Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether children in independent schools on waiting lists for an educational, health and care plan assessment will have VAT added to school fees.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 29 July, the Government announced that, as of 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by a private school in the UK for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. This will also apply to boarding services provided by private schools.
This policy will not impact pupils with the most acute additional needs, where their needs can only be met in private schools. For instance, in England, where a child’s place in a private school is funded by their Local Authority (LA) because it is named in their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
The fees of pupils waiting for an EHCP will be subject to VAT. However, LAs aim to process all EHCP applications in time for the start of the next school year so that parents can make an informed decision as to which school they send their child to. In certain circumstances, the LA is able to prepay one term’s fees if the EHCP is not yet complete, but the outcome is foreseeable. Likewise, some private schools will forgo the first term’s fees for pupils that are expected to be granted an EHCP in the future.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, until what date the Community ownership fund will remain open; and if her Department will extend that fund beyond 31 March 2025.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Chancellor’s July ‘Public Spending: Inheritance’ speech set out the state of the UK’s spending inheritance from the previous Government. In this context, the Chancellor has set out a path to confirming plans for this year and next at the forthcoming Budget on October 30th.
We understand that this may have caused uncertainty about the status of the Community Ownership Fund. The Government will seek to provide certainty wherever it can between now and conclusion of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of medication for Parkinson's disease produced by Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Teva Pharmaceuticals supply a range of medicines to treat Parkinson’s disease. We are not aware of any issues with Teva Pharmaceuticals’ supply of these medicines. Teva Pharmaceuticals discontinued amantadine 100 milligram capsules in July 2024, however alternative suppliers remain in stock, and are able to meet patient demand.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's policy is on the future of commission paid to site owners following the sale of park homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 1176 on 31 July 2024.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase access to NHS dentistry in rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the challenges faced when accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas. The Government plans to tackle the challenges patients face when trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards across England.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department (a) monitors and (b) plans to monitor the (i) area, (ii) type by agricultural grade and (iii) geographical location of land proposed for solar development.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department currently monitors the geographical location of solar developments through the Renewable Energy Planning Database. We plan to broaden the scope of this database to provide information on the area and types of agricultural land used by existing solar projects and those in the planning pipeline.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether it is his Department's policy to provide £71.5 million funding for the roll-out of fast broadband to rural areas in Stamford, Rutland and Leicestershire.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The award of a £71.5 million Project Gigabit contract to the broadband supplier CityFibre to connect around 38,600 rural and hard-to-reach premises across Leicestershire and Warwickshire will deliver fast, reliable broadband, with the work due to commence in August. This contract includes homes and businesses in the Rutland and Stamford constituency that would otherwise miss out on a gigabit-capable connection. Parts of Rutland and Stamford are also set to benefit from other Project Gigabit contracts, including the £68.6 million contract that CityFibre is delivering across Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential security threat from China to the UK.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence issues.
More generally, the government’s first duty is to protect our national security and keep our country safe. We keep potential threats to the UK under constant review and, where necessary, we use all the tools at our disposal to mitigate these threats.
When it comes to China this Government will take a consistent, long term and strategic approach, rooted in UK and global interests. We will cooperate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must, including on issues of national security.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 384 on Solar Power: Supply Chains, which section of the Decision Letter sets out the Secretary of State’s views on the adequacy of the measures in the Mallard Pass Solar Farm Outline Employment, Skills, and Supply Chain Plan (Clean) published on 19 September 2023 on the ethical sourcing of solar panels.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State’s conclusions are set out at paragraphs 4.107 and 4.109 of the Decision Letter.
It is important to note that the question for the Secretary of State was whether this issue was a relevant planning matter, which is a different question from whether, as Ministers agree, this is an important matter more broadly. The Decision Letter references other regulatory routes that are available to control the ethical and legal sourcing of solar panels.
Given the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in taking such decisions and the fact that a legal challenge to the decision could be made, Ministers cannot comment on this case beyond what is in the Decision Letter. This approach is set out in the Planning Propriety Guidance on nationally significant infrastructure decisions.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 373 on Solar Power: Supply Chains, which section of the Decision Letter addresses the (a) ethical sourcing of solar panels for the Mallard Pass development and (b) issues raised in section 3.9.92 of the report by the Planning Inspectorate entitled Mallard Pass Solar Farm: Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, published on 16 February 2024.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
(a) The issue of ethical sourcing of solar panels for the Mallard Pass development are set out in paragraphs 4.104 to 4.107 of the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter.
(b) Issues raised in section 3.9.92 of the Examining Authority’s Report are considered in paragraphs 4.104 to 4.107 of the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter.