Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Security of 19 December 2017, Official Report, column 1008, how her Department differentiates between members of the political and military wings of Hezbollah, and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The Government distinguishes between those parts of Hizbollah which are involved in Lebanese politics (and that maintains a social welfare network that encompasses education and health services) and those which are actively concerned in terrorism (and are responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of terrorist attacks). The activity an individual in Hizbollah is engaged in will contribute to what part of the organisation they belong to.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many animal cruelty (a) offences and (b) convictions have taken place in South East Cornwall constituency.
Answered by George Eustice
The number of offenders found guilty of offences under Sections 4 to 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, in the Devon and Cornwall Police Force area, from 2012 to 2016, can be viewed in the table
Force / Local Justice Area | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |||||
Proceeded against | Found guilty | Proceeded against | Found guilty | Proceeded against | Found guilty | Proceeded against | Found guilty | Proceeded against | Found guilty | |
Devon and Cornwall | 40 | 25 | 29 | 18 | 22 | 15 | 24 | 11 | 25 | 16 |
of which |
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Cornwall Local Justice area (4) | 15 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
(1) Defined as SS4-8 Animal Welfare Act 2006
(2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe
(3) .Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
(4) East Cornwall Local Justice Area, which included South East Cornwall constituency merged into Cornwall Local Justice Area from 1 January 2012
Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prohibit the sale and keeping of primates as pets; and whether the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately-Kept Non-Human Primates will be included in his Department's review of statutory animal welfare codes.
Answered by George Eustice
Monkeys and other primates are wild animals with specific, complex needs and it is against the law to keep them in the same sort of environment you would keep a domesticated pet animal. Defra is working closely with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group to apply minimum standards to online pet advertising. The standards include a requirement on the five participating websites, Gumtree, Pre Loved, Pets4Homes, Viva St and Friday Ads to remove any adverts for primates. In addition Defra is updating the licensing regime for certain activities involving animals including pet shops and other pet sellers.
Under the new plans, businesses selling pets, including those selling online, will be required to give buyers written information about the animals they buy, with details of how to meet the five welfare needs of their pets under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. This advice is particularly important when buying exotic pets, which have very specific welfare needs. Defra keeps all the welfare codes under review, and amongst the companion animal codes, the ones for cats, dogs and horses were considered most in need of updating. A review of the primate code will be undertaken in due course.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people emigrated from the UK in 2016; what the destinations were of those leaving the UK, including how many entered other EU countries; and what assessment her Department has made of those trends in future net migration.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Data on long term emigration is produced by the Office for National Statistics. The most recent data, published in May 2017, can be found at:
Long term international migration data show that emigration was 339,000 in 2016. The data do not record destination countries.
International Passenger Survey data show that there was a statistically significant increase in the estimated number of non-British citizens going home to live, from 29,000 to 52,000 in 2016. This increase was largely accounted for by EU citizens going home to live, an increase of 21,000 to 43,000.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps his Department has taken to support the Wales Week in London initiative.
Answered by Alun Cairns
I am delighted that my Department is a founder partner of Wales Week in London and I pay tribute to the leadership shown by founders Dan Langford and Mike Jordan who initiated the plan.
The events not only showcase the dynamism of Wales but provide a springboard to international trade, showing the importance of the Union to Wales.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve (a) the A38 and (b) other transport links to the South West.
Answered by John Hayes
(a) Highways England is preparing Route Strategies to capture the state of England’s motorway and major trunk roads, following engagement and contributions from stakeholders. The A38 in Devon and Cornwall is part of the South West Peninsula Route Strategy, which will be published in March 2017.
(b) Across the South West, the Government is investing in infrastructure to improve transport links across the South West. Highways England is undertaking projects to upgrade all remaining sections of the A303 between the M3 and the A358 to dual carriageway standard, as well as to the A30 in Cornwall.
The Government is committed to investment in railway links between London and the South West, with an unprecedented investment in rail infrastructure totaling over £400m. The Government established a Public Service Obligation on the air route between Newquay Airport and London Gatwick in October 2014, which operates three times daily.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on businesses in (a) the UK and (b) the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Department for Exiting the European Union, working with officials across government, continues to undertake a wide range of data analysis covering the entirety of the UK economy and our trading relationships with the EU. We are looking at over 50 sectors as well as cross-cutting regulatory issues. This will inform the UK's position for the upcoming negotiations with our EU partners. We want to ensure that British businesses have the maximum freedom to trade with and operate within European markets – and to let European businesses do the same in Britain.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from general practitioners on the affordability of personal medical indemnity in England.
Answered by David Mowat
The Department and NHS England committed in the recently published General Practice Forward View to review the current arrangements for indemnity cover for general practitioners (GPs).
