SVRO for Thames Valley, Merseyside, Sussex and West Midlands

Posted on September 15, 2023 by ianchisnall

On Monday at the first day of Parliament following the Summer, one of the MPs, Grahame Morris, the Labour for Easington which is in Yorkshire asked four questions and they were all answered by Chris Philp who is the Minister of the Home Department with one response. The first few words were “Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) are a new civil order being piloted in four police forces: Thames Valley, Merseyside, Sussex, and West Midlands. The orders provide the police the powers to stop and search convicted knife offenders.” which is where the SVRO item arrived. The four questions and the one answer can be seen below and are available from here.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department:

on what basis the (a) number and (b) location of the Serious Violence Reduction Orders pilot police areas were chosen.

how many Serious Violence Reduction Orders have been issued in each month since the powers were introduced; and if she will provide a breakdown of those figures by police force area.

on how many occasions stop and search powers have been used under a Serious Violence Reduction Order in each month since those powers were introduced; and if she will provide a breakdown of those figures by police force area.

on how many occasions a stop and search conducted under a Serious Violence Reduction Order has led to an immediate arrest in each month since those powers were introduced; and if she will provide a breakdown of those figures by police force area.

Chris Philp: Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) are a new civil order being piloted in four police forces: Thames Valley, Merseyside, Sussex, and West Midlands. The orders provide the police the powers to stop and search convicted knife offenders.

These four forces have been selected as they have the required volume of knife crime or offensive weapons offenders per force as well as a wide range of demographics to test the impact and effectiveness of the orders. Piloting in these four forces also allows for the effectiveness of SVROs to be tested in both urban and semi-urban forces.

SVROs are being robustly evaluated by our independent evaluator, Ecorys. Following the conclusion of the pilot we will lay a report in Parliament on the operation of the pilot, which will include full details on the number of SVROs issued and the related stop and search and arrest data.

In addition, the Home Office has expanded its 2023/24 stop and search data collection to capture information on searches which have taken place under a Serious Violence Reduction Order. These data will be available at Police Force Area level and are likely to be published at the end of 2024.

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Brighton has entered the Europa League this year!

Posted on September 13, 2023 by ianchisnall

Last Thursday Steve Bassam asked a question in the session of Commonwealth Games session in the House of Lords which included the aspect of Brighton “entered the Europa League this year, there are clear economic benefits demonstrated from hosting events like that. Are the Government doing enough to promote participation” and the person who responded was Stephen Parkinson who is a Government Minister. So here is the full question and answer text which can also be obtained from here

Steve Bassam: My Lords, this has happened a few times before. Can the Minister ensure that His Majesty’s Government do more to facilitate discussions on the future direction of the competition? Does it need to be reinvented somehow or does more thought need to be given to reducing the costs to hosts? Would it perhaps be more sustainable if the frequency of the Games was varied to match economic needs? Thinking about my own city, which has finally entered the Europa League this year, there are clear economic benefits demonstrated from hosting events like that. Are the Government doing enough to promote participation in wider international sporting competitions so that we can reap the benefit of the economic boost they bring to our country?

Stephen Parkinson: : Yes, we fully recognise the important economic boost that hosting major sporting events can bring. Sport is estimated to be worth over £38 billion a year to our economy. The hosting of the women’s Euros in 2022 generated economic activity of £81 million across the eight host cities that welcomed visitors and supported 1,200 full-time equivalent jobs. It also saw a 140% increase in participation among girls in the season after the tournament—so the benefits are manifold. The Commonwealth Games Federation is exploring all options to secure the long-term viability of the Commonwealth Games. It has committed to putting a firmer plan in place by the time of its general assembly in November.

