Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with local authorities on the switching off of the public switched telephone network.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is coordinating the cross-government response to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) switchover. Government is taking the risks associated with this switchover very seriously and our primary objective is to ensure vulnerable people are protected throughout this necessary transition. DSIT is engaging closely with counterparts in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Local Government Association (LGA). DSIT is a member of the LGA’s working group which focuses on the switchover. DSIT will be submitting specific guidance to Local Authorities on matters related to the migration and is working to assess the impact that the PSTN switchover may have on Local Authorities.
BT Group announced its plans to switch off the PSTN in 2017, and many affected organisations, including some Local Authorities, have taken the opportunity to prepare for the transition since then. Upgrading devices to digitally compatible products will ensure they are compatible with a superior and more secure underlying infrastructure, future-proofing them for years ahead.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of households with telecare devices still to transition from the public switched telephone network to the Digital Voice service.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
According to data from the Telecare Services Association (TSA) and Farrpoint, a digital consultancy, there are between 1.7 and 2 million telecare users in the UK; given that devices are readily available to purchase privately, we cannot provide an exact figure. Of these, the TSA estimates that c.500,000 devices are compatible with digital phone lines.
However, some analogue telecare devices may also work on digital networks. DSIT has been working with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the telecare industry to raise awareness of the migration and to encourage the testing of analogue devices on digital phone lines. BT and other providers have also set up test labs for telecare suppliers or telecare service providers to test their equipment.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the statement entitled Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to Criminal Justice reforms in the King’s Speech, published on 7 November 2023, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure perpetrators of domestic abuse can be removed from the police force and police staff as well as changes to police regulations to remove warrant cards from police officers under investigation for violence against women and girls offences.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Existing Regulations provide Chief Constables with a power to suspend officers under investigation, including where it is in the public interest to do so.
In February, Government announced that it will legislate for automatic suspension in cases where an officer is charged with an indictable only offence, and a presumption of suspension where an officer is charged with an either way offence. When suspended, an officer is suspended from the Office of Constable and its associated powers. Forces should remove officers’ warrant cards from them where this happens.
The Government is further introducing measures to strengthen the system for removing officers who are not fit to serve. These include a presumption of dismissal where officers are found to have committed gross misconduct and a clarified route to remove officers who fail to hold and maintain vetting.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the national referral mechanism.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Government is focussed on improving National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision-making timescales. We have seen an unprecedented increase in the volume of referrals in the NRM; a 625% rise between 2014 and 2022. In 2023, 17,004 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office, the highest annual number since the NRM began in 2009. Despite this, since January 2023 the number of decisions outstanding has been coming down for the first time ever, showing that what we are doing is working.
The Government is committed to ensuring that genuine victims are identified and introduced legislation under the Nationality and Borders Act to ensure that there is a robust system which supports victims and reduces the opportunity for misuse.
The Home Office holds all policies and procedures under review to ensure they are effective in delivering the aims of the government. We continue to monitor the effectiveness of the NRM accordingly.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department has issued to mortgage lenders to help ensure their compliance with RICS guidance on the requirement for EWS1 certificates.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The External Wall System Review form (EWS1) is not a statutory requirement or government process. It is an industry tool to inform mortgage valuation. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have issued guidance on the use and application of EWS1 forms.
Following the Department’s work in this area, a number of mortgage lenders have joined a voluntary commitment to offer mortgages on properties affected by building safety issues. This means that around three quarters of mortgage lending is now covered by this commitment, which commits lenders to consider mortgage applications for properties in buildings that are yet to be remediated, or where leaseholders are protected from remediation costs.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of levels of mortgage lenders compliance with the latest RICS guidance.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The External Wall System Review form (EWS1) is not a statutory requirement or government process. It is an industry tool to inform mortgage valuation. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have issued guidance on the use and application of EWS1 forms.
Following the Department’s work in this area, a number of mortgage lenders have joined a voluntary commitment to offer mortgages on properties affected by building safety issues. This means that around three quarters of mortgage lending is now covered by this commitment, which commits lenders to consider mortgage applications for properties in buildings that are yet to be remediated, or where leaseholders are protected from remediation costs.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18492 on European Court of Human Rights, whether the Prime Minister considers the Tribunals of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes to be foreign tribunals when they meet in (a) Washington DC and (b) London.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the reply to the answer of 18 April 2024, Official Report, PQ 20335.
A clear distinction can be made between the domestic courts of the United Kingdom applying our law on one hand, and international (foreign) courts on the other, which hear cases within their often limited jurisdiction, in which at least one party is likely to be a nation state, and which are composed of international panels of judges or arbitrators applying international law, and whose rulings or opinions are often but not always final and binding.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18492 on European Court of Human Rights, whether the Prime Minister considers the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea to be a foreign tribunal.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the reply to the answer of 18 April 2024, Official Report, PQ 20335.
A clear distinction can be made between the domestic courts of the United Kingdom applying our law on one hand, and international (foreign) courts on the other, which hear cases within their often limited jurisdiction, in which at least one party is likely to be a nation state, and which are composed of international panels of judges or arbitrators applying international law, and whose rulings or opinions are often but not always final and binding.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18492 on European Court of Human Rights, whether the Prime Minister considers the Permanent Court of Arbitration to be a foreign court.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the reply to the answer of 18 April 2024, Official Report, PQ 20335.
A clear distinction can be made between the domestic courts of the United Kingdom applying our law on one hand, and international (foreign) courts on the other, which hear cases within their often limited jurisdiction, in which at least one party is likely to be a nation state, and which are composed of international panels of judges or arbitrators applying international law, and whose rulings or opinions are often but not always final and binding.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, updated on 29 February 2024, what steps his Department has taken to mitigate the risks of red-rated legacy IT systems.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP has funded and resourced a dedicated Legacy Technical Debt Working Group within DWP. This group managed the population and ongoing accuracy of Legacy IT System Risk Score Cards. The information recorded includes plans for mitigating key risks which are assessed ahead of each fiscal planning round to bid for funds to implement mitigating measures.