Written Statements

Wednesday 31st January 2024 Written Statements

Wednesday 31 January 2024

Calocane Case: HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate Rapid Inspection

Wednesday 31st January 2024 Written Statements

[The Attorney General (Victoria Prentis)]

Following the sentencing of Valdo Calocone on Thursday 25 January, I have asked HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCSPI) to undertake a thorough and rapid inspection of the CPS actions in this case.



The independent inspection will address the concerns raised by the victims’ families about the charging decision and the approach taken by the CPS in engaging with the families.



I have made this reference to HMCPSI under section 2(1)(b) of the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate Act 2000.



HMCPSI will report to me before Easter, so that any lessons to be learned can be rapidly implemented.

[HCWS230]

Brexit: Fourth Anniversary

Wednesday 31st January 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kemi Badenoch)]

Today, the Department for Business and Trade will be publishing an update detailing the wealth of Brexit benefits the Government have seized since the UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020.

Since the UK’s departure from the EU, this Government have cut burdensome red tape for business. We have built dozens of trading relationships with new friends and old allies. And we have taken back control of our laws, borders, and tariffs. This new-found agility was crucial in helping us get through the pandemic with the fastest vaccine roll-out in Europe—which in turn allowed us to reopen our economy even sooner.

Where some predicted decline for Britain’s economy after Brexit, the UK has shown expansion.

Since the referendum in 2016, the UK has grown faster than Germany, Italy, and Japan and at a similar rate to France. Our services exports are at a record high of £472 billion and the IMF predicts that between 2024 and 2028 the UK will see the third fastest growth in the G7—stronger than France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Through Brexit, the UK is capitalising on its economic might, while the Government deliver real, tangible benefits not just for British business but for the British people, too.

We have simplified import tariffs on almost 6,000 goods. Our UK global tariff is lowering costs for both businesses and households. And we have made it easier and cheaper for developing countries to sell to the UK—lifting people out of poverty abroad and lowering prices at home without compromising on quality.

The UK now has a little under 50% of products that are tariff-free compared to the EU’s 27%.

We have also knocked down approximately 500 trade barriers since 2020, including in the US—our single largest trade partner. We have signed memorandums of understanding with seven US states while agreeing quotas for British steel and aluminium—boosting exports and supporting 80,000 jobs across the UK supply chain.

No longer bound by EU state aid rules, we are driving growth in our coastal communities through our freeports programme. In Teesside—the UK’s biggest and first operational port—our tax reliefs, business rates retention policies and investment are helping to generate millions for the local economy while creating thousands of new jobs.

The Government are leveraging our post-Brexit freedoms to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

We have already revoked or reformed over 2,000 pieces of EU law with a clear road map to go further.

At the same time we are making it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises—which account for over 99% of UK businesses—to raise finance while simplifying annual leave and holiday pay, and reducing onerous record-keeping requirements under the working time regulations.

Brexit has allowed us to undertake one of the largest shake-ups to procurement rules in this country’s history. Our new procurement regime means a simpler, more effective system, helping SMEs secure a greater share of approximately £300 billion of expenditure every year.

The update we are publishing today also shows that, in addition to delivering for British business and the British people at home, we are delivering for them abroad, too.

The Department for Business and Trade has negotiated free trade agreements with 73 countries from Mexico to Malaysia. We have secured the most comprehensive deal that the EU has ever agreed to in its history. These countries accounted for £1.1 trillion of our trade in 2022 alone.

Our trade deals with Australia and New Zealand—the first to be negotiated from scratch after Brexit—are helping home-grown companies break into new markets on the other side of the world, with the potential to bring in billions of pounds of new investment for the UK.

Our digital agreements with Singapore and Ukraine—regarded as blueprints by other nations striking similar deals—will boost our trading relationships in the digital economy and services sectors by extending market reach and ensuring the secure, tariff-free flow of digital content.

The UK will also shortly be joining the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership. It will make over 99% of UK goods eligible for zero tariffs in the Asia-Pacific’s most dynamic economies.

