the Family Courts deal with child arrangement order cases to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and their families. In May 2019 the MoJ established a panel of experts to review how the family courts handle cases involving domestic abuse and other serious offences. The panel received submissions from over 1200 individuals and organisations, many of whom had experience of the adversarial system. The panel is finalising its report and will publish findings and recommendations for next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the US Centre for Disease Control allow British seafarers to travel through US airspace.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK Government's position on welfare was reiterated to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) at the start of this crisis, and we will continue to uphold the highest standards for our seafarers. Officials continue to work closely with the Centre for Disease Control to allow the disembarkation of British crew from cruise ships across the United States.
Where vessel operators request assistance to repatriate their employees, we stand ready to work as quickly as possible to help those who may need rapid consular assistance. This includes regular contact at the highest levels with our US partners on our joint response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to (a) develop carbon capture and storage technology and (b) retrain and redeploy oil and gas sector workers in low-carbon industries.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
We are committed to deploying carbon capture and storage (CCS) this decade as we work towards Net Zero by 2050 and see an opportunity for the UK to become a global leader in CCS.
That’s why we announced a new CCS Infrastructure Fund which will enhance long-term competitiveness of UK’s industrial regions by providing at least £800million to establish CCS in at least two UK clusters, one by the mid-2020s and another by 2030, contributing to our net zero targets and levelling up the economy.
In parallel, we are investing over £40 million between 2016 and 2021in innovation funding carbon capture, usage and storage. United Kingdom Research and Innovation has also recently announced the allocation of the first phase of funding for the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge, in which we expect carbon capture and storage to play an important role.
The upstream oil and gas sector remains an important sector in its own right. However, as we transition to a low carbon economy we expect the oil and gas sector, including its supply chain, to have a key role in delivering this transformation. We are already seeing this happening as the supply chain uses its existing skills and capabilities to diversify into low-carbon sectors such as offshore wind. We are working with the sector on our manifesto commitment to deliver a transformational oil and gas Sector Deal which we expect to focus around the energy transition.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what plans she has for the allocation of the £80 million CPS budget increase announced in the Spending Round 2019.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Government is investing across the justice system and has invested £85m in the CPS up to 2021. This will enable the CPS to respond effectively to the expected increase in caseload resulting from the recruitment of 20,000 new police officers; to better meet its disclosure obligations; to work with investigators to pursue all reasonable lines of inquiry; and to deliver much needed changes to external counsel fees. Investing in the CPS, to support it to respond to these pressures, demonstrates this Government’s commitment to ensuring that justice is served.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will introduce a National Defence Medal.
Answered by James Heappey
It is understood that many of those who have served in the Armed Forces feel that their service has not been properly recognised, and that they ought to receive a medal. However, medals in the UK Honours system are awarded in recognition of risk and rigour faced while on active service, and are not given for Service alone. There are, therefore, no plans to introduce a National Defence Medal.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Scotland Office:
What steps the Government is taking to support the operation of the UK internal market.
Answered by Douglas Ross
The UK internal market is essential to promote growth, drive productivity and deliver an economy that works for all parts of the UK and the Government is committed to supporting this.
The Scottish Government’s own statistics make clear that 60% of Scottish exports go to the rest of the UK, 1.5 times higher than is exported to the EU and the rest of the world combined.