Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of alleged Iranian interference in the UK charity sector through (a) Dar Alhekma and (b) the Abrar Islamic Foundation.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The promotion of extremist views or terrorism in charities is unacceptable. The Charity Commission is alive to the risks of hostile state threats to the charity sector, and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited. The Charity Commission has consistently been clear that it will respond robustly where there proves to have been wrongdoing and I am confident that it has the ability to do so effectively.
The Government takes the safeguarding of all children seriously and is committed to protecting them from harm across all settings, including out-of-school settings such as Scouts clubs. The Charity Commission has published guidance that explains in which circumstances a report about serious wrongdoing should be made, which details should be provided, and what it will do after receiving a report.
DCMS is planning to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities. We will consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and make it easier for the Charity Commission to take action against people promoting terrorism, violence or hatred
Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to the regulation of charities.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports that Al-Ikhlas Education Centre in Willesden hosted Scout meetings.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The promotion of extremist views or terrorism in charities is unacceptable. The Charity Commission is alive to the risks of hostile state threats to the charity sector, and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited. The Charity Commission has consistently been clear that it will respond robustly where there proves to have been wrongdoing and I am confident that it has the ability to do so effectively.
The Government takes the safeguarding of all children seriously and is committed to protecting them from harm across all settings, including out-of-school settings such as Scouts clubs. The Charity Commission has published guidance that explains in which circumstances a report about serious wrongdoing should be made, which details should be provided, and what it will do after receiving a report.
DCMS is planning to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities. We will consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and make it easier for the Charity Commission to take action against people promoting terrorism, violence or hatred
Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to the regulation of charities.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Charity Commission on reports of Iranian interference in the UK charity sector.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The promotion of extremist views or terrorism in charities is unacceptable. The Charity Commission is alive to the risks of hostile state threats to the charity sector, and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited. The Charity Commission has consistently been clear that it will respond robustly where there proves to have been wrongdoing and I am confident that it has the ability to do so effectively.
The Government takes the safeguarding of all children seriously and is committed to protecting them from harm across all settings, including out-of-school settings such as Scouts clubs. The Charity Commission has published guidance that explains in which circumstances a report about serious wrongdoing should be made, which details should be provided, and what it will do after receiving a report.
DCMS is planning to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities. We will consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and make it easier for the Charity Commission to take action against people promoting terrorism, violence or hatred
Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to the regulation of charities.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the original expected completion date was for all prisons currently scheduled for (a) construction and (b) expansion.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Under the previous Government, 20,000 additional prison places were planned for delivery by the mid-2020s. By July 2024, c.6,000 of these places had been delivered. As set out in the 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government has committed to delivering the remaining 14,000 places and aims to do so by 2031, with the expectation that they will become operational by 2032. We are on track to meet this target, having already delivered c.2,600 since taking office.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the expected completion date is for all prisons currently scheduled for (a) construction and (b) expansion.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Under the previous Government, 20,000 additional prison places were planned for delivery by the mid-2020s. By July 2024, c.6,000 of these places had been delivered. As set out in the 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government has committed to delivering the remaining 14,000 places and aims to do so by 2031, with the expectation that they will become operational by 2032. We are on track to meet this target, having already delivered c.2,600 since taking office.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered moving the uprating of excise duty from Retail Price Index to Consumer Prices Index.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government confirms tax rates and thresholds annually. In some cases, reflecting the government’s economic and fiscal objectives, they are uprated to account for inflation.
The Office for National Statistics, regulated by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), produces a range of inflation statistics. The most widely used estimates of inflation, both by Government and the private sector, are the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and the Retail Prices Index (RPI)
The Government agrees with UKSA that RPI has flaws, and at times overstates and at times understates changes in prices. RPI’s shortcomings are well-documented. In 2013, as a result of flaws in the way it is measured, RPI lost its status as a National Statistic. Since 2010 the Government has been reducing its use of RPI and has committed to not introduce any new uses of RPI. Further moves away from RPI are complex and more work is required to understand the costs and benefits of any changes.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the tobacco excise regime on smoking prevalence since 2021.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Tobacco duty aims to both raise revenue and reduce harm to public health by discouraging smoking. High duty rates make tobacco less affordable and are a proven way to reduce smoking prevalence and have helped reduce the percentage of adult smokers in the UK from 26% in 2000 to 11.9% in 2023. The ONS survey on adult smoking habits 2023 can be found here.
Adult smoking habits in the UK - Office for National Statistics
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to (a) reduce and (b) freeze tobacco excise duty.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government renewed the commitment to a tobacco duty escalator, which increases duty by 2 per cent above RPI inflation at each Budget, until the end of the current Parliament. This is part of the Government’s focus on health prevention and to continue our drive to reduce smoking prevalence.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) her Department and (b) the Office for Budget Responsibility has made an assessment of the potential impact of levels of tobacco duty on smoking prevalence statistics.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Tobacco duty aims to both raise revenue and reduce harm to public health by discouraging smoking. High duty rates make tobacco less affordable and are a proven way to reduce smoking prevalence and have helped reduce the percentage of adult smokers in the UK from 26% in 2000 to 11.9% in 2023. The ONS survey on adult smoking habits 2023 can be found here.
Adult smoking habits in the UK - Office for National Statistics
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation equivalent to New Zealand’s Retirement Villages Act 2003 to support the growth of the Integrated Retirement Community sector in the UK.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy.
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), the government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report including in relation to specialist accommodation for older people.