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1611126

registered interest
date	17/04/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Knives: Crime
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help tackle knife crime in London.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	180755
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2023 answer text <p>Whilst the Mayor of London has operational responsibility for policing in the capital, this Government is committed to providing additional resources to the police and their partners to tackle violent crime and make our streets safer.</p><p>To support the prevention of violence in London, we have allocated the London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) c.£33.7m since 2019, including a c.£12.6m allocation in the last financial year (2022/23). The VRU also received an additional investment of £5.5m in 2021/22 to deliver specific, highly targeted interventions to vulnerable young people.</p><p>We are also providing funding to enable the Metropolitan Police to increase enforcement activity where most violence occurs, through our Grip programme (previously known as Surge). The Metropolitan Police have been allocated approximately £50.9m over the last three years, including £7.9m in the last financial year (2022/23) for Grip. Through this programme, the Metropolitan Police are delivering data-driven, targeted visible patrols to suppress violence where it is most concentrated.</p><p>Grip and VRU funding is provided in addition to the commitment to increase the number of police officers in England and Wales by 20,000 by March 2023.</p><p>The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has recruited 3,217 additional uplift officers against a total three-year allocation of 4,557 officers, as of 31 December 2022.</p><p>Additionally, the Government continues to encourage police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. The latest phase of the operation took place between 16 to 22 May 2022. In the Metropolitan and City Police areas 126 knives were seized during enforcement action with a further 90 being surrendered or seized during sweeps.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 25/04/2023 15:32:12 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1611127

registered interest
date	17/04/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Spiking
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help tackle the spiking of people in social places in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	180756
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office is leading the cross-government approach to understanding and tackling spiking in England and Wales. In 2021, the then Home Secretary asked the National Police Chief's Council to urgently review and coordinate the national policing response to spiking. Since then:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Spiking has been incorporated into the Government's communications campaign to tackle violence against women and girls, known as 'ENOUGH'. This includes providing important information about the crime on the campaign website and signposting victims to support services.</li><li>We have worked closely with the Festivals and Outdoor Events sector to ensure the safety of the public at summer events, ensuring that sufficient protocols, training, communications, and guidance was in place for event organisers, the police, security personnel and audiences.</li><li>Government have supported Universities UK to provide guidance to universities on spiking published ahead of the Autumn 2022 term and the ‘freshers’ period. We provided further communications on spiking to local authorities and supported NPCC targeted communications.</li><li>The Police have produced a forensic strategy and have worked with the forensic provider Eurofins to develop an accredited, rapid testing capability, enabling law enforcement to better support victims, and also build our understanding of what drugs are being used and how common they are. The Home Office has provided £70,000 in additional funding to enable the police to submit an additional 200 samples through the accredited process.</li></ul><p> </p><p>This is just a snapshot of action being taken to address spiking and the Home Secretary will be publishing a report on the nature and prevalence of spiking, and action that government has taken, and will take, to tackle it. This report is now expected to be published following the May local elections.</p> answering member constituency Derbyshire Dales answering member printed Miss Sarah Dines question first answered 25/04/2023 14:38:21 answering member 4816 label Biography information for Miss Sarah Dines
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1611128

registered interest
date	17/04/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Motorways: Traffic Officers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the progress of traffic officers in achieving target times for attending stranded drivers on smart motorways.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	180757
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2023 answer text <p>The March 2020 Smart Motorways Stocktake committed to bringing down the average response time on All Lane Running smart motorways from 17 minutes to 10 minutes. This applies to smart motorways where the spacing between places to stop in an emergency is more than one mile.</p><p> </p><p>National Highways met this target in September 2022 with an average response time of 9mins 49 sec and have continued to meet the 10 minute target for the last six months in a row.</p> answering member constituency North West Durham answering member printed Mr Richard Holden question first answered 24/04/2023 10:44:36 answering member 4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1611129

registered interest
date	17/04/2023
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, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of prescribing mindfulness on the NHS for mental health issues.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	180758
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2023 answer text <p>No specific assessment has been made. Mindfulness-based therapies are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as a way to treat less severe depression.</p><p> </p><p>The £200 million funding announced for digital mental health by my Rt hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the Spring Budget will, in part, be used to modernise and digitise mental health services in England, including by providing wellness and clinical-grade apps, many of which include elements of mindfulness.</p><p> </p><p>Information about mindfulness is included in other resources available to support mental health and wellbeing, such as Every Mind Matters, which is available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/" target="_blank">https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/</a></p><p>Further information is available from the NHS website at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/mindfulness/" target="_blank">https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/mindfulness/</a></p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 21/04/2023 10:58:44 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1611130

registered interest
date	17/04/2023
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Democratic Republic of Congo: Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he will take to raise anti-Tutsi violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo with his international counterparts.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	180759
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2023 answer text <p>The UK strongly condemns all forms of hate speech and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We have raised the increase in violence and hate speech with the government of the DRC at the highest levels, most recently, during my visit to DRC in March where I [Minister Mitchell] met with a number of Government officials, including DRC's Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Lutundula. We will continue to work with members of the international community to counter hate speech and incitement to violence in DRC.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 25/04/2023 15:57:04 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1611131

