Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether protocols are in place to ensure that victims of crimes are contacted if the perpetrator is mistakenly released from prison.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme is a service for the victims of offenders who are convicted of a specified violent, sexual or terrorism offence and are sentenced to twelve months’ or more imprisonment. Victims who decide to receive the service are allocated a Victim Liaison Officer who will keep the victim updated on key stages throughout the sentence, including if the offender is released from prison in error and when the offender is returned to custody. In emergency situations, the Police may contact the victim directly.

Through the Victim and Courts Bill, we will be updating the legislative framework that establishes the Victim Contact Scheme to bring victims currently served by different post-conviction communication schemes into the Victim Contact Scheme and provide a new route for other victims to request information via a dedicated helpline.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the (a) Mayor of London and (b) British Transport Police on reducing the theft of mobile phone thefts on the London Underground.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Secretary and Policing Minister are determined to take the strongest possible action to reduce the number of phone thefts in London and elsewhere across the country.

This is a crime that causes significant distress to victims and fuels wider criminality. That’s why we are driving greater collaboration between policing leaders, the Metropolitan Police, National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, British Transport Police, leading tech companies and others to break the business model of mobile phone thieves.

All stakeholders must play their part in designing out and disincentivising theft, disrupting the resale of stolen phones, exploring technological solutions to make devices harder to re-register or resell, and helping the public protect themselves and the data and personal information on their devices.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to support the enforcement of legislation to tackle the illicit use of nitrous oxide.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Nitrous oxide was controlled under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in November 2023.

The government has not provided specific support to the police for the enforcement of this legislation. There were 2,564 seizures of nitrous oxide by police and Border Force in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024. This is an increase of 237% upon the previous year’s figure (761). Police forces accounted for almost all nitrous oxide seizures (2,552).

Further information about this data is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2024

The most recent data about drug misuse from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, showed that 0.9% of those aged 16-59 in England and Wales used nitrous oxide in the year ending 31 March 2024, a reduction from 1.3% in the previous year. This is equivalent to a reduction from 419,000 to 311,000 users and the lowest figure since this data was first collected in the year ending March 2013.

Further information about this data is available at the following link:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/drugmisuseinenglandandwalesyearendingmarch2024.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of support available for victims of prisoners mistakenly released from prison.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme is a service for the victims of offenders who are convicted of a specified violent, sexual or terrorism offence and are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. Victims who decide to receive the service are allocated a Victim Liaison Officer who will keep the victim updated on key stages throughout the sentence, including if the offender is released from prison in error and when the offender is returned to custody.

Whilst the Victim Contact Scheme is not a support service, Victim Liaison Officers are responsible for directing and referring victims to sources of additional support where this is appropriate, including national and location victim support services. Under the Victims’ Code, all victims are entitled to be given information about and be referred to victim support services by the police to help them cope and recover from the impact of a crime.

Through the Victims and Courts Bill, we will be updating the legislative framework that establishes the Victim Contact Scheme to bring victims currently served by different post-conviction communication schemes into the Victim Contact Scheme and provide a new route for other victims to request information via a dedicated helpline.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made on the development of large-scale solar farms.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Ground mount solar is one of the cheapest and fastest technologies to deploy, and will be crucial if we are to achieve our mission to deliver clean power by 2030. The Clean Power Action Plan calls for 45-47GW of solar capacity in 2030, up from around 20GW today.

Decisions over the sizing of projects are left to developers. However, we expect large-scale solar farms to provide a substantial portion of the extra capacity needed by 2030, alongside rooftop solar.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of offshore wind on marine life.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The National Policy Statements for energy set out that each offshore wind planning application must satisfy a number of grounds before it can go ahead. These include how the developer is avoiding, mitigating and compensating for impacts on the natural environment, as well as how any mitigation and compensation will be delivered. Information on individual planning applications can be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.

The Government has committed to delivering the Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package, which will help accelerate offshore wind delivery while continuing to protect the marine environment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with the Mayor of London regarding graffiti on the Central Line.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London (TfL) on a variety of issues. However, transport in London is devolved to the Mayor, and TfL has responsibility for the management of the Central Line.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of auto-clearance of goods on the enforcement of biosecurity controls.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Border checks undertaken by competent authorities are an important element of the system designed to manage biosecurity risks.

The SPS controls at the border on EU goods implemented under the Border Target Operating Model provide assurance that the underlying systems of controls are working as intended. This includes import conditions, certification signed by veterinarian and plant authorities in exporting countries, risk assessments, border checks, and other intelligence led controls.

Auto-clearance applies to goods that fall into lower-risk categories established under the BTOM’s risk-based approach, ensuring that its impact on the enforcement of biosecurity controls is minimal while supporting the flow of goods.