Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with HM Treasury on the proposed consultation into the impact of the July 2023 High Court ruling in Uber Britannia Ltd v Sefton MBC.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport and HM Treasury have worked closely on the consultation, which was launched on 18 April, on the impacts that recent High Court rulings on private hire vehicle legislation may have on the sector and its passengers.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the terms of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to (a) protect savers when (i) banks and (ii) building societies merge and (b) increase the level of protection for accounts that originated under separate banking licences.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) carries out its deposit protection function within rules set by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Under PRA rules, customer deposits held by authorised banks, building societies and credit unions in UK establishments are protected by the FSCS up to £85,000 per person, per banking licence. Under PRA rules, if there is a merger, the relevant firm must normally inform depositors at least one month before it takes effect. They must then give depositors three months to withdraw or transfer any deposit balances above the FSCS compensation limit without incurring penalties.
The PRA is required to review the deposit protection limit every five years, with the next review due to occur by 2025.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of trends in the number of British citizens who have reported being victims of sex crimes in foreign countries over the last five years; and what support his Department provides to those people (a) in situ and (b) on their return to the UK.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO data for the past five years on the number of rape and sexual assault cases where consular assistance was provided to British nationals is presented in the table below.
The FCDO takes all reports of rape and sexual assault seriously. Consular staff are available to provide immediate support by telephone 24/7 and will try to see a victim to provide in person assistance as soon as possible, depending on location and timing. The FCDO's public guide "Support for British National Abroad" outlines the support available, including through organisations funded by FCDO to support victims on their return to the UK, where the FCDO can continue to support victims in relation to any ongoing investigation abroad.
Calendar Year | Number of Rape and Sexual Assault Cases where consular assistance was provided to British nationals (Total) |
2019 | 365 |
2020 | 137 |
2021 | 138 |
2022 | 343 |
2023 | 388* |
* Figures from 16 October 2023 are subject to a different reporting methodology due to a change in case management system.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of (a) the report entitled A/HRC/55/80: Situation of human rights in Afghanistan - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 29 February 2024 and (b) allegations of human rights abuses against Shia Muslim (i) women and (ii) girls of Hazara ethnicity.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government notes the recommendations in the UN Special Rapporteur's latest report and will continue working closely with the international community, including the G7, G20 and through the UN, to promote and protect the human rights of all Afghans, including women and girls, and to coordinate a consistent international response. More broadly, officials from the UK Mission to Afghanistan regularly press Taliban acting ministers to protect religious and ethnic minorities, including Shia Muslims and Hazara communities.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the waiting time for HMRC complaints.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC is committed to delivering performance improvements to complaints handling and response times for its customers. The number of new complaints awaiting response is at its lowest level since May 2021. Average response times remain higher than HMRC would like, but long-term measures are being put in place to address this.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the new segregation unit at HMP Bedford to be (a) completed and (b) opened.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The design brief for the new care and separation unit at HMP Bedford was to identify a suitable location for a facility which would address HMIP concerns while minimising the impacts on operational capacity, security and regime. The proposal agreed with the Prison was to covert part of B wing into the new unit in place of place the old one.
The care and separation unit is due to be completed in early March 2024, however additional works are required in B wing before the wing can be put back into use. While the programme for this is not yet finalised, the aim is for the new unit to open before the end of the year.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been held on the segregation unit at HMP Bedford since 17 November 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As records of prisoners who have left the prison on transfer or on release are no longer accessible to the prison, it is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to say how many individual prisoners were segregated during the period.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of plans to replace the segregation unit at HMP Bedford.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The design brief for the new care and separation unit at HMP Bedford was to identify a suitable location for a facility which would address HMIP concerns while minimising the impacts on operational capacity, security and regime. The proposal agreed with the Prison was to covert part of B wing into the new unit in place of place the old one.
The care and separation unit is due to be completed in early March 2024, however additional works are required in B wing before the wing can be put back into use. While the programme for this is not yet finalised, the aim is for the new unit to open before the end of the year.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Question 8086 tabled by the hon. Member for Bedford on 5 January 2024 on hornets.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A response was published on 12 February 2024. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help eradicate Asian hornets from the UK before spring 2024.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2023 the National Bee Unit (NBU) – part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) - located and destroyed 72 Asian hornet nests. The NBU has been taking action against Asian hornet since 2016 and has a fine-tuned response. They frequently find a nest within a day of an initial sighting being reported. Previously the highest number of nests the NBU had dealt with in one year was 4. Nevertheless, the NBU drew on further resources from wider APHA to provide an effective response to this unprecedented number of Asian hornet nests.
Asian hornet is inactive over winter, normally between November and March. During this period any new queens released from nests in the autumn hibernate. Only a proportion of these will survive and go onto create new nests in spring. Therefore, no further contingency action will be taken until the spring when the hornets start becoming active.
We are developing further plans for 2024 which will be announced prior to the spring. The NBU will continue to respond to credible sightings of Asian hornet and eradicate any nests that are located.