Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals were arrested in connection with suspected (a) live streamed online child sexual abuse and (b) exploitative behaviour in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021, (iii) 2022 and (iv) 2023; and if he will list the nationalities of suspected overseas victims.
Answered by Laura Farris
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests as part of the annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical bulletin. The most recent data up to the year ending March 2023 is available on gov.uk. There is no specific offence of livestreamed child sexual abuse or exploitative behaviour. Arrest data is collected by broader offence group e.g. “sexual offences”.
The Home Office does not hold information relating to the nationality of victims of crime.
However, the Government provides dedicated funding to the National Crime Agency and a network of Undercover Online Officers in Regional Organised Crime Units to tackle the highest harm child sexual abuse offenders, including those engaged in the livestreaming of child sexual abuse. Our understanding of the nature and scale of livestreamed child sexual abuse is informed by threat assessments produced by the National Assessment Centre and other organisations.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that overseas development aid to (a) Sudan, (b) Ethiopia and (c) other East African countries reaches (i) local and (ii) national non-governmental (A) youth, (B) women-led and (C) faith-based organisations.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Local and national organisations - including youth, women-led and faith-based organisations - play a vital role in delivering UK-funded development work across East Africa, where the UK plans to invest almost £750 million in ODA in 2024/25. In Sudan, we are providing technical assistance to the UN to develop a strategy for partnering with local organisations and using our seat on the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) advisory board to encourage a greater portion of assistance to be channelled to local, community-led organisations. The recent International Development White Paper is also clear on this priority and commits the UK to publish a strategy on partnering with national relief actors.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of veterans that have (a) died and (b) committed suicide whilst awaiting a final settlement of a claim to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The information requested cannot be provided without exceeding the disproportionate cost limit.
However, I can confirm that between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2024, ten veterans whose next of kin decided to proceed with the active claim died before receiving an outcome of either an initial Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) injury/illness claim or an appeal. The figure includes claims which were still open on 31 March 2024.
The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on the cause of death where a claimant dies before receiving an outcome of claim under the AFCS. Therefore, it is not possible to identify veterans that have committed suicide whilst awaiting a claim outcome since 2019.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how much and what proportion of funding announced at the pledging conferences for (a) Sudan and (b) Ethiopia is new; and how will that funding be released.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
On 15 April Lord Benyon attended the Sudan Humanitarian Pledging Conference in Paris where the UK re-affirmed our funding for Sudan this financial year of £89 million. We are still in the process of allocating funding in Sudan for 2024/25, but part of it includes funding to UNICEF which will provide emergency and life-saving food assistance to support people in hard-to reach areas in Sudan, including nutrition, water and hygiene services for 500,000 children under 5. At the high-level pledging conference for Ethiopia which took place in April, I announced £100 million in UK funding. This support had not been previously announced. This included £30 million to treat acute malnutrition for those in greatest need.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Dog Legislation Officers there were on 15 September 2023; how many and what proportion of those Dog Legislation Officers have received training in the identification standard for an XL Bully; and how many new Dog Legislation Officers have been trained since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Defra does not hold data on the number of Dog Legislation Officers. This information is held by individual police forces.
We have supported the police to deliver additional training to Dog Legislation Officers to make sure the ban is effectively enforced.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department calculated its estimate of the number of dogs which would be affected by a ban on XL Bully dogs.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Defra calculated its assessment of the number of dogs which would be affected by a ban on XL Bully dogs using evidence and data collated in consultation with key stakeholders.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what extra resource is being provided for police forces to support their increased caseloads in enforcing the ban on XL Bully dogs.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Defra are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Home Office to assess enforcement capability and capacity in relation to the ban on XL Bully type dogs. We have supported the police to deliver additional training to Dog Legislation Officers to make sure the ban is effectively enforced.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects his Department’s Responsible Dog Ownership Working Group to report.
Answered by Mark Spencer
We expect the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce to publish its findings soon. These should address all aspects of tackling irresponsible dog ownership effectively, from prevention to robust, consistent enforcement, focussing on owners as well as on their dogs.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the income raised from charges for certificates of exemption to keep an XL Bully dog have been ringfenced to (a) cover the administrative costs of the exemption scheme and (b) support local authorities to enforce the ban.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The application fee paid by XL bully owners on registering an XL Bully covers the administrative costs for the life of the dog, including processing the application and lifetime record management.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help secure the release of Ms Elizabeth Tsurkov who was kidnapped in Iraq in March 2023.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK is concerned over the kidnapping of Israeli-Russian dual national Elizabeth Tsurkov. The Government of Iraq opened an investigation into her kidnapping last year and we await the findings. Those suspected of criminal responsibility for her kidnapping should be brought to justice in fair trials. However, as Elizabeth Tsurkov is not a British citizen, we are not in a position to offer direct consular assistance.