Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of Ipsos and the University of Bristol's report entitled Drivers of Gambling Marketing Restrictions – An International Comparison, published in November 2024.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to strengthening protections to ensure that people can reduce the risks that can ensue from harmful gambling. We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence on the impact of gambling advertising from a wide range of sources in order to ensure there are robust protections in place to protect those at risk. The department has noted the report from Ipsos and the University of Bristol on marketing restrictions in international jurisdictions.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Huawei's press article entitled, Safe Mauritius, the Inspiration for Heaven, published in October 2018, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the security provisions within Mauritius’ telecommunications system; and if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of those provisions on the use of the telecommunications system by his Department's officials.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As previously referenced in the Answer to 10968, this is the subject of an ongoing police investigation in Mauritius, and we are unable to provide further comment. We continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of alternative sites for the prospective relocation of the Chinese Embassy, aside from the proposed development in Tower Hamlets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Applications relating to the proposals for a new Chinese Embassy at Royal Mint Court have been called in for Ministers to decide. Calling in these applications should not be taken as any indication of views on the merits of the proposals.
An appointed Inspector will hold a public inquiry which will hear a range of evidence for and against the proposals, after which a decision will be made by MHCLG ministers. As this case will come before ministers in MHCLG to determine, it would not be appropriate to comment further.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will raise the detention in Azerbaijan of Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu during COP29 climate conference in November.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I [Minister Doughty] raised the detention of prominent academic Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov during our call on 31 October, and with Presidential Representative Elchin Amirbayov on 29 October. The UK consistently advocates for Dr Ibadoghlu to receive all appropriate medical access and treatment, and for a fair legal process. We will continue to raise his case alongside wider human rights issues of concern.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of applying a weight of evidence approach when making decisions on the mandatory (a) classification and (b) labelling of chemicals.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) leads across government on the classification and labelling of chemicals and acts as the Agency for the assimilated Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures as amended in Great Britain (or the GB CLP Regulation).
HSE is responsible for the GB mandatory classification and labelling system (GB MCL) and its administrative procedures in accordance with a timetable set out in UK law.
The weight and strength of all the available scientific information relating to the hazardous properties of a chemical are used when making recommendations for mandatory classification and labelling of chemicals. The technical assessments and reports that underpin these recommendations follow the criteria in the GB CLP Regulation.
Ministers have made no assessment of the potential merits of applying a wider weight of evidence approach when making decisions on the mandatory (a) classification and (b) labelling of chemicals.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to (a) support the development of the UK’s lithium industry and (b) enhance battery manufacturing capabilities.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Domestic production of lithium will be increasingly important as demand for resilient and responsible sources of critical minerals grows. Government has supported several lithium projects through the Automotive Transformation Fund, and the UK recently celebrated the opening of the first lithium hydroxide demonstration plant by Cornish Lithium. in Government will continue to work closely with industry to maximise our potential for domestic lithium production.
The Autumn Budget committed over £2bn by 2030 for the automotive sector including the electric vehicle manufacturing sector and supply chain, including gigafactories. Alongside the National Wealth Fund, this will accelerate investment in our zero emission vehicle supply chain providing long-term certainty for industry.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) report entitled Agency Opinion on the classification and labelling of lithium carbonate [1] lithium chloride [2] and lithium hydroxide [3], published in August 2013, whether the HSE plans to initiate the Article 37A process; and what discussions she has had with the HSE on that issue.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is considering whether to initiate the Article 37A process under the GB Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (GB CLP) following publication of the Agency Opinion on the classification and labelling of lithium carbonate [1] lithium chloride [2] and lithium hydroxide [3] in August 2023.
Under Article 37A, HSE, as the GB CLP Agency, may submit a proposal for a new or revised GB mandatory classification and labelling requirement when there is evidence of new scientific data or information that may lead to a new or revised mandatory classification and labelling for a priority hazard class, such as carcinogenicity, mutagenicity or reproductive toxicity.
There is no statutory time limit on HSE to prepare and submit a proposal. HSE regulatory and scientific specialists are investigating the evidence and new scientific data made available and, if necessary, seeking any additional information or consulting other departments or agencies. HSE is continuing to engage with stakeholders during this process.
No discussions have been held on this issue between the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and HSE.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) ensure that children of British National (Overseas) passport holders (i) born in the UK and (ii) of Hong Kong descent will not be regarded as Chinese nationals by the People's Republic of China and (b) guarantee their protection under UK law.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
If you're a British national (overseas), your child is a British citizen if both: they were born in the UK, and you were a British citizen or settled in the UK (had 'indefinite leave to remain') when they were born. The FCDO provides consular assistance to British nationals abroad. In some cases, British Nationals of Hong Kong or Chinese descent may be considered Chinese by the Chinese authorities meaning the consular assistance we can provide may be limited. As per our nationality guidance, we advise seeking legal advice where appropriate for individual cases.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports that the British High Commissioner to Mauritius’ phone conversations were leaked; and if he will review the effectiveness of negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The reported event occurred prior to the launch of negotiations in November 2022. This is the subject of an ongoing police investigation in Mauritius, and we are unable to provide further comment.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people received custodial sentences for personal possession of cannabis excluding people imprisoned for intent to supply, production, or importation in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of offenders who received custodial sentences for possession of cannabis in the Outcomes by Offence tool: December 2023.
This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Sentence Outcomes’ tab and using the ‘Sentence Outcome’ filter to select immediate custody and the ‘HO Offence Code’ filter to select the following HO offence codes:
09261 - Having possession of a controlled drug - class B (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives)
09266 - Having possession of a controlled drug - class C (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives) – historic
Offence groups and offence types are continually revised to reflect offences accurately. However, it is important to note that data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, offences that have been repealed may still be used by court administration and appear in the data.