Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking with Blackpool Council to deliver regeneration projects in Blackpool.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Since 2019, my department has invested £39.5 million in Blackpool’s Town Deal, £40 million of Levelling Up Fund and £5.8 million of Shared Prosperity Fund into Blackpool.
In February 2022, my department undertook a deep dive with Blackpool Council to better understand Blackpool’s regeneration needs, including relocating the court buildings. I thank my Honourable Friend for his continued support for regeneration in Blackpool
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what regulatory framework is in place to supervise (a) unregulated collective investment schemes and (b) the promotion of those schemes.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK’s financial promotions regime, underpinned by Section 21 and Section 238 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), seeks to ensure that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information that enables them to make appropriate decisions for their individual circumstances. Under this regime, the FCA has imposed rules on the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes, including that such schemes cannot be promoted to ordinary members of the public.
Enforcement relating to the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes is generally a matter for the FCA, which is operationally independent from the Government. These questions have therefore been passed to the FCA who will respond directly to the honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data his Department holds on he number of (a) cases investigated and (b) enforcement actions taken against individuals and entities involved in the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK’s financial promotions regime, underpinned by Section 21 and Section 238 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), seeks to ensure that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information that enables them to make appropriate decisions for their individual circumstances. Under this regime, the FCA has imposed rules on the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes, including that such schemes cannot be promoted to ordinary members of the public.
Enforcement relating to the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes is generally a matter for the FCA, which is operationally independent from the Government. These questions have therefore been passed to the FCA who will respond directly to the honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what measures his Department has in place to protect investors from the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes; and what penalties or enforcement action is being pursued against those found promoting such schemes.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK’s financial promotions regime, underpinned by Section 21 and Section 238 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), seeks to ensure that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information that enables them to make appropriate decisions for their individual circumstances. Under this regime, the FCA has imposed rules on the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes, including that such schemes cannot be promoted to ordinary members of the public.
Enforcement relating to the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes is generally a matter for the FCA, which is operationally independent from the Government. These questions have therefore been passed to the FCA who will respond directly to the honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to identify and prevent entities and individuals promote unregulated collective investment schemes.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK’s financial promotions regime, underpinned by Section 21 and Section 238 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), seeks to ensure that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information that enables them to make appropriate decisions for their individual circumstances. Under this regime, the FCA has imposed rules on the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes, including that such schemes cannot be promoted to ordinary members of the public.
Enforcement relating to the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes is generally a matter for the FCA, which is operationally independent from the Government. These questions have therefore been passed to the FCA who will respond directly to the honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the legal time limit for abortions.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No assessment has been made. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance. Any change to the law in this area would be a matter of conscience for individual Parliamentarians rather than for the Government.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps UK Space Command is taking to coordinate with (a) other military and (b) civilian organisations to (i) increase the UK's space capabilities and (ii) help tackle potential threats to national space assets.
Answered by James Heappey
Collaboration with civil and international partners is fundamental to our delivery of the National Space Strategy and Defence Space Strategy (DSS).
Defence is developing new capabilities to support military operations and to protect and defend our national interests. We are investing £1.5 billion over 10 years in a coherent Defence Space Portfolio (DSP). This is in addition to the £5 billion we are investing in the SKYNET satellite communications programme.
In delivering the DSP, we are working with international Allies and partners to maximise interoperability and provide resilience in our joint pursuit of a safe and secure space domain. We are also partnering with commercial providers to deliver the Portfolio and with partners across Government to determine where dual-use capabilities can meet civil and defence needs.
The DSS commits us to broadening and deepening our multinational collaboration. As a founding member of the Combined Space Operations initiative (Five Eyes + France and Germany), we use this forum to align on space policy, capability development and operations. We are also working with NATO to grow the NATO Space Enterprise and we are developing new bilateral relationships.
The UK is showing global leadership on space security. Ministry of Defence is supporting the FCDO-led initiative through the UN on Reducing Space Threats through Norms, Rules and Principles of Responsible Behaviours. This is aimed at reducing the risk of miscalculation in the space domain.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of creating a specialist counter-insurgency force.
Answered by James Heappey
We will continue to develop our force structure and capabilities to allow us to contribute to addressing the full range of potential threats, including those from insurgents, to ensure we can both defend, deter and compete across all domains alongside our allies and partners.
Any specific policy changes or updates to force structure will be determined once the update to the Defence Command Paper has concluded.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the effectiveness of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 in bringing prosecutions against (a) abusive partners and (b) traffickers who have coerced women into having an abortion.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It is important that the law protects those who may be coerced into having an abortion. Section 58 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (use of poison or instrument to cause a miscarriage) can be used to prosecute those who coerce a woman to have an abortion. In addition, section 1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, which deals with late term abortions in England and Wales, makes it an offence for any person, with intent to destroy the life of a child which is capable of being born alive, to cause the death of that child unless it can be proved that the act was done to preserve the life of the woman.
Decisions to prosecute a person for a criminal offence in England and Wales are a matter for the independent CPS, who take into account both the evidence available and whether it is in the public interest to pursue a prosecution under the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of the provision of abortion pills through the post to women who are beyond the legal limit for gestational age; and if he will commission an urgent review into the potential impact of at-home abortion provision on women’s (a) health and (b) safety.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No assessment has been made. The Government has no current plans to commission a review into the impact of home use of pills for abortion on women’s health and safety.