Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what stages of recruitment are still to be completed for the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration role.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Affairs Select Committee’s pre-appointment hearing with the Government’s preferred candidate took place on 11 February.
Once Ministers have finalised the appointment and the terms of appointment have been agreed, the new ICIBI will be announced in the normal way.
Ministers agreed to extend David Bolt’s appointment term as interim ICIBI for a further period of up to three months, to enable sufficient time to conclude the recruitment process for a permanent ICIBI and ensure a smooth transition.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of Chinese citizens deployed by Russia in the war on Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Russia's increasing recruitment of foreign nationals to fight in its illegal invasion of Ukraine demonstrates its underlying weakness. We have noted recent reports of Chinese citizens deployed by Russia in Ukraine. We have seen no evidence of state sponsorship in relation to these recent reports, but we continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, If he will take steps to ensure the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on biological sex in Government department workplaces.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Prime Minister will fly the Middlesex flag from 10 Downing Street to celebrate Middlesex Day on 16 May 2025.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 9 May 2025, Official Report, PQ 48177
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of information in the parent leaflet for febrile seizures; and whether he plans to further update them.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Individual providers are responsible for the content in the leaflets they produce, and trusts have the freedom to decide what to include in their local leaflets.
Information on febrile seizures can be found on the NHS.UK website, which contains the nationally recommended guidance, at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/febrile-seizures/
All information provided to patients should be accurate and reflect the best possible advice, in line with guidance published by the Department, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/best-practice-guidance-on-patient-information-leaflets
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with South Western Railway to help improve service reliability.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
South Western Railway’s performance has been impacted by the late introduction of their Class 701 ‘Arterio’ fleet, leading to a reliance on older, less reliable trains. Officials are meeting regularly with the operator to discuss performance, and the Secretary of State met with FirstGroup and MTR on 13th May to discuss recent failures in the introduction of the new fleet and what they are doing to speed up next steps.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the £50 million allocated to the new VALOUR comes from his Department's existing budget.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
VALOUR is a new commitment to establish the first-ever UK-wide approach to veteran support. A new VALOUR HQ within the Ministry of Defence, a network of field officers, regional VALOUR-recognised support centres, and development funding to support local delivery will be established, overseen by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. VALOUR will foster the enterprising spirit of veteran charities, better connect local and national services and ensure veterans’ support is data driven. With new funding for veterans from the Ministry of Defence budget, the detailed structures and processes that will underpin VALOUR will be designed in collaboration with relevant partners and further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of launching a public awareness campaign on sudden unexpected death in childhood.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the devastating impact of sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) on affected families and communities, and the importance of raising awareness of SUDC among relevant professionals, communities, and parents. Information on SUDC is available on the National Health Service website, which also signposts to the charity SUDC.UK. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sids.
Additional information for parents on SUDC is available in the form of the booklet, When a Child Dies. Health visitors and school nurses also play an important role in promoting health literacy to families. There are no plans at present to launch a public awareness campaign on SUDC.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the key milestones of the China Audit are.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is carrying out an Audit of the UK's interests with regards to China, to bring a long term and strategic approach to managing our relations. The timeline for the Audit is driven by the need for sufficient consultation, not just across government, but also business, academia, civil society, and Parliamentarians [including those sanctioned by China], to inform its analysis. The Audit's findings, which will also inform other important developments such as the forthcoming National Security Strategy and Industrial Strategy, will be shared with Parliament and other stakeholders in due course.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the sentencing powers of magistrates on court backlogs since October 2024.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Last November, we extended magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months. It is premature to assess the impact of the policy due to the time it has been in place.
The change enables more cases to be retained in the magistrates’ courts, freeing up capacity in the Crown Court for other cases to be heard. In general, magistrates’ courts hear cases more quickly than the Crown Court, therefore these cases will be dealt with faster, helping deliver swifter access to justice for victims.
We will be able to properly assess the impacts of extending these sentencing powers once the policy has been in place for a sufficient period of time. This will allow sufficient cases to have worked through the system with outcomes and the data associated with those outcomes.