First elected: 5th May 2005
Left House: 6th November 2019 (Defeated)
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Anne Main, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Anne Main has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to make provision about the standards of fire resistance, and relevant labelling requirements, in relation to children's fancy dress and play costumes; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require the labelling of farm produce sold in the UK to include country of origin and whether produced in accordance with designated animal welfare standards; and for connected purposes.
Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Act 2019
Sponsor - Tim Loughton (Con)
The Government understands the legitimate desire of Parliament to understand the legal implications of the Withdrawal Agreement and will look at what assistance it can provide the House. The Government has already published a collection of material to support public and parliamentary assessment of the deal. In addition, on 14 January, I agreed to the Government publishing a letter from me to the Prime Minister about the exchange of letters between the Prime Minister and the Presidents of the European Council and Commission.
By longstanding convention, the fact that the Law Officers have advised, or have not advised, and the content of their advice is not disclosed outside government.
The Government has made it clear that the UK intends to leave the EU with a deal and not take part in the European Parliamentary Elections (EPE) in May.
The Cabinet Office has published a detailed report on the cost of the last European Parliamentary election which cost £108.7M. The publication and the accompanying data can be found at the following link (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/costs-of-the-2014-european-parliamentary-elections).
The Cabinet Office, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have incurred nil expenditure on infraction proceedings before the European Court of Justice.
Figures held centrally by the Cabinet Office are set out below, which show costs incurred by other government departments in engaging counsel as a result of infraction proceedings issued against the UK before the Court.
| 2010/2011 | 2011/2012 | 2012/2013 | 2013/2014 | 2014/2015 | 2015/2016 | 2016/2017 (year to date) |
BIS | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
CO | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
DCLG | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
DCMS | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
DECC | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
DEFRA | Nil | £1,740.00 | Nil | Nil | Nil | £8,791.61 | £966.66 |
DfE | £780.00 | 3,630.00 | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
DfT | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
DFID | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
DH | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | NIl | NIl |
DWP | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
FCO | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
HMT (HMRC) | £687.50 | £3,797.50 | £16,610.67 | £24,004.95 | £6,749.99 | £9,834.99 | Nil |
HO | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
MoD | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
MoJ | Nil | Nil | £2,520.00 | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
NIO | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
SO | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
WO | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
*The above represents all data held. We do not hold financial records on these matters before FY 2010/2011.
The UK has never been fined by the European Court of Justice as a result of infraction proceedings.
Costs for departments include costs incurred by non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which they are the lead department. While some departments will have incurred ad hoc costs in the pre-litigation stage of infraction proceedings, and costs associated with the attendance of government officials at infraction hearings, the cost of identifying that data would be disproportionate.
Departments do not quantify the cost of time spent by government officials throughout the infractions process.
There have been no meetings between Cabinet Office officials and the European Commission Directorate-General for Communication in the last 12 months.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14th April to the Hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex on 14th April.
All external suppliers used were on existing Government procurement agreements, which have been awarded in compliance with the relevant procurement Regulations.
The Government will comply fully with the statutory restrictions in place from 27th May.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14th April to the Hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex on 14th April.
All external suppliers used were on existing Government procurement agreements, which have been awarded in compliance with the relevant procurement Regulations.
The Government will comply fully with the statutory restrictions in place from 27th May.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy sets the overall budgets of the independent Research Councils and Innovate UK, which then allocate funds for individual grants and research organisations in line with the Haldane Principle.
The Research Councils and Innovate UK have spent the following amounts on research and development in the field of biodegradable and compostable plastics in each of the last 15 years. Data older than 10 years may be less reliable. Further information on research and development projects can be found on the RCUK Gateway to Research, see: http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk.
| Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) | Innovate UK | Total |
2016/17 | £210,000 | £4,644,293 | £104,344 | £4,958,637 |
2015/16 | £276,000 | £3,663,120 | £0 | £3,939,120 |
2014/15 | £262,000 | £3,352,169 | £5,000 | £3,619,169 |
2013/14 | £219,000 | £2,744,545 | £792,827 | £3,756,372 |
2012/13 | £110,000 | £1,444,270 | £0 | £1,554,270 |
2011/12 | £0 | £1,508,745 | £248,045 | £1,756,790 |
2010/11 | £233,000 | £1,481,377 | £0 | £1,714,377 |
2009/10 | £394,000 | £1,848,298 | £0 | £2,242,298 |
2008/9 | £514,000 | £2,390,929 | £0 | £2,904,929 |
2007/8 | £463,000 | £1,445,324 | £0 | £1,908,324 |
2006/7 | £114,000 | £1,011,496 | £0 | £1,125,496 |
2005/6 | £34,000 | £717,932 | £0 | £715,932 |
2004/5 | £8,000 | £476,455 | £0 | £484,455 |
2003/4 | £67,000 | £227,859 | £0 | £294,859 |
2002/3 | £90,000 | £259,863 | £0 | £349,863 |
Total | £2,994,000 | £27,216,675 | £1,150,216 | £31,360,891 |
In the last 15 years, DEFRA has spent approximately £277,000 on a number of research projects in the field of biodegradable and compostable plastics.
I regularly meet with Ministerial colleagues to discuss a wide range of issues affecting the retail sector. The Department also works closely with the Home Office’s National Retail Crime Steering Group.
The Hendry Review published its report on tidal lagoons in January. The issues considered by the report are complex, both in relation to the proposed Swansea Bay project and to a potentially wider lagoon programme. Government will require a period of time to assess those issues and determine what is in the best interest of the UK energy consumer and taxpayer in the long term, and will publish its response to the Hendry Review in due course.
Government is considering the recommendations from the Hendry Review and the issues which arise from a broader programme. Government will require a period of time to assess those issues and determine what is in the best interest of the UK energy consumer and taxpayer in the long term. The Government will publish its response to the Hendry Review in due course.
The Hendry Review published its report in January. Government is considering its recommendations and the issues which would arise from a broader lagoon programme, and will publish its response to the Hendry Review in due course.
The EU has an effective carbon market in the form of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Since 2005 the EU ETS has been the world’s largest emissions trading system, limiting greenhouse gas emissions in the power and heavy industrial sectors. The Government recognises that while the EU ETS works well in terms of process, an oversupply of allowances in the system means it is not delivering the degree of low carbon investment it should. This is why we strongly support structural changes to strengthen the EU ETS and are actively pressing for reforms in discussion with EU counterparts and other stakeholders.
DECC does not hold this information centrally and to collate it would incur disproportionate costs.
We have made no such estimate of the effect of the ECJ ruling on VAT, since there has been no decision to amend VAT since the ECJ ruling. The reduced rate on 11 different types of energy saving materials remains in place and remains unchanged.
The Government is still considering the responses to the consultation on VAT on energy saving materials and will issue a response to that consultation in due course.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 11 May 2016 to Question UIN 36288.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to her by my rt. hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General today to Question 36288:
The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 (though my department was only created in 2008) and can be found here.
Information on Skills Funding Agency spending on the adult skills budget and other programmes is outlined in their Annual Report and Accounts which can be found at the following links:
2009-10 (Learning and Skills Council): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-learning-and-skills-councils-annual-report-2009-to-2010
The Department collects self-reported data on the ethnicity of further education learners, but not nationality. Learners will be eligible for Skills Funding Agency funding if they are a citizen of a country within the European Economic Area (EEA) and have been resident in the EEA for at least three years prior to the start of learning and are ordinarily resident in England. Training providers are responsible for ensuring that individuals are eligible before claiming funding for them.
The EU liberalises trade in both goods and services through WTO negotiations and bilateral and regional trade agreements. The EU’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) give the UK preferential access to 53 markets outside the EU. 27 of these markets are covered by agreements with provisions on services. These deals are valuable for the UK services sector. For example, UK services exports to South Korea grew by two-thirds (to £1.5bn) between 2011, when the EU FTA was provisionally applied, and 2013. The service sectors covered, and the degree to which they are liberalised, varies between agreements. Agreements which include services provisions are also under negotiation with partners including the United States of America and Japan. However, even the most recent EU FTA to be agreed, with Canada, offers less guaranteed access than the EU Single Market.
Together with 22 other economies, the EU is also party to negotiations for a plurilateral Trade in Services Agreement to liberalise trade in services further. At the WTO, the EU offers preferential access to its services markets for the world’s poorest countries. Further information on EU trade agreements and ongoing negotiations is available on the European Commission’s DG Trade website.
The Government produces Impact Assessments that set out the impacts to business of legislation. These are published on the LEGISLATION.GOV.UK website.
