Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Prime Minister will attend the COP30 UN climate summit in person.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Prime Minister plans to attend COP30.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the (a) time, (b) money and (c) other resources spent on policing (i) fox hunting and (ii) related crimes in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police. This is in line with their duties to keep the peace, protect communities and prevent the commission of offences, working within the provisions of the legal framework set by Parliament.
It is for individual Chief Constables to determine how their resources are deployed, and it is for locally elected PCCs to hold their forces to account. This includes consideration of how the police tackle the crimes that matter most to residents and businesses in rural and urban areas alike. The investigation and prosecution of all criminal offences, including consideration of whether an actual offence has been committed, is a matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service who have comprehensive powers to take action under criminal law.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many non-pandemic human vaccines have been licensed in the UK in the last 10 years that involved the use of beagles from MBR Acres; how many of those vaccines were later withdrawn or had contraindications added; and what contribution was made by the data from those beagles.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Answering this question would require Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) staff to go through a vast volume of data manually spanning 10 years. This is because the information is not held in such a way to be able to filter electronically by the requested category.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work sets out that there is an advisory cost limit known as the disproportionate cost threshold which is the level above which departments can decide not to answer a written question. The current disproportionate cost threshold is £850.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work is published online and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for his policies of variations in licence fees set by local authorities for dog breeding.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations), a local authority can charge such fees as it considers reasonable to meet its statutory licensing responsibilities. The Regulations require local authorities to provide an annual return to the department outlining their licensing fees. That information is published here.
Defra has recently completed its Post-Implementation Review of the Regulations and considered local authority returns and other evidence about the fees charged by local authorities. The review was published in December 2024 and can be found here. The Government is considering the review’s findings and will be outlining more detail on next steps in due course.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who the (a) members are and (b) chair is of the Inter-ministerial Group on Rough Sleeping and Homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Inter-Ministerial Group includes ministers from across government and is focused on developing a long-term strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness. This includes ministers from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Home Office, Department for Education, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Health and Social Care, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice, Cabinet Office, and His Majesty’s Treasury.
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government or his delegate chairs the Inter-Ministerial Group on homelessness.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered revising its guidance to local authorities on dog breeding licence fees in relation to (a) if the licence is new or being renewed, (b) the scale of the licensed activity measured by the number of breeding dogs and (c) how far the cost recovery principle can cover enforcement.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations), a local authority can charge such fees as it considers reasonable to meet its statutory licensing responsibilities. The Regulations require local authorities to provide an annual return to the department outlining their licensing fees. That information is published here.
Defra has recently completed its Post-Implementation Review of the Regulations and considered local authority returns and other evidence about the fees charged by local authorities. The review was published in December 2024 and can be found here. The Government is considering the review’s findings and will be outlining more detail on next steps in due course.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing for England, in the context of equivalent commissioners in (a) Wales and (b) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the lives of older people in England, and we are progressing towards a National Care Service based on higher standards, greater choice and control, and better joined up care between services, with over £4 billion of additional funding available for adult social care by 2028.
We have previously considered the merits of appointing a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England, similar to those in Wales and Northern Ireland. However, we believe that the duties such a role would cover are already addressed through existing structures and initiatives across the health and social care system.
In England, local authorities have statutory responsibilities under the Care Act 2014 to promote individual wellbeing, prevent or delay the development of care needs, and ensure a sustainable and diverse care market, including for older people. This includes duties to assess needs, shape local provision, and support people to live independently for as long as possible. These responsibilities are reinforced by the Care Quality Commission’s assurance framework, which monitors how well councils are delivering these duties and which helps drive improvement across the system.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia more widely available in England.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In its Clinical Knowledge Summary on insomnia, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) suggests that clinicians can offer cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for insomnia if sleep hygiene measures fail, daytime impairment is severe, causing significant distress, and the insomnia is not likely to resolve soon. It is for local integrated care boards to decide what treatments and support for insomnia are offered to their local populations. Further information on NICE’s Clinical Knowledge Summary on insomnia is available at the following link:
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/insomnia/
In addition, NHS Talking Therapies services for anxiety and depression offer low-intensity therapy, including CBT, which may include interventions around sleep hygiene. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression can be referred by their general practitioner, or can self-refer, to NHS Talking Therapies via the following link:
Individuals can also access helpful resources on sleep problems on the Every Mind Matters website, at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/sleep/
NICE has also agreed to prioritise digital technologies that deliver CBT interventions for insomnia and insomnia symptoms as a topic for the development of HealthTech guidance.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
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 potential impact of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In its Clinical Knowledge Summary on insomnia, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) suggests that clinicians can offer cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for insomnia if sleep hygiene measures fail, daytime impairment is severe, causing significant distress, and the insomnia is not likely to resolve soon. It is for local integrated care boards to decide what treatments and support for insomnia are offered to their local populations. Further information on NICE’s Clinical Knowledge Summary on insomnia is available at the following link:
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/insomnia/
In addition, NHS Talking Therapies services for anxiety and depression offer low-intensity therapy, including CBT, which may include interventions around sleep hygiene. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression can be referred by their general practitioner, or can self-refer, to NHS Talking Therapies via the following link:
Individuals can also access helpful resources on sleep problems on the Every Mind Matters website, at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/sleep/
NICE has also agreed to prioritise digital technologies that deliver CBT interventions for insomnia and insomnia symptoms as a topic for the development of HealthTech guidance.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which Minister is responsible for overseeing the Government’s Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition; whether a successor has been appointed to the role of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith and Communities; and what arrangements are in place for the Group’s secretariat and stakeholder engagement.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Minister responsible for overseeing the Government’s Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition is Miatta Fahnbulleh. The secretariat hasn’t changed. This independent Working Group engaged extensively with a wide range of communities and have now provided their independent, evidence-based advice to Ministers for consideration. Ministers are reviewing the advice and next steps in due course.