Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle homophobia in boxing.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sport must be open to everyone. There is absolutely no place for homophobia, or discrimination of any kind, in sport or society.
The Government expects sports bodies, including the boxing authorities, to take robust action to tackle discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs. The Government will continue to work with National Governing Bodies and sector organisations to fight all forms of discrimination at all levels of sport.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of standards of (a) maintenance and (b) repair work to (i) Single Living and (ii) Service Families Accommodation.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Within each Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contract, there is an embedded assurance and verification process to check the adequacy of the maintenance and repair service provided to Single Living and Service Families Accommodation. The assessments are made against Acceptable Levels of Performance (ALP).
We continue to robustly challenge supplier performance against agreed levels. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation Chief Executive and his Officials hold monthly scrutiny meetings with contractor Chief Executives to continue to hold them to account, drive performance improvements and deliver the best possible service to Service personnel and their families.
Where performance falls short of that ALP, specific performance Rectification Plans are put in place to recover performance and any subsequent contractual performance withholds applied. Each Region manages this performance rectification with suppliers back to an acceptable level of performance with oversight from the Health Check Forum.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making wildlife crimes notifiable offences.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.
That is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit, which plays a vital role in providing intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK.
Any non-notifiable wildlife crime reported to the police can still be investigated where appropriate, as Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support the National Wildlife Crime Unit.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.
That is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit, which plays a vital role in providing intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK.
Any non-notifiable wildlife crime reported to the police can still be investigated where appropriate, as Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations of the report entitled Releasing Mortgage Prisoners: proposed solutions and illustrative costings, published by the LSE in February 2023; and whether she plans to implement those recommendations.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq
This Government understands the challenges that mortgage prisoners face and will work with regulators and the industry to ensure that this issue is properly considered, including looking at the recommendations of the 2023 LSE report.
There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers across the mortgage market, including mortgage prisoners. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support. Closed book lenders must also comply with the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which ensures firms prioritise fair treatment and good outcomes for their customers.
Additionally, the Government has a number of measures in place to help people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit; the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS); and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Remembrance is the annual national commemoration to mark all conflicts and pay respects to all who have suffered at the hands of oppression and dictatorship and on Sunday 17 November 2024, Lord Coaker, Minister of State in the House of Lords, joined the AJEX (Armed Forces Jewish Ex Service Personnel) community who paraded at the Cenotaph in their own act of remembrance.
As the Chancellor announced in the Budget, the government will provide funding to the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to commemorate a variety of occasions. In addition, the Ministry of Defence will mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January 2025 and recognises that 2025 will be the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to promote community cohesion.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has made £15 million available to the places most severely affected by the violent disorder of the summer through the Community Recovery Fund. Officials from my department have also carried out an extensive engagement process with these places to understand and address the underlying causes of the unrest.
This Government is determined to take a long-term, strategic approach to building social cohesion. This is a priority and I have stood up a cross-government Communities & Recovery Steering Group to oversee this work.
This Government is committed to ensuring that communities across Britain are safe, resilient, and united.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on protecting sport participants from (a) concussion and (b) chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government takes the issue of head injuries very seriously. The first national guidance for concussion in grassroots sport was introduced in 2023, developed by international experts on concussion and acquired brain injury to better identify, manage and prevent the issue. We continue to encourage National Governing Bodies to adapt the guidance to their own sport where appropriate.
The Government will continue to discuss athlete safety with relevant stakeholders and the sports sector in the coming months to ensure that everyone can take part in sport as safely as possible.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with charities and advocacy groups on the impact of fireworks on (a) wild animals and (b) pets.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department regularly engages with stakeholders on a wide range of issues. Government officials intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on issues with and impacts of fireworks, including on animal welfare.
Officials have already been working with Combat Stress, Help for Heroes and the Dogs Trust to share information about safe and considerate use of fireworks. The government launched an awareness campaign during the fireworks season to provide guidance on minimising the impacts of fireworks on people and animals to encourage responsible use - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/my-safety-fireworks.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with (a) industry, (b) civil society and (c) other relevant stakeholders on facilitating the end of animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting alternative methods to the use of animals in science and the Labour Manifesto included a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing.” The Government has already held roundtables with stakeholders from businesses, regulators and across Government on how to best support the uptake, validation and development of alternative methods, and further discussions with civil society organisations will take place in December.