Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her plans for regulation of the private parking industry will apply to motorway service station car parks.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government’s Private Parking Code of Practice will outline specific requirements for the operation and management of all private parking facilities, including motorway service area car parks.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
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 impact of television advertising for gambling websites and apps on (a) mental health and (b) suicide rates among men.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All major sports have published their gambling sponsorship Codes of Conduct, setting minimum standards for gambling sponsorships, and the Premier League’s decision to ban front-of-shirt sponsorship by gambling firms will commence by the end of the 2025/26 season.
Regarding television advertising, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body responsible for regulating advertising in the UK and co-regulates broadcast advertising under contract with Ofcom. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the ASA, are responsible for codifying the standards for advertising to the marketing industry as part of their CAP and BCAP Codes. A wide range of provisions in the codes are designed to protect vulnerable adults from harm, including those prohibiting imagery or claims that might encourage problematic gambling behaviour.
We are considering the best available evidence from a wide range of sources to inform decisions on how best to fulfil our manifesto commitment to reducing gambling-related harm. We will provide further updates to the House soon.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling companies advertising through sports clubs on problem gambling.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All major sports have published their gambling sponsorship Codes of Conduct, setting minimum standards for gambling sponsorships, and the Premier League’s decision to ban front-of-shirt sponsorship by gambling firms will commence by the end of the 2025/26 season.
Regarding television advertising, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body responsible for regulating advertising in the UK and co-regulates broadcast advertising under contract with Ofcom. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the ASA, are responsible for codifying the standards for advertising to the marketing industry as part of their CAP and BCAP Codes. A wide range of provisions in the codes are designed to protect vulnerable adults from harm, including those prohibiting imagery or claims that might encourage problematic gambling behaviour.
We are considering the best available evidence from a wide range of sources to inform decisions on how best to fulfil our manifesto commitment to reducing gambling-related harm. We will provide further updates to the House soon.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling companies advertising through sports clubs on men's (a) mental health and (b) suicide rates.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All major sports have now published their gambling sponsorship Codes of Conduct, setting minimum standards for socially responsible gambling sponsorships, and the Premier League’s decision to ban front-of-shirt sponsorship by gambling firms will commence by the end of the 2025/26 season.
We are considering the best available evidence from a wide range of sources to inform decisions on how best to fulfil our manifesto commitment to reducing gambling-related harm.We will provide further updates to the House in due course.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
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 impact of gambling companies' use of mobile phone apps on the addictive nature of their products for users.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the impact harmful gambling can have on individuals and their families and, as stated in its manifesto, is committed to strengthening the protections for those at risk and working with industry on how to ensure responsible gambling.
The Gambling Commission’s new survey, the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, helps to show the wider picture of gambling activity across Great Britain, including the ways people gamble. We will consider the best available evidence from a wide range of sources, to inform decisions on how best to fulfil the manifesto commitment to reduce gambling-related harm.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to enforce the classification of nitazenes as a class A drug; and what discussions she has had with law enforcement agencies on this issue.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
A cross-Government taskforce is co-ordinating the response to the risk synthetic opioids, including nitazenes, pose to the UK. The Taskforce includes officials from the Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care, National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chiefs’ Council and Border Force.
Additionally, the NCA, working closely with policing, Border Force and international partners is ensuring that all lines of enquiry are prioritised and vigorously pursued to stem any supply of nitazenes to and within the UK. The NCA and Home Office international networks are in key source and transit countries to work with other governments to identify and disrupt cartels who seek to exploit the UK. On top of this, the UK are also active in international fora such as the US led Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, the United Nations and the G7.
The UK’s early warning and surveillance system has been enhanced and captures multiple data sets of data including ambulance data, post-mortem toxicology, drug seizures and wastewater analysis among other sources. Findings will be shared with law enforcement and public health agencies, at national and local level, meaning that rapid action can be taken in communities where harmful substances such as nitazenes are detected.
On 2 September, in line with recent advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, we laid an Affirmative Order to introduce a generic definition for nitazenes as well as to control 22 substances (including Xylazine). Subject to parliamentary processes, these amendments should come into force in early 2025.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of change in the level of illegal use of nitazenes; and what steps she is taking to help prevent the distribution of such drugs.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
A cross-Government taskforce is co-ordinating the response to the risk synthetic opioids, including nitazenes, pose to the UK. The Taskforce includes officials from the Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care, National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chiefs’ Council and Border Force.
