Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the (a) source of sub-standard pork in the food chain; (b) type and (c) level of resulting contamination.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
All pork meat sold in the United Kingdom should originate from either approved slaughterhouses or from imported meat that has entered the UK through approved channels.
The Food Standards Agency is present in all pig abattoirs in England and Wales, where every pig slaughtered is subject to ante and post-mortem inspection and responds to food safety incidents and foodborne outbreaks, working with local authorities and industry to remove from the market products that are not in compliance with safety legislation.
In the most recent full reporting year, 2021/22, 46 incidents and outbreaks involving pork and pork products were reported to the Agency and removed from the market, most of these due to contamination with Salmonella.
The Food Standards Agency works with Port Health Authorities and the Animal and Plant Health Agency to apply controls at border control posts. The levels of non-compliance identified in relation to imported pork products remain low. Between 1 January 2022 and the present, six consignments of pork from non-EU countries have been rejected.
In addition to these controls on Rest of World imports, recent surveillance at the UK border and at retail premises on EU imports has identified some pork meat products that did not meet the UK import requirements and these incidents have been resolved through recall and removal from the market.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on reducing drug related anti-social behaviour in England.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 27 March we published the Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) Action Plan. The ASB Action Plan commits to tackling ASB across five key themes: stronger punishment; making communities safer; building local pride; prevention and early intervention; and improving data, reporting and accountability for action.
This plan is backed by £160m of funding. This includes up to £60m to fund an increased police and other uniformed presence to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, targeting hotspots. Initially we will work with 10 police force areas, but from 2024 we will support a hotspot approach across every police force area in England and Wales.
We are also providing up to £50m to support the provision of Immediate Justice, by issuing out of court disposals with conditions to swiftly repair any damage – the aim being for them to start within 48 hours of the offence. This will start in 10 initial trailblazer police force areas and be rolled out nationally in 2024.
Specifically in relation to drug misuse, an expansion in Drug Testing on Arrest is already underway and the ASB Action Plan commits to going further, including expanding testing to all Class A drugs. In addition, the ASB Action Plan announced our intention to ban nitrous oxide. This builds on the government’s 10-year Drug Strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’. The strategy sets out an ambitious long-term vision for real change and is underpinned by a record investment of £3 billion from 2022-25. Much of this investment is in creating a world-class treatment and recovery system, including a phased expansion to deliver at least 54,500 new high-quality drug and alcohol treatment places. This will help to tackle the cycle of crime and reoffending which drugs fuel.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2023 to Question 117640 on Trapping, what recent discussions she has had with the devolved administrations on the potential merits of banning snares.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
A date is being sought for a meeting with Lesley Griffiths, MS for Rural Affairs in the Welsh Government. I will be interested to discuss the Welsh Government’s plans to ban the use of snares in Wales. I also hope to engage with Mairi Gougeon MSP in the Scottish Government given her responsibilities cover animal welfare, wildlife management and wildlife crime. In the meantime, my officials are in regular contact with colleagues in the devolved administrations as this government continues to consider how snares are regulated as part of our continued drive to maintain the highest animal welfare standards in the world.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) improve access to the countryside and (b) ensure that footpath and green lanes are properly maintained.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and are working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. We committed in our Environmental Improvement Plan published on 31 January to work across government to help ensure that everyone lives within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space.
The Government is delivering a number of policies to increase access to nature including:
Local authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of public rights of way including green lanes. Landowners are responsible for the maintenance of permissive paths. The UK Forestry Standard clearly states that existing rights of access must be respected and not obstructed. In England and Wales, responsible access must be allowed on mapped access land, including woodland dedicated under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, unless a Direction is in place to restrict or exclude access. All government supported planting, such as under our England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) and Countryside Stewardship Scheme, must comply with these requirements.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of 9 January, Official Report column 139WH, what discussions she has had with the devolved administrations on the potential merits of banning the use of snares.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
A date is being arranged for a meeting with Lesley Griffiths, MS for Rural Affairs in the Welsh Government after the Easter recess. I will be interested to discuss the Welsh Government’s plans to ban the use of snares in Wales. I also intend to engage with my counterpart in the Scottish Government, particularly with regard to the effectiveness of its existing legislation covering snares and the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s recent position paper on the trapping of terrestrial wild mammals using snares. In the meantime, my officials are in regular contact with colleagues in the devolved administrations as this government continues to consider how snares are regulated as part of our continued drive to maintain the highest animal welfare standards in the world.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the amount of foreign national prisoners in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The removal of Foreign National Offenders is a Government priority. The Ministry of Justice continues to work closely with the Home Office to maximise the number of deportations.
