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1236036

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Rape: Prosecutions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, with reference to CPS data summary Quarter 4 2019-2020, what recent assessment he has made of the reasons for the decline in rape prosecutions.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	92683
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2020 answer text <p>Over the last financial year 2019-20 the charging rate increased by over 10% and there was a 6.2% rise in the volume of rape cases proceeding to prosecution following a decision to charge. Although this is a promising trend which the CPS is seeking to maintain, there is clearly more to be done.</p><p>The reasons behind the recent declines in prosecutions are complex and a whole system approach is necessary to address them. There is ongoing work to improve the handling of these sensitive cases and narrow the disparity between offences reported and cases going to court.</p><p> </p><p>In July the CPS published its own rape strategy, the first of its kind for any department. There is also an ongoing cross-Government review of the criminal justice response to rape. This is examining evidence across the system about the causes of the falls in outcomes for rape and identifying solutions to reverse the trend. The CPS is actively engaged in this review and will address any issues raised honestly and openly.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 28/09/2020 08:31:53 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1236061

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Mental Health Services: Young People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequate provision of mental health services for young people.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	92684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>National Health Service mental health services have remained open for business throughout this time. Our community, talking therapies and children and young people’s services have deployed innovative digital tool to connect with people and provide ongoing support. For those with severe needs or in crisis, all NHS mental health providers have established 24 hours a day, seven days a week mental health crisis lines.</p><p>On 8 September, the Government launched a mental wellbeing campaign for children and young people. This involves an extension of Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters webpage with content specifically for children and young people and their parents and carers.</p><p>We are taking action to ensure that children and young people have access to support in schools. Our £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return programme will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and access to resources they need to support children and young people, teachers and parents.</p><p>We remain committed to investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year into mental health services by 2023-24 through the NHS Long Term Plan. This funding underpins our aim for an additional 345,000 children and young people to be able to access support through NHS-funded services or school- and college-based mental health support teams.</p> answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries grouped question UIN 92686 question first answered 06/10/2020 15:51:25 answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1236062

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Mental Health Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that treatment options for mental health conditions has parity with treatment options available for physical conditions.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	92685
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2020 answer text <p>The provision of mental health services remains a priority for this Government.</p><p>We are committed to achieving our NHS Long Term Plan ambitions for service transformation and expansion, backed by investment of £2.3 billion a year to mental health services by 2023/24. The service expansion will cover different age groups and different diagnoses which involve a number of treatment options appropriate to the individual circumstances.</p><p>The Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 – 2023/34 provides a framework to ensure delivery on this commitment at the local level.</p> answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries question first answered 29/09/2020 13:59:31 answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1236063

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Mental Health Services: Children and Young People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that children and young people with mental health conditions receive the support they need throughout the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	92686
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>National Health Service mental health services have remained open for business throughout this time. Our community, talking therapies and children and young people’s services have deployed innovative digital tool to connect with people and provide ongoing support. For those with severe needs or in crisis, all NHS mental health providers have established 24 hours a day, seven days a week mental health crisis lines.</p><p>On 8 September, the Government launched a mental wellbeing campaign for children and young people. This involves an extension of Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters webpage with content specifically for children and young people and their parents and carers.</p><p>We are taking action to ensure that children and young people have access to support in schools. Our £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return programme will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and access to resources they need to support children and young people, teachers and parents.</p><p>We remain committed to investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year into mental health services by 2023-24 through the NHS Long Term Plan. This funding underpins our aim for an additional 345,000 children and young people to be able to access support through NHS-funded services or school- and college-based mental health support teams.</p> answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries grouped question UIN 92684 question first answered 06/10/2020 15:51:25 answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1236064

