Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure additional support for the coach industry during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
On 8 August, the Government announced a funding package of over £40 million for Local Transport Authorities to procure additional, dedicated home to education transport services, including the provision of additional coach services.
This funding will help children and young people get to school and college, whilst social distancing reduces the capacity of existing public transport.
Coach operators could contact local authorities to discuss their home to school transportation plans.
The Government has also announced several measures available to UK businesses, including the coach sector, to support them through this time, including: a further exemption to the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations until July 2021; Government recognition of refund credits under the Bonded Coach Holiday Scheme to allow customers to book a future holiday or request a refund when trading resumes; and access to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan Scheme, and Time to Pay.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his oral Answer of 14 July 2020 to Question 904751, what assessment he has made of the ability of prison staff to use the existing whistleblowing process with confidence that it is confidential.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The existing Ministry of Justice (MoJ) whistleblowing policy is currently being reviewed by the MoJ HR Policy team. The changes being looked at are primarily extra resources and language changes to further encourage individuals to raise any concerns. We are aiming to conclude this and launch the new policy in the Autumn.
Any Ministry of Justice employee who raises a concern using the Whistleblowing policy will be supported and will not suffer any unfair or negative treatment as a result. Where a protected disclosure is made the individual also has a legal entitlement to protection. All concerns raised in good faith will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, sensitively and as quickly as possible.
Any disclosures made under the MoJ whistleblowing procedure will be treated in a sensitive manner. Details of individuals will only be shared with those who need to know, in order to investigate and progress the matter.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Answer of 14 July 2020 to Question 904751, what steps he is taking to make whistleblowing a (a) safe and (b) meaningful exercise for all prison staff.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The existing Ministry of Justice (MoJ) whistleblowing policy is currently being reviewed by the MoJ HR Policy team. The changes being looked at are primarily extra resources and language changes to further encourage individuals to raise any concerns. We are aiming to conclude this and launch the new policy in the Autumn.
Any Ministry of Justice employee who raises a concern using the Whistleblowing policy will be supported and will not suffer any unfair or negative treatment as a result. Where a protected disclosure is made the individual also has a legal entitlement to protection. All concerns raised in good faith will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, sensitively and as quickly as possible.
Any disclosures made under the MoJ whistleblowing procedure will be treated in a sensitive manner. Details of individuals will only be shared with those who need to know, in order to investigate and progress the matter.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2020 to Question 904751, what the (a) scope and (b) timeframe of the HMPPS review into the whistleblowing process for prison staff is.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The existing Ministry of Justice (MoJ) whistleblowing policy is currently being reviewed by the MoJ HR Policy team. The changes being looked at are primarily extra resources and language changes to further encourage individuals to raise any concerns. We are aiming to conclude this and launch the new policy in the Autumn.
Any Ministry of Justice employee who raises a concern using the Whistleblowing policy will be supported and will not suffer any unfair or negative treatment as a result. Where a protected disclosure is made the individual also has a legal entitlement to protection. All concerns raised in good faith will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, sensitively and as quickly as possible.
Any disclosures made under the MoJ whistleblowing procedure will be treated in a sensitive manner. Details of individuals will only be shared with those who need to know, in order to investigate and progress the matter.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to a new Fuel Poverty Strategy for England.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Following consultation, the Government is currently updating its Fuel Poverty Strategy for England and is considering the appropriate mix of subsidy, incentives and regulation required to meet the statutory Fuel Poverty Target to improve homes to an energy efficiency rating of Band C by 2030. We plan to publish an updated fuel poverty strategy later this year.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure the Warm Home Discount is maintained after the end of March 2021.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
We will consult on a one-year extension of the current Warm Home Discount scheme later this year. We will also consider reform to improve the fuel poverty targeting of the scheme beyond 2022, and will consult on this in due course.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the number of migrants who (a) entered the UK at Dover (b) were stopped and returned to France immediately and (c) have been deported following a review of their status.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Home Office do not routinely publish this level of data on clandestines, as this could compromise immigration controls and impact on national security.
The Home Office works closely with partners in the UK and overseas to strike people smuggling at source – identifying and dismantling the organised crime groups that facilitate illegal immigration. Additionally, the UK works abroad to reduce factors that may push or force people to attempt such journeys - through creating jobs, tackling modern slavery, providing education and delivering life-saving humanitarian assistance in response to conflicts and natural disasters.
We will continue to work closely with our French counterparts to maintain border security and keep legitimate passengers and trade moving.
At juxtaposed controls and ports around the country, Border Force officers use some of the most advanced detection technology available to find and stop migrants attempting to reach the UK illegally.
The Home Office publishes data on the number of returns from the UK in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of Returns are published in table Ret_D01 of the Returns detailed datasets.
Please note that only some of those returned will have previously entered the UK illegally; others may have entered legally, for example those who enter on a visa and overstay their period of valid leave and are therefore not separately identifiable in the data.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
What steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Justice to reduce the waiting time for welfare benefit tribunal appeals.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
DWP is working with the Ministry of Justice to develop a new digital system with a view to enabling swifter processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings. Personal Independence Payment, Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit claimants can now submit their appeal online.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to (a) review the proposed changes to IR35 and (b) support people who are self-employed.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Chancellor has commissioned a review of the off-payroll working rules reform (IR35). As set out at Budget 2018, the reform is due to be extended to all sectors from April 2020. The review will focus on the implementation of the reform, and consider whether there are any further steps the Government can take to ensure the smooth and successful implementation of the upcoming reforms. The off-payroll working rules do not affect the self-employed; part of the review will consider whether this is clearly understood by businesses in their implementation of the reforms. In parallel to the review, HMRC will be stepping up their efforts to support individuals and businesses in preparing for these changes and raising awareness of the reform.
The Government is committed to supporting self-employed professionals and consultants. From April 2019, the UK will have increased its Personal Allowance by over 90% in less than a decade. The self-employed have also been given access to the full rate of the new State Pension, worth over £2,000 a year more to a self-employed individual than under the previous system.
Budget 2018 announced that the Government is extending the New Enterprise Allowance, to help people start a business; introducing a £10m pilot to support self-employed training; and equalising the treatment of all self-employed people with respect to the Universal Credit Minimum Income Floor.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for personal independence payment appeals to be decided at HM Courts & Tribunals Service Ashford.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Justice expects appeal hearings to take place as quickly as possible and is carrying out a series of initiatives to increase capacity which will help reduce waiting times for appellants in Ashford. Since September 2018, three additional judges have been allocated to Ashford as their primary venue and three further judges have been allocated to Ashford as their secondary venue. Furthermore, from November this year the capacity at the Ashford venue will increase from three hearing rooms to four on a daily basis and from August 2019, appeals to be heard at the Ashford venue can now be heard at a new venue in Hastings, depending on the appellant’s postcode.