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1701309

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a complete list of prisons in England and Wales in which the 18-day prisoner early release scheme has (a) applied and (b) continues to apply.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	21908
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) is a temporary measure and is used in a targeted way where its use is only where it is absolutely necessary. For this reason, the list of prisons varies according to need.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 21909 question first answered 23/04/2024 13:17:28 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1701310

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons will be included in the extension of the end of custody supervised licence measure from 35 to 60-days.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	21909
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) is a temporary measure and is used in a targeted way where its use is only where it is absolutely necessary. For this reason, the list of prisons varies according to need.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 21908 question first answered 23/04/2024 13:17:28 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1701311

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has published on when a person with an end of custody supervised licence should be recalled to prison.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	21910
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>Public protection is our priority. Offenders released early on ECSL are subject to a standard supervision licence which is designed to enable the Probation Service to manage the risk that offenders may pose on release from prison and to safeguard public protection. The recall process is the same for those released on ECSL and other standard releases.</p><p> </p><p>The decision to recall an offender on licensed supervision is taken on the professional advice of senior probation staff following consideration of safe alternatives to recall. Where offenders are recalled, it is because they present a risk of serious harm to the public and the controls available are no longer sufficient to keep the public safe. These individuals will remain in prison for only as long as necessary to protect the public. Guidance on the recall of offenders to prison is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recall-review-and-re-release-of-recalled-prisoners." target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recall-review-and-re-release-of-recalled-prisoners.</a></p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 23/04/2024 13:20:37 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1700850

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	BBC: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to publicly advertise application opportunities to the BBC funding model review panel.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	21571
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The BBC Funding Review is looking at how alternative funding models could help secure the broadcaster’s long-term sustainability amid an evolving media landscape, increased competition and changing audience behaviour, while reducing the burden on licence fee payers. It is a government-led review, supported by an expert panel that incorporates a broad range of views from across the sector, providing advice and external challenge on the issues set out in the review’s Terms of Reference, which are available on gov.uk..</p><p>The Panel does not have any decision making powers, and is one aspect of the Government’s BBC Funding Model Review.</p><p>The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport appointed Panel members based on their expertise across relevant sectors, including television, radio, news and international relations. The experts were selected in consultation with industry stakeholders based on their experience and knowledge of wide ranging issues at the heart of the UK media sector such as the role of Public Service Broadcasters, press sustainability and content for children and young adults. Panel membership is voluntary. The Expert Panel has no legal status and was therefore not set up under the Cabinet Office guidelines for public appointments.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 18/04/2024 11:08:06 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1700851

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	BBC: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria she applied in the selection of members for the BBC funding model review panel.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	21572
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>The BBC Funding Review is looking at how alternative funding models could help secure the broadcaster’s long-term sustainability amid an evolving media landscape, increased competition and changing audience behaviour, while reducing the burden on licence fee payers. It is a government-led review, supported by an expert panel that incorporates a broad range of views from across the sector, providing advice and external challenge on the issues set out in the review’s Terms of Reference, which are available on gov.uk..</p><p>The Panel does not have any decision making powers, and is one aspect of the Government’s BBC Funding Model Review.</p><p>The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport appointed Panel members based on their expertise across relevant sectors, including television, radio, news and international relations. The experts were selected in consultation with industry stakeholders based on their experience and knowledge of wide ranging issues at the heart of the UK media sector such as the role of Public Service Broadcasters, press sustainability and content for children and young adults. Panel membership is voluntary. The Expert Panel has no legal status and was therefore not set up under the Cabinet Office guidelines for public appointments.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 21573 21574 21575 question first answered 22/04/2024 14:29:17 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1700852

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	BBC: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has required specific (a) competencies and (b) experience from applicants to the BBC funding model review panel.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	21573
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>The BBC Funding Review is looking at how alternative funding models could help secure the broadcaster’s long-term sustainability amid an evolving media landscape, increased competition and changing audience behaviour, while reducing the burden on licence fee payers. It is a government-led review, supported by an expert panel that incorporates a broad range of views from across the sector, providing advice and external challenge on the issues set out in the review’s Terms of Reference, which are available on gov.uk..</p><p>The Panel does not have any decision making powers, and is one aspect of the Government’s BBC Funding Model Review.</p><p>The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport appointed Panel members based on their expertise across relevant sectors, including television, radio, news and international relations. The experts were selected in consultation with industry stakeholders based on their experience and knowledge of wide ranging issues at the heart of the UK media sector such as the role of Public Service Broadcasters, press sustainability and content for children and young adults. Panel membership is voluntary. The Expert Panel has no legal status and was therefore not set up under the Cabinet Office guidelines for public appointments.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 21572 21574 21575 question first answered 22/04/2024 14:29:17 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1700853

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	BBC: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to ensure a transparent selection process for the BBC funding model review panel.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	21574
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>The BBC Funding Review is looking at how alternative funding models could help secure the broadcaster’s long-term sustainability amid an evolving media landscape, increased competition and changing audience behaviour, while reducing the burden on licence fee payers. It is a government-led review, supported by an expert panel that incorporates a broad range of views from across the sector, providing advice and external challenge on the issues set out in the review’s Terms of Reference, which are available on gov.uk..</p><p>The Panel does not have any decision making powers, and is one aspect of the Government’s BBC Funding Model Review.</p><p>The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport appointed Panel members based on their expertise across relevant sectors, including television, radio, news and international relations. The experts were selected in consultation with industry stakeholders based on their experience and knowledge of wide ranging issues at the heart of the UK media sector such as the role of Public Service Broadcasters, press sustainability and content for children and young adults. Panel membership is voluntary. The Expert Panel has no legal status and was therefore not set up under the Cabinet Office guidelines for public appointments.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 21572 21573 21575 question first answered 22/04/2024 14:29:18 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1700854

