Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary on its decision to make second and subsequent bail applications remote by default.

Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice

It is standard practice not to comment on discussions between Ministers and the judiciary.

The Lord Chancellor is supportive of any efforts to help ensure sufficient capacity in the courts to hear bail applications and to remove principal structural barriers to applications being submitted, and he welcomes the revised guidance launched by Judicial Office which sets out that all second and subsequent bail applications to the Crown Court should be heard remotely unless ordered otherwise by a judge.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any operators have lost their accreditation to the Safeguarding on Rail Scheme.

Answered by Huw Merriman

Since the first Safeguarding on Rail Scheme accreditation for Great Western Railway (GWR) in 2021, no rail operator has lost their accreditation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new Safety of Women at Night Fund.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

The independent evaluation of the Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Fund, worth £5 million and delivered over the 2021/22 financial year, was published on 10 April.

Learnings from the SWaN Fund were incorporated into rounds Four and Five of the Safer Streets Fund, worth £50m and £35m respectively, which included a primary objective around combatting violence against women and girls in public spaces, and have funded a range of interventions including CCTV, streetlighting and educational initiatives with a focus on changing attitudes and behaviours. Round five is currently ongoing.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the labelling of alcohol products with consumer health information.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom

Clear and accurate alcohol product labelling is crucial to ensuring consumers have access to essential information about the products they are purchasing, whilst also promoting transparency, responsible consumption, and safety.

Current alcohol labelling guidance recommends that health information, including pregnancy warnings, a drink driving warning, and the Chief Medical Officer’s weekly limit guidance, are included on the label for alcohol products. It is also a legal requirement to display alcohol by volume (ABV) labelling on drinks above the 1.2% ABV threshold.

The Department has recently consulted on updating labelling guidance for non-alcoholic and low alcohol products. This consultation closed on 23 November 2023, and the consultation response will be published shortly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the proportion of ultra-processed foods in school meals.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education

There is no universally agreed definition of ultra-processed foods. The term defines foods by how much processing they have been through rather than their nutritional composition.

The standards for school food are set out in The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014. These regulations are designed to ensure that schools provide pupils with healthy food and drink options and to make sure that pupils have the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day.

The ‘School Food Standards’ define the foods and drinks that must be provided, those which are restricted and those which must never be provided. The standards already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, including crisps, confectionery and high-sugar drinks, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods. They also ensure that the right foods are available for children every day. For example, one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day and at least three different fruits every week.

Compliance with the standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, academies and free schools. School governors and trustees have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.

The department believes that the standards provide a robust yet flexible framework for school food provision. The government continues to keep the standards under review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the salary threshold for visas for social workers on the recruitment of social workers from overseas.

Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

Social workers are recruited under the Health and Care Worker visa, and therefore are exempt from the salary threshold of £38,700 required by the Skilled Worker visa. Social workers recruited from overseas are subject to national pay scales, and therefore must be paid in line with the National Health Service agenda for change pay scales.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people have been referred by Kent County Council to the National Transfer Scheme in each of the last three months.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson

The most recently available information is regularly published on the government website.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people are awaiting allocation to a transfer to an authority under the National Transfer Scheme.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson

The most recently available information is regularly published on the government website.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people have been referred onto the National Transfer Scheme in each of the last three months.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson

The most recently available information is regularly published on the government website.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people have been (a) allocated to a local authority and (b) have yet to be relocated under the National Transfer Scheme.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson

The most recently available information is regularly published on the government website.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arrived in Kent in each of the last three months.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson

The most recently available information is regularly published on the government website.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of children have refused their (a) first and (b) second move on the National Transfer Scheme; and what guidance his Department issues on refusals by children to move through the National Transfer Scheme.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson

The decision for any UAS child to be referred to the NTS for transfer lies with the local authority as the child’s corporate parent. The NTS Protocol sets out the criteria for referring a child to the NTS, and the associated timeframes, which can be found here: Unaccompanied asylum seeking children: national transfer scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The NTS Protocol also outlines the escalation procedure on how to proceed when any issues arise between the receiving local authority around a transfer.

The most recent published data can be found at: RASI (Resettlement, Asylum Support and Integration) data: Q3 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of children who have been allocated a transfer to a local authority through the National Transfer Scheme have been refused by that local authority.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson

The decision for any UAS child to be referred to the NTS for transfer lies with the local authority as the child’s corporate parent. The NTS Protocol sets out the criteria for referring a child to the NTS, and the associated timeframes, which can be found here: Unaccompanied asylum seeking children: national transfer scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The NTS Protocol also outlines the escalation procedure on how to proceed when any issues arise between the receiving local authority around a transfer.

The most recent published data can be found at: RASI (Resettlement, Asylum Support and Integration) data: Q3 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has issued guidance on the time period within which young people should be (a) referred to the National Transfer Scheme and (b) moved to the receiving local authority.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson

The decision for any UAS child to be referred to the NTS for transfer lies with the local authority as the child’s corporate parent. The NTS Protocol sets out the criteria for referring a child to the NTS, and the associated timeframes, which can be found here: Unaccompanied asylum seeking children: national transfer scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The NTS Protocol also outlines the escalation procedure on how to proceed when any issues arise between the receiving local authority around a transfer.

The most recent published data can be found at: RASI (Resettlement, Asylum Support and Integration) data: Q3 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a compensation scheme for Northern Rock shareholders.

Answered by Bim Afolami

HM Treasury considers the issue of compensation for former Northern Rock shareholders to be settled. Both the Upper Tribunal in 2011 and the Court of Appeal in 2013 upheld the independent valuation of Northern Rock shares at nil value immediately prior to public ownership, and that no compensation was therefore due. HM Treasury does not intend to revisit this issue.

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Found: Shadow justice minister Alex Cunningham pushed two Opposition amendments to a division: the first to

Found: Letter dated 10/05/2024 from Chris Philp MP and Laura Farris MP to Alex Cunningham MP and Alex Norris

Found: Letter dated 10/05/2024 from Chris Philp MP and Laura Farris MP to Alex Cunningham MP and Alex Norris

Found: Letter dated 10/05/2024 from Chris Philp MP and Laura Farris MP to Alex Cunningham MP and Alex Norris

Found: Letter dated 14/05/2024 from Laura Farris MP and Chris Philp MP to Alex Cunningham MP, Alex Norris MP

Found: Letter dated 14/05/2024 from Laura Farris MP and Chris Philp MP to Alex Cunningham MP, Alex Norris MP

Found: Letter dated 14/05/2024 from Laura Farris MP and Chris Philp MP to Alex Cunningham MP, Alex Norris MP