Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, whether people under 22 in receipt of benefits will lose those benefits once those reforms are implemented.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are consulting on delaying access to the health element of UC within the reformed system until someone is aged 22, on the basis that the savings generated would be reinvested into work support and training opportunities for this age group to support them into employment and improve their life chances, and that this would remove any potential disincentive to work during this time.

We are committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of everything we do. The consultation will close on 30 June 2025, to ensure that everyone has sufficient time to engage with and respond to the consultation.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing guidance on the sentencing of freight crime.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

This Government is highly aware of the rising frequency of freight crime and the significant and damaging impact it can have on businesses and drivers. We are determined to crack down on it.

We are committed to tackling crime and restoring public confidence in policing through our Safer Streets Mission and Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which will deliver thousands of officers across England and Wales. We are continuing to work closely with the police, wider automative industry and the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) to strengthen our response to vehicle crime. We are also continuing to work closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, including freight crime. The Department for Transport (DfT) hosts the Freight Council, which discusses crime against freight companies, and the Home Office works closely with DfT to engage with the sector on this issue through the Freight Council.

With regards to guidelines, guidelines for sentencing are developed and reviewed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so. The guidelines produced provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is.

It is open to individuals to approach the Council to ask that they review their guidelines. As an independent body, it is at the Council’s discretion whether to review particular guidelines, in line with its published criteria for developing or revising guidelines. This is available on its website at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-and-the-council/about-the-sentencing-council/our-criteria-for-developing-or-revising-guidelines/.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact on business of freight crime in (a) England and (b) the West Midlands; and if she will undertake an assessment of trends in the level of freight crime in (i) England and (ii) the West Midlands.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government understands the significant and damaging impact freight crime has on businesses and drivers and we are carefully monitoring the increases in its frequency. The experience of cargo theft, where criminals are ripping the sides of lorries and taking the goods inside, is a highly alarming one for dedicated HGV drivers to go through, and the Government is committed to tackling this crime, and protecting those drivers.

We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders towards those ends, and I recently met with Rachel Taylor MP, and Lilian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads at the Department for Transport (DfT), specifically to discuss freight crime. The DfT also hosts the Freight Council, which regularly discusses crime against freight companies, and which is attended by Home Office officials to engage with the sector on this issue.

We also recognise the strong links between freight crime and serious, organised crime, which is a major threat to our country’s national security and prosperity and is estimated to cost the UK at least £47 billion annually. This Government is committed to tackling serious and organised crime in all its forms, and we are continuing to work closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, which has multiple thematic desks, including a vehicle crime intelligence desk which covers freight crime.

As well as wider offence data, the Home Office collects and publishes data on specific crimes affecting commercial business premises in England and Wales, including premises in the Transport, Accommodation and Food sector, as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS). Neither data source currently provides the level of detail necessary to separately identify freight crimes, or the number of offences taking place in different regions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support Staffordshire Police to reduce rates of freight crime.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government understands the significant and damaging impact freight crime has on businesses and drivers and we are carefully monitoring the increases in its frequency. The experience of cargo theft, where criminals are ripping the sides of lorries and taking the goods inside, is a highly alarming one for dedicated HGV drivers to go through, and the Government is committed to tackling this crime, and protecting those drivers.

We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders towards those ends, and I recently met with Rachel Taylor MP, and Lilian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads at the Department for Transport (DfT), specifically to discuss freight crime. The DfT also hosts the Freight Council, which regularly discusses crime against freight companies, and which is attended by Home Office officials to engage with the sector on this issue.

We also recognise the strong links between freight crime and serious, organised crime, which is a major threat to our country’s national security and prosperity and is estimated to cost the UK at least £47 billion annually. This Government is committed to tackling serious and organised crime in all its forms, and we are continuing to work closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, which has multiple thematic desks, including a vehicle crime intelligence desk which covers freight crime.

As well as wider offence data, the Home Office collects and publishes data on specific crimes affecting commercial business premises in England and Wales, including premises in the Transport, Accommodation and Food sector, as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS). Neither data source currently provides the level of detail necessary to separately identify freight crimes, or the number of offences taking place in different regions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to tackle freight crime.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government understands the significant and damaging impact freight crime has on businesses and drivers and we are carefully monitoring the increases in its frequency. The experience of cargo theft, where criminals are ripping the sides of lorries and taking the goods inside, is a highly alarming one for dedicated HGV drivers to go through, and the Government is committed to tackling this crime, and protecting those drivers.

We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders towards those ends, and I recently met with Rachel Taylor MP, and Lilian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads at the Department for Transport (DfT), specifically to discuss freight crime. The DfT also hosts the Freight Council, which regularly discusses crime against freight companies, and which is attended by Home Office officials to engage with the sector on this issue.

We also recognise the strong links between freight crime and serious, organised crime, which is a major threat to our country’s national security and prosperity and is estimated to cost the UK at least £47 billion annually. This Government is committed to tackling serious and organised crime in all its forms, and we are continuing to work closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, which has multiple thematic desks, including a vehicle crime intelligence desk which covers freight crime.

As well as wider offence data, the Home Office collects and publishes data on specific crimes affecting commercial business premises in England and Wales, including premises in the Transport, Accommodation and Food sector, as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS). Neither data source currently provides the level of detail necessary to separately identify freight crimes, or the number of offences taking place in different regions.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Peruvian counterpart on the provision of assistance to indigenous people after the 2022-23 political protests.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is closely monitoring the human rights situation in Peru, including the specific challenges faced by indigenous communities. Our Ambassador to Peru and his team regularly meet representatives of indigenous communities to understand the challenges faced by these groups. The Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean also met a group of Peruvian human rights defenders in November 2024 to discuss the 2022-23 political protests. We hold regular discussions on human rights at senior levels with the Peruvian Government and have raised concerns about threats to human rights defenders. In the aftermath of the protests, through the UN High Commissioner's Office for Human Rights, the UK has funded technical assistance to the Public Prosecutor's Office, forensic capacity building and training within the judiciary.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Peruvian counterpart on investigations into the responsibilities of (a) senior police officers and (b) other civilian authorities in the killings in Juliaca in 2023.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We hold regular discussions on human rights at senior levels with the Peruvian Government including the Foreign Minister, the Minister for Women and Vulnerable Populations, and other stakeholders and have raised concerns about threats to human rights defenders. The Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean met a group of Peruvian human rights defenders in November 2024 to discuss the 2022-23 political protests. We will continue to work with the government and wider civil society groups to support the protection of human rights in Peru. Alongside raising the importance of accountability, in the aftermath of the protests, through the UN High Commissioner's Office for Human Rights, the UK funded technical assistance to the Public Prosecutor's Office, forensic capacity building, and training within the judiciary.

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Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Charlie Maynard;

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Charlie Maynard;

Found: Written evidence submitted by Sarah Edwards MP, Member of Parliament for Tamworth (COE0008) I am writing

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Gregor

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Gregor

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Gregor

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Antonia Bance; John Cooper; Sarah Edwards; Alison