Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken through the UN Human Rights Council to help implement the recommendations on freedom of religion or belief in the Bishop of Truro’s 2019 Independent Review for the UK Foreign Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Office Support for Persecuted Christians.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Bishop of Truro's review provided recommendations for a Government response to support members of all faiths, beliefs, and those of no religious belief. We have taken forward the 22 recommendations in a way that makes a real change for everyone persecuted because of their religion or belief.
We continue to work with UN and other multilateral fora to promote Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. FoRB was a key strand of our successful campaign to be re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the term January 2021 to December 2023. In March 2021, Lord Ahmad hosted a meeting at the UN Security Council to raise awareness of persecution of religious minorities in conflict zones such as Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq. On 14 June 2023, the UN Security Council adopted unanimously a UK-UAE co-penned resolution on Tolerance and International Peace and Security, including wording on FoRB.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What representations she has received on increasing fundraising limits for charity lotteries.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I have received representations about society lottery limits from a range of stakeholders, including society lottery operators, charities and national lottery stakeholders.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding was allocated to the Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations and Defence Relationship Management for entertaining reservist employers in the financial years (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence does not allocate any funding specifically for the purpose of entertaining Reservist employers. However, Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations (RFCAs) and Defence Relationship Management (DRM) do run a number of events both nationally and regionally at which hospitality is offered, including buffet lunches and hot/cold drinks as appropriate. This ranges from formal events such as the Partnering with Defence Conference in London, where catered breaks and lunch are provided, through to offering participants on ‘unit experience’ visits with a ration-pack lunch.
Regional funds allocated across the 13 RFCAs include an element for ‘Employer Support’. This budget line covers a number of costs including event hospitality, entertainment, venue hire and advertisement. It would exceed the disproportionate cost limit for a Parliamentary Question to investigate every event across the period in question to separate out the relevant elements; for this reason the figures provided below show the total sums for employer support activity where there was an element of hospitality and an estimate of the element attributable to hospitality. Information for Financial Year (FY) 2023-24 is not provided as this remains subject to discussion and may be subject to change.
The figures for budget allocation where there was an element of Reservist employer hospitality are shown below:
RFCAs
Total Budget for events containing a hospitality element | Attributable to hospitality (estimated) |
FY 2021-22 |
|
£94,367 | £30,487 |
FY 2022-23 |
|
£161,603 | £44,669 |
DRM
Total Budget for events containing a hospitality element | Attributable to hospitality (estimated) |
FY 2021-22 |
|
£208,873 | £75,631 |
FY 2022-23 |
|
£275,077 | £141,998* |
* Cost growth here directly attributable to:
- increasing success of Employer Recognition Scheme Gold awards, necessitating an increase from four events in 2021-22 to nine regional events in 2022-23.
- increasing number of Armed Forces Covenant signatories and associated signing ceremonies.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Renters (Reform Bill) on assured shorthold tenancies.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Renters (Reform) Bill had its First Reading in the House of Commons on 17 May. I refer my Rt. Hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS778) and to the published guide to the Bill.
We have submitted our Impact Assessment for review by the Regulatory Policy Committee. This is a significant document and they now need time to scrutinise it. We will publish it once that process has finished. I look forward to discussing these issues during the passage of the Bill.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of average time it takes to register a death.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
No estimate has been made. The General Register Office is part of His Majesty's Passport Office and oversees civil registration in England and Wales
In England and Wales, the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 requires a qualified informant to register the death of an individual within 5 days of the death taking place.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to enable the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to restore the full value of their grants in cases where a deduction has been made in respect of a compensation order but subsequently discharged.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The government-funded Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the Scheme) exists to compensate for serious physical or psychological injury attributable to being a direct victim of a crime of violence. It provides an important avenue of redress for such victims and is part of the wider package of general and specialist support available to victims of crime.
The Scheme is a route of last resort and requires awards to be withheld or reduced if an applicant receives a compensation order made in criminal proceedings which the convicted offender is expected to pay. This reflects the long-standing legal principle of avoiding double compensation for the same injury and protects taxpayer funded compensation awards for those unable to access compensation or similar payments by other means. Under the Scheme, once a final award of compensation has been made, there are limited circumstances in which the application can be reconsidered, which are: (a) a person who has accepted an award subsequently dies as a result of the criminal injury giving rise to the award; or (b) there has been so material a change in the applicant’s medical condition resulting from the criminal injury, that allowing the original determination to stand would give rise to an injustice to them.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to include public sector swimming pools within the scope of the energy and trade intensive industries which will receive additional government support with energy bills through the Energy Relief Discount Scheme.
Answered by Graham Stuart
There are currently no plans to review the list of Energy and Trade Intensive Industries eligible for support under the Energy Bill Discount Scheme. The Government has taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries support. These thresholds have been set at sectors falling above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, plus any sectors eligible for the existing energy compensation and exemption schemes.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to prevent the customers of energy suppliers being moved to prepayment arrangements without being consulted.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The energy regulator Ofgem has rules in place that restrict the force-fitting of a prepayment meter on customers who are in debt, except as a last resort.
Suppliers must provide notice of seven days before installing a prepayment meter or changing a smart meter to prepay mode.
Ofgem further rules require energy suppliers to assess whether installing a prepayment meter, including the remote switching of a smart meter, is safe and reasonably practicable for the customer. This assessment should include identifying any vulnerability.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the timetable is for the Government's local government Fair Funding Review.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Local Government Finance Settlement makes available funding for local authorities in England. On wider potential reform, The Government will bring forward its plan for the year ahead in the usual way through the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.
The Government will notify and work with local partners before consulting on any potential funding changes.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the impact of increases in the rate of inflation on the ability of highways authorities to deliver maintenance programmes.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department is keenly aware of the impact of inflation, both on our own programme of works and on those of partners such as local authorities.
The Department is working closely with local highways authority representatives and stakeholders, along with other Government Departments, to understand and address wider inflationary pressures on local authorities.