Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to tackle Islamophobia.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Islamophobia is completely abhorrent and has no place in our society. Rooting out this appalling form of hatred is a priority for this Government, and we have already taken a number of steps to achieve this.
The Government works closely with the police and community partners monitor and combat hate crime. This year, MHCLG has made over £1 million available to monitor incidents of Islamophobia and provide support to victims. We also fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report.
In response to public disorder in August which targeted Muslims and mosques, the Government introduced a rapid protective security response process for places of worship. We have provided security to more than 700 additional places of worship during this period. Protective security continues to be a priority, with up to £29.4 million per year being made available for protective security at mosques and Muslim faith schools from 2024/25 to 2027/28.
We are finalising our renewed, more strategic approach to tackling Islamophobia, working in partnership with communities, and will provide further updates shortly.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to consult on extending the list of conditions patients can be treated for under the Pharmacy First scheme.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will make sure the National Health Service has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it. We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. A central part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.
In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
Employers clearly have a key role in retaining staff and making jobs in community pharmacy attractive. To support employers, NHS England has provided several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help support private contractors deliver quality NHS services, including Pharmacy First.
NHS England is keeping the Pharmacy First service under close review. In addition, a National Institute for Health and Care Research evaluation of Pharmacy First will assess how the service has been implemented across England, including impacts on prescribing in the general practice setting, use of hospitals and how the service has impacted access to care and cost for different patient groups.
The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Pharmacy First service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will make sure the National Health Service has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it. We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. A central part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.
In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
Employers clearly have a key role in retaining staff and making jobs in community pharmacy attractive. To support employers, NHS England has provided several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help support private contractors deliver quality NHS services, including Pharmacy First.
NHS England is keeping the Pharmacy First service under close review. In addition, a National Institute for Health and Care Research evaluation of Pharmacy First will assess how the service has been implemented across England, including impacts on prescribing in the general practice setting, use of hospitals and how the service has impacted access to care and cost for different patient groups.
The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
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 increase the number of community pharmacists.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will make sure the National Health Service has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it. We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. A central part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.
In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
Employers clearly have a key role in retaining staff and making jobs in community pharmacy attractive. To support employers, NHS England has provided several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help support private contractors deliver quality NHS services, including Pharmacy First.
NHS England is keeping the Pharmacy First service under close review. In addition, a National Institute for Health and Care Research evaluation of Pharmacy First will assess how the service has been implemented across England, including impacts on prescribing in the general practice setting, use of hospitals and how the service has impacted access to care and cost for different patient groups.
The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase voter registration for elections.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to improving electoral registration. We are exploring a wide range of options to deliver on this manifesto commitment, including making greater use of public data and online government services. Any changes will be based on robust evidence and user research.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to the Fourth Report of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee of Session 2023–24, Lobbying and Influence: post-legislative scrutiny of the Lobbying Act 2014 and related matters, published on 2 May 2024, HC 203.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Honorable Member to PQ UIN 20199.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue HMRC estimates has been lost due to tax evasion facilitated through overseas territories in the last five years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. The tax gap statistics are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Table 7.1 of the online tables shows the illustrative tax gap time series by behaviour, including evasion. The tax gap for evasion was £5.5 billion in tax year 2022 to 2023. The online tables are available at: Measuring tax gaps tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
HMRC does not separately estimate the tax gap due to tax evasion facilitated through overseas territories.
HMRC uses a wide range of civil powers to tackle evasion whilst it carries out criminal investigations for the most serious cases where it is appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Cypriot counterpart on the use of Cyprus-based financial structures by UK (a) businesses and (b) individuals to evade VAT.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has not had discussions with Cypriot counterparts on the use of Cyprus-based financial structures by UK businesses or individuals for tax evasion. The UK and Cypriot governments committed to share expertise and invest in capacity building to tackle illicit finance at the UK-Cyprus strategic dialogue in December 2024.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
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 the legal right to a care supporter in a health and social care setting.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A) came into force on 6 April 2024 to strengthen requirements for CQC registered care homes, hospitals, and hospices to facilitate visiting, unless there are exceptional circumstances which mean that it is not safe to do so. This can be a visit from a family member, a friend, or a person visiting to provide companionship or support, for example, a care supporter.
We will conduct a review of Regulation 9A from April 2025, 12 months on from the legislation coming into force, to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. Depending on the outcome of the review, we will consider whether further action is needed.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of (a) the adequacy of the Cayman Islands’ new Regulations: Beneficial Ownership Transparency (legitimate interest access) regulations 2024, (b) whether those regulations meet the expectations laid out during the Joint Ministerial Council to provide the maximum possible degree of access and transparency, (c) whether Bermuda’s regulations are aligned with international standards set out in the EU’s 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive and (d) whether (i) case-by-case applications and (ii) the introduction of fees between $30 and $100 will hinder journalists and NGOs from accessing beneficial ownership information to combat money laundering and its predicate offences.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
At the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November, I confirmed the UK Government's expectation that Overseas Territories implement fully public registers of beneficial ownership. Fully public registers have already been introduced in Montserrat and Gibraltar, and commitments were made by the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena to introduce these by April 2025. Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands committed to implement registers of beneficial ownership accessible to those with legitimate interest, which offer the maximum possible degree of access and transparency whilst containing the necessary safeguards to protect the right to privacy in line with respective constitutions, at the latest by June 2025.
The Bermudian consultation closed in January, but regulations have not yet been published. The Cayman regulations are a welcome step in the right direction. My officials are working directly with Cayman officials to ensure the regulations meet the JMC requirement of maximum possible degree of access and transparency and are in line with emerging international standards in the EU's 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
A key focus of those discussions is to ensure that the conditions of access do not unduly deter effective proactive investigations and analysis.