Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his German counterpart on reports that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps carried out terror attacks on synagogues in Germany.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs regularly engages with his German opposite on a variety of issues, including security matters, most recently on 5 January for the UK-Germany Strategic Dialogue. Germany is a likeminded and capable security partner with whom we enjoy a strong relationship.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will bring forward a revised rail reform White Paper which includes the role of private sector operators.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We recognise that reform is needed to create a railway fit for the 21st century and that the private sector has an important role. We are engaging with the sector and will set out our plans for delivering this much needed reform shortly.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the World Malaria Report 2022 published by the WHO on 8 December, what steps he is taking to support the eradication of malaria.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The World Malaria Report 2022 reported that numbers of malaria cases and deaths remained broadly stable in 2021 following an increase in 2020, with 247 million cases and 619,000 deaths. On the 12th December I (Minister Mitchell) gave the keynote speech at the UK Launch of the World Malaria Report. The UK supports the Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 target to end the epidemic of malaria by 2030. Tackling malaria is also closely linked with the UK's ambition to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children given it predominantly impacts pregnant women and children under 5. The UK has pledged £1 billion to the Global Fund's seventh replenishment (2023-2025) which will help save over 1 million lives and avert over 28 million new infections. In addition to this the UK also supports research and development into new tools to address malaria and provides bilateral support to malaria endemic countries to strengthen their health systems.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support victims of fraud.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime.
We are working to improve the victim support system to ensure everyone receives the support and advice they need to feel safe again and to prevent revictimisation.
Raising awareness and safeguarding victims will form a key pillar of the Government’s forthcoming fraud strategy.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England announced in the NHS Long Term Plan it will work with partners to improve community first response and build defibrillator networks to improve survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
A national network of community first responders and defibrillators will save up to 4,000 lives each year by 2028.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government will take to ensure adherence to the Construction Playbook.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
To support departments in implementing the Construction Playbook, the Cabinet Office offers in-person training sessions and an eLearning module that covers the key principles. Departments are also able to bid for additional commercial resources to support live procurements. This is targeted, short-term specialist support to upskill teams through ‘on the job experience’ where we work with project teams to ensure they adhere to the playbook principles.
Cabinet Office is also encouraging adherence by working with departments to improve their pipelines, and making use of these to identify early opportunities to offer support in implementation of Playbook principles. This is complemented by work with senior sponsors in each of the key construction departments to identify areas to offer greater support, or to identify challenging areas where more guidance or training is required. Finally, compliance with the Playbook principles is assessed on a ‘comply or explain’ basis as part of the Cabinet Office commercial controls process.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce instances of abuse in sport.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount.
National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. With that in mind, we expect sports to do all they can to protect their athletes.
Earlier this year the Government introduced legislation to extend the definition of a ‘position of trust’ within the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to include sports coaches, making a vital step in making our sports clubs more secure to young people. This came into force on 28 June 2022.
Sport England is expanding its safeguarding case management pilot service for grassroots sport, established to help sporting organisations access expert support in relation to safeguarding concerns and referrals.
UK Sport’s new Sport Integrity disclosure and complaints pilot launched in May 2022 to support athletes, coaches and support personnel within the Olympic and Paralympic high-performance community across the UK, helping National Governing Bodies to uphold the highest standards of conduct in their sports. UK Sport will also include consideration of whether further measures to strengthen the integrity of sport are needed.
All funded sports must meet a number of conditions in relation to safeguarding and duty of care. They must comply with the Code for Sports Governance, including the appointment of a lead director for welfare and safety. They must also have appropriate policies and procedures in place to ensure the safeguarding of children and adults at risk. They must comply with, maintain and embed the Standards for Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport for organisations working with children and young people and working towards and maintaining the Safeguarding Adults in Sport Framework for those organisations working with adults at risk.
We remain committed to working with the sports sector to help ensure the safety of all participants in sport.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote UK sport.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to building on the UK’s world-leading sporting reputation.
This year has seen us successfully host a number of major sporting events, including this year’s Birmingham Commonwealth Games, UEFA Women’s Euros and the Rugby League World Cup.
We aim to retain our world-leading hosting reputation in the years ahead, with a number of major sporting events due to be hosted in the UK between now and 2030.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Building Safety Fund guidance for new applications 2022, published on 28 July 2022, when he will introduce the fund to mitigate against life safety fire risks associated with cladding on mid-rise residential buildings that are 11-18m in height.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government is launching a new 11-18 metre cladding remediation scheme to fund work on buildings where a responsible developer cannot be identified. Details of the Fund will be announced as soon as they are ready.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the context of the ongoing Grenfell Tower Inquiry, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward further legislative proposals to (a) hold to account and (b) ensure compensation for victims from those responsible for the installation of defective building materials.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government brought forward extensive protections for leaseholders through the Building Safety Act 2022, enabling those responsible for historical safety defects to be pursued and held to account. It also provides for leaseholders and other interested persons to seek to recover costs already paid in relation to the remediation of historical safety defects via a remediation contribution order. The department will continue to monitor compliance with the Act's provisions and allow the new regime to bed in before deciding whether further legislation should be brought forward.