Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she has taken to support people who have experienced long-term (a) financial difficulties and (b) mental health challenges as a result of not qualifying for financial support schemes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is working to support people and improve living standards for everyone across the country. As part of this, the Government committed to making no increase in employee National Insurance, Income Tax or VAT as we want to keep taxes as low as possible for working people. The Government has also put growth as its number one mission, which will help families by boosting wages and putting more money in people’s pockets.
The Budget announced a £240 million Get Britain Working package to help people into work which will help to tackle the root causes of economic inactivity and to get those who can work, off benefits and into good employment. Further details have been set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, published on 26 November 2024.
On 1 April 2025, the new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates will come into force, expecting to benefit over 3 million eligible workers. For a full-time worker on NLW, the 6.7% increase of the rate to £12.21 per hour will provide a £1,400 increase to their annual earnings. These increases will ensure that the lowest-paid workers are supported and marks a step towards the government delivering a genuine living wage for all adults.
In addition, the Government is also supporting those on low incomes through continuing the Household Support Fund, increasing the Carers’ Allowance weekly earnings limit by nearly 30% from April 2025, and creating a new Fair Repayment Rate ensuring 1.2 million households claiming Universal Credit are on average better off by £420 per year, by capping the amount of debt deductions at 15% of the standard allowance.
On mental health, the Government has continued to expand access to mental health support to address the high levels of demand since the pandemic ended. This has included increasing the mental health workforce, treating more people through NHS Talking Therapies and improving urgent and emergency mental health care though new crisis houses and alternatives to A&E as well as making support available to those experiencing a crisis through the new ‘mental health option’ on 111.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to enhance strategic road networks before the development of new housing projects in the South East.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways play a key role in the planning process to determine the necessary strategic road requirements of new major housing projects, and new major developments are a key consideration in future network investment planning as part of the Road Investment Strategy. Alongside this, the Department continues to work with colleagues in the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government and other partners to deliver a well-designed, integrated, and affordable transport network that unlocks homes and supports new developments. This is key to realising wider growth benefits, including reducing congestion and emissions, and ensuring communities can access jobs and services.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of abolishing the furnished holiday let tax regime on local (a) economies and (b) jobs.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lets (FHLs) tax regime from April 2025. This will equalise the tax treatment of FHL and non-FHL landlords’ income and gains.
The Government wants to support the visitor economy alongside housing for longer-term residents to rent or buy. Achieving this balance is crucial in supporting the tourism sector, and many of the people who work in the sector need access to local housing.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the review into the loan charge will include examining the roles of (a) scheme promoters, (b) umbrella companies and (c) tax advisers.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government committed to an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
Further details about the review will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure the independence of the new review on the loan charge.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of cooperative energy models.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the role community groups and cooperatives play in our efforts to tackle climate change. Great British Energy’s Local Power Plan will enhance existing support Community Energy Groups to roll out renewable energy projects and develop up to 8GW of cleaner power.
The Government also supports the community energy sector through the £10 million Community Energy Fund, which enables communities across England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects for investment.
The previous Government consulted on the barriers to community energy through a Call for Evidence, which closed on 30 June 2024. We will learn from the responses to this consultation to inform our future work on community energy.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle (a) anti-social behaviour and (b) theft in market towns across Surrey.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour, theft and other crimes affecting local communities are a top priorities for this Government, and represent a key part of our Safter Streets Mission.
The Government recently announced Respect Orders, which will be introduced in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill. Respect Orders can be applied for by police and local councils and are issued by the courts. They will enable courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. They will include a power of arrest for any suspected breach, meaning officers can take action quickly to disrupt ongoing ASB. Breach will be a criminal offence, which is heard in the criminal courts with a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years’ imprisonment.
The Government also recognises that a key part of making theft less attractive to criminals is to tackle the market for stolen goods, making items such as mobile phones less attractive to steal in the first place. This is why we have announced that we will be working with tech companies and law enforcement to see what more can be done to break the business model of mobile phone thieves.
We will also put thousands of neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities and ensure that residents have a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact on bicycle sales of the removal of VAT on (a) pedal and (b) electric bicycle.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.
One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates. The Government has no current plans to zero-rate VAT on pedal and electric bicycles, but keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of measures to (a) educate drivers on sharing roads with cyclists and (b) foster a safe environment for all road users.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In January 2022, The Highway Code was updated to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding horses. The changes aim to initiate a positive shift in road user behaviour by making road users aware of their responsibility to use roads safely and reduce the danger they may pose to others. The changes included the introduction of a “Hierarchy of Road Users”, which places those road users most at risk in the event of a collision at the top of the hierarchy.
Communications to raise awareness of the changes were launched via a factual awareness raising campaign in 2022, alerting road users to the changes as they came into effect. This was followed by broader behaviour change campaigns in the summers of 2022 and 2023, to help embed the changes and encourage understanding and uptake of the guidance. Over £2.4million has been spent on media across the campaign, utilising channels such as radio, digital audio, video on demand and social media advertising.
Campaign outcomes include 86% of road users having heard of the changes by September 2023, and 81% of drivers claiming to leave a gap of 1.5m when passing a cyclist all or most of the time.
We will continue to promote The Highway Code changes on THINK! and DfT social media channels and via our partner organisations.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that medically unfit drivers are (a) identified and (b) reported effectively.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The law requires all driving licence holders to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of any medical condition that could affect their fitness to drive and failure to do so is an offence.
When a driver declares a medical condition to the DVLA, or a third party (for example a doctor, police officer, family, friends or neighbours) raises concerns, the DVLA will carry out an investigation and a driving licence will only be issued or retained if the individual can meet the appropriate health standards. These medical investigations can range from the consideration of information provided by the driver or applicant to a more detailed investigation. This can include information provided by medical professionals, reports, examinations, eyesight tests or driving assessments.
All drivers are encouraged to discuss any concerns about their fitness to drive with their own healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals, doctors and opticians play an important role in the driver licensing process. They advise their patients of the implications of their condition on driving and the effect of any treatment or medication and they advise when a patient should notify the DVLA. If a patient is unwilling or unable to notify the DVLA, the General Medical Council offers clear guidance of when doctors should report any concerns and the DVLA treats such notifications as a high priority. Similar guidance is available to opticians.