Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were transferred in each year since 2015.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The number of prisoners transferred each year is published in table 3_A_28 available at Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The data for which Category prisons that prisoners have been transferred to can be found in the attached table. Prisoners cannot be transferred into a prison with a lower security category than their individual classification. Moves from higher to lower security classification prisons relate to prisoners who are progressing through the prison system as their assessed risk decreases.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many complaints NHS England have received relating to the adequacy of bowel care provided to people with neurogenic bowel disorders in the last 12 months; and what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that patients receive (a) timely and (b) appropriate care.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has not received any direct complaints relating to the adequacy of bowel care provided to people with neurogenic bowel disorders resulting from a spinal cord injury in the last 12 months. Complaints about clinical care should be directed to the hospital providing the care, which would be able to conduct the necessarily investigations.
To help ensure that patients with neurogenic bowel receive timely and appropriate care, NHS England has developed a range of guidance, including its Excellence in Continence Care guidance. NHS England has also published a service specification for spinal cord injury services, which makes specific reference to bowel care. It outlines that patients with spinal injury should be provided with advice and care by specialist nursing staff in specialist fields, including in the field of bladder and bowel management. In addition, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on faecal incontinence set out the care that patients with neurogenic bowel should receive, including a neurological bowel management programme.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial and emotional impact of delays related to the Probate Portal following results from a survey conducted by The Law Society and published in their October 2023 report, Online court services: Delivering a more efficient digital justice system, which found that 62 per cent of respondents experienced delays in court proceedings.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HMCTS recognises that average waiting times for a grant of probate increased during 2023 following on from a sustained increase in receipts.
HMCTS remains focused on improving the service and doing all we can do to make it as effective and speedy as possible. In addition, HMCTS has increased staffing levels and streamlined internal processes to improve waiting times.
Management information published by HMCTS (which does not go through the same level of quality assurance and analysis as the Family Court Statistics Quarterly) shows the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate from receipt of documentation reduced by three weeks in March 2024 to nine weeks.
The increase in the probate application fee to £300 was implemented on 1 May 2024. This was one of 172 court and tribunal fees that were increased by 10% to partially reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index since 2021, the last time that court and tribunal fees were increased. Given the short period of time the higher fee has been in place, an assessment on the impact of the probate fee increase has not been completed at this time. The increases are estimated to raise additional income of £30m-37m per annum, which will provide funding to support the effective delivery of court and tribunal services.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Law Society’s report Online court services: Delivering a more efficient digital justice system in October 2023, what assessment they have made of the increase in fees for probate applications at a time when those using the probate online portal are experiencing increased delays and errors.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HMCTS recognises that average waiting times for a grant of probate increased during 2023 following on from a sustained increase in receipts.
HMCTS remains focused on improving the service and doing all we can do to make it as effective and speedy as possible. In addition, HMCTS has increased staffing levels and streamlined internal processes to improve waiting times.
Management information published by HMCTS (which does not go through the same level of quality assurance and analysis as the Family Court Statistics Quarterly) shows the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate from receipt of documentation reduced by three weeks in March 2024 to nine weeks.
The increase in the probate application fee to £300 was implemented on 1 May 2024. This was one of 172 court and tribunal fees that were increased by 10% to partially reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index since 2021, the last time that court and tribunal fees were increased. Given the short period of time the higher fee has been in place, an assessment on the impact of the probate fee increase has not been completed at this time. The increases are estimated to raise additional income of £30m-37m per annum, which will provide funding to support the effective delivery of court and tribunal services.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to prevent veterans’ personal data from being breached by malign actors.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence takes Cyber Security seriously including protecting personal data for all defence people including veterans.
Defence employs a Cyber Risk Management Framework that regularly reviews and escalates risk. This uses evidence from a variety of sources including as the Cabinet Office’s Gov Assure ‘Cyber Assessment Framework’ (CAF). All Defence Organisations sit within this framework.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to a recent poll conducted by the National Farmers Union which showed that business confidence among farmers is at its lowest since 2010, what steps they are taking to support the agricultural sector to ensure food security.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food security is more important than ever – which is why we need to back British farmers to keep putting food on our tables while protecting the environment.
That is why we are supporting farmers with £2.4 billion of annual spending. This includes an increase in payment rates, with the average value of a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement increasing by 10%. Around 50 new paid-for actions will also be added to the SFI and Countryside Stewardship (CS) schemes from summer 2024, giving farmers more choice with an offer for all farm types and locations.
Additionally, at the NFU Conference this February, the Prime Minister announced more funding for farmers. This included the doubling of the SFI Management Payment, which supports many farmers to participate in the SFI scheme, and the planned launch of the biggest ever package of grants this year to boost productivity and resilience. This grants package, which will total £427 million, includes funding for the Improving Farming Productivity scheme to invest in things like robotics and barn-top solar; funding for a new round of the Farming Equipment and Technology fund, worth £70m; and targeted schemes to support farmers in improving the viability of their businesses, delivering environmental outcomes and supporting sustainable food production.
