Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were prosecuted for making a false declaration about a medical condition on applications for grant renewal of (1) shotgun, and (2) firearms, certificates in the most recent three years for which records are available.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Statistics relating to prosecutions for making a false statement in order to procure the grant or renewal of a firearm or shotgun certificate are available within the publication: Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool. The relevant offence codes are 11559 and 11560. In summary, the figures for the last three years show that in 2019 there were 14 prosecutions and 8 convictions; in 2018 there were 2 prosecutions and 0 convictions; and in 2017 there were 15 prosecutions and 5 convictions.
Data relating to prosecutions specifically in relation to a false declaration relating to medical conditions is not available centrally.
Firearms licensing is an operational matter for police forces. The police carry out a number of checks to ensure that those in possession of firearms do not pose a danger to public safety, including in relation to medical suitability. As part of this process, GPs are asked to provide information about whether the applicant has suffered from a number of relevant medical conditions, prior to the issuing of the firearm or shotgun certificate by the police
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many general practitioners in the last three years for which records are available have placed markers on the medical notes of shotgun and firearm certificate-holders in compliance with Home Office guidance.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government does not require general practitioners to report on whether and how they place a marker on the medical records of shotgun or firearm certificate holders. However, the Government is supportive of the use of these markers as a means of helping to ensure firearms licences are held safely.
The Home Office is actively working with the medical profession and the Department of Health and Social Care to see what more can be done to promote the effective and consistent use of medical markers.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, when the Ministry of Defence wish to close and dispose of a site and inform the original landowners or their successors in title that Crichel Down Rules will not apply, they are under a duty to provide a detailed explanation to the former landowners as to why they believe such Rules do not apply.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Crichel Down Rules (CDR) are applied to any land that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) originally acquired or may have acquired through compulsory purchase or threat of compulsory purchase. Where it is decided that the CDR do not apply to a disposal site, there is no obligation on the MOD to notify the former owner(s) of this decision. Where the CDR apply to a disposal site, but that site falls within any of the exceptions in the CDR from the obligation to offer back, the former owner(s) will be notified of this decision and the relevant exception (s) being relied upon. There is no duty imposed by the CDR to provide former owners with a detailed explanation of their applicability or the exceptions being relied upon.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision of Derbyshire Constabulary to introduce a new process for all firearm and shotgun applications, including renewals, which requires applicants to provide, and pay for, medical information verified by a GP; what discussions they have had with that Constabulary about the compliance of that process with Home Office Guidance; and what assessment they have made of the impact of that process on the workload of frontline medical practitioners and the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The police are responsible for assessing the suitability of those who apply for the grant or renewal of a firearm or shotgun certificate. The police carry out a number of checks to ensure that those in possession of firearms do not pose a danger to public safety, including in relation to medical suitability based on information provided normally by the applicant’s GP.
The Government has consulted on the introduction of new statutory firearms guidance to police, which includes proposals for revised medical arrangements to ensure that police have the medical information they require before the grant of a certificate. The consultation closed on 17 September and the Government will publish its response and the statutory guidance in due course.
The Government recognises that firearms licensing arrangements, including the medical aspects, will be affected by the measures that have been put in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Police forces may need to adopt a flexible approach to meet local need and risk in the current exceptional circumstances and there may be some impact on firearms licensing arrangements. The Government will continue to have discussions with the police to keep firearms licensing under review over the coming weeks and months, but the Government’s priority is to continue to encourage people to stay at home and to protect the NHS.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support those persons and businesses affected by flooding of the River Severn in the Shrewsbury and Ironbridge areas of Shropshire.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Government responded immediately to the Storms Ciara and Dennis by activating the Bellwin Scheme of emergency financial assistance on 10 February and extended this to more areas (including Shropshire) on 17 February.
Further to this, the Government activated the Flood Recovery Framework on 18 February for local authorities with 25 or more flooded households. The Framework provides funding for local authorities, to help affected residents and businesses to recover from the flooding, as well as reimbursements to local authorities for offering 100 per cent council tax discounts and business rates relief to these affected properties.
The Government has also announced the Property Flood Resilience Scheme to help householders and businesses implement measures to make their properties become more resilient to flooding.
Government continues to work with local authorities to assess the full extent of the flooding impacts and will release the funding to eligible local authorities in due course.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to close 4 Site, MOD Stafford; and if so, what is the envisaged timescale.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation are currently in negotiations to sell 4 Site, MOD Stafford.
