Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department has taken to improve awareness among businesses in the East Midlands of (a) exporting opportunities and (b) government support for exporting.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Energy Security and Net Zero)
On the 14th November the Department for International Trade (DIT) launched a public beta of the new GREAT.gov.uk platform to improve the awareness of exporting opportunities and government support available to businesses. This coincided with the launch of ‘Exporting is GREAT’ marketing activity that drives businesses to the new platform. GREAT.gov.uk aims to inspire UK businesses to export, provide more tailored support and advice online, build on peer to peer networks and connect UK supply with global demand through the promotion of real-time export opportunities. To complement this digital platform, DIT provides a range of face to face support to businesses in the East Midlands through market and sector events, exporting essential workshops and face to face meetings with International Trade Advisers (ITAs). Over the last two months support across the East Midlands has included :
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the finding of the 2016 Lloyds Business Digital Index report, published in October 2016, that (a) 35 per cent of small businesses in the East Midlands have no basic digital skills and (b) 69 per cent of small businesses still need to invest in cyber security.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is working closely with industry (Including SMEs), education and training bodies and charity organisations to understand and reduce our current skills gaps. We have committed, through the Digital Economy Bill, to introduce legislation which will mean publicly-funded basic digital skills training being offered by providers will be free of charge to adults who need it. We also supported a number of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Growth Hubs to provide advice at local level for businesses and deliver a network of local support to help businesses develop the skills they need to do more online. The Government also funds Tech City UK which provides an online tool (Digital Business Academy) providing digital business skills training.
The Government is also fully aware of the need for all businesses - including small businesses - to improve their cyber security, which is why ensuring the cyber security of the economy and society is a key feature of the recently published National Cyber Security Strategy. The strategy sets out how an investment of £1.9 billion and the opening of the National Cyber Security Centre will help make the UK one of the safest place to live and do business online. The Government offers a range of free cyber security guidance, training and support for small businesses on www.gov.uk, including the Cyber Essentials scheme to protect against the most common cyber attacks.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the political implications for its policies of the findings of the Learning Disability Voices report on the effect of the application of the National Living Wage on sleep-in shifts.
Answered by Margot James
The Government believes that workers should be paid NMW if what they are doing amounts to work under the contract. In cases where the workers must be present at their place of work, and are in effect working even if their boss allows them to sleep rather than carry out other activities, the workers should get paid the NMW.
The Government has published guidance to help employers meet national minimum wage legislation. The calculating the minimum wage document sets out on page 29 the guidance relating to National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) and sleeping time.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to improve housing conditions for older tenants in the private rented sector.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The private rented sector is an important part of our housing market, housing 4.3 million households in England. The quality of privately rented housing has improved rapidly over the past decade with 82% of private renters satisfied with their accommodation, and staying in their homes for an average of 4 years.
We are determined to improve standards for all tenants and local authorities have strong and effective powers to deal with poor quality unsafe accommodation and crack down on the small minority of rogue landlords. We expect those powers to be used. They include the ability to require improvement works to be carried out and prohibiting the use of a dwelling where it is unsafe.
The Housing & Planning Act 2016 introduced further powers to help crack down on rogue landlords, including a database of rogue landlords and property agents, banning orders for the most serious and prolific offenders, civil penalties of up to £30,000 and extended rent repayment orders.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if the Government will take steps to ensure that all new homes meet standards of accessibility for older people.
Answered by Lord Barwell
In October 2015, the Government introduced new, optional requirements for accessibility in to Part M(Access to and use of buildings) of the Building Regulations came into force. The optional requirements include category M4(2) Accessible and Adaptable Dwellings which sets requirements similar to the Lifetime Homes Standard and which are particularly suited to meeting the needs for older households, and category M4(3) Wheelchair accessible dwellings which are intended to meet the need of wheelchair users. Local authorities can set policies in their local plan requiring either or both of these requirements to meet local housing need. The Government believes that decisions as to what proportion of new development should meet these standards should continue to be made at the local, rather than national, level.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the implications of the findings of the report by Age UK, Ageing in Squalor and distress: older people in the private rented sector, published in October 2016, on the proportion of older people who do not live in specialised retirement housing, for its policies on the accessibility of new and existing homes for older people.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The private rented sector is an important part of our housing market, housing 4.3 million households in England. The quality of privately rented housing has improved rapidly over the past decade with 82% of private renters satisfied with their accommodation, and staying in their homes for an average of 4 years.