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Eastbourne has made Plastic Packaging Tax changes

Posted on September 12, 2023 by ianchisnall

On Tuesday 5th of September the second day of Parliament since the Summer Caroline Ansell, the Eastbourne MP began a brief discussion about Plastic Packaging Tax and her comments were responded by Gareth Davies who is the Exchequer Secretary for the Government and he is the MP for Grantham and Stamford. Along with the question from Caroline there was also a comment from Kerry McCarthy after Caroline spoke and so all of the questions and answers can be obtained from here. However the majority of the text is here which was relating to Caroline and Gareth so a focus on Eastbourne.

Caroline: What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the plastic packaging tax.

Gareth: In April this year the Government announced that we would conduct a formal review of the plastic packaging tax through analysis of environmental and tax data and customer research to assess the impact of the measure. More information about the evaluation will be published later this year.

Caroline: I am pleased to share that a business in my Eastbourne constituency has made many important changes in the way it operates in order to meet its own environmental ambitions, but when it comes to the transportation of food and pharmaceutical products, industry standards linked to public health regulations require such products to be transported in sterile packaging, which necessitates the use of virgin plastics and brings the containers that the business produces into scope for the plastic packaging tax. Is there a new direction I can share with that business, or will ongoing policy reviews look at such cases?

Gareth: The aim of the plastic packaging tax is to provide a clear incentive for businesses to use more recycled plastic in packaging. Following extensive consultation, we looked at a range of possible exemptions and decided to limit those exemptions because we want to encourage innovation in the industry. Put simply, the more exemptions, the less innovation. However, all taxes remain, of course, under review.

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Some of the actions from MPs last week in Parliament

Posted on September 11, 2023 by ianchisnall

(This item was published in the Brighton Argus on 11th September 2023 with their document “MP leads session on airport duty-free shops“) Last week was the first week of Parliament after the end of their summer period. The “TheyWorkForYou” website which provides a range of the text and some of the proposals yet it has not provided a comprehensive list for this week although they did add a few items last week. One of these was a contribution from Tim Loughton, the MP for East Worthing and Shoreham who will set out a session in Westminster Hall tomorrow afternoon under the theme of “Flying schools”. This session is intended to run for 90 minutes and so there will be an opportunity for several other MPs to contribute during that session.

Last week there was a session that had been initially listed as taking place on Wednesday morning which the Crawley MP, Henry Smith which was an MP petition entitled “Duty on shopping at UK entry points”. It was very unexpected that the debate did not take place till the very end of Wednesday and sadly no other Sussex MPs took part. However the initial few words began with

I rise to speak as the Member of Parliament for Crawley, a constituency that proudly includes Gatwick airport within its boundaries, and as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for the future of aviation, for which I declare an interest. It is in those roles that I have been determined to support the aviation, travel and tourism industries as they continue to recover from the covid-19 pandemic, and I call on the Government to introduce duty-free shopping on arrival at airports and international rail and ferry terminals in Great Britain.

A Liberal Democrat MP stated at the beginning of her short statement “I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman’s argument. My own local airport, Edinburgh airport, would benefit greatly from duty-free arrivals” and the government minister ended with

In conclusion, I thank my hon. Friend for his speech. I reiterate that we have considered this matter carefully, but we must prioritise our responsibilities for the public finances. That is why we do not feel able at this point to agree to the suggestion, but I am happy to keep the issue under review, and to meet him to discuss it further.

The other contribution for this week that relates to our Sussex MPs is a discussion on Tuesday that involves the Parliament Education Committee which includes Caroline Ansell who is the Eastbourne MP. The Committee is talking about a session entitled “Teacher recruitment, training and retention Oral evidence” so it will be very nice if Caroline can explain what takes place in her committee. As it happens Henry Smith was the only Sussex MP to contribute in Committee’s last week so that was very positive.

Sadly, last week none of the Sussex MPs took part in the e-petition discussion entitled “relating to assessments for disability benefits” even though there had been many Sussex people who had signed the three items that were discussed. This afternoon there will be another session focused on e-petitions and it is entitled “relating to pay and financial support for healthcare students” which has been organised by Marsha de Cordova who is a Labour MP. The three documents are not significantly signed, but a few people in all of our Sussex constituencies have signed them and the Hastings and Rye had a large signing for two of them and on the other Worthing West signed in bigger numbers. It would be interesting to see if Sally-Ann Hart or Peter Bottomley will take part in the discussion to reflect the comments from their locations.

