Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what NHS support is available for people wanting to give up vaping.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Vaping can be an effective tool for adult smokers to quit smoking. However, the health advice is clear: if you don’t smoke, don’t vape, and children should never vape. The NHS Better Health website provides advice for people who want to quit vaping. Local stop smoking services can also provide resources to support children and adult vapers to quit, through funding from the public health grant. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking/
In addition, the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training has produced guidance for local Stop Smoking Service staff on how best to support vapers to quit. We are also exploring further ways to support people to quit vaping, as part of the national Swap to Stop programme. The guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.ncsct.co.uk/publications/Support_stop_vaping
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the guidance issued by his Department entitled Import live animals and germinal products from the EU to Great Britain on 31 January 2024, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that the time taken for the new checks to be undertaken at airports after 30 April 2024 does not affect the viability of imported chilled semen for (a) racehorses and (b) other species.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Equine germinal products, including equine semen, are classified as ‘high risk’ under the Border Target Operating Model, regardless of country of origin. EU and Rest of World equine germinal products currently require pre-notification and health certification and this will continue to be the case. Currently APHA undertake documentary checks on EU origin germinal products imported into GB, whilst Port Health Authorities conduct documentary and identity checks on Rest of World imports. Our expectation is that PHAs will begin to undertake the required checks (100% documentary & ID checks) on EU origin germinal products in line with the wider TOM implementation milestones for animal products (i.e. starting from 30 April 2024, aside from EU goods imported from the island of Ireland).
We are aware that the equine germinal product industry has concerns about the impact of the move of checks to BCPs, particularly relating to the timing of PHA processes for imports of fresh equine semen during the breeding season. There is direct engagement at a working level to understand, and where possible resolve, these concerns.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of compliance with the recommendations contained in Police perpetrated domestic abuse: Report on the Centre for Women’s Justice super complaint, updated 23 November 2022.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We were grateful to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), and the College of Policing for carrying out an investigation into a supercomplaint on police-perpetrated domestic abuse in 2022. Responses to the recommendations from relevant organisations, including the Home Office, were published on gov.uk and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responses-to-police-perpetrated-domestic-abuse-report-on-the-cwj-super-complaint.
We expect forces to take allegations of police-perpetrated domestic abuse very seriously, and to take steps to ensure that investigations are carried out impartially. By law, allegations of serious assaults, serious sexual offences or abuse of position by police officers must be referred to the IOPC to determine the appropriate mode of investigation, which can include an independent investigation.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of appointing an external force to investigate police domestic abuse cases.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We were grateful to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), and the College of Policing for carrying out an investigation into a supercomplaint on police-perpetrated domestic abuse in 2022. Responses to the recommendations from relevant organisations, including the Home Office, were published on gov.uk and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responses-to-police-perpetrated-domestic-abuse-report-on-the-cwj-super-complaint.
We expect forces to take allegations of police-perpetrated domestic abuse very seriously, and to take steps to ensure that investigations are carried out impartially. By law, allegations of serious assaults, serious sexual offences or abuse of position by police officers must be referred to the IOPC to determine the appropriate mode of investigation, which can include an independent investigation.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
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 12 December 2023 to Question 5802 on Department of Health and Social Care: Correspondence, for what reason has a response not been provided within the statutory timeframe; and what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report prepared by Coroner Andrew Cox on 23 November 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We apologise for the delay in replying to the coroner. The Department is preparing its response to this Regulation 28 report as a matter of urgency. It is within the Chief Coroner’s discretion to publish the report, together with the Department’s response.
Prevention of Future Deaths reports are an important part of our broader system for learning from deaths, as they help to identify themes to inform improved guidance, regular learning, and the development of our policies more generally.
The Department ensures that relevant regulators and other bodies are aware of the matters of concern brought to its attention, so that the system can respond as appropriate. We are working closely with NHS England and other partners in the health system to support healthcare professionals.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is taking steps to reduce car practical driving test waiting times in Penzance; and if the DVSA will increase the number of available time slots for those tests in that area.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To increase the number of available test slots, the DVSA is conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays; they are also buying back annual leave from driving examiners. They have deployed all eligible managers and administrative staff back on the front line to do driving tests from the beginning of October until the end of March.
Since April 2021, measures put in place by the DVSA to reduce waiting times for its customers, together with the ongoing recruitment of driving examiners, is creating on average over 46,900 extra car test slots each month.
As of 29 January 2024, there were 533,785 car practical driving tests booked, and 130,965 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.
As of 29 January 2024, there were 19 driving tests available to book within the 24-week booking window at Camborne driving test centre (DTC); the next nearest DTC to Penzance.
The DVSA continues to monitor the deployment of its driving examiner resource. Where it identifies DTCs that require additional resource, if possible, it will redeploy staff to meet that demand.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when his Department plans to publish details of all departmental spending over £25,000 since May 2022.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our target is to resume reporting of both Government Procurement Cards (GPC) and over £25,000 spend in Spring 2024.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help support (a) victims of violence, (b) protesters, (c) detainees and (d) missing persons in Syria.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to draw international attention to Syria at the UN Security Council, condemning human rights violations, the deepening humanitarian crisis, and the use of violence and torture against peaceful protestors and detainees. The UK welcomes the 29 June 2023 UN General Assembly resolution, which established the Independent Institution on Missing Persons (IIMP). The IIMP will seek to clarify the fate and location of missing persons and support survivors. Since 2012, the UK has contributed over £14 million to support Syrian and international efforts to gather evidence of human rights abuses and violations and hold those responsible to account.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will respond to the letter from Andrew Cox, Senior Coroner for the coroner area of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, of 23 November 2023 on matters revealed by inquests giving rise to concern.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department will respond to the Regulation 28 report issued by Coroner Cox within the statutory timeframe.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of offering Retrograde Cricopharyngeus Dysfunction treatment on the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no licensed medicines for use in the treatment of Retrograde Cricopharyngeus Dysfunction. Healthcare professionals are responsible for making decisions on the treatment of individual patients.