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Sustainable Development
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prioritise (a) sustainable farming and (b) environmentally responsible policies.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	92687
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2020 answer text <p>Defra group’s mission is to protect and enhance the environment – with policies and actions that are also key to sustainable national growth. Defra has four objectives, two of which are to pass on to the next generation a natural environment protected and enhanced for the future and to lead the world in food and farming with a sustainable model of food production. So our approach to farming going forward is designed to move away from direct payments, and to focus on environmentally sustainable and responsible policies.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>We believe that agriculture has a key role to play in the protection of the environment and helping us achieve our targets set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan. The Government is committed to maintaining and improving environmental standards.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>Our Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme will be the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. Founded on the principle of “public money for public goods”, ELM is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions, while supporting our rural economy.</p><p> </p><p>Farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering the following public goods set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan:</p><ul><li>clean air</li><li>clean and plentiful water</li><li>thriving plants and wildlife</li><li>protection from and mitigation of environmental hazards</li><li>mitigation of and adaptation to climate change</li><li>beauty, heritage and engagement with the natural environment</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Moreover, during the seven-year agricultural transition period, the Government will introduce a range of measures and new schemes to help the industry adapt. This will give farmers time to adapt and restructure their farming business. We will provide grants to farmers, foresters and growers so that they can invest in equipment, technology, and infrastructure that will help their businesses to prosper while improving their productivity and enhancing the environment. The grants scheme will open in 2021 and will offer grants for a proportion of the total cost of the investment.</p><p> </p><p>We will also reform our regulatory system for farming and land management to better meet our domestic objectives of protecting and enhancing the environment, animal welfare, and plant and animal health, as well as supporting a sustainable, productive and resilient agriculture sector.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring that those engaged in agricultural or horticultural activities meet the rules which protect environmental standards and animal and plant health and welfare. But, we want to break the ties between access to financial support and regulation and focus on the critical outcomes – protection of animals, plants and the environment.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/09/2020 14:09:25 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1236065

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
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	Planning Permission
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 ensure that local communities can continue to have the opportunity to democratically object to planning proposals in their area.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	92688
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2020 answer text <p>The planning reforms set out in the <em>Planning for the Future </em> White Paper will make it simpler, quicker and more accessible for local people to engage with the planning system. The best way to bring forward new, significant development is by improving community engagement and input at an earlier stage in the planning process. At the plan making stage, people will have the opportunity to comment on local plans and have their say on the location and standard of new development. This will give certainty to local communities that development will be in the areas best identified for growth. There will still be the opportunity for people to comment on planning applications where these are required.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 29/09/2020 13:02:34 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1236258

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Plastic Bags: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to (a) further incentivise and (b) ensure that large retailers distribute the Plastic Bag Levy to sustainable causes.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	92689
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2020 answer text <p>The charge on single-use carrier bags was introduced to decrease the number of bags in circulation and to encourage consumers to use more sustainable, reusable bags. The introduction has reduced the sale of single-use carrier bags in the main supermarkets by 95%. We have announced our plans to increase the minimum charge to 10p and to extend the charge to all retailers from April 2021.</p><p> </p><p>The government expects retailers to donate the proceeds of the charge to good causes, but it is ultimately for them to choose what to do with the revenue raised. Since the charge was introduced, our data shows that almost £180 million has been donated to charities and other good causes from the proceeds from the charge. Further details can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england</a>.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 29/09/2020 11:30:04 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1236259

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Football: Gambling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of gambling advertising in football on the wellbeing of young people.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	92690
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2020 answer text <p>As set out in answer to questions 73904 and 73907, gambling advertising and sponsorship, including around football, must be socially responsible and must not be targeted at children. The Government assessed the evidence on advertising in its Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures, the full response to which can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-proposals-for-changes-to-gaming-machines-and-social-responsibility-measures" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-proposals-for-changes-to-gaming-machines-and-social-responsibility-measures</a>.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Since then, in March this year, the charity GambleAware has published the final report of a major piece of research into the effect of gambling marketing and advertising on children, young people and vulnerable people. That study found that exposure to advertising was associated with an openness to gamble in the future amongst children and young people aged 11-24 who did not currently gamble. It also found that there were other factors that correlated more closely with current gambling behaviour amongst those groups, including peer and parental gambling. It did not suggest a causal link between exposure to gambling advertising and problem gambling in later life.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Operators are required both by law and by the conditions of their licence from the Gambling Commission to prevent underage gambling. In May 2019 the Gambling Commission introduced new rules that require online gambling businesses to verify the age of customers before they can deposit money, gamble, or access play-for-free versions of gambling games. The Gambling Commission provides support to licensing authorities, local police and trading standards who undertake test purchasing to monitor compliance with minimum age rules in the land based sector, and is working with local authorities and the hospitality sector to improve the enforcement of legal age requirements on the use of gaming machines in pubs.</p><p><strong><p><p></strong></p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston grouped question UIN 92693 question first answered 29/09/2020 09:58:55 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1236260

