Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of rape trial waiting times on people who have made allegations of rape.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Rape is an abhorrent crime, and its victims are some of the most vulnerable in the criminal justice system. Despite the judiciary prioritising cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, rape victims can wait disproportionately longer the victims of other cases for their trial.
Addressing this issue is central to this Government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. We have committed to fast-tracking rape cases through the courts and will work with the judiciary to find the best way to deliver this nationally.
In addition, we are introducing specialist rape and sexual offence teams in every police force and will be rolling out free, independent legal advocates for victims of adult rape. The legal advocates will provide legal advice to victims on disclosure requests and potential appeals, reducing the number of those dropping out of the system.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has determined the appropriateness of central recovery support following flooding in Chippenham after Storm Berk.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 18286 on 10 December 2024.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Minister for Water and Flooding following her visit to Chippenham on 26 November 2024; and if she will publish a note of those discussions.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My thoughts remain with householders and business owners impacted by flooding after Storm Bert, flooding is a devastating experience for those affected.
Activation of the Flood Recovery Framework is at Ministerial discretion and there is no fixed threshold for activation. When making that decision each event is considered on its own merits looking at factors including how widespread the event is, the significance and scale of impacts, comparison to previous events / activations and the severity of the on-going situation. These factors combined help to determine if an event can be considered exceptional.
Overall, the scale of impacts was similar to that seen in many local areas this autumn and were not sufficiently significant for Government to intervene and for the Framework to be activated.
The government has set up a floods resilience taskforce to provide a forum in which partners from across government, frontline agencies, emergency responders and interest groups will work together to strengthen flood resilience across the country.
Ministers and officials from the department are in regular contact with counterparts in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As has been the case under successive administrations, we do not normally disclose details of internal discussions.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question 16051 on Storms: Disaster Relief, how she defines exceptional.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My thoughts remain with householders and business owners impacted by flooding after Storm Bert, flooding is a devastating experience for those affected.
Activation of the Flood Recovery Framework is at Ministerial discretion and there is no fixed threshold for activation. When making that decision each event is considered on its own merits looking at factors including how widespread the event is, the significance and scale of impacts, comparison to previous events / activations and the severity of the on-going situation. These factors combined help to determine if an event can be considered exceptional.
Overall, the scale of impacts was similar to that seen in many local areas this autumn and were not sufficiently significant for Government to intervene and for the Framework to be activated.
The government has set up a floods resilience taskforce to provide a forum in which partners from across government, frontline agencies, emergency responders and interest groups will work together to strengthen flood resilience across the country.
Ministers and officials from the department are in regular contact with counterparts in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As has been the case under successive administrations, we do not normally disclose details of internal discussions.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the timeframe for PIP award reviews; whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of waiting times for appeal on PIP applicants; and what steps she is taking to tackle PIP appeal backlogs.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service, including through using a blend of phone, video and face-to-face assessments where an assessment is required and by increasing case manager and assessment provider health professional resource.
Where an existing award of PIP is subject to an award review, we aim to make a decision on that as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant. Where we can do so, we are also making decisions without referral to the Assessment Providers to speed up the process.
The Department understands the potential effect of waiting for a tribunal hearing, which is why our aim is to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey so that people can get the support they are entitled to, without the need for an appeal.
Appeals are lodged with, and administered by, HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). A variety of factors can affect the number of cases cleared by the Tribunal including the complexity of the issue in dispute; the availability of panel members assigned to a particular venue; and if an appeal is adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further medical evidence). Any increase to the live load is monitored, and investigated, locally.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding her Department is providing to (a) residents and (b) businesses affected by flooding following Storm Bert in Chippenham.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My thoughts are with householders and business owners impacted by flooding after Storm Bert, flooding is a devastating experience for those affected. Government support for flood recovery, administrated via the Flood Recovery Framework, is only made available in the most exceptional circumstances. Most recently this was after Storms Babet in October 2023 and Henk in January this year when over 8,500 homes and businesses were impacted. My officials will continue to monitor the data on impacts following Storm Bert and will keep me updated.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of adopting World Health Organisation Air Standards.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to meeting current legal targets for air quality, including the targets recently set under the Environment Act 2021, and will review the policy measures needed to achieve them. We will deliver a comprehensive Clean Air Strategy, including a series of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines are intended to inform the setting of air quality standards and are not ready-made targets for direct adoption as they do not consider achievability or individual countries’ circumstances. However, we will consider WHO guidelines as part of an evidence led process when considering future targets.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
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 reduce ambulance waiting times in the South West.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including for ambulance response times.
As a first step, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.
Ahead of this winter, NHS England has set out the priorities for the NHS to maintain and improve patient safety and experience, including actions to support patient flow and ensure ambulances are released in a timely way. NHS England’s winter letter is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/winter-and-h2-priorities/
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements: and whether the Government plans to publish an updated review timeline.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to leading the world in sustainable finance by making the UK a global hub for green and transition finance activity, and delivering a world-leading sustainable finance regulatory framework.
The government will provide further information about its plans to support growth and integrity in the UK sustainable finance landscape, including sustainability disclosures, in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve communication on the validity of legacy paper documents for people who do not have an e-visa.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
An extensive communications campaign is being delivered in support of the transition from physical immigration documents to eVisas, to raise awareness of eVisas, build understanding of how it applies to visa holders and checkers, and encourage them to take action. This includes activity and messaging specifically targeting biometric residence permit (BRP) holding customers to register for a UKVI account by the end of 2024, when most BRPs expire, if they were not automatically provided with a UKVI account and eVisa when their most recent immigration application was approved.
Our communications also explain that customers with older forms of evidence of immigration status, such as ink stamps in passports, will still be able to prove their rights as they do today, using their legacy documents where these are permitted. However, we encourage those individuals to transition to an eVisa, which offers a range of benefits to customers and status checkers.
The dedicated eVisa communications activity has run from Spring 2024 onwards and has included regular updates to GOV.UK, including the establishment of a dedicated eVisa webpage at www.gov.uk/eVisa, and online resources such as eVisa support videos, direct messaging to customers via email and text message, and a wide-ranging programme of engagement with relevant stakeholders and international carriers. A national eVisa advertising campaign to raise awareness of these changes commenced on 10 October 2024.
All communications activity has directed visa holders to www.gov.uk/eVisa, and, where appropriate, has highlighted the range of available support.