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	BBC: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to publicly advertise opportunities to apply for membership on the BBC funding model review panel.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	21575
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>The BBC Funding Review is looking at how alternative funding models could help secure the broadcaster’s long-term sustainability amid an evolving media landscape, increased competition and changing audience behaviour, while reducing the burden on licence fee payers. It is a government-led review, supported by an expert panel that incorporates a broad range of views from across the sector, providing advice and external challenge on the issues set out in the review’s Terms of Reference, which are available on gov.uk..</p><p>The Panel does not have any decision making powers, and is one aspect of the Government’s BBC Funding Model Review.</p><p>The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport appointed Panel members based on their expertise across relevant sectors, including television, radio, news and international relations. The experts were selected in consultation with industry stakeholders based on their experience and knowledge of wide ranging issues at the heart of the UK media sector such as the role of Public Service Broadcasters, press sustainability and content for children and young adults. Panel membership is voluntary. The Expert Panel has no legal status and was therefore not set up under the Cabinet Office guidelines for public appointments.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 21572 21573 21574 question first answered 22/04/2024 14:29:18 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1696713

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: Databases
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of individuals misidentified by the Home Office Person Centric Data Platform in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	19004
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2024 answer text <p>The Person Centric Data Platform (PCDP) holds millions of identities that have been submitted or otherwise provided in support of immigration applications. Individuals have not been ‘misidentified’ by the PCDP. Rather, the Home Office has for some time been aware of issues around ‘merged identity’ - where a single ‘identity island’ has been formed with data belonging to two or more individuals.</p><p>The ‘merged identities’ issue affects around 0.02% of PCDP customer records - over 99.98% of records are not impacted by this issue. We have identified around 46,000 records with an identity issue, of which over 13,000 have already been resolved and we have a dedicated team working on the remainder.</p><p>The Home Office takes data security and accuracy very seriously. We continue detailed analysis to identify erroneous PCDP records so that appropriate remedial work can be undertaken as quickly, and as carefully, as possible.</p><p>Where customers identify an issue with their data, we encourage them to contact the UK Visas and Immigration Contact Centre to enable this to be investigated and resolved.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 19005 question first answered 25/03/2024 16:56:44 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1696714

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: Databases
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to rectify the misidentification of individuals by the Home Office Person Centric Data Platform.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	19005
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2024 answer text <p>The Person Centric Data Platform (PCDP) holds millions of identities that have been submitted or otherwise provided in support of immigration applications. Individuals have not been ‘misidentified’ by the PCDP. Rather, the Home Office has for some time been aware of issues around ‘merged identity’ - where a single ‘identity island’ has been formed with data belonging to two or more individuals.</p><p>The ‘merged identities’ issue affects around 0.02% of PCDP customer records - over 99.98% of records are not impacted by this issue. We have identified around 46,000 records with an identity issue, of which over 13,000 have already been resolved and we have a dedicated team working on the remainder.</p><p>The Home Office takes data security and accuracy very seriously. We continue detailed analysis to identify erroneous PCDP records so that appropriate remedial work can be undertaken as quickly, and as carefully, as possible.</p><p>Where customers identify an issue with their data, we encourage them to contact the UK Visas and Immigration Contact Centre to enable this to be investigated and resolved.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 19004 question first answered 25/03/2024 16:56:44 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1694530

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Travellers: Sentencing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations in the report by the Traveller Movement entitled Fair Sentencing for Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller People, published in December 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	17530
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2024 answer text <p>HMPPS has been working closely with The Traveller Movement since the publication of ‘Pre-Sentencing Report Toolkit Fair Sentencing for Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller People’.</p><p>We are working through the report together to see how the some of the findings can better support our work.</p><p>As part of the HMPPS Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) Strategy, an Aide Memoir: ‘Preparing pre-sentence reports for ethnic minority people’ was published in December 2023, giving specific guidance and information regarding GRT community members. We will add to this as appropriate through the above-mentioned collaboration. We will also carefully consider the findings of the report regarding future policy reviews and updates.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 14/03/2024 17:06:04 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1694267

	registered interest
	date	06/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Music Venues: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to provide urgent support to grassroots music venues at risk of closure in the context of increased costs.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	17369
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting our grassroots music venues, which play an absolutely crucial role in our world-leading music sector and developing homegrown talent.</p><p>That is why we are supporting live music through a range of measures. This includes an additional £5 million to Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) successful Supporting Grassroots Music fund, as set out in the Creative Industries Sector Vision in June. This expands and extends ACE’s existing grassroots fund, and takes our total investment in grassroots music through the fund to almost £15 million since 2019. This fund will enable venues to increase support for young and emerging artists, improve equipment and physical infrastructure, and support venues to become more financially resilient and develop new income streams.</p><p>This is in addition to other Government support including the Culture Recovery Fund, which provided over £200m of support for live music venues, the £800m Live Events Reinsurance Scheme, alongside the cross-sector grants, loans, and reduction of VAT on tickets to 5%. Further, over £3 million was provided during the pandemic from the Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund.</p><p>Music venues are also eligible for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief, with a 75% relief up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business. This relief was extended for a further year during the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. DCMS and DLUHC are also working closely with the sector to revise planning guidelines to ensure that new developments engage with existing music venues before being built.</p><p>Industry-led discussions are ongoing regarding increased support for grassroots music venues from larger events and venues, and DCMS actively supports these sector-led initiatives. Ministers and officials continue to engage with industry to understand the challenges and review opportunities to strengthen the financial resilience of the grassroots music sector.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 17370 question first answered 13/03/2024 10:54:12 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1694268