registered interest
date	17/04/2023
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	Life Expectancy: Northern Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with the Department for Health NI on trends in the level of male and female life expectancy in Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	180760
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2023 answer text <p>Health in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, and we have not had specific Ministerial discussions on trends in the level of male and female life expectancy in Northern Ireland.</p><p>Both life expectancy and healthy life expectancy are important measures of population health across the United Kingdom, and there is a shared UK ambition to improve health and tackle health disparities. Departmental officials engage regularly with their counterparts in Northern Ireland, for example through the UK Directors Group, to discuss opportunities to take joined-up action wherever possible, and to share knowledge on what works in improving population health.</p> answering member constituency Harborough answering member printed Neil O'Brien question first answered 24/04/2023 16:14:23 answering member 4679 label Biography information for Neil O'Brien
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1611132

registered interest
date	17/04/2023
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	East Africa: Droughts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help tackle possible (a) drought and (b) hunger resulting from drought in East Africa.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	180761
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2023 answer text <p>The UK is committed to addressing the grave and deteriorating food security situation across East Africa. Due to the combined effects of climate change and conflict almost 72 million people will need life-saving humanitarian aid in the region this year. In financial year 2022/2023 the UK met its £156 million commitment to provide relief aid throughout East Africa. The UK is working to raise the profile of the crisis with our international partners and to ensure an appropriate focus on the need for long-term solutions to the region's recurrent crises including drought.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 25/04/2023 16:09:27 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1611133

registered interest
date	17/04/2023
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Myanmar: Prisoners
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports of the torture and ill treatment of people imprisoned in Myanmar; and whether he plans to take steps to raise the welfare of people imprisoned in Myanmar with his international counterparts.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	180762
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2023 answer text <p>The UK condemns the ongoing serious human rights violations by the Myanmar military regime. Over 17,000 people are currently arbitrarily detained in Myanmar - among them journalists, healthcare workers and political prisoners. We are tracking reports of torture, sexual violence and ill treatment in detention. We continue to call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained, including in the landmark UNSC resolution, which the UK coordinated on 21 December 2022. On 4 April, the UK co-sponsored a UN Human Rights Council Resolution on human rights in Myanmar, which condemned serious human rights violations by the military regime.</p> answering member constituency Berwick-upon-Tweed answering member printed Anne-Marie Trevelyan question first answered 24/04/2023 16:03:47 answering member 4531 label Biography information for Anne-Marie Trevelyan
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1611144

registered interest
date	17/04/2023
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	Carer's Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the carer's allowance earnings threshold in line with inflation.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	180773
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>Earlier this month the weekly Carer’s Allowance earnings limit increased from £132 to £139 net. This increase of 5.5% is in line with growth in Average Weekly Earnings for the year to May-July 2022, as published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).</p><p>DWP uses the ONS Annual Average Weekly Earnings growth measure for benefit uprating purposes where appropriate, as it is regarded as the most robust and up to date estimate of earnings growth across the economy available at the time we review the earnings limit. Increases in the Carer’s Allowance weekly earnings limit are designed to try and ensure that it maintains its value. Therefore, the appropriate proxy for any increase is changes in wages (wage inflation), rather than a wider price inflation measure. Since 2010, the earnings limit will have increased by nearly 40%.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 19/04/2023 10:30:34 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1611145

registered interest
date	17/04/2023
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	Flood Control: Local Government Finance
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 her Department plans to provide additional funding to local authorities for the installation of gullies for flooding and excessive rainfall.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	180774
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2023 answer text <p>Flood risk management is a devolved matter, and in England surface water flood risk management is the responsibility of lead local flood authorities (LLFAs) to manage and mitigate. They do this in partnership with highways authorities who are responsible for highway and gully maintenance and water companies who have a duty to maintain their sewers to ensure that their area is effectually drained.  It is for LLFAs to determine the best approach to mitigating the risk.</p><p> </p><p>The government has taken steps to change partnership funding rules that apply in England to enable more surface water schemes in our new £5.2 billion flood defence programme. Around half of the schemes funded by the programme will be delivered by risk management authorities, such as LLFAs, who apply by using the Partnership Funding rules.</p><p> </p><p>The Local Government Finance Settlement for England in 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022/23. The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to spend according to local priorities.</p><p> </p><p>The devolved administrations receive funding through the Barnett Formula when changes are made to UK Government departments’ Department Expenditure Limit (DEL). Changes to the local government DEL therefore have an impact on devolved administration funding through the Barnett Formula. Spending Review 2021 set the largest annual block grants of any spending review settlement since the Devolution Acts in 1998. Over the Spending Review 2021 period, the UK Government is providing the devolved administrations with over 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 21/04/2023 14:11:41 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon