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 had discussions with Meta on funding for the Community News Project.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
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 Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether a Minister in her Department leads on policy on supporting children through parental separation.
Answered by David Johnston
Ministers work closely across government to support children, including those going through parental separation.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is responsible for private family law, which includes marriage and divorce. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the MoJ responsible for this is Lord Bellamy KC.
In my role as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing at the department, I work closely with Lord Bellamy KC at the MoJ, including through the national Family Justice Board, which we jointly chair.
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, whether his Department has made an assessment of the prevalence of certificates of sponsorship for care workers being sold overseas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Home Office is aware of allegations of the selling of Certificates of Sponsorship to care workers overseas. All allegations of abuse are investigated but no wider assessment of the prevalence of this activity has been undertaken.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of Riluzole for patients with motor neurone disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
We are aware that one of the suppliers of riluzole 50 milligram tablets is experiencing a supply issue. However, alternative suppliers have stock available. We are working closely with all the manufacturers and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure supplies remain available for patients in the United Kingdom.
We have well-established processes for managing and mitigating medicine supply issues, which involve working with the pharmaceutical industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, the devolved governments, and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure patients have access to the treatments they need.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve access to Riluzole for patients with motor neurone disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
We are aware that one of the suppliers of riluzole 50 milligram tablets is experiencing a supply issue. However, alternative suppliers have stock available. We are working closely with all the manufacturers and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure supplies remain available for patients in the United Kingdom.
We have well-established processes for managing and mitigating medicine supply issues, which involve working with the pharmaceutical industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, the devolved governments, and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure patients have access to the treatments they need.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on (a) cat and (b) other pet theft.
Answered by Mark Spencer
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 November 2023 to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby, PQ 599.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a ban on trail hunting on land owned by her Department.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Since the introduction of the Act, many hunt organisations across the country have worked hard to adapt their activities towards trail hunting, which is intended to retain important traditions as part of the fabric of rural life without harming wildlife. The Government takes wildlife crime seriously. In 2022, Defra more than doubled its funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit from a total of £495,000 over the three previous years to £1.2 million for the three-year period of 2022-25. The Government will not amend the Hunting Act.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
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 local authorities to use the same model for the commissioning of social care services.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Under the Care Act, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to ensure a diverse range of high-quality person-centred care and ensure that support services are provided to meet the needs of the local population. We recognise that this is challenging, and the Government intends to develop a set of national commissioning standards, to set clear expectations of what good commissioning looks like and to drive greater consistency across the country. We are also investing in a new training offer for senior commissioners, to enhance strategic leadership capability and ensure they have the skills they need to shape their markets well.
We recently published the Market Sustainability Insights Report, which summaries some of the approaches local authorities in England are taking to building sustainable and innovative care markets. It is designed to be a supportive tool for local authority commissioners and it is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-market-sustainability-plans-insights-report
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of (a) the treatment of Ahmad Manasra and (b) other related investigations into allegations of torture and human rights abuses in Palestine.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government's position is clear: all states, including Israel, must exercise their legitimate right to self-defence in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary will continue to engage regularly and closely with their Israeli counterparts on this issue. Our focus right now is securing sustained humanitarian access to Gaza, securing the release of British hostages and showing solidarity with Israel in defending itself against Hamas.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of processes for social care users to (a) acquire the care they need and (b) file complaints.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The Government has made up to £8.1 billion available over this year and next to strengthen adult social care provision with the aim of ensuring everyone can access high quality care that enables choice, control and independence.
Local Authorities are responsible for the delivery of social care. Local authorities must assess individuals’ care and support needs and, where the person is eligible, meet those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authorities in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
By law, all health and social care services must have a procedure for dealing efficiently with complaints, and anyone who has seen or experienced poor-quality care has the right to complain to the organisation that provided or paid for the care.
If an individual is not satisfied with the way a provider or local authority has dealt with a complaint, they may escalate it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman who can investigate individual concerns.