Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support his Department has provided to the horseracing industry following the recent equine influenza outbreak and suspension of racing.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) is an arms-length body of DCMS which is responsible for collecting a statutory Levy from betting operators which it distributes in line with its statutory duties to support British horse racing. In April 2017, the Government implemented significant reforms to the Levy, resulting in a £45m increase in statutory Levy income in 2017/18.
The HBLB provides over £200,000 annually for the Equine Influenza Programme, and a further £150,000 towards the Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance Programme, provides British racing with expert information and provisions to minimise the impact of equine diseases and respond quickly to outbreaks.
HBLB has committed to pay a contribution to owners or trainers for the costs incurred where the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) recently required test samples to be taken for equine influenza, including the cost of the swabs and the veterinary fees involved. In addition, HBLB has committed £321,500 to support the rescheduling of replacement races and fixtures following the recent suspension, and will continue discussions with the BHA regarding funding for further races and fixtures as required. The BHA have now scheduled a number of additional fixtures from February 20th onwards.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what records his Department holds on the number of women who have been deterred from seeking NHS maternity care as a result of charging under the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, as amended.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department does not hold data on the number of women who have been deterred from seeking National Health Service maternity care.
National guidance is clear that NHS maternity treatment should always be considered as immediately necessary and provided to all patients regardless of whether or not they are entitled to receive it free of charge or there are doubts about whether they could pay if subsequently found to be chargeable under the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, as amended.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to improve collaborative working between Government and industry.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Our Industrial Strategy sets out how we are building strong partnerships with businesses, academia, local government and devolved administrations.
Our Sector Deals, Grand Challenges and Local Industrial Strategies demonstrate how we are working collaboratively with industry to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business. We have published six sector deals so far on Life Sciences, Automotive, Creative Industries, Artificial Intelligence, Nuclear and Construction. The process allows for robust engagement and negotiation between industry and government leadership to ensure that we are working together effectively to tackle barriers to productivity. We have three more deals in negotiation with the Aerospace, Rail and Food and Drink sectors.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help refugee families reunite in the UK.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government provides a safe and legal route to bring families together through its family reunion policy. Under our refugee family reunion policy, we have granted visas to nearly 26,000 partners and children of those granted protection in the UK in the last five years.
Our policy allows immediate pre-flight family members of those granted protection here to reunite with them. It also includes a provision to grant visas outside the Rules in exceptional circumstances; this enables reunion between family members who otherwise do not qualify under the Rules. However, we are listening carefully to calls to expand the scope of the refugee family reunion rules and continue our productive discussions with non-governmental organisations in this area.
Family reunion is only part of the Government’s wider package of support for refugees and we have resettled a total of 5,702 people under our resettlement schemes in the year ending June 2018.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many authorised pitches each local authority in the West Midlands has been granted.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Department collects official statistics on the count of Traveller caravans in England. Data is collected from local authorities on a bi-annual basis to reflect winter residence and summer travelling trends. All datasets and publications can be found online on our statistical series page here - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/traveller-caravan-count.
The Traveller caravan count covers data on the number of caravans and traveller sites in England; it does not cover the number of occupants residing in these caravans, or caravan sites or the potential drivers for any observed change. In addition, the count does not capture the total number of pitches in each local authority, only those which are occupied at the time of each count.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what advice his Department is providing to the equine sector on the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation.
Answered by Margot James
All UK businesses together with all organisations that process personal data will be required to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) after 25th May 2018 and the UK's full data protection regime as set out in the Data Protection Bill. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) provides guidance and support to UK organisations and have already published a number of resources on the Commissioner's website (ico.org.uk) to help organisations prepare. The ICO has: launched a dedicated helpline service for smaller organisations; updated its 'SME toolkit' to reflect the requirements of the GDPR; simplified its "12-step" GDPR preparation guidance; and published tailored guidance for charities.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations his Department has received on (a) violent threats and (b) demands made by gangs of tarmac workers to (i) farmers and (ii) rural landowners.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Defra officials have had recent meetings with the NFU, the National Rural Crime Network and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, to discuss crimes occurring in the countryside, including hare coursing, fly-tipping and theft from farms.
Incidences of criminal activity and threatening behaviour affecting farmers and rural landowners are a matter for the police.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects on the equestrian sector of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
We are undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work looking at the implications of UK withdrawal from the EU. The Government is examining all areas of the UK economy and seeking input from a wide range of businesses and industry bodies in order to inform our negotiations with the EU.
The Government’s priority for the equine sector in the context of leaving the EU, remains to ensure the continued movement of horses between the UK and EU, with the minimum of delay and bureaucracy, whilst at the same time providing appropriate disease control and welfare protection from Day 1 of EU Exit onwards. We have been working through a number of options in this area, considering a wide range of stakeholder views, and intend to embark on an extensive period of stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of religious freedom in Kazakhstan; and what steps the Government is taking to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Kazakhstan has a relatively tolerant environment and constitutionally does not single out or allow preference for any particular religion.
Groups such as the Ahmadiyya and Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced some problems with the Kazakh authorities over registration and taxation issues. A recent draft law on religious activity has imposed a further regulatory burden on religious organisations.
During my visit to Kazakhstan in August 2017 I encouraged respect for human rights, and publicly addressed a Kazakh audience on the importance of human rights and equality of all citizens.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's policy paper, UK Airspace Policy: A framework for balanced decisions on the design and use of airspace, published in February 2017, what the timetable is for introducing the proposals in that paper; and what progress has been made on establishing an independent commission on civil aviation noise.
Answered by John Hayes
The government response to the consultation on UK Airspace Policy: A framework for balanced decisions on the design and use of airspace was published on 24 October 2017, together with a suite of related documents detailing the introduction of proposals. The response includes confirmation that an Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise will be established by Spring 2018.