	registered interest
	date	06/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Music Venues: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with representatives of the live music industry on introducing a ticket levy on large scale music arenas to support grassroots live music.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	17370
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting our grassroots music venues, which play an absolutely crucial role in our world-leading music sector and developing homegrown talent.</p><p>That is why we are supporting live music through a range of measures. This includes an additional £5 million to Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) successful Supporting Grassroots Music fund, as set out in the Creative Industries Sector Vision in June. This expands and extends ACE’s existing grassroots fund, and takes our total investment in grassroots music through the fund to almost £15 million since 2019. This fund will enable venues to increase support for young and emerging artists, improve equipment and physical infrastructure, and support venues to become more financially resilient and develop new income streams.</p><p>This is in addition to other Government support including the Culture Recovery Fund, which provided over £200m of support for live music venues, the £800m Live Events Reinsurance Scheme, alongside the cross-sector grants, loans, and reduction of VAT on tickets to 5%. Further, over £3 million was provided during the pandemic from the Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund.</p><p>Music venues are also eligible for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief, with a 75% relief up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business. This relief was extended for a further year during the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. DCMS and DLUHC are also working closely with the sector to revise planning guidelines to ensure that new developments engage with existing music venues before being built.</p><p>Industry-led discussions are ongoing regarding increased support for grassroots music venues from larger events and venues, and DCMS actively supports these sector-led initiatives. Ministers and officials continue to engage with industry to understand the challenges and review opportunities to strengthen the financial resilience of the grassroots music sector.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 17369 question first answered 13/03/2024 10:54:13 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1693173

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	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	Epilepsy: Cannabis
	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 her Department plans to take in the next year to help ensure that children with severe epilepsy can access effective cannabis-based medications through the NHS.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	16619
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2024 answer text <p>The licensed cannabis-based medicine epidyolex is prescribed routinely for three forms of epilepsy, for patients aged two years old and above. However, clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.</p><p>We continue to call on the manufacturers of these products to conduct research, and we are working with regulatory, research, and National Health Service partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products, to enable evidence based prescribing decisions.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 11/03/2024 15:38:07 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1693208

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Administration of Justice
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of the introduction of unique identifiers for people in the justice system.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	16620
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>We have not made a recent assessment of the impact of introducing unique identifiers for people in the justice system. <br> <br>However, we have started work to create a single 'Core Person record’ for use across HMPPS. This will begin to remove the multiple records we hold for those in our care, and reduce the amount of manual data matching required. Additionally, our award-winning probabilistic matching tool ‘splink’, has underpinned the linking of data across the justice system, including assessing the substance misuse pathways between justice and health, electronic monitoring curfew and probation case management, which has allowed us to identify individuals as they interact with our interventions and services. This has significantly overcome challenges of not having a unique identifier and has supported policy makers and operational staff in their work to reduce offending and strengthen public protection.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 07/03/2024 12:58:27 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1693209

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Criminal Proceedings: Victims
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the efficacy of its data collection systems in regard to victims.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	16621
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2024 answer text <p>There are two main services for victims, the Domestic Abuse Safety Officer Service and the Victim Contact Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>The Probation Service runs the Victim Contact Scheme (VCS) for victims of offenders convicted of serious violent or sexual offences, who are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. It has carried out changes in 2021 to ensure efficacy of its systems in relation to data collection to support the Victims’ Code of Practice.</p><p> </p><p>There is also ongoing work to develop a set of national performance measures which can be used to measure the impact of the scheme and inform future development and decision making.</p><p> </p><p>A change to the referral process in 2021, outlined in the Victims’ Code of Practice, now directs that victim’s contact details are automatically sent to Probation Service Victim Contact Units. These details are then recorded on the Probation Service Victim Contact Management System. This ensures timely offers of the VCS to victims, allowing them the choice of whether or not to engage in the scheme. To ensure the receipt of referrals, Probation staff also run reports from court and probation systems to ensure the receipt of qualifying cases. Figures from the Victim Satisfaction Survey linked to the scheme continues to show positive satisfaction of above 80% from victims who engage in the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>To date, there has been no evaluation of the effectiveness of the Domestic Abuse Safety Officer service. This is a service that is offered to all victims and new partners of people attending Probation Service-run domestic abuse rehabilitation programmes. In July 2023, a national case management database was launched. This is a robust system, which enabled efficient collation, monitoring, and analysis of victim data. There is ongoing work to develop a set of national performance measures which can be used to measure the impact of the scheme and inform future development and decision making.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, in September 2023, the new digital service to apply for criminal injuries compensation was made available to 100% of applicants. The number of questions asked as part of applying for compensation was reduced where possible - by 20-30% on some application journeys - compared to the older service we replaced.</p><p> </p><p>This approach was supported by user research and trauma-informed practice, to ensure the data we are collecting is proportionate and required to enable the decision-making process - for example, we removed the mandatory need for victims to describe the nature of the incident as part of the application process, to reduce the risk of re-traumatisation.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 12/03/2024 16:01:19 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1693210

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Criminal Proceedings: Victims
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve communication with victims on (a) individual court cases, (b) sentencing and (c) custodial circumstances of offenders who perpetrated crime against them.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	16622
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>The Victims’ Code sets out the services victims are entitled to receive in England and Wales from criminal justice agencies, including the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, Courts, and Probation Services. This includes being provided with information by the police’s Witness Care Unit about the progress of their case, including the date and time of any hearings and the outcomes. If there is a conviction, the Witness Care Unit will tell victims about the sentence. Any questions a victim has about the sentence will be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service. Bereaved families of victims of homicide can also meet with the crown prosecutor.</p><p> </p><p>Victims who are eligible to join the Victim Contact Scheme, which are victims in cases where the offender receives a sentence of 12 months or more for a for a specified violent or sexual offence, will be given information about the prisoner by His Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service’s Victim Liaison Officers, such as whether they are eligible to move to open conditions and when they are going to be released.</p><p> </p><p>More widely, the Victims and Prisoners Bill has measures to improve how the services under the Victims’ Code are delivered, by improving data collection and sharing, strengthening local and national oversight of performance, and increasing the transparency of how the criminal justice system delivers for victims. We will publicly consult on the draft for the new Victims' Code after the Bill has completed its passage through Parliament. As part of that consultation, we are open to whether further updates may be useful, including to how communication with victims might be improved.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 07/03/2024 14:19:57 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1693215