Last week Parliament involved a number of voting sessions. It was engrossing to observe how some of our Sussex MPs responded. The first group was on Monday and it was a theme of the “Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill” which included five votes that involved three clause items. They were all endorsed by the Government and the Conservative voting was significant but interestingly three of our MPs did not vote at all. They were who were Nick Gibb and Jeremy Quin who are Ministers and Henry Smith. The Labour and a number of other groups voted against all of these five votes, although Peter Kyle from Hove did not vote against one of the items. I am intrigued to find why he did not vote for it.

Then on Tuesday there were six voting for the “Energy Bill [Lords]” of which the first five were Clauses and the Government and Conservative MPs opposed all of them with many of the other mutual groups supporting them. The final vote was entitled “Part A3 – Petroleum Licensing (Exploration and Production) (Seaward and Landward Areas) Regulations 2004” and the Government and many Conservatives voted for it. Interestingly a small group of well known Conservatives including Henry Smith voted against it. However no other political groups voted on that theme at all for it. Interestingly Mims Davies and Nusrat Ghani did not vote for any of the elements on Tuesday. I am curious as to why one clause which is entitled “New Clause 39 – Duties of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority in respect of off-grid fuels” was not voted by Lloyd Russell-Moyle or by Sally-Ann Hart. Yet they both voted for all of the other clauses and Sally-Ann voted for the final item.

We need to understand why the Sussex ministers are not voting with the Government. 

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STEM Subjects: Girls from the Hastings and Rye MP

Posted on September 10, 2023 by ianchisnall

On Thursday last week in Parliament one of the written questions came from Sally-Ann Hart who is the Hastings and Rye MP and the question was responded by Nick Gibb who is a Minister of the Education Department and he is also the MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton so these two elements were both based from Sussex MPs. Here is the question and the response and the source is available from here which is a location that would enable people to respond at the bottom with “Does this answer the above question?” Yes or No. So far no one has responded.

Sally-Ann Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking at (a) primary and (b) secondary level to encourage more girls into STEM subjects.

Nick Gibb: The Department is committed to ensuring that anyone, regardless of their gender or background, can pursue an education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. To support this, the Department has committed substantial spending to STEM education.

The Department funds the Isaac Physics programme to increase the numbers of students, particularly from typically underrepresented backgrounds, studying physics in higher education. The Department also funds the Inclusion in Schools project to increase the uptake of A level physics from underrepresented students, including girls.

Additionally, the Department is funding the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme, which provides tailored national support for teachers and students in all state funded schools and colleges in England with additional provision for those in priority areas, in particular girls and disadvantaged groups. The Department’s Maths Hubs programme focuses on improving attainment gaps, which may be associated with disadvantage, gender, or other factors.

The Department is allocating £100 million of funding into the National Centre for Computing Education to drive increased participation in computer science and funding research programmes looking into how to tackle gender balance in STEM subjects.

Secondary schools are expected to provide pupils with at least one meaningful interaction with employers per pupil per year, with a particular focus on STEM employers. These interactions introduce pupils to a range of different career possibilities and challenge stereotypes, as well as helping to prepare them for the workplace. This can be facilitated through programmes such as the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of volunteers and STEM related employers providing a range of engaging and inspiring activities for pupils. Approximately 45% of these ambassadors are women and 15% are from minority ethnic backgrounds, providing young people with a variety of role models.

