Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's regional strategy of President Erdogan’s meeting with President Raisi and President Putin on 19 July 2022.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The meeting of 19 July 2022 took place within the framework of the 'Astana' format, which Turkey, Russia and Iran have used since 2017 to discuss Syria and which the UK does not recognise this as the legitimate forum to discuss Syria's political future. Turkey is a NATO ally and an important partner for the UK in addressing the security and humanitarian challenges in the region, including northern Syria, where we urge all parties to maintain ceasefires and protect civilians. Ultimately, the only way to end the terrible suffering of the Syrian people, inflicted by the Syrian regime and its allies, including Russia and Iran, is through the UN-facilitated political process in Geneva.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with her Lebanese counterpart on the launching of drones by Hezbollah towards Israel’s Karish gas facility.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Our commitment to Israel's security is unwavering. Lebanon and Israel are important regional partners for the UK and we collaborate closely on issues of defence and security. This includes regular discussions at the highest levels on the destabilising threat posed by Hizballah activity across the region. We condemn Hizballah's activity which directly threatens regional stability and endangers civilians in Lebanon and Israel.
FCDO Minister of State, Lord [Tariq] Ahmad of Wimbledon most recently discussed regional security with Lebanese Foreign Minister Bou Habib on 6 July. The Former Foreign Secretary also raised this issue during a call with Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid on 22 June.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help minimise disruption to the wider supply chain during the transition from Energy Company Obligation 3 to Energy Company Obligation 4.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government introduced ECO3 Interim Delivery to help with the transition between ECO3 and ECO4 and to prevent a supply chain hiatus,. As suppliers and installers are familiar with ECO3 requirements, this has provided greater certainty prior to the regulations and final guidance.
In discussions, energy suppliers have confirmed that they have been using ECO3 Interim Delivery.
In addition, Ofgem has published the Full Project Scores and Partial Project Scores in advance of ECO4. This gives industry certainty on what ECO4 activities will be commercially worthwhile, helping to guide suppliers in planning and contracting.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether it is her Department's policy that Non-Fungible Tokens or any aspect of the mechanisms of their transfer are considered to be user-to-user regulated content under the terms set out in the Online Safety Bill.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
We introduced the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 17 March 2022 and it passed its second reading in the House of Commons on 19 April.
The Bill will apply to a range of services that allow users to interact with each other and post content online. Companies will have duties to take action to prevent the proliferation of illegal content and to protect children from harmful content. This will include taking action against harmful content within Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), such as preventing users from encountering them where these are shared on in scope services.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure political impartiality among magistrates and judges in judicial proceedings.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
An independent and impartial judiciary is one of the cornerstones of the United Kingdom’s constitution and vital to the proper functioning of our democracy based on the rule of law.
There is a statutory prohibition on salaried judges undertaking any kind of political activity or having ties with a political party. This prohibition includes holding political office. The Lord Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals set out guidance for judicial conduct in the Guide to Judicial Conduct which applies to judges, coroners and magistrates. The basic principles guiding judicial conduct are judicial independence, impartiality and integrity and the Guide to Judicial Conduct explains that judges should avoid any appearance of political ties.
As the judiciary is independent of government, it is not appropriate for the government to comment on the actions of a judge during a case. Complaints of judicial conduct may be referred to the independent Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO). What does and does not constitute a question of misconduct is for the JCIO to determine.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to help clear the backlog of cases in rural courts.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
We continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on our criminal justice system, and we are seeing the impact of our actions.
The backlog in the Crown Court has reduced from around 61,000 cases in June 2021 to around 58,700 cases at the end of November 2021 and in the magistrates’ court, the caseload is close to recovering to pre-pandemic levels. In the civil courts, volumes of final hearings increased from around half of pre-Covid levels in June 2020 to around 80% in May 2021. While the family courts’ sitting day figures for 2021 are yet to be published, 2020 saw us sit our highest ever number of days. The volume of disposals also increased significantly in both public and private family law between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021. In public law there were 6,229 disposals and in private law there were 26,672 disposals in Q2 2021, a 20% and 23% increase on Q2 2020 respectively.
We have continued to ensure our court buildings are safe, rolled out new technology for remote hearings, recruited additional staff and we will be retaining 32 Nightingale Crown Court rooms until the end of March 2022. Furthermore, we are now extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months for a single Triable Either Way offence to allow more cases to be heard in the magistrates' court. This measure will provide vital additional capacity in the Crown Courts to drive down the backlog of cases over the coming years. We estimate that this will save nearly 2,000 Crown Court sitting days per year.
To ensure the regions most at need get the resources required, we are working with the judiciary to move cases across regional boundaries to areas with spare capacity where appropriate, and using a national, flexible pool of judges for regions to draw from as required. We are also taking steps to extend Nightingale Court arrangements, on a case-by-case basis, dependant on local need.
We are investing £477 million in the Criminal Justice System over the next three years to help reduce the backlog and deliver the swift access to justice that victims deserve.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support he plans to put in place for people who are (a) experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the rise in energy bills and (b) residing in properties with a council tax band of D or above.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government is providing significant financial support – up to £350 – to the majority of households. Households in England residing in properties in bands A-D will receive the £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate. Local authorities will also receive £144m to provide targeted support to lower income households in bands E-H and those exempt from council tax. Domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will also receive a £200 cash rebate on their electricity costs this October, paid back automatically over the next 5 years, spreading the increased costs of global prices over time in a way that is more manageable for households. This is alongside the wider support available, such as the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payment.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent by police forces on enforcing mandatory mask wearing on TFL services since the end of Plan B covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Face covering enforcement has been incorporated into business as usual patrolling. There is therefore no dedicated funding since the end of Plan B restrictions.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of offering the hepatitis A and B vaccinations as routine vaccinations rather than for high-risk groups.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The approach of vaccinating high-risk groups for both hepatitis A and B vaccination programmes is based on the government expert immunisation advisors, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI keeps the eligibility criteria of all vaccination programmes under review and considers new evidence as it emerges.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the yellow fever vaccine available on the NHS.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Yellow fever occurs in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa and South and Central America. There is no risk of transmission in the United Kingdom (UK) from imported cases of yellow fever since the mosquito vector does not occur in the UK. Therefore, there are no current plans make this vaccine available on the National Health Service.