Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the cost of an armed response callout.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Given the operational nature of armed deployments, decisions around the funding and deployment of armed officers are a matter for individual forces and their Chiefs.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times for practical driving tests.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.
To increase the number of car driving test slots, the DVSA deployed eligible managers and administrative staff back on the front line to do driving tests from the beginning of October 2023 until the end of March 2024; which created over 145,000 additional test slots. Eligible managers and administrative staff will continue to spend a portion of their time conducting car tests in the coming months to help continue to reduce waiting times.
Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers, including: the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners is creating, on average, over 48,300 extra car test slots each month.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of reports that (a) the Cameroon Armed Forces and (b) separatist groups are committing violence against civilians in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK government has been tracking developments in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon since the outbreak of the Anglophone crisis in 2016. We are aware that violence is being committed against civilians by both sides of the conflict, and I raised our human rights concerns with senior government officials during my visit to the country in April 2023. I also set out the UK's commitment to supporting a peaceful resolution through inclusive dialogue, as well as advocating for humanitarian access, development outcomes for those impacted by the conflict, and the investigation of reports of human rights abuses. Our High Commission in Cameroon is carrying these policies forward.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department is taking steps to support UK nationals with relatives in Cameroon who are affected by violence and persecution in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO provides consular assistance to British nationals. British nationals in Cameroon can sign up to alerts for our Cameroon Travel Advice at GOV.uk and call us on +44 20 7008 5000 for consular assistance. If someone is in the UK and worried about a British national in Cameroon, they can call us on 020 7008 5000.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department is taking steps to support asylum seekers fleeing violence in south Cameroon.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO is supporting civilians who are fleeing violence in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon by providing funding for humanitarian assistance. From 2022 to 2024, the UK government has provided the International Committee of the Red Cross with £2 million for food supplies, sanitation, healthcare, and social protection. We continue to encourage an inclusive dialogue on the conflict which will lead to a sustainable and enduring peace settlement.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of financial institutions he expects to participate in the suspended accounts scheme.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Shadow Minister (Home Office) (Security)
We are committed to developing a scheme that satisfies the objectives of both industry and government and it will be open to members across the whole financial sector.
As a voluntary scheme, we are currently working closely with the financial sector on the detail, to ensure that it is attractive to as many participants as possible.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the viability of local media.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
The government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry.
We are introducing a new, pro-competition regime for digital markets. The regime, which aims to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms, will help rebalance the relationship between publishers and the online platforms on which they increasingly rely. This will make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of a £2 million Future News Fund, the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department provides to local media.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
The government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry.
We are introducing a new, pro-competition regime for digital markets. The regime, which aims to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms, will help rebalance the relationship between publishers and the online platforms on which they increasingly rely. This will make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of a £2 million Future News Fund, the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Meta ending funding for the Community News Project on local journalism.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
The government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry.
We are introducing a new, pro-competition regime for digital markets. The regime, which aims to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms, will help rebalance the relationship between publishers and the online platforms on which they increasingly rely. This will make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of a £2 million Future News Fund, the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.