Additionally, the NCA, working closely with policing, Border Force and international partners is ensuring that all lines of enquiry are prioritised and vigorously pursued to stem any supply of nitazenes to and within the UK. The NCA and Home Office international networks are in key source and transit countries to work with other governments to identify and disrupt cartels who seek to exploit the UK. On top of this, the UK are also active in international fora such as the US led Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, the United Nations and the G7.
The UK’s early warning and surveillance system has been enhanced and captures multiple data sets of data including ambulance data, post-mortem toxicology, drug seizures and wastewater analysis among other sources. Findings will be shared with law enforcement and public health agencies, at national and local level, meaning that rapid action can be taken in communities where harmful substances such as nitazenes are detected.
On 2 September, in line with recent advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, we laid an Affirmative Order to introduce a generic definition for nitazenes as well as to control 22 substances (including Xylazine). Subject to parliamentary processes, these amendments should come into force in early 2025.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to work with international partners to tackle (a) production, (b) distribution and (c) sale of nitazenes.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
A cross-Government taskforce is co-ordinating the response to the risk synthetic opioids, including nitazenes, pose to the UK. The Taskforce includes officials from the Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care, National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chiefs’ Council and Border Force.
Additionally, the NCA, working closely with policing, Border Force and international partners is ensuring that all lines of enquiry are prioritised and vigorously pursued to stem any supply of nitazenes to and within the UK. The NCA and Home Office international networks are in key source and transit countries to work with other governments to identify and disrupt cartels who seek to exploit the UK. On top of this, the UK are also active in international fora such as the US led Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, the United Nations and the G7.
The UK’s early warning and surveillance system has been enhanced and captures multiple data sets of data including ambulance data, post-mortem toxicology, drug seizures and wastewater analysis among other sources. Findings will be shared with law enforcement and public health agencies, at national and local level, meaning that rapid action can be taken in communities where harmful substances such as nitazenes are detected.
On 2 September, in line with recent advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, we laid an Affirmative Order to introduce a generic definition for nitazenes as well as to control 22 substances (including Xylazine). Subject to parliamentary processes, these amendments should come into force in early 2025.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to further education colleges to help them recruit staff from (a) industry and (b) generally to improve vocational skills development.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is supporting colleges in their recruitment and training of teachers, including those with industry experience.
The department is delivering Taking Teaching Further, which is a two-year programme that supports further education (FE) providers to recruit and provide early career support to those with the relevant knowledge and/or industry experience to retrain as FE teachers, with the aim to boost the quality and industry-relevance of teaching. We are supporting early career teachers with the Teacher Mentoring Programme, which aims to increase the retention rates of early career teachers by improving the package of support for new and inexperienced teachers, including mentoring and wellbeing support.
The department will be delivering payments worth up to £6,000 to eligible early career teachers in key science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and technical subjects in FE colleges, which could include those transitioning to teaching from industry.
The national FE teacher recruitment campaign, Share Your Skills, targets those with industry skills to think about a career in FE teaching. The campaign raises awareness and increases consideration by encouraging industry professionals to think about using their skills to teach in FE. Potential FE teachers can get information and support on their next steps toward a career in FE teaching from a dedicated campaign website, phone, and email service.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) police forces prioritising community engagement at the neighbourhood level, (b) public meetings,(c) ward walks, (d) strengthening relationships with key stakeholders and (e) deploying specialist (i) youth and (ii) other engagement teams on public confidence in the police.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has committed to restoring confidence in policing, so it is vital that we rebuild the connection between the police and the communities they serve.
Research shows there is strong evidence that community engagement is important for building trust in the police and that higher visibility of local police increases public confidence, see for example the Home Office Public perceptions of policing: A review of research and literature.
That is why the Government has committed to strengthening neighbourhood policing as part of its Safer Streets Mission. We will be working with policing to introduce a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, restoring patrols to town centres, recruiting thousands of extra police officers, PCSOs and Special Constables, and providing every community with a named local officer to turn to.