This year, the Department for Business and Trade is seeking further deals with more fast-growing economies including the Gulf Co-operation Council and India.

We will cement global Britain’s status as an outward-looking, international trading powerhouse, redrawing the rules so businesses can thrive, markets are competitive and consumers are protected.

We will drive further investment from British and international businesses into our economy while strengthening our advice and support for home-grown companies looking to grow and export.

Over the coming year, we will continue to open up new markets for business, promoting free trade, economic security, and resilient supply chains as core pillars of the UK’s trade policy.

We are sticking to our plan to deliver the long-term change our country needs and build a brighter future for the United Kingdom, seizing the many opportunities and benefits Brexit has afforded the British people.

[HCWS231]

Telegraph Media Group: Pre-emptive Action Order

Wednesday 31st January 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lucy Frazer)]

On 26 January, I issued a public interest intervention notice (PIIN) in relation to the anticipated acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group Ltd (TMG) by RB Investco Ltd.



This is further to information my Department received that RedBird IMI has made changes to the corporate structure of the potential acquiring entities of the Telegraph Media Group, and this has created a new relevant merger situation.



This PIIN relates to concerns I continue to have that there may be public interest considerations—as set out in section 58 of the Enterprise Act 2002—that are relevant to the anticipated acquisition of TMG by RB Investco and that these concerns warrant further investigation.



The PIIN that I issued on 30 November 2023 in relation to the anticipated acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group Ltd (TMG) by Redbird IMI media joint venture remains in force.



I have now made an order to prevent actions by the parties to the merger that might prejudice the process or impede my ability to protect the public interest during the period in which either the 30 November intervention notice or the new intervention notice is in force. The order prohibits transfer of ownership or control of the TMG business without my prior written consent. It also requires the parties to ensure that no steps are taken to integrate the TMG business with any other enterprise, that no significant changes are made to the management and structure of the TMG business or the boards of both the TMG business and the entities aiming to acquire TMG. The acquiring entities must ensure that no step is taken to change the structure of the potential acquiring entities of TMG. The parties must take all reasonable steps to encourage key staff—managerial, executive and editorial—to remain within the TMG business and must also do what is within their power to ensure that key staff within the TMG business are not removed or transferred without my prior written consent.



This order came into force at 11 am on 30 January 2024.



This order revokes the pre-emptive action order that I made on 1 December 2023. The 30 November 2023 PIIN that I made remains in force. Revocation does not prevent me from taking enforcement action, if necessary, in relation to any breaches of the previous order.



The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will keep Parliament updated on progress with this media merger case.

[HCWS228]

Pharmacy First

Wednesday 31st January 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dame Andrea Leadsom)]

Following constructive consultation with Community Pharmacy England, I am very pleased to inform the House that on 31 January, the Pharmacy First service will be launched in community pharmacies in England.

Pharmacy First was announced in May 2023 in the delivery plan for recovering access to primary care. This made significant new funding available for community pharmacies to deliver Pharmacy First and to deliver more blood pressure checks and contraception consultations. The new and expanded services will release around 10 million appointments in general practice per year once scaled. We want to do everything we can to support our GPs in supporting patients with higher acuity conditions—a job they do so well. Making use of the clinical skills in community pharmacy does just that.

Four in five people in England can reach a community pharmacy within a 20-minute walk and there are twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived communities. Our vision is to support community pharmacists to evolve further into a more clinically focused role, with members of the public able to take full advantage of their skills and capabilities. Pharmacy’s role has been increasing in recent years. In 2019 we set out how we would work to embed and integrate community pharmacy into the NHS, delivering more clinical services and making them the first port of call for many minor illnesses. We had already made good progress, for example:

General practice, NHS111 and urgent and emergency care (UEC) can now refer patients to community pharmacies for advice and treatment for minor illnesses, and NHS111 and UEC can also refer for urgent medicines supply. Over 3.4 million referrals have been made through these routes to date.

