Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the cost to the public purse of substandard personal protective equipment from Turkey and China during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There will be no cost to the National Health Service of any personal protective equipment arriving from Turkey which did not meet the necessary standards. All gowns which have arrived from China have passed quality control and are fit for use.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Infrastructure and Projects Authority report 2020 classifying HS2 as a Red project, what steps he plans to take in response to that classification; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The IPA’s report refers to the status of the HS2 project in September 2019. This was before the project was comprehensively reset in February 2020 with a revised budget and schedule, and provision of adequate contingency. Steps have also been taken to ensure the project is delivered in a more disciplined and transparent manner with, for example, a dedicated HS2 Minister appointed and bi-annual updates to be provided to Parliament. We are confident HS2 is being delivered with the strict oversight, accountability and transparency needed.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the Government response to its consultation on measures to enable the police to tackle unauthorised encampments more effectively.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
I refer my Rt Hon Friend to the answer I gave to UIN 62648 on 02 July 2020 to the Hon Member for Sevenoaks.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued to the children's activity sector on the reopening of facilities for children under the age of five from 4 July 2010.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Providers of activities for under 5 year olds operating from multi-purpose community facilities should refer to the COVID-19: Guidance for the safe use of multi-purpose community facilities (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-multi-purpose-community-facilities/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-multi-purpose-community-facilities). Section 3a confirms Community facilities can open for the provision of services for children and young people, however they should ensure that people from different households can socially distance from anyone they do not live with or who is not in their support bubble, and should not facilitate indoor sports or fitness activity.
Ofsted registered early years childcare providers have been open to all children since 1 June and should refer to the following guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.
Providers of activities for children aged over 5 years olds should refer to guidance on protective measures for out of school settings:(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak).
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether exhibition businesses are (a) covered by and (b) qualify for support from the (i) Small Business Grant Fund and (ii) the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
If an exhibition company meets the criteria for the Small Business Grant Fund or the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund, it can receive a grant from these schemes. Under the SBGF, businesses can receive a £10,000 grant per property, for each property in receipt of Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief. Under the Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Grant Fund, businesses can receive a £10,000 grant per property, for each property occupied for retail, hospitality or leisure purposes with a rateable value of £15,000 or below and which is not in receipt of SBRR or RRR; and a £25,000 grant per property, for each property occupied for these purposes with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000.
The Government is aware that some small businesses have found themselves excluded from the existing business grants schemes because of the way they interact with the business rates system. That is why the Government has allocated up to an additional £617 million to Local Authorities to enable them to give discretionary grants to businesses in this situation. The Government’s intention is for Local Authorities to prioritise the following types of business when making discretionary grants:
Exhibition companies may fall into one of the above categories. Local Authorities may also choose to pay grants to businesses outside of these priority groups, according to local economic need, so long as the business was trading on 11th March, and has not received any other grant funded by central Government (with the exception of grants from the SEISS).
Businesses which have not received a grant should have been able to benefit from other measures in the Chancellor’s unprecedented package of support for business, including:
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, and how to apply: https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/.
In addition to these measures, the Chancellor announced further support for businesses at the Summer Economic Update, including the Jobs Retention Bonus, which will grant businesses £1,000 for each furloughed staff member that they bring back and keep employed until the end of January 2021, and a VAT cut for the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the minutes of the audit and risk assurance committee for High Speed Two have not been published since December 2019.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I appreciate that the publication of these minutes has taken longer than is typically expected. Unlike the Board minutes, the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee minutes do not have a confirmed schedule of publication, though High Speed Two Limited aims to publish them as soon as practicable.
High Speed Two Limited have confirmed that any unpublished minutes will be published by 17 July.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the CPRE report, Greener, better, faster: countryside solutions to the climate emergency and for a green recovery, published in July 2020.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I had the pleasure of speaking at the launch of the CPRE report, Greener, Better, Faster in which the countryside is at the heart of a green recovery and a source of climate change solutions.
While the world is rightly focused on tackling the immediate threat of coronavirus, other great global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss have not gone away. The Government remains committed to being a world leader on tackling the environmental crises we face.
As we develop our mitigation plans, we will need to manage trade-offs with our other objectives, for example, balancing land use change for mitigation purposes (e.g. planting trees) with enhancing the natural environment and improving food security.
Our Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme is the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. Founded on the principle of “public money for public goods”, ELM is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.
Farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering the following public goods: clean air; clean and plentiful water; thriving plants and wildlife; reduction in and protection from environmental hazards; beauty, heritage and engagement with the environment; mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.
Mitigation of and adaptation to climate change are important goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and important objectives of ELM. ELM could support this through providing funding for land management activities that reduce greenhouse gas emission and sequester carbon.
Adapting to the inevitable changes in our climate is also vital. While we continue to reduce our contribution to climate change, we are also taking robust action to improve the resilience of our people, economy and environment.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether HS2 Ltd will use bentonite in the construction of High Speed Two Phase one.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As was stated in response to a previous question on this subject (160054) from the Honourable Member in July 2018, Bentonite is proposed to be used in the construction of the diaphragm walls for the 5 intermediate shafts in the Chilterns. If necessary, and only when the Environment Agency is satisfied with HS2 Ltd’s final approach, Bentonite may be used in other locations to minimise the impact of tunnelling on existing infrastructure.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard people with epilepsy from online harm.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government intends to introduce world-leading Online Harms legislation to make the UK the safest place to be online. We intend to establish in law a new duty of care on companies towards their users which will be overseen by an independent regulator. The Government published its Initial Consultation Response to the Online Harms White Paper in February 2020, and this set out our direction of travel on a number of key areas. We are aiming to publish a full government response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation later this year, and this will include more detailed proposals on online harms regulation.
In addition to this new legislation, it is important to make sure that the criminal law is fit for purpose to deal with online harms. DCMS and the Ministry of Justice have engaged the Law Commission on a second phase of their review of abusive and offensive online communications. This will include considering whether co-ordinated harassment by groups of people online could be more effectively dealt with by the criminal law, whether it is targeted at individuals with epilepsy or others. The Law Commission will review existing communications offences and make specific recommendations about options for reform, to ensure that criminal law provides consistent and effective protection against such behaviour.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) financial viability and (b) risk assessments his Department has undertaken on major HS2 Ltd contractors on Phase 1 of High Speed Two following (a) Carillion going into administration and (b) the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
a) HS2 Ltd’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) function undertakes daily financial and capacity risk monitoring for all HS2 critical & strategic economic operators and their parent organisations during tendering and throughout contract delivery, at a Tier 1 and Tier 2 level. In addition, SCM receive daily alerts in relation to financial risks associated with critical suppliers and have aligned their processes and assessment criteria with Cabinet Office guidance.
b) All of the Phase 1 Joint Ventures that have received a Notice to Proceed are joint and severally liable for their contractual requirements and therefore provide mitigation to any financial risk that materialises. Also, each of the Economic Operators were required to provide a Parent Company Guarantee from a parent of sufficient financial standing. Both Economic Operators and Parent Companies have had their financial standing tested and scrutinized during both procurement and then again at the point of award for their contracts. Since the point of award, HS2 Ltd have continuously monitored financial stress indicators, which are updated on a daily basis according to predetermined alert parameters:
a) Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak HS2 Ltd had in place regular monitoring for all major contractors.
b) Following the COVID-19 outbreak an HS2 Supplier Relief Working Group has been established and a supplier monitoring report is reviewed at least weekly to highlight suppliers at risk and initiate plans required to support the supplier and ensure continuity of supply.
HS2 Ltd is a member of the Department for Transport (DfT) Strategic Supplier Working Group. Both before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, this Working Group has monitored strategic and critical suppliers in conjunction with DfT and Cabinet Office and taken coordinated action where appropriate.