Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of placing a ban on the import of lamb produced on farms that carry out mulesing without pain relief.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is firmly committed to upholding our animal welfare standards and to promoting robust standards internationally.
The independent Trade and Agriculture Commission considered, in the context of its report on the UK-Australia FTA, the issue of imports to the UK of lamb that has been subject to mulesing without pain relief. The Commission concluded that lambs reared for meat are not mulesed and the likelihood of mutton from mulesed sheep being imported into the UK is negligible.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government plans to support the Domestic Abuse (Aggravated Offences) Bill.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government was elected on a landmark pledge to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade. Tackling domestic abuse is a core part of this mission.
As discussed during the recent Adjournment Debate on Domestic Abuse Offences, the Government is actively considering various approaches to address the challenges posed by domestic abuse. However, there is a risk that proposals set out in the Domestic Abuse (Aggravated Offences) Bill could unwittingly create a system in which some offences are deemed serious enough to constitute offences that could be aggravated by domestic abuse, whereas other offences in which domestic abuse could play a part are not. For example, we should not return to the outdated view that domestic abuse only involves physical violence.
We recognise the importance of ensuring that the harm caused by offences typically committed against women and girls is appropriately and proportionally reflected in the sentencing framework. The Sentencing Review, chaired by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke, is currently examining the sentencing of offences primarily committed against women and girls. We are committed to engaging with the review to ensure the best outcomes for survivors of domestic abuse.
We agree with the Honourable Member for Eastbourne that it is crucial that we are able to better protect victims of domestic abuse, and I have committed to discuss this with him in more detail.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 take steps to produce an animal protection strategy detailing steps to (a) increase animal welfare standards and (b) end the use of cages for farm animals.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department has initiated a series of meetings with key stakeholders as part of the development of an overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more detail in due course.
The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve early diagnosis and (b) access to effective treatments for people with brain tumours.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer, including cancerous brain tumours, earlier, and treating it faster, so more patients survive, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system. To do this, we will address the challenges in diagnostic waiting times, providing the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests that are needed to reduce cancer waits. We have also delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, during our first year in Government as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.
We realise that there are currently limited treatment options available for people who have been diagnosed with brain tumours. The Government is invested in driving new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.
In the five years between 2018/19 and 2022/23, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) directly invested £11.3 million in brain cancer research projects plus an estimated £31.5 million to enable brain tumour research to take place in NIHR research infrastructure, namely facilities, services and the research workforce, enabling delivery of 227 studies involving 8,500 people.
In September 2024, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value is of penalty charges imposed on Serco for underperformance in relation to its electronic tagging contract since November 2023.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Serco’s performance is not good enough, and last year’s backlog of outstanding visits has been substantially reduced. We will continue to hold Serco to account and will not hesitate to impose further contract penalties, where necessary, to drive performance improvement.
The Ministry of Justice believes that the information is commercially sensitive and releasing this information would prejudice, or would likely prejudice, Serco Group Limited’s commercial interests.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed within Eastbourne constituency in the most recent year that data are available.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on cancer incidence, including for prostate cancer, are available at the level of England, former Government office regions, Cancer Alliances and integrated care boards, rather than by constituency. The data, which also provides an interactive tool for exploring incidence with data available up to 2022, is available at the following link:
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve early diagnosis rates and (b) support the (i) development and (ii) availability of treatments for dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.
The Department of Health and Social Care funds research into dementia via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Alongside Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society and the People’s Postcode Lottery, the NIHR is funding the Blood Biomarker Challenge which seeks to produce the clinical and economic data that could make the case for the use of a blood test in the NHS to support diagnosis of dementia. The NIHR has also invested nearly £50 million over five years into the Dementia Trials Network, which seeks to significantly expand the United Kingdom’s early phase clinical trial capabilities in dementia which will support the development of treatments.
To prepare for the new generation of dementia treatments in development, we are working to ensure the diagnostic and treatment capacity, clinical pathway redesign and investment are in place to support the adoption of any new licensed and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-recommended treatments as soon as possible.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of dispensing PIP payments on a weekly basis.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Payments of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are made every four weeks in arrears, other than SREL (Special Rules, End of Life) cases, which are paid weekly in advance.
These are set out in legislation.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's timetable is for ratifying the United Nations Global Ocean Treaty.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Ocean Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Legislation to implement the BBNJ Agreement will be introduced as soon as the legislative timetable allows.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether investment in local swimming facilities is accommodated in the pre-approved interventions for the Plan for Neighbourhoods.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The new £1.5 billion Plan for Neighbourhoods will deliver up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade into 75 communities across the UK, laying the foundations to kickstart local growth and drive-up living standards.
We are putting power in the hands of local people to address deprivation and regenerate their local area and unleashing the full potential of places that have for too long been overlooked.
The 75 communities will set up Neighbourhood Boards bringing together residents, businesses, and grassroots campaigners to draw up and implement Plans for how they will spend the up to £20 million of funding, whether that is repairing pavements and high streets, setting up community grocers providing low-cost alternatives when shopping for essentials, or neighbourhood watches to keep people safe.
We have doubled the number of interventions that communities can spend the money on and we are focusing on three long-term aims - building thriving places, strengthening communities and empowering people to taking back control instead of sticking plaster policies. We are giving local people their say by strengthening our consultations to make sure local people have a voice on how the funding is spent.
The pre-approved interventions have been drafted broadly to give flexibility to boards as to how and what they can deliver, providing examples where possible to indicate ideas for spend, but it is not exhaustive. Investment in local swimming facilities would fall under the category of ‘Funding for local sport and activity facilities, events, teams and leagues, to foster community engagement and connection’.