Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2024 to Question 10496 on Hong Kong: Travel, what steps his Department is taking to (a) clarify and (b) mitigate risks of British-born children of naturalised British citizens of Chinese descent being subject to (i) PRC nationality laws and (ii) potential limitations on consular access.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO provides consular assistance to British nationals abroad. In some cases, British Nationals of Hong Kong or Chinese descent may be considered Chinese by the Chinese authorities meaning the consular assistance we can provide may be limited. As per our nationality guidance, we advise seeking legal advice where appropriate for individual cases.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of revising the discount offered through the Right to Acquire scheme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
No such assessment has been made. Discount levels under the Right to Acquire scheme remain unchanged, and eligible tenants of housing association properties are able to apply for a discount of between £9,000 and £16,000 on the price of their property depending on where they live.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will reintroduce the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 gained Royal Assent on 20 July 2023.
We are committed to implementing the Act, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting. I recently met with Ruth Bailey, CEO of Agricultural Engineers Association on the 5th November 2024.
The Act requires secondary legislation before it can come into effect. We will be carefully considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation and its regulations, to understand the potential implications and determine the scope of the legislation.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number of people eligible for child maintenance who are not claiming it.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is estimated that at the financial year ending 2023, there are 2.4 million separated families in Great Britain and 3.8 million children in those families. 41% of these did not have either a statutory arrangement with the Child Maintenance Service or a private arrangement.
At the end of June 2024, the Child Maintenance Service was managing 744,000 arrangements for 675,000 Paying Parents, the number of arrangements has increased by 10% since the end of June 2023.
Legislation to remove the £20 application fee was introduced in February 2024, removing a financial barrier to parents wishing to access the CMS.
Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance is an online service that provides free information and support to help parents make decisions about CM and make a CMS application if they choose to.