Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offences involving (a) knives and (b) other sharp instruments were recorded in a (i) domestic residence and (ii) non-domestic setting by each police force in England and Wales in the last year for which information is available; and if he will provide a breakdown of those figures by the gender of the victim.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold the requested data. Statistics on knife or sharp instrument offences may be found as part of the Office for National Statistics release: Crime in England and Wales: year ending September 2023.
There are no plans at present to commission specific research to provide a data set about prevalence of knife / sharp instrument offending in domestic residential settings.
The Home Office regularly considers representations about knife crime and knives from interested parties including the police, Members of Parliament and members of the public. This has on occasion included representations about round tipped kitchen knives reducing the risk of injury.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether existing smart meters will need to be replaced when the UK's 2G and 3G networks are phased out in 2033.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is working closely with industry to ensure a smooth transition of services when 2G/3G communication services are switched off by the end of 2033.
In premises where smart meters have reached the end of their expected lifespan, they will be replaced with a new smart meter as part of business-as-usual activity. Where smart meters are within their lifespan we expect suppliers to upgrade communications hubs, without the need to replace the smart meter itself.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the management of the Data Communications Company's smart meter network will transfer from O2 to Vodafone.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The transfer will occur from 2025 until the end of 2033, when the smart metering communications service in the Central and South regions of Great Britain will have been transitioned to a 4G service using the Vodafone network.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring greater protection to landscapes with a distinct literary (a) heritage and (b) value in planning policy.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out that planning policies and decisions should recognise the character and beauty of the countryside, and local authorities are expected to protect heritage assets which can include landscape and setting of listed buildings.
Substantial harm to, or loss of, the significance of designated heritage assets of the highest significance – including World Heritage Sites – should be wholly exceptional. A notable example of protected landscape is the Lake District, inscribed as a World Heritage Site for its rich cultural landscape in recognition of its importance to Wordsworth.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2023 to Question 3556 on Chemicals: Regulation, for what reason no new additions to the UK’s Substance of Very High Concern waitlist are expected before 2025.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) work under the agreed 2023-24 UK REACH Work Programme has not identified any substances that are suitable candidates for authorisation under UK REACH, which would need to be included in the Candidate List as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC).
HSE’s work includes both technical assessments of substances candidate-listed in the EU and regulatory management options analyses (RMOAs), which are reviewed in the context of the interim principles for the inclusion of SVHCs on the candidate list (Approach to including substances of very high concern on the UK REACH candidate list – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). If suitable substances are identified to go onto the Candidate List from this work, they will be taken forward. RMOAs may, however, also identify that other regulatory approaches are more appropriate than REACH authorisation.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment has he made of the adequacy of the UK’s chemical safety regulations.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The UK’s chemical regulations play an important role in protecting human safety and health as well as the environment and wildlife. The Government ensured that an operable regime for chemicals was put in place at the time the UK left the EU.
Following EU exit, the government continues to assess how best to provide ongoing protection in an effective, proportionate and targeted way, taking into account the full range of regulatory options. Several government departments have responsibilities within the UK chemicals regulatory framework.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is considering opportunities for legislative reform within their areas of legislative remit.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with pharmaceutical companies on making the Covid vaccine commercially available.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government is committed to protecting those most at risk from COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Those eligible receive vaccination for free through the National Health Service. Whether and when a private market for COVID-19 vaccines emerges is a matter for private companies, and the Government has no formal role in this. However, the Government is supportive of the emergence of a private market for COVID-19 vaccines to increase choice for consumers. I have engaged with relevant interested parties who may seek to enter the private market this year, including vaccine manufacturers and pharmacies.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2024 to Question 9914 on Universal Credit: Farmers, whether he has made an assessment of the potential financial impact of moving from Working Tax Credits to Universal Credit on recipient farmers in the last five years; and if he will undertake an assessment in the next three months.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made and there are no plans to make an assessment.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using alternative methods of calculating monthly Universal Credit rates for self-employed recipients with seasonal income and expenditure patterns.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using annual income as the basis for Universal Credit rates for self-employed recipients with seasonal income and expenditure patterns.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.