Alex Ballinger Alert Sample


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View the Parallel Parliament page for Alex Ballinger

Information between 10th March 2025 - 20th March 2025

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Division Votes
18 Mar 2025 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Alex Ballinger voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 312 Labour No votes vs 0 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 167 Noes - 324
18 Mar 2025 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Alex Ballinger voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 314 Labour No votes vs 0 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 107 Noes - 324
18 Mar 2025 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Alex Ballinger voted Aye - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 311 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 382 Noes - 104
18 Mar 2025 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Alex Ballinger voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 306 Labour No votes vs 0 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 77 Noes - 313
18 Mar 2025 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Alex Ballinger voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 301 Labour No votes vs 6 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 77 Noes - 315
11 Mar 2025 - Employment Rights Bill - View Vote Context
Alex Ballinger voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 319 Labour No votes vs 0 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 106 Noes - 340
11 Mar 2025 - Employment Rights Bill - View Vote Context
Alex Ballinger voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 316 Labour No votes vs 0 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 189 Noes - 324
11 Mar 2025 - Employment Rights Bill - View Vote Context
Alex Ballinger voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 317 Labour No votes vs 0 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 95 Noes - 323
11 Mar 2025 - Employment Rights Bill - View Vote Context
Alex Ballinger voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 313 Labour No votes vs 0 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 105 Noes - 409


Speeches
Alex Ballinger speeches from: Israeli-Palestinian Peace: International Fund
Alex Ballinger contributed 1 speech (355 words)
Tuesday 11th March 2025 - Westminster Hall
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Alex Ballinger speeches from: Crime and Policing Bill
Alex Ballinger contributed 3 speeches (755 words)
2nd reading
Monday 10th March 2025 - Commons Chamber
Home Office


Written Answers
Game: Conservation
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Tuesday 11th March 2025

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect grouse and their habitats.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There are two native species of grouse in England, red and black grouse. Black grouse are of conservation concern because of a long-term decline in their numbers due to a combination of factors including predation, climate change and changes in agricultural practices.

As with all wild birds, red and black grouse are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. The Game Act, 1831 applies a close season to both species to ensure hunting is sustainable. However, there is a long-standing voluntary moratorium on the hunting of black grouse due to their long-term decline.

Typical habitat for both species is peatland, heathland and moorland. We are committed to protecting these nature-rich habitats through promoting sustainable land management and restoration practices. These habitats are included in the Government commitment to deliver our legally binding biodiversity target to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042. The Government’s Nature for Climate Fund is also enabling peatland restoration and native woodland planting which will provide benefits for both species of grouse.

Food: Labelling
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Monday 10th March 2025

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure food allergy labels are visible and legible; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a minimum type size.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels, whether that be mandatory or voluntary, so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.

The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible, clearly legible, and where appropriate indelible, in addition to there being a required minimum font size for mandatory information.

Additionally, if a prepacked or prepacked for direct sale food contains one of the 14 major allergens as an ingredient then this must be emphasised in the ingredients list so that it clearly stands out from the other ingredients.

Identity Cards: Disability
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Monday 10th March 2025

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has considered the introduction of an official ID scheme for (a) disabled people and (b) their carers.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

While some disabled people may welcome a card that acts as a proof of disability, we are aware that some disabled people would not wish to carry a card which confirms their impairment. Other people who may meet the criteria for the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability do not identify as disabled, although they may require reasonable adjustments.

The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services, so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require.

There are a number of optional schemes and cards in the UK that have been created to meet particular needs and which people may use if they wish. These include the Hidden Disability Sunflower Scheme which discreetly identifies where additional support may be needed and is gaining widespread recognition, and Nimbus Disability’s Access Card which can help when communicating with a business about the types of support or reasonable adjustments that might be needed to access their services.

Introducing an ID scheme for carers could prove restrictive. A disabled person may have more than one carer or may be accompanied by different people on different occasions.

There are therefore no plans to introduce an ID scheme for disabled people or their carers at this time.

Gambling: Taxation
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Monday 10th March 2025

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of raising taxation on gambling operators.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Gambling Duties raised £3.5 billion in revenue in 2023-24.

As with all taxes, the Government keeps the gambling duty system under review during its Budget process.

Royal Mail: Heathrow
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Tuesday 11th March 2025

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has plans to review the processes for recording tracking histories at Royal Mail's Heathrow distribution centre.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Royal Mail is an independent business and therefore concerns about operational matters should be directed to its management.

The government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial or operational decisions, including its processes for recording tracking histories at its Heathrow distribution centre.




