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, what steps she is taking to prevent large vacant (a) retail and (b) leisure units in town centres from remaining empty.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is fully committed to tackling the issue of persistent vacancy in town centres and rejuvenating our high streets. High Street Rental Auctions (HSRAs) came into effect on 2 December 2024 and are a new permissive power for local authorities in England to auction the lease of commercial high street property (including retail and leisure units) that has been vacant for longer than 12 months in a 24-month period.
Furthermore, through the English Devolution Bill, we will introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets. This measure will empower local communities to reclaim and revitalise assets that are important to them such as empty shops, pubs, and community spaces, helping to improve our high streets and eliminate the blight of vacant premises.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many individuals on the prison estate are serving sentences for protest-related offences under (a) section (i) 12 and (ii) 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, as amended by section 75 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, (b) each of sections 78 to 80 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and (c) (i) each of sections 1 to 7, (ii) section 9 and (iii) section 27 of the Public Order Act 2023.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested can be found in the table attached.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many prosecutions for protest-related offences the Crown Prosecution Service has completed under (a) section (i) 12 and (ii) 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, as amended by section 75 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, (b) each of sections 78 to 80 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and (c) (i) each of sections 1 to 7, (ii) section 9 and (iii) section 27 of the Public Order Act 2023; of those prosecutions, how many and what proportion resulted in (1) a conviction, (2) imprisonment and (3) a financial penalty; and what the average (x) prison sentence and (y) financial penalty was in such cases.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds data on the number of prosecutions where a charge has been authorised and reached a first hearing in the magistrates’ courts for specific offences.
It is important to note that CPS offences data is only extracted into the Case Management Information System once the prosecution case has been finalised, this means that the following offence data only relates to completed prosecutions and not any ongoing prosecutions.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSCA) came into effect in April 2022, amending sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986.
The below table provides details of the number of offences charged under these amended sections as well as offences under section 78 PCSCA and section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended by section 80 PCSCA). To date, there have been no offences charged under section 14ZA(10) of the Public Order Act 1986 (inserted by section 79 PCSCA), where the proceedings have been completed.
| 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 Q1 |
s12 Public Order Act 1986 | 3 | 163 | 1 |
s14 Public Order Act 1986 | 59 | 35 | 26 |
s78 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 | 52 | 209 | 48 |
s137 Highways Act 1980 | 706 | 806 | 162 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System |
|
The Public Order Act 2023 came into effect in May 2023. The table below provides details of the number of offences charged under sections 1, 2, and 7 of the Act. To date, there have been no offences charged under sections 3 to 6, 9 or 27 of the Act where the proceedings have been completed.
| 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 Q1 |
s1 Public Order Act 2023 | 16 | 13 |
s2 Public Order Act 2023 | 4 | 5 |
s7 Public Order Act 2023 | 6 | 0 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System |
|
The CPS does not hold data in relation to the outcome of specific offences. Therefore, I am unable to provide an answer to those parts of your question that relate to the proportion of prosecutions for these offences that resulted a conviction, imprisonment and/or financial penalty.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has for the Homes for Ukraine Scheme beyond April 2025.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
To provide future certainty, Ukrainians who have been provided with sanctuary in the UK under the Ukraine schemes will be able to apply for 18 months further permission to remain in the UK through a bespoke Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme due to open in early 2025.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme will also remain open, uncapped and free of charge for Ukrainians to apply to come to the UK.
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, if he will ensure that (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and (b) other lung health issues feature in the 10-year NHS plan.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will consider the change needed to meet the three health mission goals, which are: a fairer system where everyone lives well for longer; a National Health Service that is there when people need it; and fewer lives lost to the biggest killers.
We will carefully be considering policies with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders as we develop the plan.
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 he is taking to reduce waiting times for children from Eastbourne constituency to access support from Sussex CAMHS.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long, including in areas such as the Eastbourne constituency. That is why we will recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across both adult, and children and young people’s mental health services.
The Department for Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Education to consider how to deliver our commitment of providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school. Alongside this, we are working towards rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community, offering open access mental health services for young people.
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 assessment NHS England has made of the potential impact of the Royal Marsden Man Van project on prostate cancer testing in areas with high rates of late diagnosis.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has not made a specific assessment.
We will find the safest and most effective way to screen for prostate cancer. The Department is investing £16 million into the Prostate Cancer UK led Transform screening trial, which seeks to diagnose prostate cancer as early as possible. This trial will compare the most promising tests that look for prostate cancer in men that do not have symptoms, and aims to address disparities in early detection rates across different groups.
NHS England has funded 10 clinical audits, which includes audit work on prostate cancer. Using routine data, collected on patients diagnosed with cancer in a National Health Service setting, the audit will look at what is being done well, where it’s being done well, and what needs to be done better. This will seek to reduce unwarranted variation in treatment and reduce inequalities across different groups.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to take steps through Great British Railways, once the network is nationalised, to reduce the role of commission-charging railway ticketing websites.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We have no plans to reduce the role of independent retailers once rail operators are brought into public ownership.
Independent retailers add significant value to the marketplace in driving innovation and the Government wants to see them continuing to do so in the future.
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 plans he has to reduce levels of stigma experienced by people with HIV within the health and social care system.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The latest Positive Voices Report published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in January 2024 made it clear that stigma continues to be experienced by people living with HIV.
HIV Prevention England, funded by the Department, hosted a HIV Stigma Symposium in March 2024 which brought together approximately 100 community experts, activists, healthcare professionals, and affected individuals to discuss the impact of HIV stigma. This showcased the innovation and effectiveness of stigma reduction strategies being implemented across the country.
The Department, the UKHSA, NHS England, and a broad range of system partners are developing a new HIV Action Plan which will include a focus on stigma. We aim to publish this by summer 2025.
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 he is taking to improve NHS workforce training on HIV (a) awareness and (b) treatment.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The standard of training for health care professionals is the responsibility of the independent, statutory health care regulatory bodies and higher education institutions who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and determine the content of their curriculum, in line with General Medical Council guidelines.
Individual National Health Service trusts are responsible for investing in post-registration training to ensure that staff can effectively deliver sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV treatment. In addition, NHS England’s e-Learning for Healthcare includes a range of programmes and material which focus on HIV.
The Department, the UK Health Security Agency, NHS England, and a broad range of system partners are developing a new HIV Action Plan and considering the next steps needed for the workforce within it. We aim to publish this by summer 2025.