I am withholding the information in relation to when the site is intended for closure, as to do so would prejudice commercial interests.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, should they decide to close 4 Site, MOD Stafford, the original owner of the site will have preferred bidder status.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The site will be disposed of in accordance with Ministry of Defence standard procedures and treasury guidelines. The Department would offer any surplus land back to the former owner or their successors under the Crichel Down rules at the market value if the associated Crichel Down criteria are met, and prior to going to the open market.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what funds from central Government are available currently to local authorities in relation to (1) the integrated supported living model of adult care, and (2) Housing Benefit.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
1) In 2020-21, the Government has given local authorities access to almost £6 billion of dedicated funding across adult and children’s social care. This includes:
a) £1 billion of new grant funding for adults and children’s social care;
b) Consulting on a 2% council tax precept for adult social care, which will enable councils to access a further £500 million;
c) The continuation of existing social care grant funding worth £2.5 billion, through the improved Better Care Fund (iBCF) and Social Care Grant.
2) The total national funding available to local authorities in order to administer Housing Benefit for this year (2019/20) is £256.1 million.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the number of prosecutions for fly tipping by local authorities in each of the last five years; and what has been the success rate of any such prosecutions.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The total number of prosecutions for fly-tipping offences by local authorities in England, as well as the proportion that were successful, over the last five years are shown in the table below.
Year | Total number of prosecutions | Number of successful prosecutions | % of successful prosecutions |
2014/15 | 1,810 | 1,771 | 97.8% |
2015/16 | 2,203 | 2,091 | 94.9% |
2016/17 | 1,571 | 1,546 | 98.4% |
2017/18 | 2,243 | 2,186 | 97.5% |
2018/19 | 2,397 | 2,306 | 96.2% |
This information is published as part of the annual Fly-tipping Statistics for England, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of current legislation relating to fly tipping in (1) urban, and (2) rural, areas.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In its manifesto, the Government committed to increase the penalties for fly-tipping. Fly-tipping is unacceptable whether it occurs in urban or rural areas and tackling this crime is a priority for the Government. Existing legislative and regulatory controls are the same for both urban and rural areas. Tackling fly-tipping requires a local approach, tailored to the characteristics of the area and the community in which the problem occurs. We are committed to encouraging local solutions for local problems and the role of central Government is to enable and support this local action: providing a clear legal framework of rights, responsibilities and powers, setting national standards and, where possible, making sure that the costs of dealing with fly-tipping is passed to those responsible for causing the problem.
The Resources and Waste Strategy, published in 2018, set out an ambitious package of commitments to modernise the way waste is regulated, to prevent, detect and deter waste crime, including fly-tipping. Defra is subsequently preparing a number of legislative reforms to tackle waste crime, including fly-tipping. We are taking forward the commitment in the Strategy to develop proposals for the reform of the waste carrier, broker and dealer regime. We are working with industry and the regulator and we intend to consult later this year. At the same time, we intend to consult on the introduction of mandatory electronic waste tracking. This will reduce the ability of waste criminals to hide evidence of the systematic mishandling of waste and make it easier for enforcement authorities to identify material dropping out of the system, and therefore make it easier to protect against fly-tipping. The reforms aim to improve competence in waste transportation and deter illegitimate operators from entering the sector. This will help to ensure that waste is dealt with appropriately and to reduce the incidence of waste crime and fly-tipping.
The Environment Bill provides a significant step forward in delivering a number of the commitments set out in the Resources and Waste Strategy. The newly introduced Bill amends section 108 of the Environment Act 1995 to make it easier for an officer to search premises to seize and remove documentary or other evidence. The new power does not require a warrant if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that first obtaining a warrant would allow for evidence to be concealed, altered or destroyed. Further to this, Schedule 11 of the Environment Bill removes the seven-day notice period required before powers of entry can be used to access residential premises. The current seven-day notice requirement enables, for example, rogue waste carriers who operate from their home address rather than a business address, to destroy evidence. These new powers will work to ensure waste criminals, such as illegitimate waste operators reliant on fly-tipping for income, are held accountable for their actions.
In recent years we have bolstered local authorities’ powers to tackle fly-tipping, including introducing fixed penalty notices of up to £400 for those who give their waste to fly-tippers, or fly-tip themselves. We have also enhanced the powers available to local authorities and the Environment Agency to search and seize the vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.
As well as legislative changes, Defra is developing a fly-tipping toolkit, following a commitment in the Resources and Waste Strategy. The toolkit will be a web-based tool to help local authorities and others work in partnership to tackle fly-tipping. It will cover, for example, the use of new technology to report fly-tipping, the presentation of cases to court, the sharing of intelligence within and between partnerships and promoting the duty of care to individuals and businesses.
Furthermore, as the majority of fly-tips involve household waste (62% in 2018/19), we published a research project on public awareness of and adherence to the household waste duty of care in August 2019. At the same time, we published related publicity materials. The materials have been provided to the Local Government Association to circulate to local authorities. They are also available on the website of National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, which is chaired by Defra: http://www.tacklingflytipping.com. By limiting the material given to fly-tippers and using appropriately licenced waste carriers, everyone can play their part in reducing fly-tipping incidents.