Campaign reply - Please help protect innocence online

Thank you for contacting me about the Online Safety Bill. 

The Online Safety Bill will make sure that the UK is the safest place to be online. As part of this, measures included in the Bill will tackle the growing and evolving threat of child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), including the transmission of sexually explicit material of children online.

 

I welcome the fact that the Government has tabled an amendment to the Bill which will give Ofcom extra tools to ensure technology companies take action to prevent, identify and remove harmful CSAE content. As a result, Ofcom will be able to demand that technology companies, such as social media platforms, roll out or develop new technologies to better detect and tackle harmful content on their platforms. If they fail to do so, Ofcom will be able to impose fines of up to £18 million or 10 per cent of the company’s global annual turnover, depending on which is higher.

 

The amendment will support innovation and the development of safety technologies across the technology industry and will incentivise companies in building solutions to tackle CSEA which are effective and proportionate.

 

In conjunction with the legislation, I welcome efforts to improve technology to tackle online child sexual abuse. For example, GCHQ is collaborating with the tech industry to identify and develop solutions to crack down on large scale online child sexual abuse and the government-funded Safety Tech Challenge Fund is demonstrating that is it is possible to detect child sexual abuse material in end-to-end encrypted environments, while respecting user privacy.

 

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 - Windfall tax vote

 Thank you for contacting me about a windfall tax.

The Prime Minister, as Chancellor, introduced the current windfall tax on energy producers which is raising £5 billion and is designed to encourage them to invest in the UK.

 

Regarding this tax going forward, and how revenue from this source could be expanded, these are clearly tough decisions and I know the Chancellor and the Prime Minister will be looking at everything.

 

I would not pre-empt any decisions but the Chancellor is due  to present a full Autumn Statement, on tax and spend plans, on November 17. 

The governments is committed to providing support to all people during this economic crisis, and this will form the basis of all decisions ahead of the statement. 

 

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 - Crucial debate for a suicide-safer internet

Thank you for contacting me about the Online Safety Bill.  

I am delighted that the Bill has been introduced to help make the UK the safest place in the world to go online. 

 

It is only right that the largest and most popular social media sites (Category 1 services) play their part in protecting adults and the most vulnerable in society, including children, online. 

At present, the Bill requires Category 1 services to act on content that is lawful but still harmful, such as abuse that falls below the threshold of a criminal offence, encouragement of self-harm and mis/disinformation. 

The new Digital Secretary has confirmed that she will review the existing measures to ensure rights to freedom of expression and free speech are protected. However, she has made it extremely clear that the Government will ensure that social media platforms put the welfare of children first. As such, the Government will also be strengthening the protections in place for children. 

I will follow developments closely as the Bill progresses.  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 - Small bakery owners being ignored

 Thank you for contacting me about bread and flour regulations.

I am aware that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), alongside the Department of Health and Social Care, the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland and Wales, Food Standards Scotland and the Scottish and Welsh Governments, have been conducting jointly a review of The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and The Bread and Flour (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1998 to ensure the regulations are fit for purpose and support UK industry while protecting consumers.

 

To assist with the review, I understand that Defra convened a technical working group made up of a wide range of relevant stakeholders including the Real Bread Campaign, to help identify and explore the issues around the regulations which cover the compositional requirements of bread and flour.

 

The Government has launched a consultation on proposals to update and amend the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998. The consultation is subject to a cross-government agreement process in England and ministerial agreement in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. I would strongly encourage you to take part in the consultation and express your views on the proposals. 

 

The consultation can be found here: 

 

https://consult.defra.gov.uk/food-compositional-standards/bread-and-flour-consultation-2022/

 

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 - Whitehaven coal Mine

Thank you for contacting me about the Whitehaven Coal Mine.

While the Government places a strong emphasis on localism and decentralisation when it comes to planning applications, I am aware that Robert Jenrick, the Communities Secretary at the time, made the decision to ‘call in’ the planning application for the Whitehaven Coal Mine.

 

This decision was taken because of the further developments since his original decision. This included the publication of the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations for the Sixth Carbon Budget. It is also the case that local authorities are expected to make planning decisions promptly. The planning application for this development was first submitted to Cumbria County Council in May 2017 and was considered by their planning committee on three occasions, without a final outcome being reached.

 

I agree that this application raises planning issues of more than just local importance. A public inquiry was held and the outcome will be considered before any decision is made. I understand that the Planning Inspectorate’s report has been submitted to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. A final decision is expected later this year. 

 

It is worth mentioning that the extracted coal would be used exclusively for steel production rather than energy production. The Government has confirmed its commitment to end unabated coal-power generation from October 2024, having brought this deadline forward from 2025.

 

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 - Cop15

Thank you for contacting me about this important issue. 

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this important debate due to other parliamentary duties. However, I am committed to promoting biodiversity and the Government takes this matter seriously. 

 

The Environment Act 2021 responds to a clear and urgent scientific case, and growing public demand, for action to address environmental challenges. This landmark legislation sets a new and ambitious domestic framework for environmental governance. The Act requires a new, historic legally binding target to be set to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, as a core part of the UK’s commitment to leave the environment in a better state than we found it. 

 

Further, the Act introduces a powerful package of new policies and tools. Biodiversity net gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities will work together to drive action, to create or restore rich habitats that enable wildlife to recover and thrive, while conservation covenants will help secure habitat for the long term. In doing so, the Act lays the foundation for the Nature Recovery Network. I understand that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is conducting a thorough review of the Government’s suite of biodiversity indicators, to ensure that the best possible data is available, which will help inform the best possible decisions on biodiversity policy into the future.

 

Finally, I know that the UK is committed to playing a leading role in developing an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. As part of this framework, I am aware that the UK is championing the target to protect at least 30 per cent of the land and of the ocean globally by 2030.

 

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 - A New Deal for Workers

 Thank you for contacting me about one-sided flexibility.

While not suitable for everyone, I believe that one-sided flexibility have a part to play in a modern, flexible labour market because, for a small proportion of the workforce, that may be the kind of contract that is right for them. Two-thirds of workers on these contracts do not want more hours. 

 

However, it is important to make sure that those benefitting from the flexibility of these contracts are not exploited by unscrupulous employers and therefore the Government legislated to ban exploitative zero hours arrangements meaning it is illegal for employers to include exclusivity clauses in these contracts. This means that people have the freedom to look for and take other work opportunities and have more control over their work hours and income. Individuals on these contracts can also make a complaint to an employment tribunal if their employer mistreats them for working, or seeking to work, elsewhere. 

 

Most recently, the Government has announced its intention to widen the ban on exclusivity clauses which restrict staff from working with multiple employers to those whose income is below or equivalent to the Lower Earnings Limit at £123 a week. You may be interested to know that approximately 1.5 million workers earn £123 or below a week and therefore these new reforms will ensure that these people who have exclusivity clauses also have the freedom to top up their income with extra work if they choose.

As I understand it, legislation will be introduced in due course, and I will follow this issue 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.