Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the report entitled Property income review: simplifying income tax for residential landlords, published by the Office for Tax Simplification on 25 October 2022, if he will take steps to introduce legislative proposals for a brightline test to clarify when property letting activities subject to income tax would qualify as a trade.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 21 March 2024 to question UIN 18911.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle (a) sexism, (b) racism and (c) bullying behaviour within the ambulance service; and if she will establish an independent body to review complaints made by ambulance workers.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone working in the National Health Service must feel safe from any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination, or abuse, and feel confident that they can raise concerns, which will be taken seriously and acted on.
The Department welcomes the publication of the NHS England commissioned independent review into ambulance sector culture. NHS England has established a Delivery Board to deliver the review’s important recommendations. This includes actions led by the Office of the Chief Allied Health Professions at NHS England, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, on stopping misogyny and improving sexual safety in the ambulance service. This programme of work will build on the work already underway through the NHS People Plan, and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Improvement Plan
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish guidance on the tax regime for furnished holiday lets after April 2025.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government will publish draft legislation, explanatory notes, and a tax information and impacts note in due course. These will set out how the announced changes will apply in practice.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote better awareness within the NHS of the symptoms of Lyme disease and (b) speed up (i) testing and (ii) analysis of test results for Lyme disease.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) are specifically aimed at general practices (GPs), and cover the availability of testing services. The entomology group in the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also has a tick awareness scheme, which sends out information on avoiding tick bites in a spring campaign, and supports local authorities in areas with a high prevalence of Lyme disease. Further information on Lyme disease, access to testing, and the NICE’s CKS’ is available respectively at the links below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng95
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/lyme-disease/management/management/
All confirmatory testing in England is performed by the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL). Delays may occur in the referring laboratory when submitting the sample, during testing at the RIPL, or when accessing the results, which are sent back electronically, before being passed onto GPs. Only the RIPL is within the UKHSA’s control, and the RIPL is planning to introduce new technology to speed up tests for neuroborreliosis.
National data analysis is released through the Fingertips system, which is regularly updated. The annual number of cases of Lyme disease varies from year to year, depending on weather conditions in the Lyme season, the effects of weather and human activities on animals that harbor the disease, and the tick population. Further information on the Fingertips system is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/health-protection/data
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to (a) assist and (b) ensure the safety of interpreters who were previously employed by UK armed forces in Afghanistan who have escaped to a third country and whose (i) application under the ARAP scheme and (ii) appeal against an unsuccessful initial application is delayed; and what steps he is taking to expedite such (A) applications and (B) appeals.
Answered by James Heappey
We have worked hard to resolve tens of thousands of applications, giving individuals - eligible or not - the clarity they deserve. We now only have approximately 1,000 ARAP applications remaining of over 95,000 principal applications received. This number reflects a small number of complex cases we are working hard to resolve with other Government Departments. We are also working to assess 2,155 outstanding review cases for principal ARAP applications.
While moving ARAP eligible persons to the safety of third countries is a priority for the Ministry of Defence, only ARAP eligible individuals are entitled to HMG accommodation and support in third countries while they await relocation to the UK.
Those who have been deemed ineligible, or are yet to have their ARAP eligibility confirmed, would not be eligible for the same HMG support. This includes those who have submitted a review of an 'ineligible' decision. This is why we do not advise Afghans to travel to a third country until ARAP eligibility is confirmed.
We will, in exceptional circumstances only and on a case-by-case basis, expedite decisions on ARAP applications and reviews in line with our formal expedition guidance.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department held discussions at the recent North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation on protecting salmon stocks as they migrate to feeding grounds in the North Atlantic; and if she will press for international agreement on such protections.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As a contracting party to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO), the UK took part in the organisation’s annual meeting in June. Salmon migrating to the North Atlantic are protected by NASCO’s prohibition of fishing salmon beyond coastal States’ jurisdictions with the exception of the waters off West Greenland, where salmon fishing is capped at 27 tonnes per annum until 2025.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she (a) received and (b) plans to publish the report of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, commissioned by Natural England pursuant to the Agri-Environment Schemes Species Monitoring Project.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The report is currently with Natural England Agri-Environment Monitoring and Evaluation team, waiting on final clearance and the associated documents to be prepared for the Defra publication process. The timescales may vary but it is likely to be published in Quarter 3 of this year.
