Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) firearm and (a) shotgun certificates have been issued to people who had previously faced allegations of domestic abuse.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Firearms Act 1968 gives responsibility for the issuing of firearms certificates to Chief Officers of Police.
The Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police on firearms licensing, issued by the Secretary of State, makes it clear that any allegations of domestic abuse concerning a firearms certificate applicant must be taken extremely seriously. Any evidence of domestic abuse will mean that the application is usually refused, or the existing certificate revoked.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people (a) made an application for Pension Credit and (b) were new claimants of Pension Credit in each of the last 24 months.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 27 February 2025 we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 23 February 2025 Pension Credit applications and awards: February 2025 - GOV.UK The next update of the Pension Credit applications and awards data is due to be published on 29 May 2025.
All applications received are treated as new claims. Therefore, we do not hold information on details of previous claims applicants may have submitted.
Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) firearms and (b) shotgun certificate (i) applications and (ii) renewals were completed in (A) York and (B) North Yorkshire in the latest 12 month period for which data is available.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes information annually on the number of firearms and shotgun certificates that have been granted, refused or revoked by police forces in the Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates publication. The latest available data is for the year ending 31 March 2024 and can be accessed at the following link:
Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates: April 2023 to March 2024 - GOV. UK (www.gov.uk).
The number of firearms and shotgun certificate applications and renewal applications that were completed (either granted or refused), and the number of firearm and shotgun certificates that were revoked in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in the 12 months to March 2024 can be found in data tables 2 and 4.
Within the Yorkshire and Humber region, data are available for Humberside, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
Data for the year ending 31 March 2025 will be released between June and July 2025: Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates, England and Wales: April 2024 to March 2025 - Accredited official statistics announcement - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) firearms and (b) shotgun certificate certificates were revoked in (i) York and (ii) North Yorkshire in the latest 12 month period for which data is available.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes information annually on the number of firearms and shotgun certificates that have been granted, refused or revoked by police forces in the Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates publication. The latest available data is for the year ending 31 March 2024 and can be accessed at the following link:
Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates: April 2023 to March 2024 - GOV. UK (www.gov.uk).
The number of firearms and shotgun certificate applications and renewal applications that were completed (either granted or refused), and the number of firearm and shotgun certificates that were revoked in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in the 12 months to March 2024 can be found in data tables 2 and 4.
Within the Yorkshire and Humber region, data are available for Humberside, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
Data for the year ending 31 March 2025 will be released between June and July 2025: Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates, England and Wales: April 2024 to March 2025 - Accredited official statistics announcement - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of local community representation on tourist economy advisory boards.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS recognises the importance of local communities and their representatives in shaping a thriving, sustainable visitor economy and the need for their voices to be reflected in local and national decision-making.
The government expects local authorities and tourist boards to engage a broad range of stakeholders (including residents, businesses, and cultural institutions) when developing tourism strategies. This principle of broad representation is embedded in the accreditation criteria for Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs), which are designed to support more coordinated, inclusive and resilient tourism leadership across England.
DCMS recently established the Visitor Economy Advisory Council to bring together industry leaders, regional voices and expert advisers to inform policy and ensure that the sector's growth is inclusive and sustainable. DCMS’ upcoming Growth Strategy for the visitor economy will consider how best to support the sector’s development, including the role of LVEPs - ensuring a coordinated approach to driving growth across destinations and sectors.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will consider setting up a national community-led tourism network to work with local visitor economy partnerships.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS recognises the importance of local communities and their representatives in shaping a thriving, sustainable visitor economy and the need for their voices to be reflected in local and national decision-making.
The government expects local authorities and tourist boards to engage a broad range of stakeholders (including residents, businesses, and cultural institutions) when developing tourism strategies. This principle of broad representation is embedded in the accreditation criteria for Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs), which are designed to support more coordinated, inclusive and resilient tourism leadership across England.
DCMS recently established the Visitor Economy Advisory Council to bring together industry leaders, regional voices and expert advisers to inform policy and ensure that the sector's growth is inclusive and sustainable. DCMS’ upcoming Growth Strategy for the visitor economy will consider how best to support the sector’s development, including the role of LVEPs - ensuring a coordinated approach to driving growth across destinations and sectors.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of voluntary tourist levies organised by Accommodation Business Improvement Districts.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS recognises the interest from local areas in exploring ways to support and sustain their visitor economies, including through the use of voluntary tourist levies.
Tourist levies organised by Accommodation Business Improvement Districts, such as those piloted in Manchester and being explored in other parts of the country, are locally driven initiatives that enable participating businesses to pool resources to fund tourism-related services and improvements. While these schemes are still relatively new, DCMS is monitoring their development and engaging with stakeholders to understand their impact.
DCMS has had a range of discussions with local leaders, including directly elected Mayors, about the tools available to support tourism. While the introduction of statutory tourist levies would be a matter for wider cross-government consideration, DCMS is continuing to engage with local authorities and Combined Authorities to understand their ambitions and ensure the sector remains sustainable and competitive.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with directly elected Mayors on the devolution of powers for tourist levies.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS recognises the interest from local areas in exploring ways to support and sustain their visitor economies, including through the use of voluntary tourist levies.
Tourist levies organised by Accommodation Business Improvement Districts, such as those piloted in Manchester and being explored in other parts of the country, are locally driven initiatives that enable participating businesses to pool resources to fund tourism-related services and improvements. While these schemes are still relatively new, DCMS is monitoring their development and engaging with stakeholders to understand their impact.
DCMS has had a range of discussions with local leaders, including directly elected Mayors, about the tools available to support tourism. While the introduction of statutory tourist levies would be a matter for wider cross-government consideration, DCMS is continuing to engage with local authorities and Combined Authorities to understand their ambitions and ensure the sector remains sustainable and competitive.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking help reduce waiting times for support services for survivors of sexual abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade.
We recognise the invaluable role support services play in the delivery of this mission. This is why the Ministry of Justice provides funding that ensures victims of sexual abuse can access the support they need.
This includes funding for the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission local support services for victims of all crime, including sexual abuse, based on their assessment of local need, as well as grants for specialist support organisations through the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund. Furthermore, the MOJ-commissioned 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line, delivered by Rape Crisis England and Wales, provides victims and survivors 24/7 access to vital help and information, including whilst waiting for longer term support.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications were made under match funding arrangements to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund for (a) specialist assessments and (b) therapeutic support in each financial year since 2015; and what the (i) total and (ii) average value was of those applications.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The attached table provides the information requested.
Please note that the fair access limit (FAL) and match funding arrangements were introduced in October 2016. The separate FAL for specialist assessments was introduced in April 2017. However, match funding records were not captured by the department’s systems until July 2018. Because of this, prior data on match funding has been excluded.
Applications may cover funding for more than one child. Hence, average values may not align with the FAL for individual children. In addition, some applications which include match funding also fund continuation of therapy where a previous application has been submitted at below the FAL level, but then a small amount is required to top-up the therapy provided. These small top-up applications are match funded, but small in value, and therefore fall below the £5,000 average. This will also affect the average costs.