Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to provide safe accommodation for victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities in England must ensure that support is available in safe accommodation for domestic abuse victims who need it. My Department has allocated £160 million for 2025-26, a £30 million uplift from the previous year. That funding is for local authorities to commission lifesaving support for victims in safe accommodation.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle gender-based violence in Sudan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to tackling gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Sudan. On 23-25 January, the Foreign Secretary visited the Sudan-Chad border to raise awareness of the conflict in Sudan and its impact on neighbouring countries, speaking directly to Sudanese refugees, including survivors, who shared harrowing stories of sexual violence and torture. The UK has galvanised international efforts on this issue, including through the UN Human Rights Council, Security Council and International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative. On 13 March, the Minister for Africa chaired a UN Security Council (UNSC) Briefing on CRSV in Sudan, highlighting the worsening trends and emphasising the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities. This event followed his Sudan Roundtable with the Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan in Geneva on 25 February for permanent representatives which aimed to raise awareness of the critical human rights situation. The UK also co-led a Resolution at the UNSC with Sierra Leone on the protection of civilians which called on parties to take urgent steps to prevent CRSV and to improve protection and access to services. Despite unanimous support from the Council, the Resolution failed to pass due to a Russian veto.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to (a) phase out the use of cages for farmed animals and (b) introduce animal welfare labelling.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.
A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken between March and May 2024 by the previous Government. This sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the accredited official statistics entitled Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2023, published on 11 September 2024, for what purposes were procedures carried out on horses; and whether her Department is taking steps to reduce the use of horses in experiments for (a) the routine production of antibodies and (b) other areas.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2023 provides details on the purposes of procedures using horses in scientific research.
The published statistics show that no horses were used for the routine production of antibodies. The majority of horses are used for the taking of blood that is subsequently used in blood-based products as a supplement in cell culture media.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with energy suppliers on support for consumers in winter 2024-25.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I was pleased to announce alongside energy suppliers a package of support that will ensure the most vulnerable are protected this winter.
This £500m industry package, containing debt relief alongside other measures, and taken with the Warm Home Discount, brings total support to £1bn for this winter will mean the most vulnerable are protected from rising bills.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that veterinary agreement concluded with the European Union reflects existing animal welfare protections.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to resetting relations between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU). As part of this, the Government is seeking to negotiate a veterinary/ sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement to boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers on both sides. The UK and EU are like-minded partners with similarly high standards.
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. That is exactly what the Government will do, and we will be outlining more detail in due course.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking to reform the pensions system.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Pensions Investment Review, which I am leading, aims to drive the scale and consolidation of Defined Contribution pension schemes and the Local Government Pension Scheme. Our reforms could unlock £80 billion of productive investment into new infrastructure and businesses of all sizes.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take legislative steps to help improve welfare standards for (a) layer hens and (b) broiler chickens.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All farm animals, are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation: the Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence either to cause any captive animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of the animal; and The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 set down detailed requirements on how farmed livestock, including laying hens and meat chickens, should be kept.
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.
Further details on our plans will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
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 support the Fur (Import and Sale) Bill.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is continuing to build the evidence base on the fur sector. This includes commissioning our expert Animal Welfare Committee on what constitutes responsible sourcing of fur. The report that they produce will support our understanding of the fur industry and help inform our next steps.
In accordance with parliamentary convention, the Government will set out its formal position on this Bill when it receives its Second Reading.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of child poverty in North Ayrshire and Arran constituency; and what steps she is taking to help reduce child poverty in that constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics on the number of Children living in absolute and relative poverty per constituency are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication and can be found in tabs “5_Relative_ParlC” and “6_Absolute_ParlC”. These are only produced on a before housing cost basis. A link to these statistics can be found here: Children in low-income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child.
The Child Poverty Taskforce has started work and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. The Child Poverty Strategy will be published in the Spring and is UK-wide.
In September, the Taskforce heard from local leaders about the challenges faced in their communities, and how it can best work with Mayors, local authorities and other bodies to develop innovative solutions to tackle child poverty. This marked the first of a series of thematic sessions with key organisations, charities and experts on specific topics that will help to shape the strategy.
The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to roll out free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, create 3,000 additional nurseries, as well as deliver our plan to make work pay to turn the minimum wage into a real living wage.