Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to increase prosecution rates for violence against women and girls in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East, and (e) England.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a national emergency and through the Safer Streets Mission, this Government has committed to halve VAWG within a decade. A key part will be delivering effective prosecutions.
As Solicitor General, I superintend the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS is continuing to transform its approach to adult rape prosecution through the implementation of their national operating model, based on robust evidence from Operation Soteria, resulting in substantial increases in referral, charge, and prosecution volumes for adult rape.
The Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan, launched with policing in November 2024, has also led to better partnership with policing and modest initial increases in domestic abuse referrals, setting a strong foundation for future improvements.
Work has also begun to deliver the CPS’ VAWG Strategy for 2025-30, ensuring prosecutors have the right skills and tools to prosecute VAWG effectively.
In the Northumbria police force area in 2023-24, the CPS prosecuted 1,840 domestic abuse flagged cases (an increase from 1,631 in 2022-23), 124 rape flagged cases (an increase from 86 in 2022-23), and 389 sexual offences (excluding rape flagged) cases (an increase from 375 in 2022-23).
CPS North East (which covers Hexham, Northumberland and Newcastle) was a pilot area for Operation Soteria and early implementors of the rape national model. They are now a pilot area for the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan proactively encouraging collaborative working to improve the quality and timeliness of decision-making in domestic abuse cases.
The same area has also worked closely with local forces to restructure governance structures to drive up performance, including regular scrutiny panels on domestic abuse and rape cases attended by local Independent Sexual Violence Advisers and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for banning animal snares.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Environment Agency is taking to monitor the contribution of septic tanks to sewage pollution in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) the North East, (c) Northumberland, (d) Newcastle and (e) England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Septic tanks provide safe waste management for properties, often located in isolated rural areas, without access to the mains sewage network. Typically small in volume, discharges from septic tanks are regulated under General Binding Rules established in 2023. The General Binding Rules impose requirements designed to prevent pollution without the need for an environmental permit. Discharges from septic tanks operating under the General Binding Rules must not cause pollution of surface water or groundwater.
The Environment Agency considers the contribution of septic tanks to sewage pollution in England as part of its approach to River Basin Management Plans. When a water body is not achieving good status, the cause is investigated and, where sufficient evidence is available, it is attributed to a sector such as private sewage systems (including septic tanks).
The Environment Agency also receives reports from the public, its partners, and its own staff monitoring the water environment in catchments across the country about pollution caused by discharges from septic tanks. The Environment Agency responds to these reports by assessing the risk posed to the environment. Where necessary the Environment Agency will take further action to ensure that discharges comply with the General Binding Rules.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total number of firearms certificate holders is, what the percentage of licensing applications completed within four months is; and how many temporary permits were issued by the firearms licensing department of Northumbria Constabulary, last notified to her department.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
As at 31 March 2024, there were a total of 643,162 firearms certificates on issue in England and Wales. This was made up of 147,364 firearms certificates and 495,798 shotgun certificates on issue respectively.
The issuing of firearms certificates and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police and they are held to account by Police and Crime Commissioners. However, the performance of forces is actively being monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for firearms licensing, Deputy Chief Constable David Gardner, and he is developing a new performance framework for firearms licensing teams, which it is intended will be published soon, to provide greater transparency on application turnaround times.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
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 had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on the extension of the Rough Sleeping Initiative in the North East.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
For 2025-26, we are consolidating our main rough sleeping and single homelessness focused grants (Rough Sleeping Initiative, which includes Housing First funding, and Accommodation for Ex Offenders) into a single Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant. The Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant will provide up to £280.75 million in funding across England in 2025/26.
Allocations for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant 2025/26 can be found here: Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant allocations 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
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 had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on the extension of the Rough Sleeping Initiative.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
For 2025-26, we are consolidating our main rough sleeping and single homelessness focused grants (Rough Sleeping Initiative, which includes Housing First funding, and Accommodation for Ex Offenders) into a single Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant. The Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant will provide up to £280.75 million in funding across England in 2025/26.
Allocations for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant 2025/26 can be found here: Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant allocations 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to reduce discrimination against disabled people in rural communities.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is crucial that we ensure everyone is treated fairly when accessing services, so that they can thrive and reach their full potential.
Under the Equality Act 2010, businesses that provide goods and services to the public are required not to discriminate against disabled people regardless of location. The Act also places an anticipatory duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises/buildings and services so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers including in rural areas. This duty is anticipatory, meaning that service providers are expected to foresee the requirements of disabled people and the reasonable adjustments that may have to be made for them. However, the Act recognises the need to strike a balance between the needs of disabled people and the interests of service providers. What is ‘reasonable’ will vary from one situation to another, depending on the circumstances of the case.
The Government is fully committed to the Equality Act 2010 and the protections it provides to people with disabilities across the country.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to improve LGBT+ support in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
It is crucial that LGBT+ people in all areas of Britain are safe, included and protected from discrimination. To achieve this we must end the recent politics of division. Work is already underway to fulfil the commitments set out in the new Government’s manifesto, advancing the rights and protections afforded to LGBT+ people.
These include:
In addition to this, Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary is now taking part in one of our biggest successes, the HIV opt out testing in emergency departments. During the last 27 months over 2 million HIV tests have been conducted through the programme, indicatively finding over 800 new HIV diagnoses and 540 people previously diagnosed with HIV but not in care.
We are also pleased that a number of primary care service providers in the North-East, particularly in South Shields and Jarrow, are part of the Pride in Practice scheme that is run by the LGBT Foundation. This scheme aims to improve the experiences of LGBT+ people when accessing primary care services. We would encourage primary care providers in the North-East to consider joining this scheme.
Finally, we recognise that LGBT+ people in rural communities have not always had access to the services they need. That is why we are working on ensuring that rural LGBT+ communities can access the support, healthcare and sense of community that larger cities enjoy. For example, our Conversion Practices Victim Support Service is a national service that anyone can access wherever they are in the country.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to improve LGBT+ support in rural communities.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
It is crucial that LGBT+ people in all areas of Britain are safe, included and protected from discrimination. To achieve this we must end the recent politics of division. Work is already underway to fulfil the commitments set out in the new Government’s manifesto, advancing the rights and protections afforded to LGBT+ people.
These include:
In addition to this, Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary is now taking part in one of our biggest successes, the HIV opt out testing in emergency departments. During the last 27 months over 2 million HIV tests have been conducted through the programme, indicatively finding over 800 new HIV diagnoses and 540 people previously diagnosed with HIV but not in care.
We are also pleased that a number of primary care service providers in the North-East, particularly in South Shields and Jarrow, are part of the Pride in Practice scheme that is run by the LGBT Foundation. This scheme aims to improve the experiences of LGBT+ people when accessing primary care services. We would encourage primary care providers in the North-East to consider joining this scheme.
Finally, we recognise that LGBT+ people in rural communities have not always had access to the services they need. That is why we are working on ensuring that rural LGBT+ communities can access the support, healthcare and sense of community that larger cities enjoy. For example, our Conversion Practices Victim Support Service is a national service that anyone can access wherever they are in the country.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on removing visa fees for (a) non-UK armed forces veterans who have served for four or more years and (b) their dependents.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This Government is committed to scrapping visa fees for non-UK veterans who have served our country for four or more years, and their dependents.
The Ministry of Defence is actively working with the Home Office to take this forward.