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MPs to probe ministers over poor concrete in schools

Posted on September 9, 2023 by ianchisnall

On Thursday the CYP Now website published this article which was written by Emily Harle and the initial comment is MPs are set to question ministers over the disruption caused by dangerous concrete in school buildings, following the Department for Education’s publication of a list of all affected institutions. They also provide a comment under the photograph of the MP for Worcester who is the Chair of the Education Select Committee and they stated under his picture “Robin Walker said the committee shared a ‘feeling of urgency’ about the RAAC crisis.” It is very helpful for the Guardian on 31/8/23 which is here that explains that RAAC is Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete relating to the ceilings of buildings which includes many Schools in the UK. They stated Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, found in many school buildings in England, is prone to sudden failure as it ages.

The CYP Now goes on to say initially

The education select committee will hear from DfE Permanent Secretary Susan Acland-Hood and Baroness Barran, minister for school capital investment, in an evidence session on Tuesday 19 September.

The probe comes after more than 104 schools were advised to fully or partially close just days before the start of the autumn term due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concreted (RAAC) in school buildings – a material used regularly until the 1990s, that is now assessed to be at risk of collapse.

A list published yesterday (6 September) by the DfE confirmed that RAAC has been found in 169 schools and colleges, with 19 forced to delay the start of term due to the risks posed. Many have also switched to a blend of remote and in-person learning, with four settings resorting to fully remote learning.

And their final sentences are

The list’s publication comes after Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was caught on camera by ITV News using expletives to voice her frustration about the response to the RAAC crisis, criticising “everyone else” for having “sat on their arse and done nothing”. She later apologised for her language, adding it was an “off the cuff” remark made after being pressed hard during an interview.

The rest of the text is on their website.

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Brighton and Hove promotes nesting habitats for swifts

Posted on September 8, 2023 by ianchisnall

On Wednesday 6th September in the House of Lords there was a debate under the headline of Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill and Amendment 217 and it was set out by Andrew Lansley who is a Conservative member of the Lords. After a number of comments Jane Scott who is a Government Minister then spoke about the theme and half way over her comments she stated this following text. She was the final person towards the end of the discussion and after she finished Andrew finished the discussion. She was the only one who referred to Brighton & Hove but it was very interesting. The whole of the discussion is available from here and this is her comment. Her reference was to Zac Goldsmith who was a Conservative MP at Richmond Park from 2010-2019.

Amendment 221A, in the name of my noble friend Lord Goldsmith, seeks to impose swift nests, boxes and bricks as conditions on relevant planning permissions. Personally, I love my swifts and I watch them every year. I believe they are a joy to us all. The Government really welcome the actions by developers that contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment. We support, in appropriate circumstances, planning conditions or obligations being used to require that planning permission provides for works that will measurably increase biodiversity. An example of this is the approach that Brighton and Hove City Council is taking to use conditions to promote nesting habitats for swifts.

We think that further specific measures, such as swift bricks and boxes, should be explored but through national policy, not legislation. We have announced a wider national planning policy review, in which we have already committed to exploring the incorporation of nature into development through better planning for green infrastructure and nature-friendly buildings. We are not able to support this amendment, but we look forward to working with my noble friend further as we explore this issue. With that commitment, I hope that my noble friend will not move his amendment.

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Climate Finance: Tackling Loss and Damage

Posted on September 7, 2023 by ianchisnall

On Tuesday in Parliament a session was set out by Chris Law from the SNP who focused on this headline and his initial comment is “I beg to move, That this House has considered climate finance for tackling loss and damage.” and apart from the end of the session when Leo Docherty who is the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office who contributed, all of the other people who spoke were not part of the Conservative Party. It was significantly covered by SNP and Labour MPs but there was also a contribution from our MP, Caroline Lucas who is the Green Party MP. The first few words from Chris Law were as follows

July was the hottest month in global history. In three months the world will gather in one of the hottest regions of the world for COP28. All summer we have heard about and seen the impacts that climate change is having—impacts that will only get worse—and the need for urgent action could not be clearer. Simply put, this is the biggest, most existential threat to humanity and our planet, and I put it on the record that I am utterly disappointed that not one MP from the governing Conservative party is here other than the Minister.

