Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to tackle court and tribunal backlogs.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The pandemic and barristers’ disruptive action created a significant challenge for our courts, but we are working hard to reduce outstanding caseloads across all jurisdictions.
Thanks to our investment in judicial recruitment, we expect to recruit over 1,000 judges this financial year across all jurisdictions.
We are investing £220 million for essential modernisation and repair work in our court buildings over the next two years.
We also continue work to maximise the capacity of the tribunals, aided by a new electronic case management system.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the guidance on Loot boxes in video games: update on improvements to industry-led protections, published by her Department on 18 July 2023, what steps she is taking to review the impact of these measures on protecting people from gambling harm.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Following the Government response to the call for evidence on loot boxes in video games, the Government has welcomed new industry-led guidance that aims to protect young people from gambling harm.
Measures to protect young people should ensure that the purchase of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless enabled by a parent or guardian, and all players should have access to, and be aware of, spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gameplay.
DCMS has published a Video Games Research Framework to support high quality independent research into video games, building understanding of the impact of video games, including loot boxes.
In parallel to the framework, we are now working closely with academics to ensure specific and robust evaluation of the implementation and efficacy of the new industry-led measures on loot boxes in meeting the government’s objectives. We will provide an update following a 12-month implementation period.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to introduce age verification checks for online streams of gambling content.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that it is particularly important to take steps to protect young people from online harms and is aware of issues around online streaming of gambling content. We welcome the measures which some streaming platforms have taken to ban the streaming of gambling content where it may reach underage audiences.
Many online streamers of gambling content have affiliations with the gambling sites on which they play to target consumers in Great Britain and encourage them to gamble. This brings them under the current regulatory umbrella for gambling advertising. Where streams amount to advertising then they are subject to the robust rules that are in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible and cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. This ensures licensees are held to account for the activities of their marketing affiliates.
Further, there are robust age verification requirements in place to prevent children from creating online gambling accounts or accessing facilities to gamble themselves, even where they have seen streams. As outlined in the white paper, the measures introduced in 2019 have been effective in preventing children from being able to gamble online with either their own or invented identities.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling advertising on gambling harm.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble online without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. It is particularly important to take steps to protect those most at risk of problem gambling.
There are robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible and cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. Gambling advertising is covered by the UK Advertising Codes which are regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority, and there are also specific Gambling Commission licence conditions which regulate how gambling operators advertise. The UK Advertising Codes were further strengthened last year with new protections for children and vulnerable adults.
Earlier this year, we published the white paper on gambling which outlined a comprehensive package of reforms to make gambling safer. This included measures to tackle the most aggressive and harmful advertising practices by preventing bonuses being constructed and targeted in harmful ways, giving customers more control over the marketing they receive, and introducing messaging on the risks associated with gambling.
The Commission has already consulted on improving marketing consents, and we are working closely with them and others to bring the changes into force as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to (a) investigate and (b) regulate (i) crypto-casinos and (ii) other new and emerging forms of gambling.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All providers of betting and gambling services in the UK must be approved and licenced by the Gambling Commission. Where crypto-assets are used, they are required to notify the Gambling Commission. No licensee has informed the Commission that they are directly accepting crypto-asset deposits.
The Commission already has a range of investigatory and prosecution powers, but we are further strengthening its ability to take down criminal gambling websites though the Criminal Justice Bill.
We continue to work with the Commission to consider the risks posed by novel forms of gambling or boundary pushing products.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the impact of Acute Respiratory Infection hubs on (a) GP appointments and (b) emergency department attendance levels since their creation.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
During winter 2022/23, 363 Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) hubs were implemented by systems. There is no central target on ARI hubs for 2023/24 and for local systems to implement and decide where and how many as part of their plans locally this winter.
Evaluations from NHS England suggest that ARI hubs may save general practitioner appointments and accident and emergency attendances.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Acute Respiratory Infection hubs were operating in winter 2022-23; and how many are planned to be operating in winter 2023-24.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
During winter 2022/23, 363 Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) hubs were implemented by systems. There is no central target on ARI hubs for 2023/24 and for local systems to implement and decide where and how many as part of their plans locally this winter.
Evaluations from NHS England suggest that ARI hubs may save general practitioner appointments and accident and emergency attendances.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the response of the Ethiopian Government to the joint statement by the UK, US, Australia, Japan and New Zealand of 11 August 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Our statement called for the immediate de-escalation of violence and for the protection of civilians; we continue to monitor the situation. The Minister for Africa subsequently raised the issue in his meeting with Ethiopian National Security Adviser and the Ambassador raises the issue in all his meetings in Addis Ababa. We urge the Government of Ethiopia to find a political solution to end the violence in the country. We continue to monitor the situation, in concert with others, while maintaining life-saving humanitarian assistance, and the provision of basic services to the people in Amhara affected by conflict.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of the European Commission anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicle imports from China on the UK electric vehicle sector.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
On the 4th of October the European Commission initiated an anti-subsidy investigation into imports of new battery electric vehicles from China. Officials will continue monitoring developments around the investigation and will assess its implications for the UK as more information is publicly available.
The automotive industry is a vital part of our economy, and the Government is determined to ensure that the UK remains one of the best locations in the world for automotive manufacturing and continue to support industry through its longstanding programmes.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of (a) accepting the recommendations of the report by the APPG on Brain Tumours entitled Pathway to A Cure, published on 28 February 2023, and (b) providing additional funding for multidisciplinary research into brain tumours.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care welcomes the All-Party Parliamentary Group report, recommendations of which continue to be worked through with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, and UK Research and Innovation and the Medical Research Council (MRC), and with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM) recently announced two appointments to the inaugural Tessa Jowell Fellowship programme. These 12-month fellowships will support high quality training in neuro-oncology clinical practice and research, to ensure clinicians are equipped with the relevant research skills needed to lead neuro-oncology trials that change practice. Additionally, the TJBCM have designated 28 adult Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence within the National Health Service, which has created a world-class network of brain tumour treatment and research centres to provide the best care and share best practice. These actions will help grow capacity for brain cancer research, attracting new researchers from multiple relevant disciplines and developing the community.
In May 2018, the Government announced £40 million for brain tumour research as part of the TJBCM through the NIHR. The £40 million funding will remain available; if we can spend more on the best quality science, we will do.