Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the devolved administrations on the potential merits of banning snares.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Devolved Administrations are free to make their own laws regarding the use of snares.
Since coming into post in October 2022, I have not held any conversations with Devolved Administrations in relation to changing the UK Government's policy on using snares in England.
However, on Monday 9th January, in the adjournment debate "Make the use of free running-snares illegal for trapping wildlife", I set out my intention to such a discussion with the devolved administrations about their respective policies on snares. This will be set up by my officials at a mutually agreeable time.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report of the National Anti Snaring Campaign entitled A Review of the Use of Snares in the UK published in April 2022, whether he has made an assessment if the implication for her Department's policies of that reports conclusions on (a) non-target capture, (b) animal welfare and (c) prohibiting the use of snares.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
No assessment has yet been made of the implications for my Department's policies of the conclusions of the publication of the National Anti Snaring Campaign's 2022 report: A Review of the Use of Snares.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Mental Health Bill will include provisions for every child to (a) have access to a (i) counsellor and (ii) play and creative arts therapist registered by a (A) Government and (B) Government-approved agency within school and (b) for all schools to have a mental health support team.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 December 2022 to Question 108084.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had the (a) World Health Organisation and (b) World Organisation for Animal Health on the risk of zoonotic diseases being spread to humans from fur farms globally, in the context of the H5N1 avian flu outbreak in winter 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Fur farming is banned in England. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not been involved in any discussions with the World Health Organization or the World Organisation for Animal Health specifically on the general risk of zoonotic disease spread from fur farms globally.
UKHSA continues to work closely with animal health colleagues at the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Animal and Plant Health Agency as well as international partners to assess any specific risks that are identified globally which would have potential implications to the United Kingdom public health.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings of the study entitled Perfectionism Is Increasing Over Time: A Meta-Analysis of Birth Cohort Differences From 1989 to 2016, published in 2019 in the Psychological Bulletin, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of perfectionism on the mental health of (a) school, (b) college and (c) university students.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department collects and assesses a range of data related to children and young people’s mental health to identify trends and better understand the issues adversely affecting mental wellbeing, and publishes an annual State of the Nation report to reflect this.
While the department does not plan to make a specific assessment of the impact of perfectionism on the mental health of students, it is taking a range of action to ensure schools, colleges and universities in the UK can support their pupils and students with these underlying issues.
Our statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum covers a range of topics that help pupils identify and manage the issues in their lives, develop resilience, and seek support where necessary. This includes topics such as body image, dealing with social media expectations, curating a specific image of yourself online and understanding how online information can be targeted at them.
The department is also funding all schools and colleges in the UK to train senior mental health leads on how to put in place effective approaches to mental health and wellbeing. This includes developing a supportive culture where pupils feel able to speak openly about the pressures that they are under and deciding what pastoral support to provide to pupils and students based on that experience.
As autonomous institutions, higher education (HE) providers are responsible for supporting their students during their time at university, and this includes evaluating what services their students need and the effectiveness of support services. The department and the Office for Students continue to work closely with the HE sector to promote and fund effective practice to ensure students are well-supported to enable full participation in HE, leading to successful outcomes.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues and with veterans' charities to improve care pathways for veterans with complex rehabilitation needs.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
Veterans in England are able to receive specialised treatment on the NHS via the Veterans’ Trauma Network for physical health conditions, and Op COURAGE for mental health support. The Integrated Personal Commissioning for Veterans Framework (IPC4V) also offers a personalised care approach for the small number of Armed Forces personnel who have complex and enduring physical, neurological and mental health conditions that are attributable to injury whilst in Service. We will continue to work with colleagues across government, and the charity sector, to ensure that veterans are able to access the best healthcare possible, including via the commitments made in the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the annual review of benefits will take into account the real term reduction in benefits claimants’ incomes since April 2022 due to the gap between the rate at which benefits are paid and the accelerating rate of inflation.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
CPI has been the default inflation measure for the Secretary or State’s statutory annual review of benefit rates since 2011. The relevant index for 2022 was 10.1%. This is the latest available figure confirmed by the Office for National Statistics prior to the annual review and allows sufficient time for the complex delivery process to take place.
Using the same benchmark every year ensures consistency over time, allowing Up-rating to balance out over a number of years.
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why, in addition to the £37 billion of support we have provided for cost-of-living pressures in 2022/23, we are acting now to ensure support continues throughout 2023/24.
To ensure stability and certainty for households, in the Autumn Statement the Government has announced £26 billion in cost-of-living support for 2023/24. In 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Cost-of-Living Payments. A £300 payment will be made to pensioner households and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Also included is the amended Energy Price Guarantee which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24 and raising the benefit cap by 10.1% in line with inflation.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual reports 2019 to 2021, published 26 October 2022, what assessment she has made of the incident in which four dogs were administered a substance that was not authorised for testing; and whether a letter of reprimand and inspector advice was an adequate response to that breach.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Home Office take any allegations regarding non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously.
The investigation and measures taken for the case involving four dogs were in accordance with the agreed Regulator’s Compliance Policy that is aimed to minimise the risk of recurrence. The Compliance Policy can be found on gov.uk. The Home Office will continue to assess the proportionality of responses to non-compliances with the Act.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on increasing Veteran Aware accreditation in NHS trusts; and if he will take steps to extend the Veteran Aware accreditation scheme to all GP practices in the UK.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
As of 1 October 2022, 60% of National Health Service trusts have been accredited as Veteran Aware, including acute hospitals, ambulance services, mental health and community trusts. This has increased from 51% as at July 2022. NHS England’s Veteran Covenant Health Alliance Programme continues to work with trusts to support accreditation.
With the Royal College of General Practitioners, NHS England is working to accredit all general practitioner practices in England as 'veteran friendly'. As of 30 September, 24.4% of practices have been accredited as veteran friendly. While accreditation is currently open to practices in England, the Royal College of General Practitioners is working with the devolved administrations to extend the programme.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for publishing the response to her Department's consultation entitled Fur market in Great Britain.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
HM Government made a commitment to explore potential action in relation to animal fur, as set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare. We have since conducted a Call for Evidence on the fur sector along with other forms of engagement with interested parties.
We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector and speak to a range of interested parties, to make sure we fully understand the issues at hand before taking any decisions regarding the import and export of animal fur products.