Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government has taken to ensure that High Speed Two does not cause the death of barn owls.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
HS2 Ltd has produced a barn owl mitigation plan to manage and reduce the anticipated significant effects to barn owls caused by construction and operation of the Phase One scheme. The plan has been developed by a team of professional ecologists, including a barn owl expert, and has been informed by additional research undertaken by the British Trust for Ornithology.
The plan assumes that 80 pairs are affected by the Phase One scheme and consists of measures to: avoid disturbance to the species during construction; reduce the collision risk of the railway to the birds; provide new artificial nesting sites at a safe distance from the railway; and monitor the new nesting sites to ensure uptake by barn owls.
It is expected that the barn owl mitigation plan will be expanded and refined for future phases of HS2.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timescale and expected completion date are for his Department’s work to introduce statutory guidance under section 55A of the Firearms Act 1968.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. We plan to begin the consultation shortly.
We have been in discussions with the police, the relevant medical bodies, and representatives of shooting organisations about improving the arrangements for providing medical information as part of the firearms licensing process and how greater consistency can be achieved across England and Wales. The new statutory guidance, when it is published, will apply to firearms licensing functions including the medical arrangements, and the police will be required to have regard to this guidance.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans for its guidance relating to firearms licensing medical procedures to be made statutory under section 55A of the Firearms Act 1968.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. We plan to begin the consultation shortly.
We have been in discussions with the police, the relevant medical bodies, and representatives of shooting organisations about improving the arrangements for providing medical information as part of the firearms licensing process and how greater consistency can be achieved across England and Wales. The new statutory guidance, when it is published, will apply to firearms licensing functions including the medical arrangements, and the police will be required to have regard to this guidance.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on trade with Israel of the UK leaving the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As we leave the European Union, we are seeking continuity for our existing EU free trade agreements and other EU preferential arrangements. The UK-Israel Trade Working Group is making positive progress towards transitioning the EU – Israel Association Agreement, to maintain our strong trade and investment relationship with Israel.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is carrying out research to evaluate the cause of and potential threats posed by Alabama Rot to dogs in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
A private veterinary group is coordinating an investigation into the cause of the syndrome known as cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy (CRGV) in the UK, which is sometimes referred to as Alabama rot. The Animal and Plant Health Agency has been engaging with this investigation since the outset and continues to do so.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Chief Veterinary Officer on including Alabama Rot as a notifiable disease in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
Ministers have discussed the syndrome known as cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy (CRGV) in the UK, which is sometimes referred to as Alabama rot, with the Chief Veterinary Officer. The pathogen for the syndrome has yet to be confirmed, and as there is no diagnostic test for the syndrome in living dogs, there are currently no plans to make CRGV a notifiable disease. CRGV poses no risk to human health.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to support families with the cost of living.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The government is committed to helping families both earn more and keep more of what they earn. On 1st April 2018, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 4.4% to £7.83. This represents an annual pay rise of over £2,000 for a full-time worker since the NLW was introduced in April 2016. The Personal Allowance and Higher Rate Threshold also increased in line with CPI, to £11,850 and £46,350 respectively. These changes to income tax will help 31 million people and mean a typical basic rate taxpayer will pay £1,075 less income tax in 2018-19 then in 2010-11.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a review of firearms licensing medical procedures is being undertaken as part of her Department's work to introduce statutory guidance under section 55A of the Firearms Act 1968.
Answered by Nick Hurd
We have been in discussions with the police, medical representatives and shooting organisations about the medical arrangements for firearms licensing and how to achieve greater consistency across England and Wales. The process, which was introduced in 2016, is voluntary and we know that there is currently variation in how GPs respond to the police request for information.
The statutory guidance to the police will apply to firearms licensing functions, including medical arrangements, and the police will be required to have regard to this guidance. We intend to consult on the statutory guidance before it is finalised.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Cameroon; and what steps his Department is taking to help protect human rights in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
During my visit to Cameroon from 12 to 14 February, I held talks with The Prime Minister, and the Ministers of External Relations, Territorial Administration, and Defence. I discussed the threat posed by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin, as well as the ongoing tensions in Cameroon's Anglophone regions where the importance of respecting human rights was reinforced. I urged the Government of Cameroon to pursue an inclusive and purposeful dialogue to address Anglophone grievances, and also met a range of Anglophone leaders in Buea, to hear their concerns.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of (a) the cost, (b) the availability, (c) the size of waiting lists for and (d) the average length of wait to participate in the new offender behaviour programmes Horizon and Kaizen.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) does not record expenditure in its central accounting system in a format that allows for the identification of expenditure on Horizon and Kaizen and, therefore, cannot provide the cost data requested. These programmes are delivered by in-house staff, and staffing costs are not captured separately for such specific activities.
Horizon has been rolled out steadily since it was commissioned in 2016/17, and an assessment of its delivery, and demand for places on it, including any resulting waiting lists, is currently being undertaken.
Whilst there are not any significant waiting lists for Kaizen at present, HMPPS will continue to assess its delivery and demand as we roll-up provision during 2018/19.
We keep offending behaviour programmes under constant review, to ensure that they are effective in reducing reoffending and protect the public. The recently introduced Horizon and Kaizen programmes for sex offenders draw on the latest international evidence on effective treatment for this cohort of offenders.