Jason McCartney

Devolution to local areas is important to this Government and we have a proud record - the Localism Act, the creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships, the Local Government Finance Act, and the devolution of at least £12bn through Growth Deals which provide all areas the country to build on their economic potential.

The Chancellor also announced further devolution to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which will benefit both rural and urban areas in West Yorkshire including Colne Valley.

Movements in pump prices are primarily driven by crude oil prices; though are also influenced by a range of other factors; including tax, refining capacity, stock levels, distribution costs and retail margins.

The Government has been absolutely clear that it expects changes in crude prices to be passed on fairly to consumers. DECC continuously monitors pump prices, and publish average prices of petrol and diesel every Monday, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/oil-and-petroleum-products-weekly-statistics.

We have also cut then frozen fuel duty, leaving it 20p lower than previously planned.

DECC analysis has shown that crude price changes are reflected in pump prices and suggests that on average, at a national level, sustained crude price changes are fully passed through into pump prices within 6-7 weeks; though much of the change is passed through earlier. The analysis found no evidence to suggest there is a difference in pass-through times between crude price rises and falls.

As the focal point of delivery of all government-funded consumer advice and information, the Citizens Advice Service is a one stop shop where consumers can find advice about their rights from a team of consumer advice experts but if they feel they have had poor service from a fact checking websites.

Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland can advise on consumers’ rights under the Consumer Protection from unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs). These regulations set out broad rules outlining when commercial practices are unfair. These fall into three main categories:

• Misleading practices, like false or deceptive information or descriptions, or being misleading by leaving out important information.
• Aggressive sales techniques that use harassment, coercion or undue influence.
• Conduct below a level which may reasonable be expected towards consumers (honest market practice/good faith).

Consumers can contact Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06 or use the website: www.adviceguide.org.uk.

In addition, anyone wishing to report a copycat website can find information on GOV.UK - Avoid and report Internet Scams and Phishing, which provides information for common services affected including tax and passports.

As the member for Colne Valley was advised by my right honourable Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 26th February, the Government is working with search engine providers and others such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) to address the problems that can arise from misleading / copycat websites in relation to official government online services.

The Advertising Standards Associations (ASA) has responsibility for ensuring compliance with the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing. Complaints about misleading advertisements can be made through ASA’s website at: www.asa.org.uk.

However, the best place to access official government services remains GOV.UK, the single website for government. Action is taken against websites that pass themselves off as Government sites, or claim to be acting on behalf of the Government when they are not. Last year four search warrants were executed on properties in England. The operation led to the arrest of five individuals and disrupted the operation of at least 25 copycat websites.

The Post Office card account is a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not have a role in commercial negotiations between other Departments and Post Office Ltd.

Post Office Ltd and the Department for Work and Pensions are currently discussing the future of the Post Office card account and an announcement will be made when these discussions are concluded.

I have been in regular dialogue with Leeds City Region LEP to discuss their Strategic Economic plan we have now concluded a Growth Deal with Leeds City Region.

This deal will include £571m from the Government's Local Growth Fund to support economic growth in the area – with £60m of new funding confirmed for 2015/16. This will lead to investment in local transport, housing sites and colleges.

An independent review undertaken by Sir John Holmes estimated the costs of producing a national defence medal to be £475million. This was based on an approximate figure of 7 million recipients who had completed four years of regular or Reserve Service, or completed national service (back to 9 September 1945), and 100% take up. There are no current plans to reconsider the award of the National Defence Medal.

The Government is working with search engine providers to address the problem of websites which are misleading to the public. The Government is also leading work with other bodies such as the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) to raise public awareness of this issue and ensure enforcement action is taken where appropriate.

Gov.uk, the Government's single web domain, is the best place for the public to find information on Government services.

The Cabinet Office has received representations on behalf of Trafford, Oldham and Kirklees councils in relation to provisions in the Deregulation Bill on taxis and private hire vehicles. The Department for Transport, which has policy responsibility for taxi and private hire vehicles, has also received representations on behalf of St Helens and South Ribble councils, and from the Local Government Association.

These representations raised issues relating to safety and to the Law Commission report on taxis and private hire vehicle licensing which the Government is currently considering.

The Government will withdraw clause 10, which would have allowed anyone with an ordinary driving licence to drive a private hire vehicle when it is ‘off-duty’, from the Bill when clauses 10-12 are debated at Lords Committee Stage on 21 October.

