Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the reasons for which some Just Stop Oil protestors who were under the age of 18 were held on remand in adult prisons.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Custody should always be a last resort for children, including on remand. The Government raised the legal test for remanding a child to custody in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. A child must have committed a violent or sexual offence or have been charged with an offence where an adult may receive a custodial sentence of 14 years, and the court must consider it very likely that the child will receive a custodial sentence.
Any person under the age of 18 will not be remanded in an adult prison. Instead, they are remanded into Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), a Secure Training Centre (STC), or Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs). Specific placement decisions for custodial remands are made by the Youth Custody Service (YCS), factoring in the needs of the child.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of section 156 (2) of the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 on levels of attacks on workers undertaking public-facing roles.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Section 156 (2) of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 introduced a new statutory aggravating factor for certain assault offences where they are committed against a person providing a public service, performing a public duty, or providing services to the public. The Government introduced this to ensure that the public-facing nature of a victim's role would be considered, allowing the court to give a longer sentence within the statutory maximum for the offence.
The Ministry of Justice does not collect or publish data on the use of aggravating factors. Currently, there is no specific offence for an attack against a worker undertaking a public-facing role. As assault of a worker in a public-facing role is not a specific offence, we are unable to assess the trends relating to assaults on public-facing workers specifically.
The Government recognises the seriousness of assaults on workers undertaking public-facing roles and is clear that we must adopt a zero-tolerance approach to assault against those who serve the public. This is why in April 2024, the Government published ‘Fighting Retail Crime: more action’, within which the Government announced plans to introduce a new offence of assault against a shop worker, building on the operational policing commitments in the police-led Retail Crime Action Plan published in October 2023.
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will increase multi-year funding to support (a) the most food-insecure people in Sudan and (b) Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK provided £42.6 million in humanitarian aid to support people in Sudan in 2023-2024, including £12.2 million to UNICEF for nutrition activities and approximately £23 million to the Sudan Humanitarian Fund for multisector response, including a high proportion of food security interventions. We also helped those fleeing to neighbouring countries in 2023-24, with £7.75 million to support existing and new Sudanese refugees as well as vulnerable returnees and host communities in South Sudan and £15 million to those in Chad. In 2024/2025, UK ODA to Sudan will nearly double to £89 million, including funding to UNICEF to provide emergency and life-saving food assistance. The UK will also be working with the World Food Programme to assist in the provision of assorted food commodities to people in Sudan.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to the oral statement of 17 April 2024 on the Humanitarian situation in Gaza by the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how his Department called for a wholly independent review of the killing of the World Central Kitchen aid workers; and what (a) guarantees of independence and (b) investigatory powers he has sought.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
As the Prime Minister said in his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 2 April, the UK was appalled by the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British nationals, in an Israeli airstrike on 1 April. The Prime Minister called for a thorough and transparent investigation into what happened. Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have stressed the importance of effective deconfliction.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK Defence and Security Exports in building strong relationships with overseas governments.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
UK Defence and Security Exports within the Department for Business and Trade uses an analytical assessment tool to build a picture of how the UK is perceived by overseas governments. This analysis is combined with information received from overseas networks and industry groups to build a holistic understanding of how effective UK efforts are in terms of building international relationships and influencing customers. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade is updated regularly on perceptions of the UK offer.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average value was of a benefits underpayment in the 2022-2023 financial year.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not produce an estimate for the average value of a benefit underpayment.
We estimate that the total rate of benefit expenditure underpaid in 2022-2023 was £3.3bn: Fraudand error in the benefit system Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent progress has been made in negotiations between UK Export Finance and Harland and Wolff.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
HM Government does not comment on ongoing commercial discussions.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure minimal usage of helium in MRI scanners in NHS facilities in the light of the global shortage of helium; and what steps they are taking to ensure all helium in scanners being replaced is reused appropriately.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Suppliers of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners are moving to a sealed helium solution, whereby the helium required to cool the magnet is approximately 0.5% of the current levels. These sealed systems will also ensure MRI scanners do not require further helium to be added during years of operational use.
Furthermore, suppliers are now replacing MRI scanners without requiring the magnet to be replaced, though this is only available for the first replacement cycle, whereby the scanner is fully replaced, but the existing magnet and helium are retained.
With regards to the Department, as set out in the recent Medical Technology Strategy: One Year On publication, the Design for Life Programme has been stood up to work with industry, the health and care sector, and academic partners to develop medical technology systems that support reuse, remanufacture, and material recovery becoming the default. This includes developing regulatory, commercial, digital, and policy environments that support this aim. The Department’s intention is to publish a roadmap later this year to articulate our relevant findings and plans moving forward.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the mental health and wellbeing of babies and very young children, especially given the evidence surrounding the cumulative impact of poor mental health outcomes that begin early in life.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In March 2021, the Government published The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days, a copy of which is attached. This vision sets out six action areas for improving support for families during the 1,001 critical days to ensure every baby in England is given the best possible start in life, regardless of background.
The Government is investing approximately £300 million to improve support for families through the joint Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme. The programme is implementing many elements of the Best Start for Life Vision and is delivering a step change in outcomes for babies, children and their parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England, including those with high levels of deprivation. This investment includes £100 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support. Many local authorities without funding have also chosen to implement elements of the vision.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) value of grants made and (b) number of recipients of funding from the National Citizen Service was in (i) Suffolk Coastal constituency, (ii) Suffolk and (iii) the UK since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Following Covid-19 and a strategic review, in 2023 the NCS Trust launched a new delivery model for the NCS programme. The new programme consists of residential, community and digital experiences. NCS Trust provides grant-funding to local organisations across England to deliver these community experiences.
In Suffolk, two organisations have received a total of £321,445 grant-funding. Volunteering Matters have received a grant to work with targeted groups of young people in Suffolk. Hear2Listen have received a grant, and are delivering programmes for young people in their local communities through Inspire Suffolk and Ipswich Town Football Club. Currently NCS Trust have not funded organisations that work exclusively in the Suffolk coastal constituency, however the grant funded organisations they work with in Suffolk cover this area in their remit.