We expanded the new medicine service which supports over 200,000 people a month when they start new medicines and we introduced the discharge medicine service which supports 8,000 patients a month who have had their medicines changed following a visit to hospital, reducing medication errors and readmissions.

Over 9,000 pharmacies have delivered over 2 million blood pressure checks since October 2021, allowing those with high blood pressure to be identified and referred for onward management. The delivery plan has made funding available for 2.5 million additional checks. It is estimated this could prevent over 1,350 cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes in the first full year of service, and could lead to savings of around £13 million across primary, secondary and social care.

We introduced a contraception service in April 2023 to enable community pharmacists to manage oral contraception on the basis of an existing prescription and in December 2023 this service was expanded so that pharmacists can now also initiate oral contraception. The delivery plan has made more funding available for this service so that up to half a million women will be able to access oral contraception through their pharmacy.

Pharmacy First will go further, building on this success and enabling pharmacists to supply prescription-only medicines, including antibiotics and antivirals where clinically appropriate, to treat seven common health conditions without the need to visit a GP. The seven conditions are sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women. Patients will be able to walk into a pharmacy if they have symptoms or may be referred to a community pharmacy by a GP or NHS111. Ninety-four per cent of pharmacies have signed up to deliver Pharmacy First from 31 January 2024.



The investment in Pharmacy First will also deliver significant upgrades in the digital infrastructure in community pharmacy. This will streamline referrals to and from other NHS services, provide additional access to relevant clinical information from the GP record, and share structured updates quickly and efficiently following a pharmacy consultation back into the GP patient record.

Pharmacy First is the next step on the journey to make the best possible use of the knowledge and expertise of community pharmacists and their teams, improving patient access to care.

[HCWS232]

Police Funding Settlement 2024-25

Wednesday 31st January 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire (Chris Philp)]

My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary (James Cleverly) has today laid before the House the Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 2024-25 (HC 482). The report sets out the Home Secretary’s determination for 2024-25 of the aggregate amount of grants that he proposes to pay under section 46(2) of the Police Act 1996. Copies of the report are available from the Vote Office.



The allocations that have been laid before the House today are as set out in my statement and the provisional Police Grant Report of 14 December 2023.



For 2024-25, overall funding for the policing system will rise by up to £842.9 million when compared to the restated 2023-24 police funding settlement, bringing the total settlement for 2024-25 up to £18.4 billion. Available funding to local policing bodies will increase next year by up to an additional £922.2 million, if Police and Crime Commissioners were to take-up the precept flexibility and using latest forecasts, taking total funding for local policing bodies to £16.4 billion.



Compared with 2019-20, this represents a total settlement increase of up to 30.7% in cash terms. Not only has the Government delivered the funding committed in the spending review 2021, but the 2024-25 settlement has gone even further to provide additional funding for policing. This demonstrates the Government’s continued commitment to giving policing the resources they need to keep the public safe.



Attachments can be viewed online at:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2024-01-31/HCWS229/.

[HCWS229]

Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme Levy 2023-24

Wednesday 31st January 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Mims Davies)]

The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (Levy) Regulations 2014 require active employers’ liability insurers to pay an annual levy, based on their relative market share, for the purpose of meeting the costs of the DMPS. This is in line with the insurance industry’s commitment to fund a scheme of last resort for persons diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma who have been unable to trace their employer or their employer’s insurer.



Today I can announce that the total amount of the levy to be charged for 2023-24, the 10th year of the DMPS, is £27.3 million. The amount will be payable by active insurers by the end of March 2024.



Individual active insurers will be notified in writing of their share of the levy, together with how the amount was calculated and the payment arrangements. Insurers should be aware that it is a legal requirement to pay the levy within the set timescales.



I am pleased that the DMPS has seen nine successful years of operation, assisting many hundreds of people who have been diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma. The ninth annual report for the scheme, along with the annual statistics, was published on 28 November 2023 and is available on the www.gov.uk website. The report was also deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. I hope that Members of both Houses will welcome this announcement and give the DMPS their continued support.

[HCWS227]