Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken since receiving Sir Robert Francis KC's infected blood compensation framework study, published on 7 June 2022.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Following the publication of Sir Robert’s study, and the Inquiry’s subsequent first interim report in July 2022, the Government made interim payments of £100,000 available to chronic infected beneficiaries and bereaved partners registered with existing support schemes from October 2022. These payments continue to be made to eligible beneficiaries upon being accepted onto the schemes. The Government accepted the moral case for compensation in December 2022, and is committed to responding to the Inquiry’s final report as quickly as possible following on from its publication.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of international coordination on supporting (a) peace, (b) human rights and (c) democracy in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is working with a wide range of partners, including Gulf and African countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN, to take forward a sustained and meaningful peace process that leads to the resumption of civilian rule in Sudan. We continue to support mediation efforts and urge both warring parties to engage constructively to secure a ceasefire and ensure humanitarian access.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of inflation on the real term valuation of pensions under the (a) Financial Assistance Scheme and (b) Pension Protection Fund.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information required to carry out such an assessment is not readily available and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs. The Secretary of State has therefore made no such assessment at this time.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues, (b) police forces and (c) businesses in Wales on the incidence of shop theft in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
The UK Government continues to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure the response to crimes, such as shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.
Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 32% in the 12 months leading to September 2023 in Wales and England. However, the number of people charged with shoplifting offences in the same period rose by 34%, suggesting that we are now seeing a more robust response.
We have also taken other significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime.
October 2023 saw the publication of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Retail Crime Action Plan. The plan includes a commitment to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel, showing the Government commitment to tackling this issue. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database as standard using facial recognition technology to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
In addition, October 2023 also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership that will radically improve the way retailers are able to share intelligence with policing to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders. This will include development of a new information-sharing platform and training for retailers.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people had Section 67 leave to remain on 14 March 2024; how many and what proportion of those people had been contacted by his Department to discuss their options for when their leave expires by 14 March 2024; and what guidance his Department has issued on the options available to people when their Section 67 leave expires.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Section 67 leave is a form of leave introduced in the Immigration Rules for eligible children transferred to the UK under Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.
The Home Office has not published data on how many people had Section 67 leave to remain on 14 March 2024.
The Immigration Rules are clear that individuals with Section 67 leave can apply for indefinite leave to remain once their leave to remain ceases, provided they meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules. Individuals can also seek advice from an independent legal representative about their options.
The published guidance for Section 67 leave can be found here: Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 asylum casework guidance (publishing.service.gov.uk). The Home Office is currently in the process of updating that guidance and will publish a revised version in due course.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential application of new geographical indications for Welsh food and drink products in Japan.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
As Secretary of State for Wales, I am proud to promote protected Welsh products, and was delighted to celebrate Single Malt Welsh Whisky on a recent visit to India.
I was also pleased to see that on 29 February 2024, 37 Geographical Indications received protected status in Japan, including famed products such as Welsh Lamb, Anglesey Sea Salt, Conwy Mussels, Pembrokeshire Early Potatoes, Traditional Welsh Caerphilly, Welsh Beef, Welsh Laverbread and Welsh Wine joining the seven GIs already protected in our agreement.
The UK Government is continuing work to secure protection for further products. The GI additions have been split into two tranches running in parallel to aid processing time, and officials will continue work to finalise the completion of UK and Japanese processes for the second and final tranche.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to paragraph 5.98 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, published on 6 March 2024, by what process the £5 million for an agri-food Launchpad in mid and north Wales will be allocated; and what the criteria for funding will be.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Innovate UK, Ceredigion County Council and the Welsh Government will now work in partnership to lead the design of bespoke competitive rounds of funding for the new Agri-Food Launchpad. This will allow businesses to apply for a share of the funding to undertake projects in the Mid and North Wales agri-food cluster. Further eligibility details will be published when the competition is launched.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish a timetable for the development of the (a) strategic outline case, (b) outline business case and (c) full business case for the electrification of the North Wales Main Line.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are working closely with the rail industry to develop the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which includes an unprecedented £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line. We are in the early stages of establishing the next steps for the North Wales electrification scheme, including the costs and programme for development and delivery. We will share further information when that work is complete.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making the Universal Credit claimant commitment for kinship carers equal to that for foster carers.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been made.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence about the publication of documents held at the National Archives in relation to the bombing of RFA Sir Galahad.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence about the publication of such documents, but the Minister for Defence People and Families has recently visited The National Archives to view some of them.