Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will amend the (a) Military Aid to the Civil Powers (Emergency Powers) Act 1964 and (b) Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to ensure parliamentary oversight during national crises.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and the associated Regulations deliver a single framework for civil protection in the UK. While emergency regulations could be brought into force immediately during a crisis they must be presented to Parliament as soon as practicable after being made, ensuring parliamentary oversight. The Cabinet Office has a legal obligation to review the CCA every five years. The most recent review was published in March 2022 and concluded that the Act continues to achieve its stated objectives.
The Ministry of Defence keeps all relevant legislation under review to ensure it remains fit for purpose and appropriate to the operational context, this includes the Emergency Powers Act 1964. Using the Emergency Powers Act requires Defence Council Order and considerable policy, legal and financial scrutiny including specific Ministerial approval.
There are no current plans to amend either of these Acts.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) NGOs and (b) charities in receipt of funding from his Department that have issued legal proceedings against the Government.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is no on-going litigation against the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (the Department) in respect of claims issued directly by NGOs or charities currently in receipt of funding from the Department.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will have discussions with Cabinet colleagues on safeguarding civilian national infrastructure required for the (a) mobilisation and (b) deployment of the armed forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has robust plans for mobilising and deploying the Armed Forces in response to events and crises, both at home and abroad. The Ministry of Defence works closely with other Government Departments, including the Cabinet Office, as well as the owners and operators of civilian national infrastructure, to ensure plans include safeguarding of vital sites and infrastructure.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) adults and (b) juveniles convicted of (i) downloading and (ii) procuring online child abuse images received suspended custodial sentences in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
Information on the number of suspended custodial sentences for adults and juveniles for the offence of possessing prohibited images of children is available within the published data. However, information on whether offenders were sentenced specifically for downloading or procuring child abuse images is not held by the Ministry of Justice, as this information is not recorded centrally in the Court Proceedings Database.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will ask the Sentencing Council to increase custodial sentences for people convicted of procuring child abuse images.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The maximum sentences available for criminal offences are set by Parliament and, for possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child, the maximum sentence is 5 years’ imprisonment. For distributing, making or taking indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child, the maximum sentence is 10 years’ imprisonment.
The independent judiciary will determine the appropriate sentence in individual cases within the maximums set by Parliament, and in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.
Sentencing guidelines provide courts with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. The relevant guideline for possessing, distributing, and producing indecent child images can be found here: Possession of indecent photograph of child/ Indecent photographs of children – Sentencing
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will ask the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the Joint Business Agreement between British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, American Airlines and Aer Lingus on the pricing model for transatlantic flights.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the UK’s independent competition authority, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate. The Government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers to investigate and act if it finds that businesses are behaving anti-competitively in a market.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will establish a cross-Government expert group to help (a) innovate responses and (b) devise policy counter-measures to (i) non-traditional and (ii) hard-to-trace grey-zone activities of (A) malign state actors and (B) their proxies who are seeking to undermine UK national (1) economic and (2) security interests.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As set out in the Plan For Change, this Government’s first duty is to make the UK safer, more secure, and resilient against the growing and interconnected threats from state, state-linked and non-state actors. We are committed to working across Government, as well as with partners internationally and in the private sector and academia, to prevent harm; deter and disrupt threats; respond effectively to incidents; and recover swiftly.
Work is already underway across Government to deliver this commitment, and requirements for any new structures or groupings will be kept under review, including in the context of the ongoing development of the National Security Strategy.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure all schools have (a) lock down plans which all teaching staff are taught, (b) direct feed panic alarms to local police stations, (c) security bollards at the main entrances and exits and (d) two door interlocking systems.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to ensuring that children, young people and adult learners are safe from terrorist incidents and attacks. This is why the department publishes comprehensive guidance alongside a range of high-quality resources to support education settings in their protective security, and their preparedness and response to incidents and attacks.
The ‘Protective Security and Preparedness for education settings’ guidance, developed in collaboration with the National Counter-Terrorism Security Office, offers a comprehensive approach to enhancing safety and preparedness, ensuring that educational settings can provide a secure and supportive environment for learning. This includes planning for a number of different response options such as lockdown, evacuation and invacuation, communicating during an incident, having plans in place to respond effectively to different types of incidents and testing out those plans.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the BBC on ensuring that the programmes it commissions reflect the views of people from across the UK.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As a public service broadcaster that matters hugely to public life, the BBC must be responsive to viewers and listeners and tell inclusive stories about the lives of all people, in all parts of the UK. Under the current Charter, the BBC has an obligation to ‘reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions’. The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the Government in determining how it meets that obligation, and it is for the independent regulator Ofcom to hold the BBC to account.
As part of the next Charter Review, the Government will engage with the BBC and others to consider how to ensure the BBC thrives well into the next decade and beyond. This will include discussions on a range of important issues and will start a national conversation to make sure the BBC truly represents and delivers for every person in this country
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with Ofcom on encouraging competition in broadcast news media.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department regularly engages with Ofcom on a range of issues including the importance of a competitive and diverse broadcasting sector.
Ofcom has a statutory duty under the Communication Act 2003 to secure and maintain a sufficient plurality of providers of different TV and radio services. Ofcom also has a duty to review the operation of media ownership rules across TV, radio and press every three years. Ofcom published their latest review on 15 November 2024.