To take this review forward, a General Practice Indemnity Steering Group was established by the Department with NHS England to look at the rising cost of indemnity, which resulted in an announcement that NHS England would provide a financial support package this year and next to assist GPs with rises they may be facing in their indemnity premia. NHS England also committed to run a winter indemnity scheme in 2016-17, and to provide support to GPs experiencing indemnity inflation as a result of their out-of-hours activity. A number of other measures to address the root causes of rising indemnity costs were also announced.
This review gathered evidence about the impact of the rising cost of indemnity on GPs, and specifically sought representations from GPs via a survey which asked about their personal experiences of indemnity costs and how this had affected them. The survey received over 4,500 responses from individual GPs. The review also held several discussions with GP representative groups.
The survey of GPs suggested that indemnity costs rose, on average, by around 7% per annum in the last five years. Data published by the medical defence organisations, who provide indemnity cover to GPs, suggested that this inflation was closer to 10% per year. The review judged the latter figure to be more accurate. The review also considered funding for expenses as part of the GP contract, which in 2016-17 was topped up by £33 million specifically for increased indemnity costs. The review concluded that overall, in the last five years, GP indemnity costs have risen as a proportion of GP income.
The Department holds no data on the number of GPs who have ceased practising in the last five years as a result of the costs of personal medical indemnity in England and each English region.
The survey of GPs indicated that the rising cost of indemnity may sometimes deter GPs for taking on additional sessions, and some GPs told the review that the cost of indemnity may also influence their willingness to join the profession, to remain in the profession, or to increase their workload.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department holds data on the number of general practitioners who have ceased practising in the last five years as a result of the costs of personal medical indemnity in (a) England and (b) each English region.
Answered by David Mowat
The Department and NHS England committed in the recently published General Practice Forward View to review the current arrangements for indemnity cover for general practitioners (GPs).
To take this review forward, a General Practice Indemnity Steering Group was established by the Department with NHS England to look at the rising cost of indemnity, which resulted in an announcement that NHS England would provide a financial support package this year and next to assist GPs with rises they may be facing in their indemnity premia. NHS England also committed to run a winter indemnity scheme in 2016-17, and to provide support to GPs experiencing indemnity inflation as a result of their out-of-hours activity. A number of other measures to address the root causes of rising indemnity costs were also announced.
This review gathered evidence about the impact of the rising cost of indemnity on GPs, and specifically sought representations from GPs via a survey which asked about their personal experiences of indemnity costs and how this had affected them. The survey received over 4,500 responses from individual GPs. The review also held several discussions with GP representative groups.
The survey of GPs suggested that indemnity costs rose, on average, by around 7% per annum in the last five years. Data published by the medical defence organisations, who provide indemnity cover to GPs, suggested that this inflation was closer to 10% per year. The review judged the latter figure to be more accurate. The review also considered funding for expenses as part of the GP contract, which in 2016-17 was topped up by £33 million specifically for increased indemnity costs. The review concluded that overall, in the last five years, GP indemnity costs have risen as a proportion of GP income.
The Department holds no data on the number of GPs who have ceased practising in the last five years as a result of the costs of personal medical indemnity in England and each English region.
The survey of GPs indicated that the rising cost of indemnity may sometimes deter GPs for taking on additional sessions, and some GPs told the review that the cost of indemnity may also influence their willingness to join the profession, to remain in the profession, or to increase their workload.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on general practitioners of the affordability of personal medical indemnity.
Answered by David Mowat
The Department and NHS England committed in the recently published General Practice Forward View to review the current arrangements for indemnity cover for general practitioners (GPs).
To take this review forward, a General Practice Indemnity Steering Group was established by the Department with NHS England to look at the rising cost of indemnity, which resulted in an announcement that NHS England would provide a financial support package this year and next to assist GPs with rises they may be facing in their indemnity premia. NHS England also committed to run a winter indemnity scheme in 2016-17, and to provide support to GPs experiencing indemnity inflation as a result of their out-of-hours activity. A number of other measures to address the root causes of rising indemnity costs were also announced.
This review gathered evidence about the impact of the rising cost of indemnity on GPs, and specifically sought representations from GPs via a survey which asked about their personal experiences of indemnity costs and how this had affected them. The survey received over 4,500 responses from individual GPs. The review also held several discussions with GP representative groups.
The survey of GPs suggested that indemnity costs rose, on average, by around 7% per annum in the last five years. Data published by the medical defence organisations, who provide indemnity cover to GPs, suggested that this inflation was closer to 10% per year. The review judged the latter figure to be more accurate. The review also considered funding for expenses as part of the GP contract, which in 2016-17 was topped up by £33 million specifically for increased indemnity costs. The review concluded that overall, in the last five years, GP indemnity costs have risen as a proportion of GP income.
The Department holds no data on the number of GPs who have ceased practising in the last five years as a result of the costs of personal medical indemnity in England and each English region.
The survey of GPs indicated that the rising cost of indemnity may sometimes deter GPs for taking on additional sessions, and some GPs told the review that the cost of indemnity may also influence their willingness to join the profession, to remain in the profession, or to increase their workload.