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Rape: Databases
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the cross-criminal justice system rape data tool established by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Avon and Somerset Police to collect, share and analyse end-to-end rape data as part of the Police-CPS Joint National Rape Action Plan.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	16623
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>We recognise the importance of linking end-to-end data across criminal justice agencies and are committed to continuing to improve the quality of and access to data to enable us to develop deeper insights and improve the response to crimes such as rape.</p><p>We publish regular statistics on adult rape through the CJS Delivery Data Dashboard. These statistics demonstrate progress on our ambition to more than double the number of adult rape cases reaching court by the end of this Parliament, and to return volumes of cases being referred to the police, charged by the CPS and going to court, to at least 2016 levels. In the year to June 2023 adult rape prosecutions were up 54% on the year to June 2022, this is the fifth consecutive year we’ve seen an increase in suspects being brought to trial.</p><p>In October 2023, the Home Office and Ministry of Justice published guidance and a template Memorandum of Understanding to support local criminal justice partners to share data for the purposes of monitoring and improving performance. The Home Office do not hold data on the cost of the development of this tool but through the Rape Review, the government provided £300,000 to the Police Digital Service to evaluate and develop guidance on a range of technical solutions which could be utilised by local agencies to link their data on rape, including the tool developed by Avon and Somerset Police.</p><p>Avon and Somerset were also the pioneering police force for Operation Soteria, which has developed new national operating models for the investigation and prosecution of rape to support police and prosecutors to ensuring cases are investigated fully and pursued rigorously through the courts.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 16624 question first answered 07/03/2024 16:25:27 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1693216

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Rape: Databases
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse of the cross-criminal justice system rape data tool set up by the Crown Prosecution Service and Avon and Somerset Police was in the financial year 2022-23.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	16624
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>We recognise the importance of linking end-to-end data across criminal justice agencies and are committed to continuing to improve the quality of and access to data to enable us to develop deeper insights and improve the response to crimes such as rape.</p><p>We publish regular statistics on adult rape through the CJS Delivery Data Dashboard. These statistics demonstrate progress on our ambition to more than double the number of adult rape cases reaching court by the end of this Parliament, and to return volumes of cases being referred to the police, charged by the CPS and going to court, to at least 2016 levels. In the year to June 2023 adult rape prosecutions were up 54% on the year to June 2022, this is the fifth consecutive year we’ve seen an increase in suspects being brought to trial.</p><p>In October 2023, the Home Office and Ministry of Justice published guidance and a template Memorandum of Understanding to support local criminal justice partners to share data for the purposes of monitoring and improving performance. The Home Office do not hold data on the cost of the development of this tool but through the Rape Review, the government provided £300,000 to the Police Digital Service to evaluate and develop guidance on a range of technical solutions which could be utilised by local agencies to link their data on rape, including the tool developed by Avon and Somerset Police.</p><p>Avon and Somerset were also the pioneering police force for Operation Soteria, which has developed new national operating models for the investigation and prosecution of rape to support police and prosecutors to ensuring cases are investigated fully and pursued rigorously through the courts.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 16623 question first answered 07/03/2024 16:25:27 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1681788

	registered interest
	date	12/01/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Police: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has received recent representations on the financial impact of the police pension scheme 2015 on retired police officers.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	9334
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2024 answer text <p>Retired police officers have written recently to ask when they will receive information about the remedy, to resolve a discrimination case, that came into force from October 2023. This information is not held centrally.</p><p>The police pension scheme is locally administered by each of the separate police forces in England and Wales. The Home Office does not have any role in the administration of police pensions.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 18/01/2024 15:50:24 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1679329

	registered interest
	date	05/01/2024
	answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept id	211
	answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	hansard heading	New Homes Ombudsman
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the (a) Welsh and (b) Scottish devolved administrations on the (i) establishment and (ii) operation of the New Homes Ombudsman scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	7793
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/01/2024 answer text <p>Ministers and officials have regular engagement with the devolved administrations on a range of issues.</p> answering member constituency North East Derbyshire answering member printed Lee Rowley question first answered 10/01/2024 15:31:49 answering member 4652 label Biography information for Lee Rowley
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1679414

	registered interest
	date	05/01/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Arts: Copyright
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of private copy levy schemes on the creative sector in the European Union.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	7794
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/01/2024 answer text <p>The Government has made no recent assessment of the impact of private copy levy schemes on the creative sector in the European Union.</p><p>The 3rd Trade Specialised Committee on Intellectual Property under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement discussed Private Copying Levies on 23 October 2023 and the Minutes were published on gov.uk <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/specialised-committee-on-intellectual-property" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 10/01/2024 17:43:48 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1679417

	registered interest
	date	05/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Alternatives to Prosecution
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to implement the framework for out-of-court disposals introduced in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	7795
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/01/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to delivering a strengthened and consistent Out of Court Disposals framework in England and Wales through the reformed two-tier cautions framework set out in the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act 2022. We are continuing to work towards implementing it effectively.</p><p> </p><p>Our draft Code of Practice, covering the use, administration, and scrutiny of the revised framework of the Diversionary and Community Cautions, was put to public consultation from 2 August to 13 October 2023. We are analysing the responses received to inform any necessary revisions to the draft Code of Practice and we will publish a Government response to the consultation in due course. We will confirm the implementation timeline for the revised framework once this process is complete.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 10/01/2024 16:24:52 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1679418

	registered interest
	date	05/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Police Cautions: Hate Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of conditional cautions in relation to hate crime.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	7796
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/01/2024 answer text <p>National guidance issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Adult Conditional Cautions states that they are not considered suitable for offences involving hate crime. However, there are rare cases when, because of the nature of the crime or the circumstances of the offender, exceptionally a Conditional Caution could be considered. Any such case considered suitable by the police for a Conditional Caution must be referred to a prosecutor and cannot be issued without the expressed authorisation of the Crown Prosecution Service.</p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Gareth Bacon question first answered 10/01/2024 15:43:59 answering member 4798 label Biography information for Gareth Bacon
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1672899

