Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2024 to Question 25652 on Local Government: Elections, if he will survey returning officers on the number of completed postal vote packs that arrived with the returning officer after the close of polls on 2 May 2024.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This information is not collected centrally by the Government.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will hold discussions with Alcohol Change UK on their research entitled The need for responsible alcohol delivery, published on 8 May 2024.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises that the way in which people purchase alcohol has changed in recent years, with sales increasingly being made online.
Accordingly, we recently ran a consultation that closed on 30 March this year that requested views on whether the Licensing Act 2003 should be amended to include a requirement for age verification to occur when alcohol purchased remotely is delivered. We also asked for views on whether the Act should be amended to specify that it is an offence to deliver alcohol to someone who is already intoxicated.
We are currently analysing the responses to this consultation and will publish a response in due course.
Home Office officials meet regularly with Alcohol Change UK to discuss the licensing framework in England and Wales.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the the potential merits of updating the Licensing Act 2003 to regulate online alcohol delivery services.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises that the way in which people purchase alcohol has changed in recent years, with sales increasingly being made online.
Accordingly, we recently ran a consultation that closed on 30 March this year that requested views on whether the Licensing Act 2003 should be amended to include a requirement for age verification to occur when alcohol purchased remotely is delivered. We also asked for views on whether the Act should be amended to specify that it is an offence to deliver alcohol to someone who is already intoxicated.
We are currently analysing the responses to this consultation and will publish a response in due course.
Home Office officials meet regularly with Alcohol Change UK to discuss the licensing framework in England and Wales.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ban alcohol advertising online.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which operates independently of Government, is responsible for regulating online advertising in the UK through its advertising codes. These codes state that alcohol adverts must not link it with social or sexual success, imply that it is indispensable or include elements that appeal particularly to children. Online platforms have also introduced stringent measures to monitor alcohol ads and ensure safe advertising, such as age gating and age verification.
The Government’s Online Advertising Programme aims to increase protections for children and young people under 18 from online exposure to advertisements for products and services that are illegal to be sold to them, including alcohol. We will legislate when parliamentary time allows, and will publish a second consultation on the details of the framework in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of postal votes which arrived with returning officers after the close of polls on 2 May 2024.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 14836 on 27 February 2024.
At the elections on 2 May, the Government centrally funded a national ‘sweep’ by Royal Mail of their mail centres to ensure that completed postal ballot packs were pulled out at mail centres on the evening of polling day and delivered directly to local Returning Officers.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase the range of wildlife crimes which have notifiable status.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes.
The NWCU provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime. This includes supporting cases referred by Border Force to the National Crime Agency or to individual forces. The NWCU is also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity.
The NWCU uses this information to produce strategic and tactical assessments of wildlife crime across the UK. These assessments also take into consideration the views of the Wildlife Crime Conservation Advisory Group, which highlight priorities based on the conservation status of specific species and review all other non-priority intelligence to identify any emerging threats. It is these assessments which ultimately drive the operational response to tackling wildlife crime in the UK.
We will keep under review any legislative proposals to increase the range of wildlife crimes that have notifiable status. If a non-notifiable wildlife crime is reported to police it can still be investigated. Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to announce whether he plans to extend the seasonal agricultural workers scheme beyond December 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government keeps the Seasonal Worker route under close review, and we will say more in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve research into acute myeloid leukaemia.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is proud to invest £1.3 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was over £121.8 million for 2022/23, and more is spent on cancer than any other disease group.
The Government, through the NIHR, is committed to improving research into the cancers with the poorest survival rates, such as acute myeloid leukaemia, by funding high quality, timely research that leads to improved outcomes for patients and the public, and makes the health and social care system more efficient, effective, and safe. Research evidence is vital for improving treatments and outcomes for people, including those with pancreatic cancer, and other less survivable cancers. The following table shows NIHR research spend on diagnosis, treatment, and diagnosis and treatment of blood cancers, which includes leukaemia, since 2018:
Number of projects | Total awards value | |
Blood cancer diagnosis | 11 | £11,900,000 |
Blood cancer treatment | 14 | £14,700,000 |
Blood cancer diagnosis and treatment | 4 | £7,700,000 |
In 2023, the Government awarded £2 million to new interdisciplinary research teams tackling hard to treat cancers, via the Medical Research Council’s two-day cancer sandpit strategic funding opportunity, focused on technological innovation for understanding cancers with the poorest survival rates.
The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health, including acute myeloid leukaemia. All applications are assessed for funding by peer review committees. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including the quality of the proposals, and their scientific potential. All applications for research into pancreatic cancer and other less survivable cancers, made through open competition, have been funded.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the GP to patient ratio in Wyre.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In March 2024, the median general practice patient ratio in Wyre was 5.1 full time equivalent doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of support for children with SEND in Lancashire.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Lancashire were last inspected under the previous Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) framework and were issued with a Written Statement of Action (WSoA) with 12 areas of significant weakness. Following their revisit inspection, published in August 2020, Lancashire were moved onto an Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) for five areas of significant weakness which were deemed to have not made sufficient progress. A department Case Lead, alongside a NHS England and a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) adviser, worked with the local authority and monitored their progress against the APP. After a series of reviews and data analysis, in 2021 the decision was taken that based on the evidence provided, that Lancashire had demonstrated clear and sustained progress against the areas highlighted in the accelerated progress plan.
As with all local areas, the department has continued to provide support and challenge to Lancashire through their regional case lead, who seeks regular assurance, through conversations with SEND leads, that they are sustaining the progress made. The department also analyses Lancashire’s position through the annual SEN2 data publication, assessing their data performance and using this information to shape discussions. This progress will be assessed in the next Ofsted and CQC inspection, with all local authorities due to be inspected by the end of 2027.