Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting fire services from business rates at the next fiscal event.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Certain properties are exempt from business rates. Details on exemptions can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief/exempt-properties.
Any decisions on future tax policy will be announced by the Chancellor at a fiscal event.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether all immediate choice officer pensions will be remedied by 1 April 2025.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
While the Home Office has responsibility for overarching policy and legislative changes to the police pension regulations, the police pension scheme is locally administered by individual police forces.
It is for each Chief Constable, in their role as scheme manager for their force, to determine their administrative timetable, including when remedy payments will be distributed.
The Home Office is actively collaborating with policing to support the effective implementation of the McCloud remedy for all affected individuals.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will (a) collect and (b) publish the ethnicity of (i) abusers and (ii) victims of grooming gangs.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21677 on Offences Against Children, whether her Department plans to reform the collection of data on grooming gangs.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2025 to Question 22092 on Local Government: Reform, whether local council mergers will be required under the English Devolution White Paper.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 16 December, I wrote to all councils in two-tier areas and to neighbouring small unitaries alongside the English Devolution White Paper, to set out our plans. I intend to formally invite unitary proposals in January 2025 from all these councils and I will ask for interim plans in March. I am open to hearing from other councils who consider reorganisation will put them on a more sustainable footing. As set out in the White Paper, I will take a phased approach to delivery, taking into account where reorganisation can unlock devolution, where areas are keen to move quickly or where it can help address wider failings.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent neglect of monkeys used for medical research.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) provides protections for animals in the UK used in scientific procedures. All establishments licensed to breed or supply animals, or to carry out regulated procedures on animals, in Great Britain under ASPA must comply with the Code of Practice which sets out standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of animals, including for non-human primates (monkeys). The Regulator conducts regular on-site audits to assess compliance. Non-human primates are afforded ‘specially protected species’ status in the law, which necessitates greater oversight by the Regulator.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
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 has taken to provide more data to horticulture businesses on (a) sanitary and phytosanitary border movements and (b) inspection rates generated from the Import of products, animals, food and feed system.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. To protect the integrity of this approach, we cannot share granular data on movements and inspections. Traders should continue to follow the published guidance which sets out Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) inspection rates.
Regarding communication with horticulture businesses, there is regular official level engagement with the Horticultural Trade Association (HTA) concerning the border and there has been throughout the development of the BTOM; including the recent November 21st roundtable on plants, cut flowers, and the border.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposals within the English Devolution White Paper on the (a) borders and (b) status of ceremonial counties.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The proposals within the English Devolution White Paper will not directly impact the borders or status of ceremonial counties which do not exist for the purposes of local government administration. Where areas develop proposals for local government reorganisation, we will work with councils to consider any implications for the ceremonial counties.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department will publish the ethnicity data on grooming gangs collected by the police.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any offenders who were convicted of child sexual abuse have been released early from prison since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Sex offences were automatically excluded from both the End of Custody Supervised Licence Scheme which ceased on 9 September 2024 and from the current SDS40 scheme.