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: Applications
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of (a) system upgrades and (b) maintenance on the time taken to process leave to remain applications.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	3592
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office releases weekly upgrades, including maintenance, to the Atlas caseworking system. Such releases are completed without the Atlas caseworking system, or services like BRP production, being down at all and so there is no impact upon caseworking or BRP production.</p><p>Where a maintenance release requires the system to be taken down temporarily, it is done so in quiet periods and for a very short time period, so that caseworking operations are not adversely affected.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick grouped question UIN 3593 question first answered 29/11/2023 17:27:47 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1672901

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Biometric Residence Permits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of (a) system upgrades and (b) maintenance on the time taken to produce biometric residence permits.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	3593
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office releases weekly upgrades, including maintenance, to the Atlas caseworking system. Such releases are completed without the Atlas caseworking system, or services like BRP production, being down at all and so there is no impact upon caseworking or BRP production.</p><p>Where a maintenance release requires the system to be taken down temporarily, it is done so in quiet periods and for a very short time period, so that caseworking operations are not adversely affected.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick grouped question UIN 3592 question first answered 29/11/2023 17:27:47 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1666508

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his oral statement of 16 October 2023 on Prison Capacity, Official Report column 59, what criteria his Department will use to decide which less serious offenders will be moved out of prison on licence up to 18 days before their automatic release date.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	203758
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>Only lower-level offenders serving a Standard Determinate Sentence and due for automatic release on licence at the half-way point will be considered for removal onto licence under these arrangements. More serious and higher risk offenders whose release is a matter for the Parole Board to assess will not be in scope.</p><p> </p><p>Those serving a sentence for any kind of sexual offence, terror offence or any violent offence with a sentence of more than four years will also automatically be ruled out. Offenders eligible for End of Custody Supervised Licence will be subject to strict licence conditions, as identified by probation in their release management plan.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 26/10/2023 11:15:24 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1666509

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his oral statement of 16 October 2023 on Prison Capacity, Official Report column 59, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on victims of less serious offenders being moved out of prison onto licence earlier than their automatic release date.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	203759
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>Protecting the public is our number one priority – and so it is right that we take the tough and decisive action so we can keep putting the most serious offenders behind bars and for longer, as the public would rightly expect.</p><p> </p><p>We understand that information is deeply important for victims which is why those who have been victims of crime can get information and updates about developments relating to their case where they are eligible for the Victim Contact Scheme (VCS).</p><p> </p><p>There is a duty to inform victims signed up to the VCS before an offender is moved out of prison onto licence and to seek their views on whether they would like to see particular licence conditions included, such as an exclusion zone or non-contact conditions. That duty will apply equally under this scheme and offenders will not be moved onto licence on ECSL unless and until that victim contact has been completed.</p><p> </p><p>Offenders will also have a supervision plan put together by probation, including strict licence conditions, to ensure that they can be safely managed in the community. As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, set out in his speech to parliament, this scheme will simply bring forward that removal onto licence by no more than 18 days. And if they fail to comply or behave in a way that puts the public at risk, they can be immediately brought back to prison for the remainder of their sentence.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 26/10/2023 11:16:21 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1666510

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his oral statement of 16 October 2023 on Prison Capacity, Official Report column 61, when he plans to report to the House on the curtailing of the licence period for offenders held on Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	203760
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, advised in his statement to this House on 16 October that he would be looking at options to curtail the licence period to restore greater proportionality to Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences in line with recommendation 8 of the report by the Justice Select Committee report. He will revert to Parliament on this as soon as parliamentary time allows.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 26/10/2023 11:25:23 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1666536

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: Applications
	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 increase the speed of processing Leave to Remain applications.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	203761
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office publishes a range of data including some on processing times. Please see link: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fcollections%2Fmigration-transparency-data%23uk-visas-and-immigration&amp;data=05%7C01%7CAdam.Teese%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7Cfe397311d06b4fc0f55208dbd5484295%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638338278546409928%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=JEk3znNRpMvENztEf06nDB6YnRvsZ15EFrX3cR48vfY%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p>The resources available are deployed to decide applications as quickly as possible.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick question first answered 26/10/2023 08:42:42 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1660805

	registered interest
	date	14/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Arts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to invite representatives from creative industries to the London AI Summit.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	199545
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2023 answer text <p>The UK believes that the dangers of frontier AI risks are increasingly urgent. This includes risks such as biosecurity and cybersecurity, including from the potential misuse of models by non-state actors. This will be the focus of the AI Safety Summit and the invitee list will reflect this theme. The Government is working on wider AI-related risks including those associated with the creative industries through the Creative Industries Sector Vision and via work with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to get the balance right in supporting Government’s ambitions on AI innovation without critically undermining value for rights holders.</p><p> </p><p>The government set out its ambitions for the Summit in greater detail at the start of September, and we look forward to sharing more details in due course.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 22/09/2023 11:40:52 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1652275

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2023
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence and Copyright: Codes of Practice
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent estimate she has made of when the Intellectual Property Office will publish its code of conduct on copyright and artificial intelligence.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	193559
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2023 answer text <p>The working group on copyright and AI has asked the Intellectual Property Office for more time to prepare a draft code of practice. A progress update will be published on GOV.UK shortly.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 20/07/2023 15:23:40 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1652277