The recent report by Age UK about older people living in the private rented sector provides useful information about the challenges faced by older people who rent privately. While the majority of landlords provide decent well managed accommodation, we know that a small number of rogue or criminal landlords knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation. We are determined to improve standards for all tenants and crack down on these landlords. Significant progress has already been made in doing this:
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies on meeting the needs of housing for older people of Age UK's report entitled Ageing in Squalor and Distress: Older People in the Private Rented Sector, published in October 2016.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The private rented sector is an important part of our housing market, housing 4.3 million households in England. The quality of privately rented housing has improved rapidly over the past decade with 82% of private renters satisfied with their accommodation, and staying in their homes for an average of 4 years.
The recent report by Age UK about older people living in the private rented sector provides useful information about the challenges faced by older people who rent privately. While the majority of landlords provide decent well managed accommodation, we know that a small number of rogue or criminal landlords knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation. We are determined to improve standards for all tenants and crack down on these landlords. Significant progress has already been made in doing this:
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to review the effectiveness of the delivery of housing adaptations and repairs for low-income older homeowners in the social housing sector.
Answered by Lord Barwell
Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely in their own homes for as a long as possible. Lower income older homeowners in the social rented sector may qualify for a Disabled Facilities Grant to fund the provision of home adaptations. Government funds an organisation called Foundations, which works to drive up standards in the home improvement sector. Foundations' work plan for 2016-17 commits to mapping and reviewing activity across England to deliver the Disabled Facilities Grant, and the dissemination of good practice throughout the sector.
The English Housing Survey's Adaptations and Accessibility Report 2014-15 shows that the majority of older owner-occupiers and tenants of social housing with a long-term limiting disability were satisfied that their home meets their needs. There are no current plans to review the effectiveness of housing adaptations and repairs for older homeowners in local authority housing.
The English Housing Survey Adaptations and Accessibility Report 2014-15 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/539541/Adaptations_and_Accessibility_Report.pdf
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of incorporating criteria on age-friendly environments and infrastructure into planning regulations.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The National Planning Policy Framework contains explicit requirements for councils in designing the built environment, including buildings and their surrounding spaces, to ensure that they can be accessed and used by everyone and to create a high quality built environment, with accessible local services that reflect the community’s needs and support its health, social and cultural well-being.
To address the needs of our ageing population we have introduced two new access standards into the Building Regulations as ‘Optional Requirements’ – these broadly reflect the Lifetime Home Standard (accessible and adaptable housing, particularly suited to older people’s needs) and for the first time a national wheelchair housing standard. These are available for local authorities to require through their local planning policies, and we remain of the view that requirements based on local need is the best way to ensure older and disabled people have the right choice of housing in their local area.
Asked by: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect on the personal, social and economic well-being of older people of moving into accommodation designed to meet their needs.
Answered by Lord Barwell
This Government believes that building more affordable homes for people, whatever their age, will lead to a housing market that meets everyone's needs. That’s why we have doubled the housing budget. We now have the largest affordable housing programme for 40 years, with £8 billion set aside to help build 400,000 affordable homes over the next five years.
Under the National Planning Policy Framework, local authorities must plan for everyone in their community. That means Local Plans should address the needs of older people as well as families with children, people with disabilities and other households – while recognising that these households may overlap.
In the context of our ageing society, we recommend that Local Plans are drawn up over an appropriate time scale, preferably a 15-year time horizon, to take account of longer term requirements.
We also published a data sheet setting out information and statistics on older and disabled peoples’ needs to act as a starting point for local authorities wishing to develop suitable policies. We produced further planning guidance to make clear how councils can plan ahead to meet the needs of an ageing population, and consider the types of homes they would need to build locally.