Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of funding English-language BBC World Service (a) content through the licence fee and (b) language services through direct Government grant-in-aid.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The World Service English service is part funded by BBC Licence Fee and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Grant-in-Aid. Any changes to that funding model will be explored through the Charter Review process, led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Ahead of this the Government will keep an open mind about the future of the licence fee and how the World Service is funded. The Charter Review is the right moment to look at potential future World Service funding mechanisms for the longer-term.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has received representations from representatives of Pacific Island nations on the prohibition of Kava in the UK.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK prohibition is raised occasionally with our High Commissioners in the Pacific and by some Pacific Island High Commissions in London.
In each case, we remind our Pacific partners about the evidence and procedures that are required to review the ban.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the BBC World Service has a role on the Soft Power Council; and what progress that Council has made since its establishment.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Harnessing all of our soft power assets in a more purposeful manner is crucial if we are to maximise growth, security, and global impact for the UK. That is why the Foreign Secretary has established the UK Soft Power Council and commissioned a Soft Power Strategy. The BBC is a key part of this, represented on the Council by Tom Fussell from BBC Studios. The BBC World Service is contributing in various ways, including through the Director of the World Service, Jonathan Munro, acting as a member of the Council's working group on Hinge Markets.
The Council is now fully operational, bringing together expertise from various sectors and shaping enhanced delivery through its working groups. We are producing a long-term shared Strategy between Government and soft power sectors to deliver tangible impact for the UK's objectives. That will be reviewed at the Council's next Ministerial meeting on 23 July.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the level of funding for BBC (a) Arabic and (b) Persian services on his Department's strategy in those regions; and whether he plans to maintain levels of funding for those services in the next funding cycle.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office received its funding settlement for financial year (FY) 26-27 to FY 28-29 on 11 June. The Department is now starting work to determine future allocations for all spend, including the World Service language services such as Arabic and Persian, which are part funded by BBC Licence Fee and Grant in Aid. We expect this process to conclude and final allocations to be announced in the Autumn.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to increase Parliamentary oversight of the BBC World Service.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office holds the BBC World Service to account through published Objectives, Priorities and Targets which include targets for reach, quality, impact and value. In addition, there are regular meetings - quarterly, annual and ad hoc between the Foreign Secretary, Ministers, BBC Seniors and officials to monitor performance. The forthcoming Charter Review, led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), will provide an essential opportunity for the Government to consider a range of issues relating to the BBC, including how the BBC is accountable to those who fund it.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has considered reforming the Licensing of Activities Involving Animals Regulations 2018 to introduce a tiered system that distinguishes between (a) low and (b) high volume breeders.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 require anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a twelve-month period to hold a valid licence.
Defra has completed a post-implementation review of the Regulations which can be found here. The Government is considering the findings and will be outlining more detail on next steps in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the scientific evidence underpinning the prohibition of kava-kava under the Medicines for Human Use (Kava-kava) (Prohibition) Order 2002.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 3170 The Medicines for Human use (Kava-kava) (Prohibition) Order 2002 prohibits the sale, supply, and importation of Kava-kava for use in unlicensed medicines in the United Kingdom.
The Prohibition Order was reviewed after it had been in force for two years by an Expert Working Group of the Committee on Safety of Medicines, which announced in February 2006 that the prohibition was justified and proportionate and should remain in place. No further review of the prohibition order has been made.
The 2002 Prohibition Order does not exclude applicants applying for a traditional herbal registration or a marketing authorisation under Regulation 125 or Regulation 49, respectively, of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. Should a traditional herbal registration or a marketing authorisation application for a Kava-kava medicinal product be submitted to the Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, its safety would be reviewed on an application-specific basis and based on the currently available evidence.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has considered developing a national mentoring scheme pairing experienced dog breeders with first-time breeders to help promote (a) high welfare and (b) informed practices.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs provides advice to owners thinking of breeding from their dogs and a list of sources of further information they can access. The Code can be found here: Code of practice for the welfare of dogs - GOV.UK.
Owners considering breeding from their dogs can also access sector best practice such as the Canine and Feline Sector Group’s Code of Practice for Dog Breeding or advice published by the Royal Kennel Club.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on protected nature sites located within England’s National Parks.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
When it comes to development and the environment, we know we can do better than the status quo, which too often sees both sustainable housebuilding and nature recovery stall. Instead of environmental protections being seen as barriers to growth, we want to unlock a win-win for the economy and for nature. Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduces a new Nature Restoration Fund that will unlock and accelerate development while going beyond neutrality to unlock the positive impact development can have in driving nature recovery.
Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), as proposed in Part 3 of the Bill, will address any potential negative effects of development on protected sites and species, whether located in National Parks, National Landscapes or elsewhere.
EDPs can only be put in place where the Secretary of State is satisfied the delivery of conservation measures are likely to outweigh the negative effects of development. Where this is not the case, existing environmental obligations, including those arising under the Habitats Regulations, will remain in place. In addition, EDPs and the conservation measures they propose must be evidence-based and properly scrutinised before being put in place. EDPs may include back-up measures that can be deployed if monitoring shows the environmental outcomes are not being achieved.
Policy safeguards relating to the protection of National Parks and National Landscapes, including those set out in the National Planning Policy Framework and relevant National Policy Statements, remain in place.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on National Parks and National Landscapes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
When it comes to development and the environment, we know we can do better than the status quo, which too often sees both sustainable housebuilding and nature recovery stall. Instead of environmental protections being seen as barriers to growth, we want to unlock a win-win for the economy and for nature. Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduces a new Nature Restoration Fund that will unlock and accelerate development while going beyond neutrality to unlock the positive impact development can have in driving nature recovery.
Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), as proposed in Part 3 of the Bill, will address any potential negative effects of development on protected sites and species, whether located in National Parks, National Landscapes or elsewhere.
EDPs can only be put in place where the Secretary of State is satisfied the delivery of conservation measures are likely to outweigh the negative effects of development. Where this is not the case, existing environmental obligations, including those arising under the Habitats Regulations, will remain in place. In addition, EDPs and the conservation measures they propose must be evidence-based and properly scrutinised before being put in place. EDPs may include back-up measures that can be deployed if monitoring shows the environmental outcomes are not being achieved.
Policy safeguards relating to the protection of National Parks and National Landscapes, including those set out in the National Planning Policy Framework and relevant National Policy Statements, remain in place.