And after his initial statement which included a number of other comments, Caroline Lucas was the next person to contribute with this comment.

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this important debate. When it comes to finance for loss and damage, does he agree with me that that finance has to be new and additional, not redirected from existing budgets? If we are looking for places where we might find such new and additional finance, if we put the polluter pays principle at the heart of this debate, we could, for example, look at the grotesque profits of the oil and gas companies, which amounted to a staggering $134 billion globally last year, or the billions that go into fossil fuel subsidies. Does he agree with me that that would be a good place to start to get the money we need for such a vital fund?

And Chris then commented.

Not only do I completely agree, but I suspect my papers have been leaked because I was about to come on to that point. I completely agree that new and additional finance is key and I look forward to what the Minister will say. I will touch on that topic in more depth shortly.

There is no doubt the UK has contributed significantly to the climate emergency through its historical greenhouse gas emissions. From 1750 to the present day it is the seventh highest CO2 emitter with just over 3% of estimated historical emissions. In contrast, the entire continent of Africa has a 3% share of cumulative CO2 emissions and Oceania only 1%—two of the regions already the most devastated by the climate catastrophe.

The whole of the discussion can be obtained from here.

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Trying to access, provide or facilitate abortion services

Posted on September 6, 2023 by ianchisnall

This response was from Chris Philp who is the Conservative Minister for the Home Department and his initial words are

“It is completely unacceptable that anyone should feel harassed or intimidated when trying to access, provide or facilitate abortion services.”

The response came from a written question raised by Peter Bottomley who is the MP for Worthing West. The question and the full response which can obtained from here is as follows.

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the implementation of the Public Order Act 2023, what support her Department is providing to local councils that are managing protestors outside facilities providing abortion care.

Chris Philp: It is completely unacceptable that anyone should feel harassed or intimidated when trying to access, provide or facilitate abortion services. The Police and Local Authorities already have powers to restrict harmful protests and prevent antisocial behaviour. The Public Order Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 2 May. The timescales for commencing the new Section 9 offence of interference with access to, or provision of, abortion services will be confirmed in due course.

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Would you sign a petition for free parking for NHS staff

Posted on September 5, 2023 by ianchisnall

More than two months ago on the 2nd August a person called Keith Horn submitted his e-petition and up until Wednesday the 6th of September it had less than 60 signatures. However on Thursday the 7th September it had begun to raise primarily in the Wirral area with currently on Saturday evening just over 700 signatures and the total signatures across the UK had raised to over 900 signatures. A few days later on Tuesday 12th September in the beginning of the evening the total had passed over 1,100 signatures of which over 850 were in Wirral so there are just over 250 signatures in the rest of the Nation.

On the Friday evening of 22nd September it raised 1,225 signatures but it was still limited in the locations and indeed two weeks later on Friday 6th October it was still only 1,280 so it is seeing less than 4 signatures a day so far. Indeed here in Sussex it is still only 9 signatures, six are in Brighton and Hove and there is literally only one each in East Sussex and two in West Sussex. Given that it is now more than 2 months it would be fantastic if we could make a significant improvement by the 2nd of November when the petition will be 3 months and therefore half of its period. If it reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will comment on it and if it can reach 100,000 the MPs could discuss it. So here is the link for the 641731 petition and the text is

Make it free for all NHS hospital staff to park at work

We want the Government to prevent NHS Trusts and private companies operating parking services at NHS hospitals to charge NHS staff to use these parking facilities while they are working.

Many NHS hospital staff have to pay to park or work, or face having to park significant walks away. It can costs around £2,000 a year to park at work, but parking elsewhere can mean an unpleasant and potentially unsafe walk.

As well as reducing the financial burden on NHS hospital staff, and giving them extra time to prepare or unwind before and after shifts, we believe enabling all NHS hospital staff to park at work for free could help reduce the likelihood of assault on journeys to and from work.

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