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2023
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Copyright
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether it is her Department’s policy that companies using copyrighted data to train artificial intelligence models must seek appropriate licences.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	193560
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2023 answer text <p>The copyright framework is relevant whenever copyright works are copied. Permission or a licence should be obtained unless an exception applies.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 20/07/2023 15:22:46 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1652279

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2023
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she hold discussions with her international counterparts on the use of unlicensed data to train artificial intelligence models at the global summit on Artificial Intelligence.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	193561
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2023 answer text <p>The UK will host the first major global Summit on AI safety this autumn.</p><p>The Summit will bring together key countries, as well as leading technology companies and researchers, to drive targeted, rapid international action to guarantee safety and security at the frontier of this technology.</p><p>The Summit will seek to agree on the safety measures needed to evaluate and monitor the most significant risks emerging from the newest developments in AI technologies.</p><p>Decisions are ongoing regarding the agenda for the Summit and we look forward to updating the House further as our preparations continue.</p><p>With regards specifically to data and AI, as a government, we want to make the UK a world leader in research and AI innovation, whilst ensuring that the UK copyright framework continues to promote and reward investment in creativity. To enable that, the government is supporting the growth of the creative industries through a number of IP-related initiatives, including the IPO’s Counter Infringement Strategy, to ensure IP rights are protected online.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 20/07/2023 16:00:19 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1652280

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2023
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the oral evidence of the Prime Minister to the Liaison Committee on 4 July 2023, HC1602, what steps her Department is taking to implement the (a) reporting and (b) licensing of large training runs for artificial intelligence.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	193562
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2023 answer text <p>It is clear that the right guardrails must be in place to manage the risks AI poses. Our proportionate regulatory framework, underpinned by a set of principles and supported by tools like AI assurance techniques and technical standards, sets out a responsible approach to AI innovation. The Government also made it clear in our AI regulation white paper that our approach must be adaptable. As we now look to implement the new regulatory regime, we are considering how the framework will apply to the various actors in the AI development and deployment lifecycle, with a particular focus on foundation models.</p><p>This is supported by the £100 million Foundation Model Taskforce led by Ian Hogarth, as well as a new central risk function and international leadership on AI safety through the AI summit.</p><p>Our proposed central functions, including risk analysis, horizon scanning, and monitoring and evaluation, will keep the wider landscape under constant review to inform policy. They will capture emerging risks, including risks arising from increasingly powerful foundation models. The Foundation Model Taskforce will meanwhile advance vital safety research, laying the groundwork for the safe adoption of AI across the UK economy, ensuring we are at the forefront of this pivotal technology.</p><p>The UK will host the first major global summit on AI safety this autumn. The Summit will bring together key countries, as well as leading technology companies and researchers, to drive targeted, rapid international action to guarantee safety and security at the frontier of this technology.</p><p>As the Prime Minister told the Liaison Committee, the Government continues to analyse a range of safety features and guard rails that we could put in place. These could include new measures for the reporting and licensing of large training runs. But it is vital that the effectiveness of any proposals are rigorously evaluated before they are implemented. This is why we welcome the wide range of stakeholders that provided insights to our consultation on the AI regulation white paper. We are currently considering all evidence sent to the consultation and we will provide an update through the Government's response later in the year.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 20/07/2023 16:01:56 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1650231

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2023
	answering body	Wales Office
	answering dept id	28
	answering dept short name	Wales
	answering dept sort name	Wales
	hansard heading	Rented Housing: Wales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of increases in mortgage interest rates on rental costs in Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	905730
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2023 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Wales and I engage with colleagues across government on a range of issues.</p><p>We recognise this is a concerning time for renters and those with mortgages. Whilst mortgage interest rates are a commercial decision for lenders, we expect lenders to treat all borrowers fairly. Buy-to-let borrowers facing financial difficulties should contact their lender to discuss the options available to them.</p> answering member constituency Vale of Clwyd answering member printed Dr James Davies question first answered 05/07/2023 12:48:49 answering member 4476 label Biography information for Dr James Davies
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1639597

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2023
	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	Personal Independence Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people who were in receipt of the Disability Living Allowance for children have had their applications to transfer to Personal Independence Payments on turning 16 refused since April 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	186297
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2023 answer text <p>The number of people who were in receipt of Child Disability Living Allowance (DLA) that had their application to transfer to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) refused on turning 16, from April 2013 to October 2022, can be found on <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Stat-Xplore</a>.  In particular, the requested data can be found by applying the following filters to the ‘Child DLA to PIP reassessments’ dataset:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Select the following dataset ‘Child DLA to PIP reassessment outcomes by month’; and</li><li>Filter for all ‘Disallowed’ outcomes in ‘PIP reassessment Outcomes’.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/dataCatalogueExplorer.xhtml" target="_blank">here</a>. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore; the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 05/06/2023 11:14:28 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1628482

	registered interest
	date	17/05/2023
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Music: Artificial Intelligence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on consulting with technology and music industry stakeholders on the design and implementation of a code of conduct for the use of artificial intelligence in the music industry.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	185506
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2023 answer text <p>The Government recognises the enormous potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver better public services, high quality jobs and opportunities, and enable future high growth industries. As set out in the recent AI white paper, our goal is to ensure that the UK becomes an AI superpower.</p><p>However, it is important that while we harness the benefits of AI, we also manage the risks. This includes particular risks to creative sectors and rights holders, notably the music industry.</p><p>As set out in the Government response to the Pro-innovation Regulation of Digital Technologies Review, we are working with users and rights holders to develop a code of practice on text and data mining, a process used in the development and training of AI models. To inform the code of practice, the Government is convening a group of AI firms and rights holders, in the music industry and other parts of the creative sector, to identify barriers faced by users of data mining techniques when accessing copyright materials, and to develop licensing solutions for these.</p><p>The Chancellor hosted a Creative Industries conference on 3 May alongside the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology; and the Secretary of State for Education, to discuss with 80 industry representatives the key challenges and opportunities facing the Creative Industries, including the impact of the use of AI in the music industry. We will continue to engage and work closely with industry on the design and implementation of future reforms.</p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Sir John Whittingdale question first answered 23/05/2023 13:00:13 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1611724