Our new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania entered into force in May 2022, and we are looking to negotiate new Prisoner Transfer Agreements with key EU Member States and wider-world countries. We also signed a new protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons in October 2021 to widen the scope of transferring prisoners without their consent.
The Bill of Rights will strengthen the wider framework around appeals made on Article 8 grounds (the right to private and family life) by foreign criminals subject to deportation. Clause 8 of the Bill sets out how the courts should consider the compatibility of new deportation laws.
Clause 20 of the Bill of Rights establishes a threshold for successful appeals on Article 6 grounds. This provision is intended to strengthen the approach in this area.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to build miniature nuclear power generators in Wales.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government set out its ambitious civil nuclear programme and the Government is committed to ensuring that the UK is one of the best places in the world to invest in new nuclear.
No decisions have yet been taken over the siting of future nuclear projects. However, the Government engages with a range of Welsh stakeholders, including the Welsh Government and Welsh Government-funded bodies, on nuclear issues including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The Government will continue to engage on nuclear-related issues.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many registered sex offenders have changed their (a) name and (b) gender in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to manage sex offenders and those who pose a risk, and we are committed to ensuring our system is as robust as it can be.
Registered sex offenders are required to notify their personal details to the police - including their name, date of birth and bank details - annually and whenever these details change. Failure to comply, including providing false information, is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.
Data on registered sex offenders is published in the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) Annual Report. The most recent report was published by the Ministry of Justice on 27 October. It shows that on 31 March 2022, there were 66,741 registered sex offenders in England and Wales. Data on the number of registered sex offenders who have changed their name or gender are not centrally collected.
We have strengthened police powers through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 with new provisions that came into force on 29 November. To help ensure our processes are as robust as possible, the Home Office has conducted an internal review into the issue of offenders changing their name and the name change process to ensure it as robust as possible.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many registered sex offenders are recorded as having changed their (a) name and (b) gender.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to manage sex offenders and those who pose a risk, and we are committed to ensuring our system is as robust as it can be.
Registered sex offenders are required to notify their personal details to the police - including their name, date of birth and bank details - annually and whenever these details change. Failure to comply, including providing false information, is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years' imprisonment.
Data on registered sex offenders is published in the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) Annual Report. The most recent report was published by the Ministry of Justice on 27 October. It shows that on 31 March 2022, there were 66,741 registered sex offenders in England and Wales. Data on the number of registered sex offenders who have changed their name or gender are not centrally collected.
We have strengthened police powers through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 with new provisions that came into force on 29 November. To help ensure our processes are as robust as possible, the Home Office has conducted an internal review into the issue of offenders changing their name and the name change process to ensure it as robust as possible.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the 'One Health' approach outlined in the report by the United Nations Environment Programme's Bracing for Superbugs: Strengthening environmental action in the One Health response to antimicrobial resistance, published on 7 February.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is aware of the report and Environment Agency staff contributed to initial United Nations workshops that led to its commission. Now that the report has been published, we will assess the content and conclusions. Defra, the Environment Agency and UKHSA are currently working together to investigate antimicrobial resistance in the environment under the Treasury-funded Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and Environment (PATHSAFE) project. The Environment Agency is developing possible surveillance methods and data systems that could be used in the future to help us better understand and mitigate environmental antimicrobial resistance.
In 2019, the UK Government published a 20-year Vision of a world in which antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is effectively contained, controlled and mitigated by 2040. In support of the Vision, the Government also committed to developing a series of five-year national action plans that will each prioritise actions and direct resources based on the latest information about what the biggest risks are, and which interventions are most effective addressing them. The first of these plans, published in 2019, takes a comprehensive One-Health approach across humans, animals, agriculture the environment and food. The vision and national action plan were co-developed across government departments, agencies, the health family, the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and with input from a wide range of stakeholders.