Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress the Government has made on (a) ensuring equal treatment for BCSSS members and (b) transferring the whole of the investment reserve to the benefit of all members.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The previous Minister of State for Industry met the BCSSS Trustees on 22 April, 11 June and 22 July and confirmed the Government’s commitment to considering their proposals regarding the reserve and the future of the scheme. DESNZ will now engage HM Treasury with a view to agreeing a way forward on the transfer of the reserve to members.
The Government is aiming to reach agreement on an outcome that can be implemented later this year which will benefit scheme members.
Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to prevent people who have committed sexual offences from obtaining parental responsibility or contact orders for children conceived as a result of their crimes; and whether she plans to introduce amendments to the Children Act to close this loophole.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has included a measure in the Victim and Courts Bill which will restrict the exercise of an offender’s parental responsibility where they are sentenced to four or more years imprisonment for a serious child sexual abuse offence against a child for whom they hold parental responsibility. Given these changes are untested, the Government has chosen to focus on the cases involving the highest degree of direct risk to children first.
However, the Government recognises the discussions around the appropriate scope of the measure, including whether to extend it to offenders convicted of rape where a child has been conceived as a result. We are looking at this closely and will continue to work across Parliament as the Bill progresses.
The welfare of a child must be the court’s paramount consideration when making decisions about that child’s life. Courts already have powers under the Children Act 1989 to restrict the exercise of parental responsibility and to control who the child should live or spend time with, if it is in the child’s best interest to do so. When considering arrangements to be made for a child, including the extent to which parental responsibility should be exercisable and who exactly the child should live or spent time with, the court must have particular regard to a list of welfare factors, including any harm the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering.
Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many football bans have been given to offenders in the last (a) 12 and (b) 18 months.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office publishes annual statistics on football banning orders in England and Wales in the ‘Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales’ Official Statistics release. The most recent data covering the 2023 to 2024 football season and can be accessed at the following link: Football-related arrests and banning orders: 2023 to 2024 season - GOV.UK
Data on football banning orders for the 2023 to 2024 domestic season are available in the accompanying ‘detailed football banning order statistics data tables’.
Data for the 2024 to 2025 football season will be released on 17 July 2025: Football-related arrests, banning orders: 2024/25 domestic season - Official statistics announcement - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that humanitarian aid is being received into the Gaza Strip.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues pushing for safe, unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza, in line with international law. A significant portion of our Financial Year 2024/25 funding has already reached Gaza, including life-saving medical supplies. Some remain prepositioned at border crossings or in regional warehouses due to access constraints. We also announced an additional £7.5 million support package to bolster medical care in Gaza and the region, including further funding for UK-Med, World Health Organization Egypt, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Occupied Palestinian Territories Humanitarian Fund. On 19 May, the UK issued a joint statement urging Israel to allow full aid resumption and independent access for humanitarian actors.
Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what are the average time is for applications submitted to the Access to Work scheme between 1st November 2024 to 21st May 2025 to be (a) completed and (b) awarded.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The average time taken from an application being submitted to a decision being made for both support being approved and support not approved from November 2024 to April 2025 (May 2025 not available until month end)
November 2024 = 75.4 days
December 2024 = 77.3 days
January 2025 = 80.3 days
February 2025 = 84.6 days
March 2025 = 85.9 days
April 2025 = 94.2 days
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to close existing loopholes which enable taxi drivers to work cross border.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Responsibility for taxi and private hire vehicle policy is devolved to the Welsh Assembly. It is therefore for the Welsh Government to consider any changes to the regulation of the sector in Wales.
Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including the Six Nations as part of the listed events regime.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring access to sporting events, including the Six Nations, so that they can be enjoyed by a wide audience. However, this must also be balanced with the ability of sports national governing bodies to generate essential broadcast revenue to invest in their sports at all levels.
The Six Nations is listed under the Broadcasting Act 1996 Act as a “Group B” protected event, meaning secondary coverage must be offered to free-to-air broadcasters.
The Government believes that the current list of events works well and that it strikes an appropriate balance between access to sporting events and allowing sports to maximise broadcasting revenue.
I am pleased that Six Nations Rugby have recently agreed a deal to broadcast the Six Nations on free-to-air broadcasters until 2029.
Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what service standard the Child Maintenance Service has to respond to (a) complex casework and (b) complaints submitted between 30 August 2024 to 24 January 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) have service standards for all change of circumstances, these are not categorised as complex as there is no specific criteria to meet, each case is considered on its own merit and circumstances of the case.
Caseworkers strive to manage all casework within the expected service standard time period. If the caseworker has any concerns about making a discretionary decision in cases with unusual or particularly complex circumstances involved, they have access to policy and procedures or may seek appropriate advice from the Advice and Guidance Team.
DWP complaints service standard aim is to contact a customer within 15 working days to tell them of the outcome of their complaint or when they can expect a response if the complaint is complex and will take longer.
Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what progress she has made on bringing forward the Conversion Practices Bill to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ people; and whether there is a timeline for its introduction.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
This Government’s position is that conversion practices are abuse.
Through the development of the draft Conversion Practices Bill, we will deliver on our manifesto commitment to bring forward a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices. My officials and I are working at pace to ensure we get legislation right and protect LGBT individuals from these harmful practices.
We are also committed to preserving the freedom for individuals to explore their identity and sexuality, and respecting the important roles of those supporting them.
We will publish our draft Bill later this session, as outlined in the King’s Speech.
Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made with the (a) Defending Democracy Taskforce and (b) Welsh Government on protecting all levels of democracy from harm.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
It is vital that elected representatives and their staff can discharge their duties without threat of intimidation or assault. We have seen wholly unacceptable behaviour, especially during the general election.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce is looking urgently at these issues, and I will update the House further in due course.
The Taskforce also regularly engages with all devolved administrations including Wales, on tackling our shared threats including protective security. Officials will be holding their next meeting with devolved administrations following the next Taskforce due to be held in early 2025.