Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the British Youth Council on the political literacy of young people.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25 and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we will be leading engagement with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
An evaluation of the impact of the Youth Parliament was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 and found that all stakeholders, participants, delivery staff and policy officials, agreed that the programmes were important vehicles to engage young people in the UK political processes and support youth-informed policy development. A new evaluation of the UK Youth Parliament programme was started in 23/24 and is due to conclude in 24/25.
Since 2017, Government has provided a total amount of c.£2.4m to the British Youth Council to deliver youth voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committees and Make Your Mark.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide funding to continue the operation of the Youth Parliament.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25 and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we will be leading engagement with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
An evaluation of the impact of the Youth Parliament was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 and found that all stakeholders, participants, delivery staff and policy officials, agreed that the programmes were important vehicles to engage young people in the UK political processes and support youth-informed policy development. A new evaluation of the UK Youth Parliament programme was started in 23/24 and is due to conclude in 24/25.
Since 2017, Government has provided a total amount of c.£2.4m to the British Youth Council to deliver youth voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committees and Make Your Mark.
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 the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme Trustees on the surplus sharing arrangements of that scheme.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Ministers and Trustees last discussed the surplus sharing arrangements in 2021. The Government has been consistent that it would consider any proposals that the Trustees bring forward.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the threshold for business rates relief in line with inflation.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value.
At Autumn Statement 2023, the government announced a package of changes and tax cuts worth £4.3 billion, including a freeze to the small business multiplier for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, protecting over a million ratepayers from a multiplier increase.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including agricultural contractors' buildings in the list of buildings exempted from business rates.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Farmland and buildings solely used for agriculture are exempt from business rates. The Government keeps all taxes under review. Any future decisions regarding the tax system will be taken in line with the normal Budget process.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will add agricultural contractors' buildings to the list of buildings exempted from business rates.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Farmland and buildings solely used for agriculture are exempt from business rates. The Government keeps all taxes under review. Any future decisions regarding the tax system will be taken in line with the normal Budget process.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of businesses that were eligible for business rates relief in the 2023-24 financial year are no longer eligible in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Simon Hoare
The department does not hold the data required to answer this question. Information on the number of hereditaments eligible for business rates relief is available here.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) adequacy and (b) effectiveness of self-regulation within the funeral sector.
Answered by Mike Freer
We have accepted that some form of regulation of the funeral sector is required. My officials have therefore been working on a plan to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the self-regulation regimes introduced by the two main representative bodies, and to launch a call for evidence.
The call for evidence will be launched before summer recess and will gather views on what type of regulation is appropriate and proportionate. Following this, we will develop and consult on proposals for the regulation of the sector. There are a number of possible routes for regulation including introducing an independent regulator. It is too early at this stage to say which is most appropriate.
I have discussed the regulation of the Funeral Sector with cabinet colleagues, and am working particularly closely with Minister Hoare on the short-term response to the tragic events in Hull and East Rising.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had at recent discussions with cabinet colleagues on the regulation of the funeral sector.
Answered by Mike Freer
We have accepted that some form of regulation of the funeral sector is required. My officials have therefore been working on a plan to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the self-regulation regimes introduced by the two main representative bodies, and to launch a call for evidence.
The call for evidence will be launched before summer recess and will gather views on what type of regulation is appropriate and proportionate. Following this, we will develop and consult on proposals for the regulation of the sector. There are a number of possible routes for regulation including introducing an independent regulator. It is too early at this stage to say which is most appropriate.
I have discussed the regulation of the Funeral Sector with cabinet colleagues, and am working particularly closely with Minister Hoare on the short-term response to the tragic events in Hull and East Rising.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to set up an independent regulator for the funeral sector.
Answered by Mike Freer
We have accepted that some form of regulation of the funeral sector is required. My officials have therefore been working on a plan to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the self-regulation regimes introduced by the two main representative bodies, and to launch a call for evidence.
The call for evidence will be launched before summer recess and will gather views on what type of regulation is appropriate and proportionate. Following this, we will develop and consult on proposals for the regulation of the sector. There are a number of possible routes for regulation including introducing an independent regulator. It is too early at this stage to say which is most appropriate.
I have discussed the regulation of the Funeral Sector with cabinet colleagues, and am working particularly closely with Minister Hoare on the short-term response to the tragic events in Hull and East Rising.