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Biometric Residence Permits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Biometric Residence Permits issued in January 2023 have been subsequently reissued to correct errors in visa conditions.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	181268
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2023 answer text <p>The information is not available publicly and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick question first answered 24/04/2023 17:15:38 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1611725

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2023
	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	Personal Independence Payment: Appeals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of applications for Personal Independence Payments were initially denied and subsequently granted following a successful appeal in each month since April 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	181269
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2023 answer text <p><strong>Number and proportion of PIP initial decisions that are initially disallowed and are successful following an appeal</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Date of initial PIP decision</p></td><td><p>Number of PIP initial decisions, initially disallowed that are successful following an appeal</p></td><td><p>Proportion of initial decisions, that were initially disallowed that were successful following an appeal</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-22</p></td><td><p>1,180</p></td><td><p>2.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-22</p></td><td><p>850</p></td><td><p>1.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-22</p></td><td><p>630</p></td><td><p>1.1%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-22</p></td><td><p>560</p></td><td><p>0.8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-22</p></td><td><p>410</p></td><td><p>0.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-22</p></td><td><p>220</p></td><td><p>0.3%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>These figures include appeal decisions at tribunal hearing up to 31<sup>st</sup> December 2022, the latest date for which published data is available. Note that more appeals could be made and completed after December 2022, so numbers could go up as it can take some time for an appeal to be lodged and then cleared after the initial decision.</p><p> </p><p><br> Please note:</p><ul><li>Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages to 1 decimal place.</li><li>Data for England and Wales (excluding Scotland) has been provided in line with the latest published figures on PIP.</li><li>These figures include initial decisions following assessment for PIP New Claims and Reassessments from 1<sup>st</sup> April 2022 – 30<sup>th</sup> September 2022, the latest data for which published data is available.</li><li>“Successful following an appeal” includes claims that had an appeal lapsed or overturned at tribunal.</li></ul><ul><li>The proportion figure uses the total PIP initial decisions for the relevant month as the denominator.</li></ul><ul><li>Prior to tribunal, appeal claimants must have requested a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) from DWP. Some of those disallowed following assessment will have their decision changed at this stage and take the dispute no further. In some cases, a claimant who has their Disallowed decision changed at MR will continue to appeal for a higher PIP award, and these cases could be included in the figures reported.</li></ul><ul><li>A lapsed appeal is where DWP changed the decision in the customer’s favour after an appeal was lodged, but before it was heard at a tribunal hearing.</li></ul> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 24/04/2023 16:32:41 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1608791

	registered interest
	date	29/03/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Biometric Residence Permits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Biometric Residence Permits issued in each month since 1 January 2022 have been subsequently reissued to correct errors in visa conditions.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	176573
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2023 answer text <p>The information is not available publicly and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick question first answered 17/04/2023 13:54:41 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1608795

	registered interest
	date	29/03/2023
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	Absent Voting
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent discussions the Committee has had with the Electoral Commission on the security of postal votes.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	176574
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2023 answer text <p>The Speaker’s Committee has not had discussions with the Electoral Commission on the matter referred to.</p><p>The Commission has highlighted that voting by post is a safe and popular method of voting, with safeguards in place to protect against from fraud. Postal voters are required to provide their signature and date of birth when applying for a postal vote, and again when casting their vote. Returning Officers are responsible for checking these match.</p><p>The Commission also encourages campaigners to follow the voluntary Code of Conduct, which makes clear that political parties and campaigners should not assist in completing a ballot paper, or handle completed ballot papers.</p><p>The Elections Act also included additional measures intended to further strengthen protections around postal voting at future elections.</p> answering member constituency Lancaster and Fleetwood answering member printed Cat Smith question first answered 17/04/2023 09:27:14 answering member 4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1606252

	registered interest
	date	22/03/2023
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	BBC: Arts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect that freezing the TV licence fee has had on the BBC’s funding in arts and culture.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	171366
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2023 answer text <p>The Licence Fee Settlement, announced in January 2022, means the BBC will continue to receive around £3.8 billion in annual public funding. We believe this is a fair settlement for the BBC and for licence fee payers across the UK, that allows the BBC to continue to deliver its Mission and Public Purposes and keep doing what it does best while not placing immediate additional financial pressure on households.</p><p>The BBC is operationally and editorially independent, and it is up to the BBC to determine how to use its funding to deliver its Mission and Public Purposes. It should prioritise using its £3.8 billion annual licence fee income as necessary to deliver that remit.</p><p>Ofcom as the BBC’s regulator will ensure the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its Mission and Public Purposes.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 27/03/2023 08:24:20 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1604817

	registered interest
	date	16/03/2023
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Entertainers: USA
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the United States on that Government's proposals to increase the cost of visas for touring performers.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	167044
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2023 answer text <p>Whilst US immigration policy is ultimately a matter for the US authorities, the UK Government has engaged with the US authorities on this matter to make clear the concerns that the UK music industry has about the proposed increase in US visa costs.</p><p>We are continuing to engage our counterparts in the US on this matter at official and Ministerial level. Most recently, I raised this issue with the US Embassy on 16 March to make clear the concerns that the UK music industry has about the proposed increase in US visa costs. We will continue to engage the US authorities on this matter.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 21/03/2023 23:05:39 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1586515

