Asked by: Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish the correspondence between Birmingham City Council and his Department requesting exceptional financial support by way of (a) increasing council tax above the threshold and (b) capitalisation directions to balance their budget for 2024-25 and 2025-26 financial years.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
On 5 December, the Secretary of State for DLUHC published his local government finance policy statement 2024-2025. This sets out the support available, via the Exceptional Financial Support framework, to councils with specific and evidenced concerns about their ability to set or maintain a balanced budget, including where there has been local financial failure. It also confirms that as part of that process, the government will consider representations from councils, including on council tax provision.
After Birmingham City Council issued two s.114 notices in October 2023 relating to its equal pay liabilities, commissioners were appointed at the council to ensure compliance with the Local Government Best Value Duty.
Details of correspondence between councils and the department relating to exceptional financial support are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support victims of fraud.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
This Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime.
We are working to improve the victim support system to ensure everyone receives the support and advice they need to feel safe again and to prevent revictimisation. Raising awareness and safeguarding victims will form a key pillar of the Government’s forthcoming fraud strategy.
Asked by: Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of asylum applications made by people from (a) Albania and (b) other European countries were accepted in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions made on asylum applications, by nationality, can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’.
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to the year ending September 2022. Data for the year ending December 2022 will be published on 23 February 2023.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of asylum applications made by people from Albania were accepted in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions made on asylum applications, by nationality, can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’.
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to the year ending September 2022. Data for the year ending December 2022 will be published on 23 February 2023.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting a process similar to the Swedish Migration Agency's (a) list of safe countries and (b) rules on expulsion in the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We already have provision for a list of designated states through section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.
Asked by: Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has been made of the potential impact of the 2017 Electronic Communications Code on rental payments to telecommunications equipment site providers.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The 2017 reforms to the Electronic Communications Code were intended to make it easier for digital communications operators to deploy and maintain their networks. Those changes included the introduction of a statutory valuation regime, which reflected the government’s view that the cost of acquiring rights to install digital infrastructure on private land prior to 2017 was too high and needed to be addressed. The valuation regime introduced in 2017 is more closely aligned to those for utilities such as water and electricity and reflects the fact that access to good quality digital services is an increasingly critical part of daily life for residents across the UK.
The Government continues to believe that the framework strikes the correct balance between ensuring individual landowners receive fair payments for allowing their land to be used and encouraging the industry investment needed for consumers across the UK to have access to fast, reliable digital services. Data provided to DCMS shows that so far this year agreements have been reached on 107 new sites, with heads of terms being agreed on a further 66. In relation to existing sites, 533 renewal agreements have been concluded so far this year, with heads of terms agreed on a further 119 sites. The data also shows that there has been a year on year increase in the number of concluded agreements since 2020. We think this reflects informal feedback we have received from all stakeholders suggesting that the market is adapting to the valuation framework.
Since the introduction of the reforms in 2017 we have engaged with and listened to stakeholders to understand the impact of the reforms in practice. This has included a formal consultation on further changes to the Code, which led to the provisions in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill, as well as ongoing (and continuing) engagement with stakeholders throughout the passage of the Bill.
In parallel, DCMS officials have convened monthly Access to Land Workshops over the last 12-18 months, which cover a number of workstreams and attract attendance from stakeholders across the telecommunications industry, including site provider representatives. I am pleased to say that these workshops have made excellent progress and one of the outputs of this work is the creation of a new industry body, the National Connectivity Alliance, which in time will continue this work independently of DCMS.
Any impacts on the rights of individual property owners have been carefully considered and balanced against the public benefits of improved connectivity. In particular, where measures in the Bill have the potential to be applied retrospectively, the rights of landowners were given careful consideration.
The Government does not intend to separately or specifically review the Electronic Communications Code rental payments market. However, the government will continue to carefully monitor the effectiveness of this legislation. For example, officials will continue to engage with stakeholders in the period leading up to the Bill’s implementation and subsequently, to understand how the new provisions are working in practice.
Asked by: Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of increasing support for Scotland's space exploration and innovation sector.
Answered by David Duguid
The UK Government is working closely with colleagues in the Scottish Government, and with innovation and enterprise agencies, to maximise the opportunities offered by launch from Scotland - and ensure the benefits are shared across the UK.
Scotland Office Ministers attended the Farnborough Airshow in July, meeting with a number of industry stakeholders with a large footprint in Scotland, demonstrating the UK Government's ongoing commitment to the space sector.
Asked by: Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMRC Manuals CG61800 and SDLTM25510, whether it is his Department's policy that those provisions will apply to the forthcoming boundary changes under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Changes to parliamentary constituencies are made by an Order in Council under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986. The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 did not change this. This policy has not changed and the provisions in HMRC Manuals CG61800 and SDLTM235510 therefore still apply.Asked by: Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending section 71A of the Finance Act (2003) to include gradual homeownership.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Section 71A of the Finance Act 2003 provides tax relief for financial institutions who purchase property which is subject to alternative financing arrangements. The rules prevent a double tax charge applying so that the tax outcome for purchasers is the same as if they had used conventional mortgage financing. The product referred to as ‘gradual homeownership’ uses arrangements which are not substantially similar to conventional mortgage financing and therefore the same requirements for relief are not present.
The Government keeps all tax policy under review.
Asked by: Gary Sambrook (Conservative - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason people buying a home for the first time under the gradual homeownership model are not subject to first-time buyers Stamp Duty relief.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In 2017, the Government permanently increased the price at which a property becomes liable to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) to £300,000 for first time buyers. Since its introduction, over 673,000 people have benefitted from the relief.
Consumers using a product referred to as ‘gradual homeownership’ do not buy a share in a property but instead invest in a partnership along with a set of investors who are seeking a profit on that investment. This form of ownership means that the purchase does not meet the statutory conditions for relief.