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1356840

	registered interest
	date	20/09/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	British American Tobacco: Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what plans she has to refer the allegations made in the BBC’s Panorama programme of 12 September 2021 regarding British American Tobacco to the Serious Fraud Office.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow East
	tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
	uin	51674
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2021 answer text <p>The SFO is aware of the allegations made in the BBC’s Panorama programme of 12 September 2021. Following a three-year investigation into the British American Tobacco, in January 2021 the SFO determined that this case did not meet the evidential tests as defined in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. As with all cases that fail this first limb of the Code, it was therefore not in the public interest to continue with the investigation.</p><p> </p><p>The SFO continues to assist its international law enforcement partners with ongoing investigations related to this matter and will assess any new material it receives. The SFO does not comment on the actions it takes to assess allegations.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 27/09/2021 11:30:53 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1356842

	registered interest
	date	20/09/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	British American Tobacco: Corruption
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the BBC Panorama programme of 12 September 2021, whether the Serious Fraud Office plans to review its assessment of the compliance of British American Tobacco with the Bribery Act 2010 in response to the findings of the Panorama programme.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow East
	tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
	uin	51675
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2021 answer text <p>Following a three-year investigation into British American Tobacco, in January 2021 the SFO determined that this case did not meet the evidential tests as defined in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. As with all cases that fail this first limb of the Code, it was therefore not in the public interest to continue with the investigation.</p><p>The SFO is aware of the allegations made in the BBC’s Panorama programme of 12 September 2021 and will review and assess any material which is provided to it.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 27/09/2021 11:32:40 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1348152

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Building Safety Bill
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the proposed timescale for an Accountable Person to be able to commence building safety works under the provisions of the Building Safety Bill.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow East
	tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
	uin	35606
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2021 answer text <p>The Building Safety Bill sets out requirements on Accountable Persons to make a full assessment of and take reasonable steps to manage prescribed building safety risks, which are defined in the Bill as the spread of fire and structural failure.</p><p>The draft transition plan, developed with the HSE, published alongside the Bill, sets out expected timeframes for the provisions in the Bill coming into force.</p><p>We currently expect the provisions relating to the new duties on Accountable Persons to come into force around 18 months after the Bill gains Royal Ascent.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 26/07/2021 14:33:27 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
	tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1314834

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Business Rates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to simplify and homogenise across local authorities the process of applying for business rates relief under the Government’s new £1.5 billion of funding for businesses affected by the covid-19 outside outside the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow East
	tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
	uin	1296
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2021 answer text <p>The Department will ensure that local authorities have the guidance they need to deliver the additional £1.5 billion business rates support package once primary legislation is passed, in line with the announcement on 25 March. As with other business rates reliefs, officials will work closely with local government on the development of the relief scheme and guidance for local authorities will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 24/05/2021 16:41:19 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1314835

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Additional Restrictions Grant
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with businesses which have applied for the Additional Restrictions Grant; and if he will apply lessons learnt from the process to the new £1.5 billion business rates relief fund for businesses affected by the covid-19 outbreak outside the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow East
	tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
	uin	1297
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2021 answer text <p>The Department will work closely with local government throughout the development of the £1.5 billion relief scheme and will ensure that experiences from the delivery of other support measures are taken on board. This includes experiences of administering the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) which – as of 28 March 2021 – has delivered £816 million in support to over 400,000 businesses. The Government will continue to support local authorities in making further ARG payments throughout 2021/22.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 24/05/2021 16:41:44 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1685392