	registered interest
	date	17/02/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Turkey
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to prioritise visa applications for the relatives of UK citizens and residents affected by the recent earthquake in Turkey.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	146813
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2023 answer text <p>The UK government continue to support British nationals with relatives impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Where family members do not have a current UK visa, they can apply online via one of our standard visa routes, which remain available, and biometrics can be submitted at the nearest Visa Application Centre (VAC).</p><p> </p><p>UKVI will aim to process any compassionate cases as quickly as possible in line with current guidance.</p><p> </p><p>Should individual circumstances require a quicker decision, customers should flag this with visa application centre staff when submitting their biometrics and UKVI will consider this as part of their wider application.</p><p> </p><p>If customers have an existing visa application and have been impacted by the earthquake, then they should please contact the UKVI Contact Centre, details can be found at: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fcontact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk&amp;data=05%7C01%7CBenjamin.Compton-James1%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7Ce8a336ce93614d949cbb08db133077f7%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638124871104638393%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=e4aC2ux6rUThYG0qUOJ6eQWlXzPLa%2ByS%2F%2BU24bEYID0%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk</a>.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick grouped question UIN 146814 question first answered 22/02/2023 14:16:52 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1586516

	registered interest
	date	17/02/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Syria
	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 prioritise visa applications for the relatives of UK citizens and residents affected by the recent earthquake in Syria.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	146814
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2023 answer text <p>The UK government continue to support British nationals with relatives impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Where family members do not have a current UK visa, they can apply online via one of our standard visa routes, which remain available, and biometrics can be submitted at the nearest Visa Application Centre (VAC).</p><p> </p><p>UKVI will aim to process any compassionate cases as quickly as possible in line with current guidance.</p><p> </p><p>Should individual circumstances require a quicker decision, customers should flag this with visa application centre staff when submitting their biometrics and UKVI will consider this as part of their wider application.</p><p> </p><p>If customers have an existing visa application and have been impacted by the earthquake, then they should please contact the UKVI Contact Centre, details can be found at: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fcontact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk&amp;data=05%7C01%7CBenjamin.Compton-James1%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7Ce8a336ce93614d949cbb08db133077f7%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638124871104638393%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=e4aC2ux6rUThYG0qUOJ6eQWlXzPLa%2ByS%2F%2BU24bEYID0%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk</a>.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick grouped question UIN 146813 question first answered 22/02/2023 14:16:52 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1585433

	registered interest
	date	08/02/2023
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Cardiff West of 7 September 2022 on the report entitled Let the Music Move: A New Deal for Touring.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	142633
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2023 answer text <p>We apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member and will reply to the correspondence as soon as possible.</p><p>The Department has engaged with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music on its ‘Let the Music Move – A New Deal for Touring’ report (published in July 2022), including submitting written evidence to the APPG inquiry. The Government continues to engage with the music sector and in Parliament on the important issue of touring.</p><p>The Government recognises that the way creative workers work in the EU has changed. We are committed to supporting the sector to adapt to these new arrangements, and we have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify what creative workers need to do.</p><p>The majority of EU Member States, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for UK performers and other creative professionals. We continue to support the UK's brilliant musicians to adapt to the new arrangements and make touring easier.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 20/02/2023 17:35:42 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1585435

	registered interest
	date	08/02/2023
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	217
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Entertainers: USA
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of making representations to US counterparts on their proposals to increase the costs of short- and long-term visas for touring performers.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	142634
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2023 answer text <p>My Department regularly engages across Government, and with the music sector, on issues concerning touring professionals. This engagement includes issues such as US visas.</p><p>US immigration policy is ultimately a matter for the US authorities, so any decision taken on their visa system will be for them alone. The UK Government cannot interfere in another country’s processes and must respect their systems, just as we expect them to respect the UK’s processes.</p><p>The Department for Business and Trade’s Export Support Service (ESS) can provide answers to UK businesses to practical questions about exporting or working abroad. The ESS can be reached by visiting the website:<a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fask-export-support-team&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cneil.semple%40trade.gov.uk%7Ce7938e30bfba41b6802908daf4a73a1f%7C8fa217ec33aa46fbad96dfe68006bb86%7C0%7C0%7C638091296311985663%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=DXhEzUXzSj3UUtRstFqC%2FK975nCEtKD3lUNrnqeiMgU%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank"> www.gov.uk/ask-export-support-team</a>.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 20/02/2023 11:44:44 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1581017

	registered interest
	date	26/01/2023
	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	Recording Studios: Finance
	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 recent assessment she has made of the financial viability of recording studios.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	903265
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2023 answer text <p>In August 2021, DCMS commissioned the consultancy firm, Sound Diplomacy, to assess the state of the music studio market in England.</p><p>Evidence found challenges, but showed the market is responding to changes, such as technological innovation, and is maintaining or growing sources of income.</p><p>As a result, the report found the music studio market was not in need of specific government intervention.</p><p>Since then, the Government announced a new Energy Bills Discount Scheme to help support businesses, like recording studios, to tackle rising energy costs.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 26/01/2023 14:38:46 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1565636

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2023
	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	Broadband: Prices
	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 recent discussions she has had with Ofcom on the upcoming 11.1 percent price increase of wholesale broadband in April 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	119921
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2023 answer text <p>The regulation of wholesale prices in the fixed telecoms market is a matter for Ofcom, the independent regulator. Through our Statement of Strategic Priorities we have instructed Ofcom to regulate in a way that encourages both competition and investment in telecoms infrastructure. Following this guidance, Ofcom developed its Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR) which allows Openreach prices to increase in line with inflation.</p><p>Thanks to this approach, there is now a thriving market of over 80 providers investing £35bn rolling out gigabit broadband all over the UK. Today, nearly 73% of premises can access gigabit-capable networks, up from just one in ten in November 2019.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 16/01/2023 11:17:10 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan