Campaign reply - Welfare - The Forgotten Animals

Thank you for contacting me about the welfare of farmed fish.

 The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any protected animal, or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of an animal, including fish. Regulations also require that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations.

 

I am aware that Regulation 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing requires that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations but does not include any further requirements.

 

The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 makes it an offence for any person engaged in the restraint, stunning or killing of an invertebrate to cause avoidable pain, distress or suffering.

 

As part of the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare, Ministers have been considering a number of improvements that could be made to the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing and asked the Animal Welfare Committee to update its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing and I look forward to reading their report in due course. 

 

Finally, I am aware that any allegations of welfare or health issues will be investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Cefas. Appropriate action is taken against anyone who breaks the law when non-compliances are disclosed.

 

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

Campaign reply - Indefinite immigration detention

Thank you for contacting me about immigration detention.

It is only right that every case of detention is considered individually and kept under constant review. I would like to assure you that decisions to detain people are not taken lightly and there is a general presumption of liberty for all. If detention is used as circumstances change, detention is reviewed, and release may then be the appropriate response.

I know the Government is committed to using immigration detention sparingly and only when necessary. Indefinite detention is not permitted in UK law. In order for the detention of an individual to be lawful, there must be a realistic prospect of their removal within a reasonable timescale. The Government is held to account on this by the courts, and by a series of safeguards that ensure proper scrutiny of decisions to detain, and on-going detention.

In my view, a time limit is not only unnecessary, but it would also severely limit the Government’s ability to use detention as an effective means of maintaining lawful immigration control.  I have been advised that any time limit would encourage those who seek to frustrate the removal process to run down the clock until the time limit is reached and release is guaranteed, regardless of the proximity of removal and the facts of the case.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

Campaign reply - Renters Are Waiting

Thank you for contacting me about a fairer private rented sector.

I have been working locally to increase the provision of private rentals in Cornwall. I want to make sure that there is enough safe and affordable housing for everyone in our area and will continue to work with Cornwall Council, Government and other stakeholders to explore multiple options, through the planning, tax and community systems, in order to solve this issue.

I am pleased that the Government has recently published its White Paper title “A Fairer Private Rented Sector”. 

The private rented sector currently offers the most expensive, least secure, and lowest quality housing to a growing number of vulnerable people, including 1.3 million households with children and 382,000 households over 65. This is driving unacceptable outcomes and is holding back some of the most deprived parts of the country. 

Many renters face a lack of security as they can be evicted without a reason at just two months’ notice (so called ‘no fault’ Section 21 evictions, under the Housing Act 1988). This means many tenants do not challenge their landlords or agents on standards. Renters also feel that they can’t put down roots in their local areas, which does nothing for community cohesion. 

The system doesn’t work for good landlords either, the majority of whom do right by their tenants and offer them a positive, secure living situation. They lack the ability to effectively tackle anti-social behaviour or deliberate and persistent non-payment of rent. Most landlords are trying to do the right thing but simply cannot access the information they need. Further, inadequate enforcement is allowing criminal landlords to thrive, which harms tenants and reputable landlords. 

The A Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper builds on the vision in the Levelling Up White Paper and sets out our plans to fundamentally reform the private rented sector and level up housing quality in this country. It sets the strategic direction for the PRS for the first time in a generation and demonstrates our ambition and determination to give private renters a better deal. 

The White Paper sets out a 12-point action plan of how we will deliver a fairer, more secure, higher quality private rented sector, including: 

• Giving renters safer and better value homes by requiring privately rented homes to meet the Decent Homes Standard for the first time. 
• Improving security and stability for renters and empowering them to challenge poor practice by abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. A tenancy will only end if the tenant ends it or if the landlord has a valid ground for possession. 
• Reforming grounds for possession to make sure that landlords have effective means to gain possession of their properties when necessary. 

A FAIRER PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR WHITE PAPER 

• Supporting people to manage their costs effectively by only allowing increases to rent once per year, ending the use of rent review clauses, and improving tenants’ ability to challenge excessive rent increases through the First-tier Tribunal. 
• Empowering tenants to resolve disputes and hold their landlord to account by introducing a new single Ombudsman that all private landlords must join. 
• Giving landlords and tenants the information they need to rent properties in the private rented sector as well as supporting local authorities to crack down on poor practice by introducing a new Property Portal for private rented properties. 
• Ending decades of discrimination by legislating to make it illegal for landlords or agents to have blanket bans on renting to families with children or those in receipt of benefits and exploring if action is needed for other vulnerable groups, such as prison leavers. 
• Giving tenants the right to request a pet in their property, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. 

The Government will introduce a Renters Reform Bill in this Parliamentary session to deliver on its ambitious reforms, which will drive real change and make the private rented sector fit for the 21^st century. These reforms will apply to England only. 

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

Campaign reply - Better mental health starts with research

Thank you for contacting me about access to mental health support and services.

Living through the pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health of people across our country, and I welcome the steps the Government is taking to improve access to mental health support and services.

As part of the five-year funding offer agreed in 2019, mental health services will receive an additional £2.3 billion a year in real terms by 2023-24 enabling further service expansion and faster access to community and crisis mental health services for both adults and particularly children and young people. 

Furthermore, the Department for Education recently announced a further £7 million for schools and colleges to train a senior mental health lead, bringing the total amount of funding for 2022/23 to £10 million.

I also welcome the Government's commitment of around £2 billion to reduce waiting times for mental health services, helping more people to access the support they need and helping to ease existing pressures in the NHS caused by Covid-19. 