The UK has one of the lightest regulatory regimes in the OECD. The Netherlands, also in the EU, has the lightest. The European Commission has already reformed its approach to regulation, reducing the number of new initiatives proposed in its annual work programmes by over 80 per cent since 2014.
As part of the UK’s settlement with the EU, the European Commission is now committed to reviewing the burden of regulation each year, looking in particular at cutting red tape for small businesses. For the first time ever, specific targets to reduce costs for businesses will be introduced in the most burdensome areas.
At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.
The Government takes the protection of personal data and the right to privacy extremely seriously.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent regulator for data protection in the UK and is responsible for regulating compliance with data protection legislation. The Information Commissioner has the power to serve fines on a data controller as a result of a data breach. Details of enforcement action, including fines, are published on the ICO website at www.ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken
The Government takes the protection of personal data and the right to privacy extremely seriously.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent regulator for data protection in the UK and is responsible for regulating compliance with data protection legislation. The Information Commissioner has the power to serve fines on a data controller as a result of a data breach. Details of enforcement action, including fines, are published on the ICO website at www.ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken
The Gambling Commission has strong powers requiring licensees to have policies and procedures designed to prevent underage gambling.
Under existing requirements, operators have a period of 72 hours to carry out age-verification. However, as set out in the Government response to the Consultation on proposed changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures on 17th May, the Gambling Commission intends to bring forward proposals to remove the current 72 hour window for age-verification checks. This would mean that age-verification must be completed before a customer is able to deposit funds and gamble.
The Commission has also considered the availability of free-to-play gambling-style games and plans to strengthen the rules by requiring licensed gambling operators to complete age-verification checks before consumers are able to access free-to-play games.
Together with the Minister for Digital and Creative Industries, I will chair a roundtable bringing together the technology and gambling sectors to look at enhancing protections online. The Commission will consult on tightening age verification requirements and is continuing to work with the video games industry to raise awareness of the risks of third parties using its products to provide illegal gambling facilities. We are considering the issue of 16 and 17 year olds playing National Lottery products as part of the design phase of the Fourth Licence.
We considered advertising as part of our Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility. The response was published on 17 May. Protecting vulnerable people was central to the review, and we recognised that having the right advertising protections in place was an important part of this.
As set out in the consultation document, children’s exposure to gambling adverts on TV has been declining year on year since 2013. The Gambling Commission’s Young People Survey in 2017 found that there was little evidence of a direct influence on gambling activity, with only 1% of young people in the survey saying advertising prompted them to start gambling or increase the amount they gamble. However, our response recognises that there are gaps in the evidence available, and outlined measures to fill these, including significant research commissioned by GambleAware into the impact of gambling advertising on children, young people and those vulnerable to harm.
There are already strong controls in place around gambling advertising, which must not be targeted at children. The response set out a package of initiatives to strengthen protections further. These include forthcoming guidance from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on protecting children and young people. We do not propose to bring forward legislative proposals, but we will keep these issues under review.
We considered advertising as part of our Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility. The response was published on 17 May. Protecting vulnerable people was central to the review, and we recognised that having the right advertising protections in place was an important part of this.
As set out in the consultation document, children’s exposure to gambling adverts on TV has been declining year on year since 2013. The Gambling Commission’s Young People Survey in 2017 found that there was little evidence of a direct influence on gambling activity, with only 1% of young people in the survey saying advertising prompted them to start gambling or increase the amount they gamble. However, our response recognises that there are gaps in the evidence available, and outlined measures to fill these, including significant research commissioned by GambleAware into the impact of gambling advertising on children, young people and those vulnerable to harm.
There are already strong controls in place around gambling advertising, which must not be targeted at children. The response set out a package of initiatives to strengthen protections further. These include forthcoming guidance from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on protecting children and young people. We do not propose to bring forward legislative proposals, but we will keep these issues under review.
The consultation on proposals for changes to gaming machines and social responsibility measures closed on 23 January and the responses are being considered. The Government’s response will be published in due course with a revised final impact assessment.
The consultation on proposals for changes to gaming machines and social responsibility measures closed on 23 January and the responses are being considered. The Government’s response will be published in due course with a revised final impact assessment.
We are currently undertaking a review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures, which I announced in October 2016. The public consultation closed in December 2016, and we are currently reviewing the findings, which we will publish in October.
