Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2023 to Question 5600 on Natwest: Shares, whether his Department has appointed advisers to review the potential merits of a NatWest retail share offer.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has appointed a number of advisers to support the government’s assessment of options for a retail offer, including firms specialising in market research, financial services, legal advice and marketing.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including an employee share element as part of the sale of the Government's remaining shares in NatWest.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Spring Budget 2024, the Chancellor set out that, as part of the plan to return NatWest to private ownership, the government intends to deliver a retail offering, subject to supportive market conditions and achieving value for money for taxpayers. The government is currently exploring the most suitable terms, structure, and timing for a potential sale.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to consult on proposed changes to the Furnished Holiday Lets tax regime.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Draft legislation will be published in due course and the Government will consult on it in the usual way.
The Government keeps all aspects of tax policy under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 5.67, page 75 of the Spring Budget 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the abolition of the Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime on the number of businesses that will (a) continue as short-term holiday lets, (b) become longer term rental properties and (c) sell the property in question.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced that it will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax regime from April 2025.
The Government will publish draft legislation, explanatory notes, and a tax information and impacts note in due course.
As with all aspects of tax policy, the Government keeps the taxation of property landlords under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to paragraph 102 of her Department's response to the Regulating for Growth Consultation, published in February 2024, what her planned timetable is for laying secondary legislation to extend the Growth Duty to (a) Ofcom, (b) Ofwat and (c) Ofgem.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Economic Growth (Regulatory Functions) (Amendment) Order 2024 and Guidance Issued under Section 110 Deregulation Act 2015 were laid before Parliament on 6 March 2024.
The House of Lords debate took place 15 April 2024, and the House of Commons debate is scheduled to take place 23 April 2024. Subject to the legislation being approved, it will come into force 21 days after the day on which it is made (signed by the Minister). We currently expect it to come into force before the end of May 2024.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 24 January 2024 on Local Government Finance Update, HCWS206, when he plans to announce the allocation of funding for local authorities with the highest internal drainage board levies.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
On 24 January the Government announced that having listened to authorities who continue to face sustained increases in their internal drainage board (IDB) special levies, we would again provide £3 million outside of the 24/25 Local Government Finance Settlement to support those experiencing the biggest pressures. We will confirm the distribution of this funding shortly, when data on projected special levies becomes available.
Separately, at the National Farmers Union Conference in February the Prime Minister and Defra Ministers announced a new one-off grant, up to £75 million, for IDBs in 2024/25. This fund will help IDBs recover from the recent flooding and contribute towards modernising IDB infrastructure, to lower costs and increase resilience to climate change.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Oral Statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, Official Report, columns 251-253, what her planned timetable is for the deployment of dental vans in (a) Norfolk and (b) North West Norfolk constituency.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will deploy dental vans offering appointments to patients in targeted rural and coastal communities who have the most limited access to dentistry, including Norfolk. We are currently working with NHS England and the integrated care boards to agree where the vans will be deployed. Dental vans will begin to be implemented later this year.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Oral Statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, Official Report, columns 251-253, what her planned timetable is for the deployment of mobile dental teams in schools; and what criteria she plans to use to determine their locations.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our plan to recover and reform the National Health Service will ensure that children can access preventative care. We will be deploying dental teams to bring preventative dental services such as fluoride varnish directly to children. Dental teams will visit state primary schools in the most need, with higher levels of child tooth decay, and provide fluoride varnish treatments and advice. Starting later this year, we will deploy mobile dental teams into schools in under-served areas, to provide advice and deliver preventative fluoride varnish treatments to more than 165,000 children, strengthening their teeth and preventing tooth decay.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Oral Statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, Official Report, columns 251-253, which areas will be included in the first cohort to offer golden hello payments to dentists.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To support practices in areas where recruitment is particularly challenging, we will launch a new Golden Hello scheme. We will implement schemes working with integrated care boards that are struggling to recover their activity levels, and would significantly benefit. A Golden Hello of £20,000 will be offered per dentist for up to 240 dentists. Payments will be phased over three years, requiring a commitment from the dentist to stay in that area delivering National Health Service work for at least three years. We will decide on locations in the coming months.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made on establishing an ombudsman for the gambling sector since publication of the Gambling Review in April 2023.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are working at pace with industry and all stakeholders in the sector, including the Ombudsman Association, to ensure customers have access to an ombudsman that is fully operationally independent in line with Ombudsman Association standards, and is fully credible in the eyes of customers. As set out in the white paper, it is important that the body adjudicates fairly and transparently all complaints regarding social responsibility or gambling harm issues where an operator is not able to resolve these.
We remain clear that if this approach does not deliver as we expect, or shortcomings emerge regarding the ombudsman’s remit, powers or relationship with industry, the government will actively explore the full range of options to legislate to create a statutory ombudsman.