Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what progress her Department has made on bringing forward legislative proposals for the proposed ban on conversion therapy.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government remains committed to protecting everyone who is at risk of conversion practices from harm, and will shortly publish a draft Bill and consultation response setting out our approach to banning these abhorrent practices. The draft legislation will go for pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee in this parliamentary session.
Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to simplify the way Railcards are purchased.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
I am committed to further simplifying the way Railcards can be purchased.
Railcards are current available for purchase by eligible passengers through a variety of channels including third-party retailers, online, by telephone and station ticket offices.
Railcards are typically available as a plastic card or digitally using the railcard app on a mobile device, and passengers can buy a one year or a three-year version, depending on their preferences.
Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of whether amendments to the Computer Misuse Act 1990 will be required to deliver the National Cyber Strategy.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Home Office recently carried out a review of the Computer Misuse Act, which led to a public consultation on proposals for new powers to assist law enforcement agencies in tackling these threats. They are currently analysing the responses to these proposals.
The Cabinet Office will work with the Home Office to consider implications.
Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure equal access to IVF for LGBTQ+ couples.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Funding decisions for health services in England, including IVF, are made by integrated care boards and are based on the clinical needs of their local population.
We published the first Women’s Health Strategy on 20 July 2022, which contained a number of important changes and future ambitions to improve the variations in access to National Health Service-funded fertility services. This includes improving access to IVF for female same-sex couples by removing the additional financial burden they face when accessing treatment. We expect this to take effect during 2023.
Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the severity of ransomware attacks.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Tackling cyber crime is at the heart of the Government’s new National Cyber Strategy which is supported by £2.6bn of new investment over the three-year Spending Review period. The National Cyber Strategy (2022-2025) has set the direction and ambition for investment and efforts in UK Cyber.
Delivery of the National Cyber Strategy is driving significant improvements in the UK’s response to cyber crime. It is strengthening the law enforcement response and driving greater collaboration with the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Cyber Force.
Ransomware is a top priority for the Government. It is clear that ransomware attacks are increasingly common globally and represent one of the most significant, and growing, international cyber threats.
The Home Office launched a focused campaign to accelerate our response to this growing threat in June 2021. Key work strands include understanding the threat landscape; incident reporting, ransom payment, cyber sanctions; crypto assets policy, cyber insurance; and collaborating with colleagues across Government, law enforcement, industry and our international partners to tackle threat.
It is clear that ransomware attacks are increasingly common globally and represent one of the most significant, and growing, international cyber threats. As a transnational problem, any solution will need to be developed in close step with our international partners.
The UK works closely with allies across the world to disrupt ransomware gangs and the infrastructure they use to target UK businesses and organisations. In December 2021, the UK held a G7 Senior Officials’ Forum on ransomware to combat the threat, and the UK is taking a leading roles in the international US-led Counter Ransomware Initiative.
Resilience against these attacks is our best defence. The Home Office works alongside law enforcement and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to mitigate any harm to the UK from ransomware. The NCSC and the National Crime Agency (NCA) continues to advise organisations which fall victim to ransomware and provide guidance on how to protect yourself and your business.
Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to encourage growth in community-driven renewable energy projects.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Ofgem supports community energy projects and welcomes applications from community interest groups, co-operative societies, and community benefit societies to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme.
The Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals through UK-wide growth funding schemes. The Government encourage community energy groups to work closely with their local authority to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes.
The Government has also reintroduced the Community Energy Contact Group to strengthen our engagement with the sector.
Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) medical, (b) counselling and (c) psychological organisations that support the Government's policy on conversion therapy for transgender people.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Equality Hub Ministers and officials have engaged widely on the issue of conversion practices with victims, LGBT groups, healthcare professionals, faith groups, groups advocating for sex-based rights and parliamentarians. This engagement was an important part of developing proposals for the public consultation that closed earlier this year and many such organisations responded to that consultation.
We are carefully considering all the responses to that consultation and will respond in due course. We will continue to work closely with a full range of stakeholders.
Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will include provisions to strengthen freedom of speech in the legislative proposals for a Bill of Rights announced in the Queen's Speech 2022.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Freedom of expression is a fundamental freedom that underpins our democracy. The Bill of Rights will strengthen protections that support and preserve the space for wide and democratic debate.
Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure recognition of Blue Badges for motorists are recognised in (a) Spain and (b) other European countries.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Government remains committed to confirming the status of UK issued Blue Badges for motorists visiting Europe. Twenty countries have already committed to recognising Blue Badges and are listed on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-badge-using-it-in-the-eu/using-a-blue-badge-in-the-european-union
Discussions continue with a number of countries. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the progress of discussions while they are on-going.
Asked by: Jamie Wallis (Conservative - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-establishing the Civil Defence Corps.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence has no plans to consider the establishment of a Civil Defence Force at this time. Such matters would fall within the remit of the Home Office. Defence support to Government Departments or civilian authorities in the UK is undertaken via the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) system which is the mature and well-understood process that enabled Defence to support the Government's successful response to COVID-19 over the last two years.