Our plan will mean farmers always come first – with fair prices for goods, less bureaucracy and more funding as we continue to protect our food security. On May 14, the Prime Minister hosted the second annual Farm to Fork Summit at Downing Street, focused on how the Government will support domestic food production, boost innovation, support the sector to reach its economic potential and recruit the next generation of farming leaders. The Summit also saw publication of the first draft Food Security Index, setting out key data and trends to allow government and industry to monitor domestic food production, land use, input costs and farmer productivity on an annual basis.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel are classified as (a) wounded, (b) injured and (c) sick by (i) reason and (ii) service branch.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The numbers of Personnel on Recovery Duty (PRD) by principal cause of medical downgrading and service as at 1 April 2024 is presented in the table below:
| Royal Navy1 | Army | RAF |
Injured2 | 292 | 94 | 11 |
Sick | 1,664 | 731 | 209 |
Mental, Behavioural and Neurodevelopmental disorders (F01-F99) | 562 | 423 | 125 |
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue. (M00–M99) | 617 | 121 | 31 |
Other3 | 485 | 187 | 53 |
Not Known | 334 | 132 | 5 |
Sources: Wounded, Injured and Sick Management Information System (WISMIS), Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) and Defence Medical Information Capability Programme (DMICP).
1 Royal Navy includes the services Royal Navy and Royal Marines
2 Injured includes Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00–T98)
3. Other includes all other ICD-10 cause code categories
4. Some personnel have no cause information recorded at the point of entering recovery
The UK armed forces are not currently deployed on any combat operations therefore all injuries are non-battle injuries.
The principal cause of downgrading as recorded on an individual’s medical record may not be the reason for entering recovery as an individual can have more than one cause associated with their downgrading.
For some personnel no cause of downgrading information was held at the point they entered recovery. They may have had no cause information recorded, their medical board may have occurred after they entered recovery, or they may still be awaiting a medical board. The cause information is taken from their downgrading and not GP recorded information due to GPs generally recording signs and symptoms. The three single Services differ in their criteria for who receives support from recovery. Due to the differences between the three Services, comparisons between them are not valid and as such the three services have been presented separately.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
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 has allocated funding for flood defences in Northamptonshire.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In Northamptonshire, over the period 2010/11 to 2022/23 the Environment Agency has better protected 310 homes from flood risk via a capital investment of £14.7 million total spend, sourced from both Government Grant in Aid funding as well as partnership funding sources.
In Northamptonshire, over the period 2023/24 to 2029/30, the Environment Agency is forecasting to better protect 486 homes from flood risk via a capital investment of £18.4 million total spend. This represents the current consented Flood and Coastal Risk Management investment programme, which was approved in February 2024.
The Environment Agency is working with Risk Management Authorities and communities across Northamptonshire. It should be noted that the former Northamptonshire County Council was successful in securing funding for a number of county-wide schemes which are now being progressed by the Unitary Authorities. Relatively small allocations have been used to benefit multiple communities and pave the way for increased resilience. In terms of council-led projects, the current priorities are East Brook Culvert in Kettering for North Northants Council (£425,000 future allocation, £227,000 previous spend) and St Leonards Road in Northampton for West Northants Council (£285,000 future allocation). Notable Environment Agency projects include development of the Nene Water Management Strategy (£3.5 million over a three-year programme) to provide a clear direction for the most economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable way to manage the river and waters between Northampton and Peterborough. There is also investment of £949,268 in the ongoing maintenance of the Northampton Flood Defences.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scale of e-waste; and what steps they are taking to address this.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is committed to delivering a more sustainable future for the UK and world. Supporting this it recently announced the world’s first United Nations-backed International Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management in the Circular Economy. In partnership with national and international partners the centre will deliver environmentally sustainable primary extraction of Critical Minerals and map the flow of these critical and priority minerals across their complete life cycle, from extraction to reuse, recovery to disposal.
Defra also published a consultation and a call for evidence on reforms to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013 with a view to improving levels of collection for re-use and recycling, improving treatment standards and critical mineral recovery from WEEE and wider measures in support of the circular economy. The consultation and call for evidence closed on 7 March. Defra is currently analysing the responses and will publish a summary of responses in due course.
The current regulations require producers to finance the collection and proper treatment of WEEE which has stimulated investment in WEEE treatment infrastructure.
Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 obligated producers are required to obtain Packaging Waste Recycling Notes (PRNs), as evidence that a certain tonnage of packaging waste that has been recycled. The sale of PRNs generates millions of pounds of revenue a year for reprocessors and exporters of packaging waste (circa £490m in 2022), which should be re-invested to support development of the necessary recycling and reprocessing infrastructure.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve data collection, mapping, and tracking of critical minerals and other material streams within electrical and electronic equipment.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has recently announced the world’s first United Nations-backed International Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management in the Circular Economy. In partnership with national and international partners the centre will deliver environmentally sustainable primary extraction of Critical Minerals and map the flow of these critical and priority minerals across there complete life cycle, from extraction to reuse, recovery to disposal. In addition, Defra also published a consultation and call for evidence on reforms to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013. This sought evidence in support of future policy measures intended to improve treatment standards and critical mineral recovery from WEEE. Defra is currently analysing and will publish a summary in due course.