Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total cost of providing free prescriptions of colostomy and ileostomy related products in 2023–24.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is not possible to estimate the total cost to the National Health Service of providing free prescriptions for colostomy and ileostomy related products. NHS patients pay a fixed charge for each prescription item dispensed in primary care, unless they are exempt from prescription charges or hold a valid pre-payment certificate (PPC).
In 2023/24, there was a total of 1,299,650 items with a total Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) of £239,280,020 dispensed to patients in the community in England, where the item prescribed was clearly named as colostomy or ileostomy appliances, for which no NHS charges were collected at the point of dispensing. This total includes items where no charge was collected due to a patient holding a valid PPC. This total excludes a large number of other stoma appliances that could not be clearly identified as colostomy or ileostomy from their name, although some of these other appliances will be used as colostomy or ileostomy appliances. The NIC is the basic price of a product excluding VAT. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees, or allowances paid to pharmacists and appliance contractors for the services they provide to the NHS, or prescription charge income received, where the single charge or PPC fee is paid, or foregone where prescriptions are dispensed free of charge.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 4 June (HL7632), whether breaching a deportation order constitutes a specific criminal offence; and if so, on what basis the provision of information on the number of such breaches meets the criterion for disproportionate costs.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a criminal offence under section 24(A1) of the Immigration Act 1971 to knowingly enter the United Kingdom in breach of a deportation order. The offence attracts a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment.
When assessing breaches of the disproportionate cost threshold, consideration is given to the volume of case records that would need to be reviewed and the time it would take to review those cases which is calculated at a flat rate of £25 per hour.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 4 June (HL7632), how many people who have been deported from the United Kingdom after (1) asylum application refusal, or (2) completion of a prison sentence, have returned to the UK (a) as illegal entrants in breach of their deportation arrangements, and (b) following completion of a sentence overseas, in the past year.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested data is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they have on the incidence of sham marriages in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes abuse of the spouse and partner immigration routes very seriously and is clear that family migration must be based on a genuine and subsisting marriage or relationship. The marriage referral and investigation scheme (the Scheme), introduced across the UK under the Immigration Act 2014, requires that all proposed marriages and civil partnerships where one or both parties could gain an immigration advantage from it are referred to the Home Office.
Under the Scheme, where we have reasonable grounds to suspect a sham relationship, the marriage notice period will be extended to allow for further investigation, and for enforcement or casework action to be taken where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have been deported from the United Kingdom after (1) asylum application refusal, or (2) completion of a prison sentence, have returned to the UK (a) in breach of their deportation arrangements, or (b) following completion of a sentence overseas, in the past 12 months.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether records relating to marriage in England and Wales are to be made available for immediate access to the public.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.
The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.
The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.
The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent considerations other than administrative requirements have been taken into account in the retention of the 28-day notice period for weddings.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.
The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.
The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.
The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the Law Commission's recommendations in their report Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law, published on 18 July 2022.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.
The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.
The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.
The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will review the decision made in 2014 to increase from 14 to 28 days the notice period for weddings.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.
The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.
The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.
The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the incidence of polygamy in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.
The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.
The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.
The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.