We are currently undertaking a review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures, which includes a close look at stakes on gaming machines in betting shops. I will publish the findings in October. DCMS will publish a full impact assessment of any changes to stakes it will consider as part of the findings.
We also received representations from a number of organisations during the review, which provided evidence about the potential impact that a stake reduction on gaming machines in betting shops would have on closures.
Representations received as part of the call of evidence will be published alongside the review findings.
We are currently undertaking a review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures, which includes a close look at stakes on gaming machines in betting shops. I will publish the findings in October. DCMS will publish a full impact assessment of any changes to stakes it will consider as part of the findings.
We also received representations from a number of organisations during the review, which provided evidence about the potential impact that a stake reduction on gaming machines in betting shops would have on closures.
Representations received as part of the call of evidence will be published alongside the review findings.
I refer the my hon. Friend to the answer given by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office today to UIN 36288.
The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en
Based on current delivery plans, it is estimated that 98% of premises in the St Albans constituency will have access to superfast broadband by the end of June 2018. Additional funding sources, including Herts & Bucks share of the £129 million of early gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, could allow coverage to be extended further in St Albans and the rest of the area covered by the Herts & Bucks broadband project.
Virgin Media already provides services over 100Mbps in many urban areas, including extensive network coverage in St Albans.
Our ambitions for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are exactly the same as for every other child and young person. As part of this, we are pleased to announce that we will be providing an additional £700 million, 10% in high needs funding next year alone, which will help local authorities to ensure that they can continue to offer the right support for children and young people with the most complex SEND.
Our adult skills system seeks to improve productivity, employment levels and social inclusion. It supports people who are starting out in their careers, those who want to upskill and those who want or need to change careers.
Adult skills and lifelong learning provision includes:
The Government wants all schools to deliver a high-quality education that ensures all young people are equipped with the knowledge they need to prepare them for adult life, including the risks associated with harmful behaviour and addiction.
Schools are required to teach a balanced and broad curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and prepares pupils for the opportunities, experiences and responsibilities of later life. The Department is aware that some schools choose to teach about gambling and addiction in an age-appropriate way, as part of their wider school curriculum or through Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE).
The non-statutory PSHE programme of study, published by the PSHE Association, includes teaching about gambling (including online) and its psychological and financial impact. There are also organisations that work with schools and children to raise awareness of the risks around gambling, including the Young Gamblers Education Trust.
The total amount loaned out as English student loans in the financial year 2015-16 increased by 11% compared to the financial year 2014-15 due to increasing numbers of students receiving support and a higher proportion of those students being entitled to more financial support as they are on post-2012 tuition fee loan arrangements.
The main reason the outstanding balance of English student loans was 18% higher at the end of the financial year 2015-16 was that more was loaned out (and therefore added to the outstanding balance) than was repaid in the financial year 2015-16.
A more complete breakdown of the English student loan book can be found in table 1 of the Student Loans Company (SLC) Statistical First Release (SFR) Student Loans in England.
http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment/england.aspx
Student loan borrowers who are liable to repay their loan and known to be in the UK can be categorised as ‘status that does not require repayment at this point’ for a number of reasons. Most typically these are borrowers who were known by Student Loans Company to have been resident in the UK and had confirmed they were not working, or HMRC or DWP advised that they had been receiving benefits.
Further information on how the repayment statuses are categorised can be found in the ‘Notes for Users’ section of the Statistical First Release.
Statistics covering English student loans are published annually by the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release (SFR) ‘Student Loans in England’.
The latest statistics show that there were around 113,600 English student loan borrowers, liable to repay, who were known to be overseas at the beginning of the financial year 2016-17. Of these around 25,300 (22%) were EU domiciled borrowers (those resident in the EU prior to studying).
Data provided by SLC shows that the overall outstanding loan balance of these borrowers resident overseas was around £1.6 billion, of which around £220 million (14%) was held by EU domiciled borrowers.
Information has been provided on the basis of the borrower’s prior residence as equivalent information on the basis of the borrower’s nationality would only be available at disproportionate cost.
The increased spend in tuition fee loans to both English and EU domiciled students in the financial year 2015-16 is due to increasing numbers of students receiving support and a higher proportion of those students being on post-2012 tuition fee loan arrangements.
Statistics covering English student support paid to English and EU domiciled borrowers in each academic year are published annually by the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release (SFR) ‘Student Support for Higher Education in England’.
http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx