Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish perpetrator ethnicity data for (a) grooming and (b) sexual violence collected by the Tackling Organised Exploitation Programme.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Tackling Organised Exploitation Programme (TOEX) continues to work to develop a whole system approach to improving intelligence, analysis, and tasking to enhance the law enforcement response to the exploitation of vulnerable people, including sexual exploitation and abuse. This includes supporting the work of the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to give practical, expert, and on the ground support for local forces investigating child sexual abuse, with a focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation.
In November 2024, the Taskforce published its latest 2023 data on group-based offending, including any offence with two or more perpetrators. That data is available publicly online via https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/publications/hydrant-publications#LatestNews) which includes available data on ethnicity. The Government will be working with the Taskforce to improve data collection, including seeking to improve the accuracy and comprehensiveness of data on ethnicity.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to (a) support British companies bidding for electric bus contracts and (b) ensure that (i) BYD, (ii) Yutong and (iii) other foreign companies do not have a disproportionate share of Government electric bus (A) contracts and (B) grants.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The transition to zero emission buses represents a great opportunity for UK bus manufacturers, both to supply the zero emission buses needed here in the UK and to win export orders abroad as other countries upgrade their bus fleets.
On 8 October, the Department announced plans to create a new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel. This panel will bring together industry experts and local leaders to explore ways to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. More details on this will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of repurposing vacant (a) shops, (b) offices and (c) houses; and whether this would reduce local new-build housing targets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that substantial weight should be given to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements, including bringing back into residential use empty homes and the development of under-utilised land and buildings, to meet the need for homes and other uses.
Changes we made to the National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024 broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas.
On 22 September 2024, we published a ‘brownfield passport’ policy paper inviting views on how we might further prioritise and fast-track building on previously used urban land.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) banning the use of Bovaer and (b) allowing the use of Kelp in milk products.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has advised milk from cows given Bovaer is safe to drink. Bovaer has undergone a rigorous safety assessment and is approved for use in Great Britain.
Regulation of feed additives and materials, such as kelp, is the responsibility of the FSA. Both synthetic and natural feed products must be demonstrated as safe for use to be added to the GB Register of Feed Materials.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with Sri Lankan authorities on strengthening business relations for British citizens who have set up companies in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DBT has a team dedicated to supporting the UK-Sri Lanka trade and investment relationship. Officials have regular contact with Sri Lankan authorities through the annual UK-Sri Lanka Strategic Dialogue to promote areas of mutual interest, including bilateral discussions on trade and investment.
My officials use programmes and levers to strengthen business relations for UK companies, including working closely with the Council for Business with Britain to support the removal of barriers to trade, and the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, which cuts tariffs and simplifies trading rules for Sri Lankan exports to the UK.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve bus services in rural areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to delivering better, more frequent and more reliable bus services for passengers. We have already made significant progress, introducing the Bus Services Bill to help give local leaders the powers they need to take control of their local services if they choose to do so, and announcing investment of over £1 billion to support and improve bus services.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All manufacturers must demonstrate that their vehicles and equipment comply with international vehicle approval requirements before they are permitted to offer their products for sale, and these include detailed provisions for vehicle lighting. The approval requirements are complemented by the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 to ensure that vehicles operating on the roads of Great Britain continue to have effective and safe lighting systems whilst in service.
All vehicle lighting requirements, including the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, are kept under review and amended as necessary to account for advances in vehicle lighting technologies and emerging evidence to ensure regulatory effectiveness is maintained.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board on the scheduled Champion's Trophy match with Afghanistan.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK Government condemns the appalling erosion of women and girls’ rights in Afghanistan.
Participation in the ICC Champion’s Trophy match is a matter for the England and Wales Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council. My officials are in contact with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on the wider issue of the Afghanistan women’s cricket team. We welcome the ECB’s strong representations to the ICC on this matter and will continue to work with them on what more can be done.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish data on welfare claimants by (a) nationality and (b) immigration status.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Non-UK / Irish citizens can only access benefits like Universal Credit if they have an immigration status that provides recourse to public funds. Those without immigration status or with a no recourse to public funds condition on their status are not entitled. An individual’s specific nationality is not relevant to their claim.
The Department checks immigration status when assessing eligibility, but this information is not collated centrally and hence not readily available. We are, however, exploring the feasibility of developing suitable statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK / Irish customers.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that halal products are clearly marked on food labelling.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are no regulations that require the labelling of halal meat, but where any information of this nature is provided it must be accurate and must not be misleading to the consumer. The Government respects religious freedoms and expects the industry, whether food producer or food outlet, to provide consumers with all the information they need to make informed choices.