In the 2021 Spending Review, I was encouraged to see a new investment of £150 million in NHS mental health facilities linked to A&E and to enhance patient safety in mental health units. Additionally, around £300 million will be spent to complete the programme of replacing mental health dormitories with single en-suite rooms.

The Government has been consulting on plans for a new National Mental Health Plan, seeking views on how to improve mental health services and understand the causes of mental ill-health. The consultation is now closed and the Government is analysing the responses. 

In the Government's Our Plan for Patients published in September this year, the Health Secretary committed expanding mental health support for children at school, given that half of mental health conditions take root by the age of 14. This included a commitment to boost the number of mental health practitioners in primary care and to strengthen mental health support in schools. It also included a commitment to improve access to NHS talking therapies and to enhance community support for adults living with severe mental illnesses.

 

Finally, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities launched the latest  'Better Health – Every Mind Matters' campaign in October this year. This is alongside a pledge to invest £122 million to put recipients of mental health support in touch with jobs advisers. Offering employment support to people under the care of NHS mental health services is a vital part improving the overall well-being of patients.

 

I hope these new services help end the stigma surrounding mental health, offering crucial support to those suffering and those who have suffered in silence for too long. 

 

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

Campaign reply - Association of Vehicle Recovery Operators "Please support the UK Vehicle Recovery Industry"

Thank you for contacting me about statutory fees for recovery vehicle operators.

As you are aware, in 2021 the Home Office held a consultation to assess the current statutory fees and whether new levels of charges should be applied to the removal, storage and disposal of vehicles in England and Wales. These charges apply where the police, under various acts of road traffic legislation, have cause to remove or recover a vehicle illegally, dangerously, or obstructively parked, broken down or abandoned. This also includes the removal of vehicles being driven anti-socially or without insurance or driving licence and if they are being used in unlawful trespass.

I have been informed that the Government has now reviewed the statutory fees and is finalising arrangements to publish its response to the consultation shortly. I appreciate your frustration about the delay and will press the Minister on this at the earliest opportunity.I must, however, stress that no assessment has been made of the proportion of the statutory charging fee that is received by the recovery operator rather than the management companies.

The operation of recovery schemes and contracts used by the police and National Highways for vehicle recovery operations are matters between the police and individual recovery operators. The Government’s role is limited to setting the statutory charges that the Police and National Highways can levy when they have exercised their recovery powers.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

Concerned about the support for dying people 18/08/22

Thank you for contacting me about the terminal illness and people struggling with money at the end of life.

When someone is facing the end of their life it is vital that they get the support they need quickly. That is why the Special Rules for Terminal Illness (SRTI) provide simple and fast access to benefits for people with a terminal illness or limited life expectancy.  

I know supporting those nearing the end of their lives is a priority for the Government and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has conducted a wide-ranging evaluation which considered the views of claimants and clinicians on how it supports those nearing the end of their lives. Prior to this evaluation, the SRTI allowed claimants who are unlikely to live longer than six months to claim under a fast-tracked process without the requirement for waiting periods or a face-to-face assessment and, in most cases, to receive the highest rate of award.  Following on from the evaluation, the Government announced that the six month period would be extended to twelve months.  

The twelve month approach will mirror the current definition of end-of-life used across the NHS and ensure that people receive vital support through the Special Rules six months earlier than they did previously, reducing the need for clinicians to have multiple difficult conversations with people nearing the end of their lives

The following benefits allow claims to be made under the SRTI; Personal Independence Payment, Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance. A claim made under the SRTI is generally supported by a short form, completed by a hospital consultant, GP or specialist nurse.

Universal Credit and the Employment and Support Allowance have already been amended  to reflect the new twelve-month rule. Changing the rules for Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and the Personal Independence Payment needed new legislation. This has been delivered through the Social Security (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill, which was passed its Third Reading in the House of Commons in September 2022. Once it receives Royal Assent, it will make changes to these benefits from early 2023. 

I know that my colleagues at DWP and across government are committed to ensuring those nearing the end of their lives get the vital support they need and I will continue to follow this important matter closely.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

 

Campaign reply - Thank you for being a Hedgerow Hero

Thank you for contacting me about hedgerows.

Hedgerows are one of the most important ecological building blocks in our farmed landscape. They maintain the distinctive character of our countryside and provide crucial habitats and food for wildlife. Hedgerows can store carbon, improve local air quality and benefit the rural economy by boosting job creation for hedgerow planting and management in local communities.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) wants to reward the work that farmers do to manage hedgerows on their holdings sustainably. The primary tools to deliver environmentally beneficial hedgerow management and hedgerow creation are the Environmental Stewardship and Countryside Stewardship (CS) schemes. These schemes fund hedgerow management, with CS funding restoration and laying to deliver recognised benefits for wildlife, landscape, and the historic environment. Hedgerow management is one of the most popular options within CS, with several options available for planting, managing and restoring hedgerows.

Ministers continue to offer grants for hedgerows and boundaries in CS. In February 2022, the Countryside Stewardship scheme opened for applications for Higher Tier, Mid Tier and Wildlife Offer agreements starting on 1 January 2023, and standalone Capital Grants agreements starting throughout 2022.

Further, through the UK’s new agricultural schemes, the Government will be able to reach more farmers and landowners. Defra aims for at least 70 per cent of farms to participate in the Government’s new schemes. The first of the agricultural schemes, the Sustainable Farming Incentive, will pay for a variety of actions that all farmers can do to manage their land in an environmentally sustainable way. Part of this scheme is the hedgerow standard, under which farmers will be paid to plant more hedgerows, leave them uncut, or raise the cutting height. To provide habitat for wildlife, the Government will incentivise farmers and land managers to maintain and plant more hedgerow trees.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.