Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Question 25350 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Paternity Leave, tabled on 21 January 2025.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A response to Question 25350 is being prepared and will be provided as soon as possible. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what HM Land Registry's average response time is on requests to merge title deeds.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government does not hold the information in the format requested.
HM Land Registry processing times for a range of broad application categories can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of tool theft on (a) tradespeople and (b) small businesses.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government recognises the negative impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living, including small businesses.
We are continuing to work with the police-led National Business Crime Centre and industry via the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum to explore ways to tackle and prevent the theft of tools.
Following engagement with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group, Thatcham Research agreed to add to their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), locks and alarms on the back of vans (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van. This is supported by crime prevention advice developed by the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives: Secured by Design - Vans & Tool Theft.
A key part of making acquisitive crime less attractive to criminals is making stolen goods harder to sell on. That is why we are working closely with policing and academic leads to examine what more can be done to tackle the disposal markets for stolen goods and reduce the ability to profit from this criminality.
The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales on the proportion of incidents that involved tools being stolen in personal theft offences. These estimates are available in Table 3b of Nature of crime: personal and other theft. They provide estimates of theft of tools against individuals, including those who are self-employed but do not cover crimes against commercial premises.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on reducing tool theft.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government recognises the negative impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living, including small businesses.
We are continuing to work with the police-led National Business Crime Centre and industry via the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum to explore ways to tackle and prevent the theft of tools.
Following engagement with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group, Thatcham Research agreed to add to their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), locks and alarms on the back of vans (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van. This is supported by crime prevention advice developed by the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives: Secured by Design - Vans & Tool Theft.
A key part of making acquisitive crime less attractive to criminals is making stolen goods harder to sell on. That is why we are working closely with policing and academic leads to examine what more can be done to tackle the disposal markets for stolen goods and reduce the ability to profit from this criminality.
The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales on the proportion of incidents that involved tools being stolen in personal theft offences. These estimates are available in Table 3b of Nature of crime: personal and other theft. They provide estimates of theft of tools against individuals, including those who are self-employed but do not cover crimes against commercial premises.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 19 December 2024 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My noble Friend Lord Hunt of Kings Heath wrote to the hon Member on 6 February about Rampion 2.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2025 to Question 26598 on Rules of Origin, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the economic impact on the UK of joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention on Rules of Origin.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade meet regularly to discuss a wide range of pertinent issues, including through relevant Cabinet Committee meetings. At this time we do not currently have plans to join the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention on Rules of Origin, and we will not be giving a running commentary on specific discussions taking place. Any decisions will follow a robust and pragmatic consideration of benefits, risks and the national interest.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on what date the Incorporated Companies in the UK statistical release for October to December 2024 will be published.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Companies House aims to release the specific statistics for October to December 2024 by the end of February 2025. Further information about the reason for the delay will accompany the statistics when they are published. Updates on this matter are available on the gov.uk website:
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press notice of 2 September 2023 entitled Consultation launched into unregulated cosmetic procedures, if he will publish the response to the consultation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to taking action to address concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector, and is exploring options for further regulation in this area. We will set out the details of our approach at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to section 180 of the Health and Social Care Act 2022, whether he plans to create a licensing regime for non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to taking action to address concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector, and is exploring options for further regulation in this area. We will set out the details of our approach at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what has been the cost of the UK Trade Envoy programme since its inception; and what was the cost of the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy programme in each of the last 5 years in which it operated.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoys have just been appointed minimal costs have occurred. Costs of the Prime Minister Trade Envoy programme for the past five years is in the table below.
2020/2021 | 2021/2022 | 2022/2023 | 2023/2024 | 2024/2025 |
£12,106 | £106,659 | £203,642 | £228,583 | £27,809 |