Andrew Bridgen

Appointments to the Gambling Commission are made in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. The Code states that Ministers must be consulted before a competition opens to agree the job description for the role. The requirements of all roles are carefully based on the needs of each organisation and the existing skills and experience on boards, while ensuring that roles attract applications from the broadest range of suitable candidates possible.

No Commissioners have left the Gambling Commission in the last two months.

The Gambling Act Review is wide-ranging and aims to ensure gambling regulation is fit for the digital age. We will publish a White Paper setting out our vision and next steps in the coming weeks. The minister responsible for gambling will be announced soon.

The Commission does not hold details of the pension entitlement of former Speaker John Bercow.

Pension entitlements in relation to a Member’s service as an MP, Minister or Office Holder are held by the Trustees of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF).

The pension entitlement available for MPs under the PCPF is set out in a House of Commons Library briefing note available at:
MPs' Pension Scheme - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)

The annual pension entitlements for Ministers and Office Holders and the separate arrangement for former Speakers are set out in a House of Commons Library briefing note available at:
Pensions of ministers and senior office holders - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)

Pension entitlement in respect of service as a former Speaker prior to the Public Service Pension Act 2013 are paid from the Consolidated Fund. Details of these pension payments are in the Consolidated Fund accounts, available at:
CF_Annual_Accounts_2019-20.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The exit payment made to Angus Sinclair was in line with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme rules. The House of Commons was not a member of the Civil Service pension arrangements until 2014, but prior to this date it had a ‘by-analogy’ scheme that followed the same rules.

Any private individual or entity who/which is not acting on behalf of the police or another prosecuting authority may bring a private prosecution. There are some organisations that regularly prosecute cases as a private prosecutor before the courts of England and Wales, for example the RSPCA. Furthermore, there are other prosecution authorities that bring prosecutions pursuant to statute, including the Serious Fraud Office and the Service Prosecuting Authority. Some offences can only be brought if the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Attorney General is obtained.

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy whereby, through general elections, voters are entitled to elect an MP to represent them in the House of Commons. Parliament is responsible for making legislation and has, on occasion, made provision for specific issues to be considered by the electorate through referendums.

Unfettered access for Northern Ireland businesses to the rest of the UK market is a longstanding Government policy, underscored and strengthened as a result of the package of commitments in our Safeguarding the Union Command Paper. The Windsor Framework (UK Internal Market and Unfettered Access) Regulations 2024 further entrench the legislative protections for unfettered access.

We will use existing systems, using commercial information and evidence, to differentiate qualifying Northern Ireland goods. Operational measures will be in place to prevent avoidance of the rules, drawing on the anti-avoidance powers we have in law to deal with people looking to abuse the system.

We will work closely with all Devolved Administrations on arrangements for non-qualifying goods which move into Great Britain via Northern Ireland.

Unfettered access for Northern Ireland businesses to the rest of the UK market is a longstanding Government policy, underscored and strengthened as a result of the package of commitments in our Safeguarding the Union Command Paper. The Windsor Framework (UK Internal Market and Unfettered Access) Regulations 2024 further entrench the legislative protections for unfettered access.

We will use existing systems, using commercial information and evidence, to differentiate qualifying Northern Ireland goods. Operational measures will be in place to prevent avoidance of the rules, drawing on the anti-avoidance powers we have in law to deal with people looking to abuse the system.

We will work closely with all Devolved Administrations on arrangements for non-qualifying goods which move into Great Britain via Northern Ireland.

Details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 6 March is attached.

Financial redress for those postmasters whose convictions have been overturned by the courts is managed by the Post Office. As of 24 April 2024, out of the 56 full claims received, offers have been made on 47, with 40 offers accepted.

We encourage those postmasters with overturned convictions who have not yet submitted a claim to do so as soon as possible.

The Government is carefully considering this Regulation and will be publishing an explanatory memorandum shortly, with detail on its potential impact on Northern Ireland.

Any applicability in Northern Ireland will of course be subject to the important democratic scrutiny mechanisms in the Windsor Framework.

The Regulators Code is established under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, sections 21 to 24. The Act does not make provision for investigations into adherence by a regulator with the principles of the Code. No data is therefore available.

The policy paper entitled Geo-engineering: the Government's view, updated on 4 May 2020, describes the Government’s position on greenhouse gas removals (GGRs) and solar radiation management (SRM). The Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so. The GGR business model update, published in December 2023, sets out the Government’s plans and policies on GGRs. Officials will continue to develop policy on these matters and will make any necessary updates to the policy statement in due course.

The Government encourages companies and members of the public to sell solar energy back to the grid in many ways. Smaller scale energy generators can export renewable electricity to the grid under the Smart Export Guarantee, while larger scale generators can apply for a Contract for Difference.

As set out in the Connections Action Plan published in November 2023, Government and Ofgem are working with Distribution Network Operators to ensure consistency and standardisation across distribution networks. This includes a review by Ofgem of the incentives, obligations and requirements that apply to the electricity network connection process, and work to standardise the approach to connections.

The Government recognises the importance of international co-operation on carbon pricing, and is keen to work with European partners to understand better the interactions between the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and the EU Emissions Trading System as they expand and develop in parallel. In this context, the Government remains open to the possibility of linking the UK ETS internationally.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is the lead department for OneWeb and its associated policy and is responding in place of the Department for Business and Trade.

