Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions officials in his Department (a) have had and (b) plan to have with their counterparts in Northern Ireland on equine (i) sales and (ii) transport between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government engages regularly with Northern Ireland stakeholders and would welcome ongoing engagement with those transporting equines between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Indeed, the Northern Ireland Office’s Minister of State, Steve Baker MP, recently met with the Equine and Rare Breeds Society alongside the honourable member during a visit to Northern Ireland to discuss this issue.
As said in PQ 16046, the Movement Assistance Scheme is available to reimburse costs (including veterinary checks) for horses moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and horses moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain have unfettered access.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he (a) has had and (b) plans to have discussions with relevant stakeholders on equine transport between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government engages regularly with Northern Ireland stakeholders and would welcome ongoing engagement with those transporting equines between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Indeed, the Northern Ireland Office’s Minister of State, Steve Baker MP, recently met with the Equine and Rare Breeds Society alongside the honourable member during a visit to Northern Ireland to discuss this issue.
As said in PQ 16046, the Movement Assistance Scheme is available to reimburse costs (including veterinary checks) for horses moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and horses moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain have unfettered access.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for publication of the latest Relationships, Sex, Health and Education statutory guidance.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department aims to be in a position to publish a draft of the guidance for the consultation very shortly so that the new guidance will be available as soon as possible this year.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on reducing barriers to bringing used agricultural machinery from Great Britain to Northern Ireland for resale.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Windsor Framework we announced the new Northern Ireland Plant Health Label Scheme, which has streamlined the process for moving used agricultural and forestry machinery from GB to NI. We have been engaging with industry on the operation of the scheme, and will be taking forward further work in the light of a consultation which concluded earlier this month.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress the Veterinary Medicines working group has made on increasing access to veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland since its inaugural meeting.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Government’s priority is to secure a long-term sustainable solution on veterinary medicines. We aim to settle on a solution through discussions with the EU, as well as continuing to consider all available flexibilities as necessary to safeguard and sustain the supply of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland. To support that work, the Veterinary Medicines Working Group was established in March. It has met twice so far, and is serving as a forum for constructive and detailed exploration of next steps.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on the implementation of baby loss certificates similar to those in England.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Eligibility for the Baby Loss Certificate service is being continually assessed. Although health is a devolved matter, my officials have been in regular contact with their counterparts in the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, to discuss implementation of Baby Loss Certificates in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to support (a) human rights and (b) democracy in (i) sub-Saharan Africa and (ii) other countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is a long-standing supporter of an open international order based on respect for democracy and human rights. Globally, our work includes holding Russia to account over its actions in Ukraine and at home and China for its actions in Xinjiang province; and supporting the Human Rights Council and the Summits for Democracy. Across Africa, our human rights work has included support to media freedom in South Sudan, human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, and tackling child exploitation in DRC. We have also partnered to support democratic institutions: for example, the judiciary in Kenya, civil society in Nigeria, and the African Union (AU), through our £7 million AU Conflict and Governance programme.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he (a) has had and (b) plans to have discussions with (i) Cabinet colleagues and (ii) relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of increasing the tax free childcare allowance.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury work closely with other Government departments and relevant stakeholders on all elements of childcare policy, including Tax-Free Childcare.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is taking steps to provide humanitarian support in Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains concerned by the deteriorating security situation in Haiti which exacerbates pre-existing humanitarian and economic crises. We continue to support Haiti through our contributions to UN agencies, multi donor, pooled NGO funds, and institutions such as the World Bank Group, who are active in addressing Haiti's significant humanitarian challenges.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help prevent reoffending by people convicted of violent offences.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to tackling the causes of reoffending to keep our communities safe. Between 2010/11 and 2020/21, the overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 31.6% to 24.4%.
Rehabilitation is critical to reducing reoffending. It is the process by which we assist people either to change themselves or improve their life circumstances, addressing their drivers of reoffending and therefore cutting crime. Rehabilitation takes many forms, ranging from the delivery of a cognitive behaviour programme to enabling a person to access suitable accommodation and the means to earn a living.
HMPPS offers 5 Accredited Programmes specifically designed for those individuals convicted of general, domestic, intimate partner violent offending: Kaizen, Becoming New Me Plus (BNM+), Building Better Relationships (BBR), New Me Strengths (NMS), and Living as New Me (LNM). The Thinking Skills Programme (TSP) is a responsive and flexible Accredited Programme that may be suitable for those offenders who do not meet the eligibility criteria for more specific programmes, as well as the New Me MOT toolkit, offering continuity of support to those who have completed the Kaizen, BNM+, or NMS programmes.
In addition to our targeted work to prevent violent crime reoffending, we are also working hard to ensure that prison leavers across the estate have the right building blocks in place to ensure they are successful on release. For example, we are helping prison leavers to secure accommodation, employment, and substance misuse treatment, all of which are essential for rehabilitation and can significantly reduce the likelihood of reoffending. We are also delivering Commissioned Rehabilitative Services which provide offenders with tailored, community-based services to support rehabilitation and drive down reoffending. On top of this, we are expanding the use of electronic monitoring for both community-based sentences and post-custody licence to help reduce the risk of reoffending and support robust offender management.
Finally, public protection work is central to the work of the Probation Service. We have also increased our baseline funding by £155 million per annum which is helping us to increase staffing and take other action to improve delivery across HMPPS so that the service can best achieve its purpose of protecting the public and reducing reoffending.