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Gambling: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce gambling-related harm during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	92691
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2020 answer text <p>Gambling operators providing facilities to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and must abide by strict player protection requirements. In response to the Covid outbreak, the Commission strengthened its guidance for online operators to include increased customer interactions, a ban on direct marketing of bonus offers or promotions to customers showing vulnerabilities, and a ban on operators allowing customers to reverse decisions to withdraw winnings. Data published by the Gambling Commission indicates that the majority of people spent the same amount or less on gambling during lockdown (83%) or since (90%) than they had before the Covid-19 period, but we continue to monitor the evidence in this area.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>People who self-exclude through either individual or multi-operator self-exclusion schemes should not be able to end their exclusion before the minimum period they requested when they signed up has elapsed. Operators who knowingly allow customers who have self-excluded to gamble are in breach of their licence conditions and risk sanction by the Gambling Commission. GAMSTOP, the national online self exclusion scheme, gathers data on the number of requests it receives from people who want to cancel their self-exclusion early, even though these requests are not granted. Prior to lockdown on 23rd March 2020, an average of 1,000 requests to cancel registrations early per month were received by GAMSTOP, although these may not all have been from unique individuals. During the first two weeks of lockdown, 400 requests per week were received. This number stabilised thereafter, and for the months of May and June 2020 the average number of requests returned to approximately 1,000 per month. More than 160,000 people have now registered with GAMSTOP.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>From 23rd March all land-based gambling facilities were closed, with betting shops reopening from 15th June, arcades and bingo remaining closed until 4th July and casinos remaining closed until 15th August.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston grouped question UIN 92692 question first answered 29/09/2020 10:01:52 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1236261

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Gambling: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the number of people revoking their self-exclusions to gambling during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	92692
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2020 answer text <p>Gambling operators providing facilities to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and must abide by strict player protection requirements. In response to the Covid outbreak, the Commission strengthened its guidance for online operators to include increased customer interactions, a ban on direct marketing of bonus offers or promotions to customers showing vulnerabilities, and a ban on operators allowing customers to reverse decisions to withdraw winnings. Data published by the Gambling Commission indicates that the majority of people spent the same amount or less on gambling during lockdown (83%) or since (90%) than they had before the Covid-19 period, but we continue to monitor the evidence in this area.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>People who self-exclude through either individual or multi-operator self-exclusion schemes should not be able to end their exclusion before the minimum period they requested when they signed up has elapsed. Operators who knowingly allow customers who have self-excluded to gamble are in breach of their licence conditions and risk sanction by the Gambling Commission. GAMSTOP, the national online self exclusion scheme, gathers data on the number of requests it receives from people who want to cancel their self-exclusion early, even though these requests are not granted. Prior to lockdown on 23rd March 2020, an average of 1,000 requests to cancel registrations early per month were received by GAMSTOP, although these may not all have been from unique individuals. During the first two weeks of lockdown, 400 requests per week were received. This number stabilised thereafter, and for the months of May and June 2020 the average number of requests returned to approximately 1,000 per month. More than 160,000 people have now registered with GAMSTOP.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>From 23rd March all land-based gambling facilities were closed, with betting shops reopening from 15th June, arcades and bingo remaining closed until 4th July and casinos remaining closed until 15th August.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston grouped question UIN 92691 question first answered 29/09/2020 10:01:52 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman