Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is their intention that hospitality venues responsible for upholding the law on the sale of alcohol, cigarettes, solvents and other restricted products will see equal protection under the new offence of assaulting a retail worker in the Crime and Policing Bill.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
This definition of a retail worker captures someone working in or about retail premises for or on behalf of the owner or occupier of the retail premises.
Our definition is intentionally narrow and does not include hospitality staff, given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker and impacted during their job.
Those workers whose roles are not included within the definition are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, such as actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
There is also a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.
Alongside this, we are ending the effective immunity that currently applies for theft of goods under £200 by repealing section 176 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
We are also providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police and retailers tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team to disrupt organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Crime and Policing Bill in its current form will see the protection of workers in quick service restaurants and food-to-go-style operators whose work has a functional overlap with their retail counterparts; and what, if any, impact assessment of such provisions has been undertaken.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
This definition of a retail worker captures someone working in or about retail premises for or on behalf of the owner or occupier of the retail premises.
Our definition is intentionally narrow and does not include hospitality staff, given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker and impacted during their job.
Those workers whose roles are not included within the definition are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, such as actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
There is also a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.
Alongside this, we are ending the effective immunity that currently applies for theft of goods under £200 by repealing section 176 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
We are also providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police and retailers tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team to disrupt organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how "retail" work is defined for the purposes of the Crime and Policing Bill; and whether that definition includes hospitality premises with a functional overlap, such as pubs which run village shops and restaurants selling branded products on the premises.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
This definition of a retail worker captures someone working in or about retail premises for or on behalf of the owner or occupier of the retail premises.
Our definition is intentionally narrow and does not include hospitality staff, given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker and impacted during their job.
Those workers whose roles are not included within the definition are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, such as actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
There is also a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.
Alongside this, we are ending the effective immunity that currently applies for theft of goods under £200 by repealing section 176 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
We are also providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police and retailers tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team to disrupt organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what specific protections are in place to address abuse and theft in (1) retail, (2) hospitality, and (3) leisure businesses.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
This definition of a retail worker captures someone working in or about retail premises for or on behalf of the owner or occupier of the retail premises.
Our definition is intentionally narrow and does not include hospitality staff, given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker and impacted during their job.
Those workers whose roles are not included within the definition are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, such as actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
There is also a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.
Alongside this, we are ending the effective immunity that currently applies for theft of goods under £200 by repealing section 176 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
We are also providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police and retailers tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team to disrupt organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish (1) the Land Use Framework, and (2) the Water White Paper.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government consulted on land use in England from January to April this year. The responses are informing the preparation of the Land Use Framework.
The Government will respond to the Independent Water Commission's recommendations through a White Paper.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many owners have been prosecuted in the past year for (1) the illegal ownership of banned breeds of dog, or (2) failure to muzzle those dogs in public areas.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government does not hold information on the number of owners prosecuted for illegal ownership of banned breeds or failure to muzzle their dogs in public areas.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threat posed by motorists using ghost plates, and what steps they plan to take to deal with the threat posed by the use of ghost plates to evade speed cameras and engage in other criminal activities.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of cloned and “ghost” number plates. It is already illegal to use a vehicle displaying cloned or “ghost” number plates.
The enforcement of road traffic law and how available resources are deployed is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced. The Police are operationally independent and they will investigate each case according to its individual merits.
The Government has pledged £2.7m for each of the next three years to support police enforcement activity. This is Operation Topaz which is a strategic partnership between the Department for Transport, Home Office and National Police Chiefs’ Council around roads policing.
Operation Topaz is helping to support and co-ordinate the existing effort that is already delivering the National Police Chiefs’ Council Roads Policing Strategy.
Funding has been allocated to enhance roads policing to deliver a proof-of-concept activity period, coordinated via the central Operation Topaz team, focused on unreadable number plates and all aspects connected to unattributable drivers or vehicles.
This Government takes road safety seriously. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences. We are considering concerns raised by campaigns, Parliamentarians and bereaved families that Ministers have met.
The Government intends to publish the Road Safety Strategy by the end of the year.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure motorbikes observe speed limits and engine noise level limits, in particular on rural roads.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that 60% of road fatalities occurred on rural roads, according to the latest statistics. The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies which will have national reach. More details will be set out in due course.
Local authorities are best placed to decide on delivery of road safety initiatives, because of their knowledge of the roads for which they are responsible. We aid local authorities by providing guidance and initiatives such as our flagship road safety campaign, THINK!
Strict noise regulations for motorbikes are harmonised at an international level and require vehicles to demonstrate compliance through the process of type approval before being placed on the market. This involves testing the vehicle across a broad range of driving conditions. Replacement silencers that are to be used on the road must also meet strict noise limits that are aligned with those of the original vehicle.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce road traffic accidents, casualties and deaths in rural areas.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that 60% of road fatalities occurred on rural roads, according to the latest statistics. The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies which will have national reach. More details will be set out in due course.
Local authorities are best placed to decide on delivery of road safety initiatives, because of their knowledge of the roads for which they are responsible. We aid local authorities by providing guidance and initiatives such as our flagship road safety campaign, THINK!
Strict noise regulations for motorbikes are harmonised at an international level and require vehicles to demonstrate compliance through the process of type approval before being placed on the market. This involves testing the vehicle across a broad range of driving conditions. Replacement silencers that are to be used on the road must also meet strict noise limits that are aligned with those of the original vehicle.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that internal drainage boards are fully funded for their role in preventing flooding and water management.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports and values the vital work internal drainage boards (IDBs) undertake in managing water levels and reducing flood risk, benefitting communities, businesses and farmers.
IDBs are mainly locally funded by the beneficiaries of their work, farmers paying drainage rates and local authorities paying special levies.
The Government’s £91m IDB Fund is supporting greater flood resilience for farmers and rural communities. IDBs are delivering projects that are already benefiting over 400,000 hectares of farmland and over 200,000 properties.
However, we recognise the need to ensure IDBs are set up in the longer term. In response to rising financial pressures on IDBs, and the farmers and local authorities who fund their work, Defra and MHCLG have commissioned a research project into IDB funding and costs. This is focussed on financial efficiency, value for money, and the broader benefits which IDBs deliver for local communities.