According to last available data from June 2023, the Chinese Investment Corporation (CIC) held 7,561,000 shares, equivalent to c. 1.6% of Eutelsat Group’s total shares. Eutelsat Group is a publicly traded company and the number of shares held by CIC may have changed since June. The CIC has never been represented on its Board nor has it had access to any privileged information on Eutelsat or OneWeb’s operations.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is the lead department for OneWeb and its associated policy and is responding in place of the Department for Business and Trade.

HM Government made an equity investment of $500 million in OneWeb in 2020, securing a strategic investment stake and preferential UK rights to OneWeb manufacturing and supply chains on a commercial basis. This was drawn down over the period July 2020 to August 2023 to meet company cash requirements ahead of OneWeb’s merger with Eutelsat. These funds supported the successful delivery of OneWeb’s first-generation constellation – completed earlier this year – and establishing provision of associated services.

Smart meters, which are temporarily operating in traditional mode continue to accurately record energy consumption. With manual meter readings provided to the energy supplier, customers will continue to receive accurate bills.

Energy suppliers are required by their licence conditions to take all reasonable steps to ensure their customers’ smart meters are fully functional, which includes providing automatic meter readings. The Government works closely with energy suppliers and other industry parties, so that that households across Great Britain can realise the benefits of smart meters.

The Government is aware that not all households have electricity provided through a domestic electricity supply contract, such as mobile home residents. The Government raised this in its technical consultation on the Energy Bills Support Scheme. Households without a domestic electricity supply contract are not eligible for the scheme and the Government is exploring options for other ways in which they might receive similar support. The responses to this consultation are being analysed and a response will be published later in the summer.

We recognise the impact the pandemic and inflation is having on businesses of all sizes and the Government is in regular contact with business groups and suppliers to understand the challenges they face and explore ways to protect businesses.

This Department is working closely with Defra, who lead on food supply chain and is in regular discussions with the National Federation of Fish Friers to understand better the impacts on hospitality businesses including fish and chip shops.

The Government continues to work closely with vehicle manufactures on the transition to zero emission vehicles.

Ministers regularly engage with industry, including vehicle manufacturers, energy companies and chargepoint operators as well as local authorities (LAs) regarding electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure. For example, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister hosted an event at the Global Investment Summit on 19 October which was attended by leading British and global companies involved in the UK’s electric vehicle revolution. The meeting was attended by my Rt. Hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Secretary of State for Transport, and the Secretary of State for International Trade, and by my Hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

The Secretary of State for Transport wrote to the chief executives of all UK LAs in February this year to update them on the funding available to them. My Hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport also wrote to the Chief Executives and Leaders of 20 councils that had a lower than average chargepoint per head of population to encourage them to engage with OZEV officials. Since this letter, officials have hosted several meetings with members of these councils, providing support and advice. Officials from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) have a programme of activities to engage and support LAs, to help mainstream local capability and leadership and ensure LAs are working to support chargepoint rollout in their areas.

BEIS has responsibility for the Arms Length Bodies who collect, curate, and maintain the foundational data that underpins the use of post codes and addressing.

Ordnance Survey (working in a consortium of members including Royal Mail, Office for National Statistics, Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland, National Records of Scotland) publishes 1.7m centroids for postcodes across the UK.

The location of the postcode centroid is automatically generated by averaging more granular address data and 'snapping' to the nearest address – which includes residential properties – in order to ensure it sits on a building, rather than potentially in the middle of a road, a lake or a field. This was designed to support the primary use case for post code and address-based navigation (i.e. getting to the right approximate location). Ordnance Survey are currently exploring how they locate the centroid for postcodes in their Code Point products and would welcome engagement from any interested parties.

Ordnance Survey also publishes the location of every individual address in its AddressBase products, which is used by emergency services and delivery companies to navigate to the correct property more efficiently and effectively.

May 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the National Gallery. Sir George Beaumont played a crucial role in the Gallery's creation, both campaigning for its formation and donating his own art to what has become one of our greatest institutions. He died just three years later in 1827. Two hundred years on from when the Gallery was founded for the nation, it continues to bring great paintings and people together.

The Gallery is marking its bicentenary with an exciting year of activities, special displays, online events, exhibitions, and significant loans to other galleries across the UK – with everyone, everywhere welcome. The Arts Minister, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, was delighted to have attended the gallery last week to take part in the official start to the celebrations.

There is a range of funding available for organisations that are working to support and improve their communities. The ‘Find a grant’ service is a search function which helps organisations search for government grants. The filtering system allows you to select grants which are open to applications from non-profits (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-government-grants).

The National Lottery Community Fund also hosts a number of funding programmes (https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding).

At a more local level, most areas of the country have Community Foundations that manage at least one local grant fund or can offer guidance (https://www.ukcommunityfoundations.org/)

I apologise for the delay in responding to this question.

The Gambling Commission did not sign a contract with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NiESR). In this case, NiESR was a recipient of £140,050 in regulatory settlement funding.

Regulatory settlements are a possible outcome of Gambling Commission enforcement action and may include a financial amount paid by the operator for socially responsible purposes which address gambling-related harms. The Commission does not take possession of regulatory settlement funds at any time and the money is paid directly from the operator(s) to the organisation delivering the approved project.

More information on this process and the destinations of regulatory settlement funding is available at the Commission’s website.

In preparing the gambling white paper, the government is giving full consideration to the impact of proposals, including on the Horserace Betting Levy, and ministers and officials have held regular meetings with both the British Horseracing Authority and the Gambling Commission. The white paper which we will publish in the coming weeks, and any subsequent consultations, will include the necessary assessments of impacts. Government has also committed to review the Horserace Betting Levy by 2024 to ensure the sport is suitably funded for the future.