Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what penalties the Office for Product Safety and Standards can impose on a regulator for repeated breaches of the regulators code.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Regulators Code is established under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006. It provides a clear, flexible and principles-based framework for how regulators should engage with those they regulate.
The Act does not make provision for sanctions, penalties or investigations in respect of adherence by a regulator with the principles of the Code.
Routine enquires in respect of the Code received by the Office for Product Safety and Standards are managed within internal service standard time limits of five working days.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing trials of the use of cashless payments for the land-based gambling sector.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Cashless payments via digital apps, ticket in ticket out systems and debit card payments at cash desks are currently permitted in the land-based gambling sector. It is also possible to pay for chips at a casino gaming table by turning away from the table and completing a debit card transaction with a staff member.
Secondary legislation (The Gaming Machine (Circumstances of Use) Regulations 2007) currently prohibits the use of debit cards for payment at machine games. However, the government is considering issues around payment mechanisms as part of its wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act. We will publish a White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the land-based gambling sector on (a) coastal towns and (b) other high streets.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We recognise the contribution made by the land-based gambling sector both in terms of jobs and gross value added (GVA) to the economies of coastal towns and other high streets. The government is considering a range of issues relating to the land-based sector as part of the wide-ranging scope of our Gambling Act Review, and will publish a white paper in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much police forces spent on campaigns aimed at diversifying their recruitment in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The recruitment of an additional 20,000 officers across England and Wales is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to support all forces become more representative of the communities they serve.
The Home Office does not hold information on how much forces have spent on local recruitment campaigns. Decisions on the use of funding & resource are an operational matter for Chief Constables & Police and Crime Commissioners who are best placed to make decisions based on local knowledge and experience.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has had discussions with representatives of the state government of (a) Alabama, (b) Mississippi and (c) Arkansas on securing memorandums of understanding on trade in the last two years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We regularly engage states through our network of consulates on how we can enhance our strong, existing trade relationships. My predecessor also met with the Governor of Arkansas in April last year to discuss how we could boost trade further.
We welcome continued interest from states in strengthening trade ties and will continue to focus on how best we can work together to deliver the greatest impact for business.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the motorway speed limit to 80mph.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
A previous Government made an initial assessment of the possibility of introducing trials of 80 mph limits.
The safety of road users is our priority, and any change to speed limits would be evidence-led, looking at the impact on safety, air quality and carbon emissions as well as road conditions.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the cost of providing healthcare to people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats in each of the last three years.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We do not have estimates of the costs of providing healthcare to people who have crossed the English Channel by small boats. A breakdown of healthcare costs for people who have entered the country this way is not available.
Healthcare for those seeking asylum is delivered by a number of bodies, reflecting different parts of an individual’s journey through the immigration system.
Information about healthcare for migrants is in the Department’s Migrant Health Guide and available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-entitlements-migrant-health-guide
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the total value to the British economy of (a) trade with and (b) tourism from Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentlemen’s Parliamentary Question of 6 February is attached.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims on which a final decision has not been made were lodged before 1 January 2010.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on final outcomes on asylum applications can be found in table Asy_D04 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data are accurate as of June 2022. An update to this table will be published in August 2023. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support economic development in Monserrat.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to supporting the economic development of Montserrat as part of our enduring commitment to the Overseas Territories. The FCDO is funding a five-year £30 million capital investment programme which will deliver a package of infrastructure projects, including a subsea fibre cable and a new hospital. The FCDO is also providing £28.3 million to develop a new port which will improve access to the island. The UK also provides approximately 65 per cent of the Government of Montserrat's recurrent budget which supports the delivery of key public services and funding to improve local resilience from a variety of government funding streams.