Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to support the (a) establishment and (b) maintenance of (i) cinemas and (ii) cultural venues in towns.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that cinemas and cultural venues are a hugely important part of the UK’s cultural landscape. We are committed to supporting them and the cultural sector more broadly.
HM Government provides funding opportunities for the arts and other cultural organisations in a range of ways, including direct Government funding, via arm’s-length bodies like Arts Council England, and indirectly through local authorities.
Through Arts Council England’s current investment programme, more than £444 million of public money is being invested each year in arts and culture across England. This is an increase from £410 million in the previous portfolio, and will support 985 organisations across England – more than ever before. In addition, through Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grant funding, over £105 million of awards were provided to individuals and arts organisations in 2022/23. This funding programme is open for applications from organisations anywhere in England.
The British Film Institute (BFI) is also conscious of the pressures faced by the cinema sector. The BFI’s Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK. Film hubs are centres of expertise and support which connect cinemas, festivals, and creative practitioners. You can read more about the National Lottery funding the BFI makes available to bring film to a wider UK audience, including through BFI FAN, at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/bring-film-wider-uk-audience.
The Government’s £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps to ensure that important parts of the social fabric, such as cinemas, pubs, sports clubs, and theatres, can continue to play a central role in towns and villages across the UK. Round 4 is the final round of the Community Ownership Fund, and the last window for bids will open in late May. You can find out more about the next round of the Community Ownership Fund at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-ownership-fund-prospectus
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that lobbying by the tobacco industry does not undermine future public health policies aimed at reducing smoking rates.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom, and causes around one in four cancer deaths in the UK. It also costs our country £17 billion a year, and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service. Smoking is an addiction, and there is no liberty in addiction. It causes harm to not only the smoker, but to society as a whole. That is why we have introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create the first smokefree generation, and enable us to further crack down on youth vaping. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is available at the following link:
https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3703
The UK is a party to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and under Article 5.3 has an obligation to protect the development of public health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. As a world leader in tobacco control, the Government takes this commitment very seriously. In 2023, the Department published guidance for Government engagement with the tobacco industry, which is available at the following link:
The Department regularly publishes correspondence from, or to, those with links to the tobacco industry, and it is available at the following link:
https://khub.net/web/phe-national/public-library/-/document_library/v2WsRK3ZlEig/view/394794557
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of proscribing the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation in the context of the recent military actions by Iran.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have condemned in the strongest terms Iran's direct attack against Israel, which was a dangerous escalation. We do not routinely comment on any potential proscription decisions. We are deeply concerned by the threat from Iran, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and have taken significant measures to counter it at home and around the world. That includes sanctioning the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in its entirety and more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities, including dozens of IRGC commanders. We are confident that the police, security services and courts all have the tools they need to sanction, prosecute and mitigate the threats from Iran.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing new policies to help improve protection for people at risk of domestic homicide in all regions.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
In the 2022 Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan the government outlined a package of measures to reduce domestic homicides and reform the Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) process.
DHRs are reviews into deaths related to domestic abuse which seek to identify what lessons can be learnt and implemented to prevent future deaths.
In June 2023, we launched the online DHR Library to help ensure police and partners have easy access to material to learn from previous homicides and prevent future deaths linked to domestic abuse.
The implementation of reforms to DHRs will improve our understanding and drive down the frequency of domestic homicides.
The Home Office also funds the collection of data on deaths related to domestic abuse through the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Domestic Homicide Project. The project brings together data and information on prior agency knowledge of victims and risk factors to improve the evidence base and subsequent policy responses for preventing domestic homicides.
To gain protection from domestic abuse a protective order can be applied for. Police can apply for a Domestic Violence Protection Order, victims can apply for a Non-Molestation Order and criminal courts can impose a Restraining Order on acquittal or conviction of a criminal offence. The introduction of the new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice and Order, will help simplify and strengthen the protection for victims avaliable, introducing new features like mandatory notification requirements and electronic monitoring (“tagging”). The new order will be piloted in Greater Manchester, the London Boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, and Bromley, and with the British Transport Police.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to (a) assess and (b) improve the effectiveness of existing legal measures designed to protect (a) minority ethnic women and (b) all people from domestic abuse.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The government has taken a number of measures to strengthen legislation and protections for victims of domestic abuse.
This includes the measures set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which is helping transform our response to victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
Controlling or Coercive Behaviour within an intimate or family relationship was made a criminal offence under the Serious Crime Act 2015. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 removed the requirement for the parties to be ‘living together’ for the offence to occur, meaning it applies to intimate partners, ex-partners or family members, regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator live together.
The Domestic Abuse statutory guidance contains detailed sections setting out specifically how victims from ethnic minority backgrounds may experience additional barriers to identifying, disclosing, seeking help or reporting abuse.
The government continues to offer migrant victims in the UK who have, or last had, permission to be in the UK under the family Immigration Rules to apply for access to the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC).
The government will continue to work with the police and criminal justice agencies to ensure the law is used to maximum effect to protect victims of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how his Department monitors compliance with bail conditions in domestic abuse cases; and what measures are in place to intervene when violations occur.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Setting and monitoring pre-charge bail conditions is a matter for policing and the Home Office does not collect data on how this is achieved. This data may be held at force level.
Where a suspect breaches their conditions, the police may arrest this individual, hold them in custody and charge them with a separate offence or progress their original case. The 2020 bail reforms introduced a 3 hour pause on the custody clock to ensure that arrests for breach of bail do not have a negative impact on the overall case.
The Home Office have recently funded the development of a new module of the ‘Domestic Abuse Matters’ training for police, developed by the College of Policing and the sector. The new module of police training is targeted specifically at officers investigating domestic abuse offences to enable further improvement in police responses to domestic abuse incidents.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure (a) transparency and (b) parental consent in clinical trials involving children.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are legal measures in place to ensure informed consent in clinical trials, through the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004. Parental consent for clinical trials investigating medicines which involve children is also legislated for via the same Regulations.
Promoting and ensuring transparency is central to the role of the Health Research Authority to facilitate safe and ethical research as defined in the Care Act 2014. This includes clinical trials involving children.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures are in place to ensure informed consent in clinical trials.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are legal measures in place to ensure informed consent in clinical trials, through the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004. Parental consent for clinical trials investigating medicines which involve children is also legislated for via the same Regulations.
Promoting and ensuring transparency is central to the role of the Health Research Authority to facilitate safe and ethical research as defined in the Care Act 2014. This includes clinical trials involving children.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to enhance the enforcement capabilities at borders to prevent the smuggling of puppies and kittens into the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force’s number one priority is to keep our borders safe and secure, and we will never compromise on this. Border Force officers work tirelessly, working closely with law enforcement agencies to share intelligence.
Border Force has extensive powers to examine and control traffic for a wide variety of purposes, and through its work at the border is able to examine vehicles and freight and ensure detections of illegal imports are referred to the most relevant authority or enforcement agency for action.
If live animals are detected, Border Force is responsible for the detention of the animals and vehicle, and then referring to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) at the appropriate border control post for further enforcement action.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of Iranian support for the Houthis on the stability of (a) Yemen and (b) the wider Middle East region.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK assesses that Iran has directly supported Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Specifically, Iran has provided intelligence to enable Houthi targeting of vessels. Furthermore, Iran has supplied the Houthis with missiles and UAVs used to attack international shipping. Iran should cease such support and use its influence to restrain its proxies to prevent further escalations.
The UK continues to seek the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East. We are employing the full range of our diplomatic and security efforts, working with allies and international partners to counter groups seeking to undermine the region's peace, stability and prosperity.