A draft was produced in March 2022, followed by Natural England Technical Steering Group review and external peer review by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in July 2022. External peer review responses were returned in November 2022 and reviewed January 2023, followed by amendments with the final report submitted to Natural England on 18th May 2023.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan citizens have been granted resettlement under Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to date; what discussions she has held with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on its processes for assessment of Afghan citizens under that scheme; what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UNHCR's processes; and if she will take steps to encourage the UNHCR to expedite its consideration and referral of cases to that scheme of vulnerable Afghan nationals based in Pakistan.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest Immigration System Statistics, year ending December 2022 (published on 23 February 2023), show that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,387 people.
Under the scheme’s second pathway, which opened in 2022, we have now begun to receive the first referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of vulnerable refugees who have fled Afghanistan for resettlement to the UK. The latest Immigration statistics show that we have now welcomed the first people to the UK under Pathway 2.
We anticipate receiving referrals from UNHCR for up to 2,000 refugees during the first year of pathway 2, although this number will be kept under review.
UNHCR refer those who qualify as refugees in need of resettlement. They have access to detailed case information – which is gathered during interviews conducted during the different stages of resettlement processing – and they have a detailed knowledge of the circumstances refugees face in host countries.
If UNHCR consider that an individual should be referred to the UK for resettlement, they will send the Home Office a Resettlement Registration Form (RRF) which confirms that the individual has been determined by UNHCR to be a refugee and details the reasons why that person is in need of resettlement.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the difficulties victims of domestic abuse experience in (a) severing contracts for services to which their abusers are a party and (b) in continuing to have access to those services; and if she will take steps to strengthen the rights of victims in such circumstances.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Tackling domestic abuse is a government priority and improving the response to economic abuse is integral to this. Economic abuse is now recognised in law as part of domestic abuse included in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. This is in recognition of the devastating impact it can have on victims’ lives. In July 2022, we published our Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance which contains specific information relating to economic abuse and includes examples which will assist relevant parties in recognising economic abuse.
We continue to work closely with and fund organisations that seek to promote awareness of economic abuse and improve public and private sector response. Our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan doubled our investment to £200,000 of funding per annum up to March 2025.
The Government has provided £567,000 of funding between 2018-2022 to Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), an organisation that raises awareness of economic abuse and supports victims. Money Advice Plus, in partnership with SEA, run the Financial Support Line for Victims of Domestic Abuse. It offers specialist advice domestic abuse victims in financial difficulty to move forward with economic safety and may be able to support in situations where victims wish to sever contracts for services to which their abusers are a party.
The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan also calls for more financial sector firms to sign up to the Financial Abuse Code to act to prevent economic abuse and help deliver the best possible outcomes for victims and survivors. In January 2023, The Fairness Group published the Economic Abuse Toolkit, developed alongside SEA and Money Advice Plus. The toolkit brings together proven best practices allowing businesses to recognise and support customers who are experiencing economic abuse.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
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 she has had with Natural England on its policy on grazing on sites of special scientific interest; and whether she is taking steps to help ensure the continuation of traditional farming of hefted flocks on Dartmoor.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Grazing on sites of special scientific interest needs to be undertaken carefully and sensitively and should be tailored to the specific site to ensure that the condition of the SSSI site is either maintained or improved. Traditional hefting (or learing as it is known in Dartmoor) of flocks can work alongside this. I will work closely with Natural England to help ensure that sites of special scientific interest can be managed effectively to balance hefting alongside these two elements in Dartmoor.