Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to expand the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) passport to include children of BN(O) passport holders.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office cannot issue a BN(O) passport to someone who does not hold BN(O) status. BN(O) status was only available by registration before 1 July 1997, and people born on or after that date cannot become a BN(O). There are no plans to retrospectively allow BN(O) status to be acquired by descendants of BN(O) status holders.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions she has had with Ofgem on discrepancies in the cost of electricity standing charges across the country.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
DESNZ Ministers and officials regularly discuss with Ofgem issues relating to the energy retail market.
Standing charges are a commercial matter for suppliers, although Ofgem regulates standing charges as they do with other elements of billing. This includes setting a cap on standing charges as part of the overall default tariff cap.
The variance in standing charge is mainly due to regional differences in energy distribution costs. These costs reflect the expenses of maintaining and upgrading the distribution network in a specific area, and the number of consumers those costs are spread across.
On 30 March, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote to the Chief Executive of Ofgem, highlighting the importance of keeping standing charges as low as possible.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had discussions with Ofgem on trends in the level of standing charge prices across (a) England and (b) Yorkshire.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
DESNZ Ministers and officials regularly discuss with Ofgem issues relating to the energy retail market.
Standing charges are a commercial matter for suppliers, although Ofgem regulates standing charges as they do with other elements of billing. This includes setting a cap on standing charges as part of the overall default tariff cap.
The variance in standing charge is mainly due to regional differences in energy distribution costs. These costs reflect the expenses of maintaining and upgrading the distribution network in a specific area, and the number of consumers those costs are spread across.
On 30 March, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote to the Chief Executive of Ofgem, highlighting the importance of keeping standing charges as low as possible.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the impact of trends in the level of standing charges on the affordability of electricity bills in (a) Yorkshire and (b) the North East.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ofgem launched a call for input on standing charges, which closed on Friday 19 January 2024, looking at how it is applied to energy bills and what alternatives could be considered.
Ofgem is currently analysing the responses and will publish its response in due course.
On 30 March, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote to the Chief Executive of Ofgem, highlighting the importance of keeping standing charges as low as possible.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of potential merits of introducing a fixed national standing charge for consumers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ofgem launched a call for input on standing charges, which closed on Friday 19 January 2024, looking at how it is applied to energy bills and what alternatives could be considered.
Ofgem is currently analysing the responses and will publish its response in due course.
On 30 March, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote to the Chief Executive of Ofgem, highlighting the importance of keeping standing charges as low as possible.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of Somaliland joining the Commonwealth.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states. It is for the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth Secretariat to take forward expressions of interest and to assess whether an aspirant member meets the eligibility criteria for membership. The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. We believe that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for Somalia and Somaliland to decide through a consultative process and dialogue.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of Somaliland joining the Commonwealth.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states. It is for the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth Secretariat to take forward expressions of interest and to assess whether an aspirant member meets the eligibility criteria for membership. The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. We believe that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for Somalia and Somaliland to decide through a consultative process and dialogue.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of whether Somaliland meets the criteria for joining the Commonwealth.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states. It is for the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth Secretariat to take forward expressions of interest and to assess whether an aspirant member meets the eligibility criteria for membership. The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. We believe that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for Somalia and Somaliland to decide through a consultative process and dialogue.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will support the application by Somaliland to join the Commonwealth.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states. It is for the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth Secretariat to take forward expressions of interest and to assess whether an aspirant member meets the eligibility criteria for membership. The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. We believe that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for Somalia and Somaliland to decide through a consultative process and dialogue.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on including fractional shares in ISAs.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to ensuring people have the opportunity to invest in a diverse range of investment types through their ISAs. As announced at Autumn Statement 2023 and confirmed at Spring Budget 2024, this includes certain fractional share contracts.
The government is working as quickly as possible to bring forward legislation to include certain fractional share contracts in ISAs by the end of the summer following detailed engagement with industry and the FCA.
The government is also consulting on the design and implementation of the UK ISA, including eligible investments, and welcomes responses from stakeholders before the deadline of 6th June.