Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to incorporate wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes.
The NWCU provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime. This includes supporting cases referred by Border Force to the National Crime Agency or to individual forces. The NWCU is also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity.
In addition, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.
Training standards and the national policing curriculum (covering initial training for all officers) are set by the College of Policing to ensure all officers benefit from the same high standard of initial training, regardless of which force they join. Officers undertake further training and development in the course of their career, which may be tailored to their specific role.
We do not currently have plans to incorporate wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework.
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, what steps she has taken to ensure continued supply of veterinary medicines from Great Britain to Northern Ireland; and what steps she has taken to avoid veterinary regulatory divergence.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since EU Exit, a grace period has been in place and continues to be in place until the end of 2025 to safeguard the continued supply to Northern Ireland. The UK Government is committed to securing a long-term sustainable solution ahead of December 2025 that will properly support the flow of veterinary medicines into Northern Ireland from Great Britain on an enduring basis.
The Government is determined to safeguard the supply of veterinary medicines in all scenarios, and our key priority is to pursue technical discussions with the EU to find a solution that removes the barriers to supply; in return we are willing to provide assurances and safeguards to the EU. The newly established Veterinary Medicines Working Group, including experts, industry representatives and elected representatives, is playing a key role in advising the Government on identifying solutions at pace.
We are also taking steps to make it easier for businesses to apply for a licence on a UK-wide basis and facilitate continued veterinary medicines supply to the whole of the UK. New legislation (the Veterinary Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2024) has been laid in Parliament and is expected to come into force very soon.
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 steps her Department is taking to tackle the recent increase in cases of tuberculosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
To support tuberculosis (TB) control in England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England launched a collaborative TB Action Plan in July 2021. This has specific actions and measurable objectives to improve the prevention, detection, and control of TB in England. This action plan is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuberculosis-tb-action-plan-for-england
The UKHSA and NHS England continue their work with partners to raise awareness of TB among vulnerable communities and healthcare professionals, to support early detection and diagnosis of TB. The measures identified in the action plan are currently being reviewed in the light of the current increase in cases, to ensure resources are focused on the actions with the highest benefit.
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, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government firmly believes that Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 plays a very important part in our overall approach towards tackling dangerous dogs. The existing legal framework for dog control equips the police and local authorities with appropriate powers to tackle dangerous dogs and irresponsible dog ownership. We are working in partnership with the police, local authorities and animal welfare organisations to ensure that the full range of existing dog control powers are effectively applied to encourage responsible dog ownership and reduce the risk of dog attacks.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government supports local authorities in their provision of (a) lollipop men and women and (b) other road safety measures for children.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The provision of the school crossing patrol service is a matter for the local authority. Legislation gives local authorities the power to make arrangements for the patrolling of places where children cross roads, on their way to or from school, but does not impose a duty on them to do so.
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, how much funding was provided for (a) dementia and (b) cancer research in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government responsibility for delivering dementia research and dementia research funding is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.
In 2022/23, we estimate that total Government spend on dementia research was £99.9 million, with £35.1 million of this being via the NIHR. The Department of Health and Social Care spends £1.3 billion per year on health research through the NIHR. NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £121.8 million in 2022/23, and the NIHR spends more on cancer than any other disease group.
The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including all cancers and dementia types. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the land-attack missile capabilities of the Royal Navy; and what steps he has taken to strengthen those capabilities.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Capability assessment is routine activity for Defence, ensuring that the UK Armed Forces keeps pace with the emerging threat and adopts the latest technology.
The Royal Navy (RN) is capable of delivering land attack from all domains: Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles launched from Astute Class Submarines; Paveway IV precision guided bombs from F-35B; and most recently, the Naval Strike Missile, which is in the process of being fitted to surface ships.
Several future options, which include a land attack capability, are also under consideration as part of the Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapon programme which will equip future RN ships. We continually keep all such capabilities under review, including as part of our wider munitions strategy.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to ensure that the Dragonfire laser directed-energy weapon achieves operational capability.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has committed to accelerating DragonFire Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) into operational capability to meet real world threats. Thus far, the DragonFire system has been tested against a range of targets, proving to be highly effective. This has been further evidenced through Dstl's Operational Analysis, confirming the technology's benefits against the threats faced by the Royal Navy in the Red Sea. The MOD has also invested in understanding the risks of integrating systems onto Royal Navy vessels and therefore has experience in the matter. To deliver at greater pace, we will be using the principles of Minimum Deployable Capability and spiral development, as set out in our new Integrated Procurement Model.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his Department’s policy to extend the service of the Type 45 Destroyer beyond 2038.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Type 45 Destroyer Class is currently due to be Out of Service in 2038 and no decision has been taken on an extension beyond this date.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has met with his (a) Canadian and (b) New Zealand counterparts in 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I can confirm that the Secretary of State for Defence has met his Canadian counterpart on two occasions in 2024, and has spoken with his New Zealand counterpart once and will meet with her in due course.