Alex Ballinger mentioned

Parliamentary Debates
Freight Crime
2 speeches (1,420 words)
1st reading
Tuesday 18th March 2025 - Commons Chamber

Mentions:
1: Rachel Taylor (Lab - North Warwickshire and Bedworth) Kirith Entwistle, Catherine Fookes, Christine Jardine, Antonia Bance, Mrs Sureena Brackenridge, Alex Ballinger - Link to Speech

Crime and Policing Bill
263 speeches (50,624 words)
2nd reading
Monday 10th March 2025 - Commons Chamber
Home Office
Mentions:
1: Diana Johnson (Lab - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham) Costigan), for Bracknell (Peter Swallow), for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin), for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger - Link to Speech



Select Committee Documents
Monday 17th March 2025
Formal Minutes - Formal Minutes 2024-25

Committee of Selection

Found: Resolved, That Alex Ballinger, Juliet Campbell, Afzal Khan and Alex Sobel be Members of the Joint Committee

Tuesday 11th March 2025
Oral Evidence - Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - Foreign Affairs Committee

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell




Alex Ballinger - Select Committee Information

Calendar
Monday 31st March 2025 1 p.m.
Foreign Affairs Committee - Private Meeting
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Tuesday 1st April 2025 1:30 p.m.
Foreign Affairs Committee - Oral evidence
Subject: Disinformation diplomacy: How malign actors are seeking to undermine democracy
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Tuesday 1st April 2025 1:30 p.m.
Foreign Affairs Committee - Oral evidence
Subject: Disinformation diplomacy: How malign actors are seeking to undermine democracy
At 2:00pm: Oral evidence
Salome Zourabichvili - 5th President of Georgia
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Tuesday 1st April 2025 1:30 p.m.
Foreign Affairs Committee - Oral evidence
Subject: Disinformation diplomacy: How malign actors are seeking to undermine democracy
At 2:00pm: Oral evidence
Salome Zourabichvili - Fifth President of Georgia
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Tuesday 18th March 2025 10 a.m.
Foreign Affairs Committee - Oral evidence
Subject: Soft power: a strategy for UK success?
At 10:30am: Oral evidence
Professor Michael Clarke - Visiting Professor of Defence Studies at King’s College London
Jonathan McClory - Partner at Sanctuary Counsel
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Monday 17th March 2025 1 p.m.
Foreign Affairs Committee - Oral evidence
Subject: The situation in the eastern DRC
At 1:30pm: Oral evidence
Richard Moncrieff - Project Director for the Great Lakes Region at International Crisis Group
Dr Michela Wrong - Author and journalist specialising in sub-Saharan Africa
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Monday 17th March 2025 1 p.m.
Foreign Affairs Committee - Private Meeting
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Monday 17th March 2025 1 p.m.
Foreign Affairs Committee - Oral evidence
Subject: The situation in the eastern DRC
At 1:30pm: Oral evidence
Richard Moncrieff - Project Director for the Great Lakes Region at International Crisis Group
Michela Wrong - Author and journalist specialising in sub-Saharan Africa
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Tuesday 18th March 2025 10 a.m.
Foreign Affairs Committee - Private Meeting
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Select Committee Documents
Monday 17th March 2025
Oral Evidence - 2025-03-17 13:30:00+00:00

Foreign Affairs Committee
Tuesday 18th March 2025
Oral Evidence - 2025-03-18 10:30:00+00:00

Soft power: a strategy for UK success? - Foreign Affairs Committee
Tuesday 11th March 2025
Oral Evidence - Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - Foreign Affairs Committee
Friday 14th March 2025
Correspondence - Letter from the Minister for the Indo-Pacific relating to FCDO Joint Headquarters relocation, dated 06.03.25

Foreign Affairs Committee
Monday 10th March 2025
Correspondence - Correspondence with the Foreign Secretary relating to the situation in Syria dated 06.03.25 and 10.02.25

Foreign Affairs Committee
Wednesday 2nd April 2025
Correspondence - Correspondence from the Minister for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories relating to the Estimates Day Debate on the spending of the FCDO, dated 25.03.25

Foreign Affairs Committee
Wednesday 2nd April 2025
Correspondence - Correspondence from the Economic Secretary to the Treasury relating to the OFSI’s Annual Review 2023-24, dated 21.03.25

Foreign Affairs Committee


Select Committee Inquiry
27 Mar 2025
The UK Government’s China Audit
Foreign Affairs Committee (Select)

Submit Evidence (by 5 May 2025)


Although China is the UK’s fifth largest trading partner, the UK Government has, in recent years, described China as an “epoch-defining and systemic challenge”. Last November, the Foreign Secretary told the Committee that we need a consistent approach to China. 

The Government launched the China Audit in late 2024 in order to understand how the UK can respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses. However, the precise remit of the Audit has not yet been published.  

This inquiry will examine the process and outcomes of the China Audit, and how these support UK national interests. It will also explore the Government’s long-term approach to China, and how it intends to ensure consistency across Government, business and academia towards engagement with China.  

Read the call for evidence for more details about the inquiry

11 Mar 2025
The UK at the United Nations Security Council
Foreign Affairs Committee (Select)

Submit Evidence (by 18 Apr 2025)


This inquiry considers how effectively the UK uses its position at the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) to influence and bring about an end to global conflict, whilst advancing its goals for a rules-based international order. It will focus on countries for which the UK is a ‘Penholder’ at the UN. This includes (but is not limited to) Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The inquiry asks how the UK, as Penholder for these countries, has sought to reduce conflict and instability, and considers practices that have brought about previous successes, drawing upon lessons learned. It also asks how this position may be used more effectively. In its assessment of the UNSC, this inquiry examines the extent to which the Security Council is an effective tool to further conflict resolution, and considers how increasing polarisation on the Security Council may hinder this objective. Finally, this inquiry assesses the relationship between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the UK’s representation at the UN.  

 

Read the call for evidence for more details about the inquiry