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Antisemitism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle antisemitism in schools.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow East
	tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
	uin	901201
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2024 answer text <p>It is deeply concerning to see the huge rise in antisemitism following Hamas’s terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023. To see this form of hatred also take place in education is unacceptable.</p><p>The government took immediate action in October 2023. First, to increase security measures at Jewish schools, colleges and nurseries - we announced £3 million of additional funding to the Community Security Trust.</p><p>The Secretary of State also wrote to all schools and colleges on 17 October 2023, urging them to support Jewish students and highlighting our political impartiality guidance and advice on the Prevent programme.</p><p>To support schools and colleges we published learning resources on our Educate Against Hate website.</p><p>We are also providing over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations, which includes projects to tackle hate-related bullying on the basis of race and faith.</p><p> </p><p>The department has networks of ‘Prevent’ practitioners who provide training to school staff on radicalisation and empower teachers to challenge extremism in the classroom.</p><p>We continue to monitor the situation carefully. Ministers have conducted several visits recently to listen to the experience of Jewish communities, including meeting with Dr David Landau who is Chair of Governors Menorah High School, one of the settings that temporarily closed in October over safety concerns.</p><p>We are engaging regularly with faith groups and school leadership organisations to understand their concerns and use it to shape our response. This includes the Board of Jewish Deputies and Chinuch UK.</p><p>In the Autumn Statement, on 22 November 2023, the government announced a further £7 million of funding over the next three years to help tackle antisemitism. This will help support schools, colleges, and universities to understand, recognise and deal with antisemitism effectively. We are preparing to issue an invitation for interested organisations to tender in the coming weeks.</p><p> </p><p>If anyone feels that specific issues in education are not being addressed, they can raise them directly to the department through the Counter Extremism helpline or our “Report Extremism” online form. We then engage with the police and local authorities to consider what action is needed.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 29/01/2024 17:18:56 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1690263

	registered interest
	date	08/02/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Offenders
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that offenders are prepared for life outside prison.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow East
	tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
	uin	901598
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2024 answer text <p>Effective resettlement is a core part of our efforts to reduce reoffending.</p><p>We are introducing resettlement passports, bringing together key information and services in one place, to address individual drivers of repeat offending and enable continuity of support on release.</p><p>We have introduced ID and Banking Administrators in 93 prisons to ensure prisoners leave custody with the basics required to start work, find accommodation and claim Universal Credit, with over 26,000 IDs arranged since April 2022.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 20/02/2024 16:28:14 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1601446

	registered interest
	date	06/03/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board: Public Appointments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason his Department has not appointed a Chair to the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board as recommended in the Independent Review into Criminal Legal Aid; and what his Department's timetable is for making that appointment.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow East
	tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
	uin	158894
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2023 answer text <p>The Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board (CLAAB) was established following Lord Bellamy’s Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR) recommendation that an Advisory Board be established to take a wider view and encourage a more joined-up approach to criminal legal aid within the criminal justice system.</p><p>Board meetings take place quarterly and there have been two meetings to date - the first on 28 October 2022 and the second on 24 January 2023.</p><p>The CLAAB’s membership currently includes representatives from the Bar Council, the Law Society, Criminal Bar Association, London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association, Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association, Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) and Ministry of Justice officials.</p><p>We are currently considering the issue of the Chair of the Board and will make an announcement in due course.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 13/03/2023 12:13:26 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1697348

	registered interest
	date	14/03/2024
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Castes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to exclude caste as a protected characteristic from the Equality Act 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow East
	tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
	uin	902137
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2024 answer text <p>The government’s position remains as stated by the then Minister for Women and Equalities, the member for Portsmouth North, in her statement to Parliament on 23 July 2018.</p><p>We do not intend to make an order determining caste to be an aspect of ‘race’ for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.</p><p>We will repeal the statutory duty to make such an order once a suitable legislative vehicle becomes available.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 20/03/2024 14:04:00 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
	tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1696536

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Low Incomes: Rents
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support low-income renters.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow East
	tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
	uin	902041
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2024 answer text <p>We spend around £30bn annually on housing support for low-income renters in the private and social rented sectors.</p><p> </p><p>From April we are investing £1.2bn increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of market rents, ensuring 1.6m private renters gain on average almost £800 in 2024/25 in additional support towards rental costs. This significant investment will cost £7bn over five years.</p><p> </p><p>Discretionary Housing Payments are available for those who need additional support. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7bn for DHPs to local authorities.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 18/03/2024 17:02:48 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman