Every parliamentary written question tabled by Sarah Champion this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 241–257 of 257 · this parliament
What plans she has to publish a road safety strategy.
Since the general election, the Department has begun work on a new Road Safety Strategy - the first in over a decade. The Department will share more details on this Road Safety Strategy in due course.
What steps his Department is taking to support GP surgeries (a) improve energy efficiency and (b) reduce their carbon footprint.
Primary care will play an important role in helping the National Health Service achieve the net zero targets outlined in the report, Delivering a Net Zero NHS, published in July 2022, by decarbonising its estate, travel, and supply chain. Targeted efforts are needed to reduce emissions from medicines, which make up nearly two-thirds of primary care’s carbon footprint. There is range of support available to general practice (GP) surgeries to achieve this transition. Supported by NHS England, the Royal College of General Practitioners is actively working to reduce the carbon footprint of GP surgeries through several initiatives like the Net Zero Hub, which provides guidance, eLearning, and tools for sustainability, and the Green Impact for Health Toolkit, which offers practical advice and awards for sustainable practices, among others. GP surgeries are also encouraged to use grants through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, for low-carbon heating solutions. On efficiency and heat, all new buildings and major refurbishment projects, including primary care upgrades, will need to comply with NHS England’s Net Zero Building Standard, published in 2023.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of (a) UNITAD in September 2024 and (b) camps for internally displaced people in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on the safety and security of the Yazidi community in Iraq.
The UK will work to ensure a smooth closure of UNITAD as its mandate ends on 17 September 2024. We have supported Iraq to develop capacity for Daesh accountability through UNITAD and international efforts to deliver justice will continue.The UK remains committed to the safety and security of Iraq's Yazidi community. We continue to collaborate with the Iraqi and Kurdish governments, international agencies such as UNHCR, and the broader humanitarian community to resolve displacement-related issues. We want to ensure that any camp closures are supported by relevant UN agencies and that durable solutions ensure the safe reintegration of residents of IDP camps, including Yazidis, to their locations of settlement.
What steps his Department is taking to help reduce overprescribing.
Overprescribing can be addressed by taking a shared decision making approach and optimising a person's medicines; ensuring that patients are prescribed the right medicines, at the right time, in the right doses. The National Health Service is responding to the challenge of overprescribing and driving changes in this area by:Implementing the National Medicines Optimisation Opportunities for ICBs, more information can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-medicines-optimisation-opportunities-2023-24/Addressing problematic polypharmacyDelivering Structured Medication Reviews, more information can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/primary-care/pharmacy/smr/Improving repeat prescribing processesOptimising personalised care for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms, more information can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/optimising-personalised-care-for-adults-prescribed-medicines-associated-with-dependence-or-withdrawal-symptoms/Offering treatments that are not medicines is also key to addressing overprescribing. Many other initiatives delivered across the NHS contribute towards this. These include delivery of personalised care and shared decision-making, NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, and social prescribing.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2024 to Question 957 on Animal Welfare, what his planned timetable is for banning the use of snare traps.
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department plans to offer to the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty launched by the G20 Brazilian Presidency.
At the G20 Development Ministers Meeting in July, I announced the UK would join the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty when it launches in November, offering UK expertise support to the secretariat, to join the Board of Champions, and to galvanise our networks to support the Alliance, including the UK development community, civil society and academia. We so far supported the Alliance's taskforce with expertise, co-financing a technical report on resource mobilisation delivered by the Overseas Development Institute. As we join, the UK will bring to bear our investments and expertise in food security, nutrition, social protection and more.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 12 August 2024 to Questions 1263 and 1675, what the most recent advice is that his Department has received from expert advisers on ending licenses for badger culling that have already been issued.
On 30 August, the Government announced the start of work to refresh the Bovine TB strategy for England, to end the badger cull by the end of this parliament and drive down disease to save cattle and farmers’ livelihoods. This will be undertaken in co-design with farmers, vets, scientists and conservationists, ensuring a refreshed strategy continues to be led by the best scientific and epidemiological evidence and advice. As part of this announcement, existing cull licences will be honoured to ensure clarity for farmers involved in these culls whilst new measures can be rolled out and take effect. This follows previous advice that the gap between the end of one form of badger disease control and the successful deployment of another, should be as narrow as possible to bank the maximum disease control benefits. Further details can be found on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-end-badger-cull-with-new-tb-eradication-strategy.
Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) horses and (b) ponies smuggled from the United Kingdom in each of last five years.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) defines a smuggled animal as one that is illegally exported. This means the animal is one that is not travelling on appropriate paperwork, has not been declared and/or is concealed. By its very nature, robust data on the numbers of horses and ponies illegally smuggled out of the UK in the last five years is not readily available. APHA only holds data for the period September 2023 to date for APHA Dover. In that period the APHA Dover team inspected 328 horses/ponies being exported (this includes transits from Ireland). 102 of those were found to be non-compliant. The non-compliance figure relates to Welfare in Transport and the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations. 10 horses/ponies did not have the required export health certification.
What the average distance between refuges will be across the Smart Motorway network following the conclusion of the retrofitting of new emergency refuges.
National Highways is adding over 150 Emergency Refuge Areas (ERAs) across the All Lane Running (ALR) network, to be completed by the end of March 2025. Some ERAs are still under construction, and sitings may be subject to final change due to topographical challenges. Once the rollout is completed, National Highways will be able to calculate the average spacing of places to stop in an emergency across the whole ALR network. We will share this information as soon as it becomes available.
Whether she plans to make wildlife crimes notifiable; and whether she plans to include those crimes in national statistics.
This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit to help tackle these crimes.There are no plans currently to make all wildlife crimes notifiable. Any non-notifiable wildlife crime reported to police can be investigated as Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.
Food and Rural Affairs; whether he plans to continue with the cull of badgers in Derbyshire; and for what reason 1,675 badgers were to be culled.
The Government has committed to ending badger culling by the next General Election. In contrast, in the past decade over 230,000 badgers were culled. On 30 August, Defra announced that we will be working on a comprehensive new TB eradication strategy to end the badger cull and drive down bovine TB rates to protect farmers’ livelihoods. Badger culling is licensed under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 for the purpose of preventing the spread of disease. The figure quoted in the question refers to the maximum number of badgers to be culled under supplementary badger control licences in Derbyshire. In previous years, the total number of badgers culled has been closer to the minimum, which this year is set at 425, rather than the maximum.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is his policy to end licenses for badger culling that have already been issued.
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the reply I gave to PQ 1263.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to ban the use of farrowing crates for pigs.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 22 July 2024 to the hon. Member for Battersea, PQ UIN 414.
Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will produce an animal protection strategy.
The welfare of animals is currently protected by a suite of legislation including the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The Government has committed to introducing the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in their manifesto, the Government intends to ban trail hunting and the import of hunting trophies, to end puppy smuggling and farming and to stop the use of snare traps. Ministers are considering the most effective way to deliver these commitments and will set out next steps in due course.
How many new emergency refuges will be constructed as part of the programme of retrofitting to existing smart motorways.
National Highways is constructing 150 additional Emergency Refuge Areas across the All Lane Running smart motorway network. Construction, which is already well underway, began in 2022. The project is expected to be completed by the end of March 2025.
Whether she plans to extend the £2 cap on bus fares after 31 December 2024.
Delivering reliable and affordable public transport services for passengers is one of my top priorities and I know how important this is for passengers and for local growth. The government is urgently considering the most effective and affordable ways to deliver on these objectives.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to ban the import and sale of fur.
This Labour Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. Ministers are reviewing policies, which will be announced in due course.