Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, What the average prison sentence is for cannabis possession offences.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the average sentence for cannabis possession offences, from 2010 to 2024, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2024.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38383 on G4S: Fines, what steps she is taking to (a) highlight and (b) report on steps taken by her Department to (i) monitor the performance of and (ii) impose financial penalties on G4S in relation to its key performance indicators.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has an established robust contractual performance management regime in place that reviews G4S achievement against KPIs monthly.
The top 3 KPIs achievement are published quarterly in line with Cabinet Office transparency guidelines.
In terms of fines, I refer the honourable member to PQ 38383.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people reliant on Personal Independence Payments to access employment opportunities.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 March 2025 to Question UIN39344.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has plans to extend its consultation entitled A railway fit for Britain's future, published on 18 February 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are not intending to extend the consultation ‘A railway fit for Britain’s future’. We understand that the eight-week timeline will be unwelcome for some, but we are also keenly aware that passengers and freight customers have waited far too long to see the improvements to the railway that they rightly expect and deserve. We need to move quickly to legislate in this Parliamentary session and start delivering these improvements. We believe the current timeframe strikes that balance effectively.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the annual cost of cannabis-related health conditions to the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to reducing the harm from all illicit drugs. Any illegal drug use, including cannabis, can be harmful, both from immediate side-effects and long-term physical and mental health problems. It can, for some, have a negative impact on their fertility. Cannabis use can contribute to and exacerbate existing mental health problems or can accelerate their development in people predisposed to mental health problems.
No estimate has been made of the annual cost to the National Health Service specifically of cannabis-related health conditions or the impact of cannabis-related mental health conditions on NHS finances. An assessment cannot be accurately made because the data relating to cannabis and mental health related health conditions and admissions is presented across various settings. The diagnosis code for ‘mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids’ does not include admissions to mental health hospitals or cannabis-related treatment occurring outside of a hospital setting.
Dame Carol Black’s review of evidence related to drugs, published in February 2020, estimated the cost to the NHS of illegal drug use, not substance specific, at £431 million per annum. This includes admissions in secondary care, prison treatment and infectious disease. However, this figure does not include other NHS costs such as primary care or accident & emergency usage so will be an underestimate.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 potential impact of cannabis-related mental health admissions on NHS finances.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to reducing the harm from all illicit drugs. Any illegal drug use, including cannabis, can be harmful, both from immediate side-effects and long-term physical and mental health problems. It can, for some, have a negative impact on their fertility. Cannabis use can contribute to and exacerbate existing mental health problems or can accelerate their development in people predisposed to mental health problems.
No estimate has been made of the annual cost to the National Health Service specifically of cannabis-related health conditions or the impact of cannabis-related mental health conditions on NHS finances. An assessment cannot be accurately made because the data relating to cannabis and mental health related health conditions and admissions is presented across various settings. The diagnosis code for ‘mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids’ does not include admissions to mental health hospitals or cannabis-related treatment occurring outside of a hospital setting.
Dame Carol Black’s review of evidence related to drugs, published in February 2020, estimated the cost to the NHS of illegal drug use, not substance specific, at £431 million per annum. This includes admissions in secondary care, prison treatment and infectious disease. However, this figure does not include other NHS costs such as primary care or accident & emergency usage so will be an underestimate.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the sale of human remains (a) on e-commerce sites and (b) at auctions.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is for businesses and auction rooms to consider the consent and licensing provisions of the Human Tissue Act 2004. Those who sell or purchase human remains may also be subject to their own professional standards and codes of conduct.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will publish an equality impact assessment on reforms set out in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We will publish the equality analysis for measures included in the Spring Statement alongside the Spring Statement, with equality analysis for other reforms, where possible, following shortly after.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2025 to Question 33570 on General Practitioners: Unemployment, which bodies hold data on the number of unemployed GPs; and for what reason that data is not held centrally.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the General Medical Council register contains data on the number of qualified general practitioners (GPs), the National Health Service is not the is not the sole employer of GPs. They may choose to undertake private work, to work in other settings outside of general practice, for example, prisons or army bases, or to work abroad. Since the NHS only collects data on GPs employed through the NHS, unemployment figures are not available.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial penalties have been imposed on G4S for failing to meet key performance indicators on officer deployment or site availability in the last twelve months.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP have applied the full contract performance management regime across the last 12 months, including service credits (pre-determined costs associated with a supplier failing to deliver a service or missing a target). Over the last 12 months, strike activity on the contract has increased the amount of Service Credits applied. DWP have worked with G4S collaboratively to mitigate the impact on front line services while G4S sought a resolution to the dispute with their workforce.
The exact value of the service credits is commercially sensitive and I am therefore unable to set out exact amounts.