The remaining clauses in the Deregulation Bill are:

· clause 11 which will standardise the duration for all taxi and private hire vehicle driver licences at three years; and five years for all private hire vehicle operator licences. Shorter durations will only be granted on a case by case basis, where it is justifiable for a particular reason. This will reduce the financial and administrative burden of more frequent licence renewals; and

· clause 12 which will allow private hire operators to sub-contract bookings to operators licensed in a different district.

The Government’s view is that Clause 10 (previously Clause 8) of the Deregulation Bill is a common-sense measure with adequate safeguards. However, after listening to concerns about this proposal during the passage of the Bill, the Government has concluded that a better course of action would be for this measure to be considered as part of the package of measures recommended by the Law Commission to reform taxi and private hire vehicle licensing which the Government is considering.

The Government will withdraw clause 10 from the Bill when clauses 10-12 are debated at Lords Committee Stage on 21 October.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) provides grants to property owners in England and Wales to replace existing fossil fuel heating with a low carbon heating system. Where a heat pump may not be suitable, the BUS provides grants of £5,000 for Biomass Boilers in off gas grid properties in rural locations.

The Government has committed £485m of capital spending for heat network development (across England only) through the Green Heat Network Fund. Government does not provide financial support for domestic customers to connect to heat networks.

The Government’s ‘Find ways to save energy in your home’ (www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency) website also helps users get tailored recommendations for their home that could make their property cheaper to heat and keep warm. Consumers can also call the home retrofit phoneline service on 0800 098 7950.

The government has consulted on the best ownership model to support Channel 4 as part of our review of the public service broadcasting ecosystem.

The public consultation ran for 10 weeks before closing on 14 September. We received around 60,000 responses.

We are analysing every response to make sure we come to an informed decision on whether a change of ownership is the best way to secure Channel 4’s future.

Keeping gambling fair and open and free from crime, and protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited are priorities for the government and key licensing objectives for the Gambling Commission. The Commission requires all operators to monitor gambling activity and to intervene where a customer may be at risk of harm. It has consulted on tightening its rules on customer interaction for online operators and will publish a response and next steps in the summer.

The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the broad scope of the Review, we called for evidence on the effectiveness of our regulatory system, including protections for online gamblers and the Gambling Commission's powers and resources. We aim to publish a white paper by the end of the year.

Keeping gambling fair and open and free from crime, and protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited are priorities for the government and key licensing objectives for the Gambling Commission. The Commission requires all operators to monitor gambling activity and to intervene where a customer may be at risk of harm. It has consulted on tightening its rules on customer interaction for online operators and will publish a response and next steps in the summer.

The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the broad scope of the Review, we called for evidence on the effectiveness of our regulatory system, including protections for online gamblers and the Gambling Commission's powers and resources. We aim to publish a white paper by the end of the year.

The government will shortly publish its response to consultations held in 2019 and 2020 which set out proposals to ban HFSS advertisements being shown on TV before 9pm, and for further statutory measures to restrict HFSS advertising online.

The response will set out the Government’s approach to online liability and enforcement.

In 2019 and 2020, the Government consulted on proposals to further restrict HFSS advertising on TV and online. We will be publishing the government response to the consultation shortly, which will set out the future policy direction for both TV and online HFSS advertising.

In the 2020 consultation we proposed that the day-to-day responsibility for applying HFSS advertising restrictions be given to the Advertising Standards Authority, recognising their expertise and experience in regulating advertising. Following the current regulatory regime, we propose that breaches would be resolved in line with current ASA policy of responding to individual complaints and promoting voluntary cooperation with the restriction.

If this approach failed or advertisers were committing repeated or severe breaches relating to HFSS marketing material, they would face stronger penalties through a statutory backstop. We would envisage that the backstop regulator would have powers to issue civil sanctions, including the ability to issue fines.

We want to ensure that the enforcement powers of the statutory regulator are designed and used in a way that incentivises compliance and allows for rapid remedial action. The Government will implement any new HFSS advertising restrictions across both online and TV simultaneously by the end of 2022, as outlined in the Tackling Obesity policy published on 27 July 2020.

Modelling the cost of increasing the base rate to £4,760 for 16-19 funding allocations for 2020-21 would require consideration of various factors, such as, the forecast of expected student numbers across age ranges, the characteristics of those students, the courses undertaken, the effect of lagged funding and the impact of the policy change required. The department does not routinely make estimates of this kind.

The information requested is not held centrally as the department does not routinely make estimates of this kind. Modelling such costs would require consideration of various factors, such as the forecast of expected student numbers across age ranges, the characteristics of those students, the courses undertaken, the effect of lagged funding and the impact of the policy change required.

Since 2011, local authorities have been under a duty to provide a range of short breaks services and to publish a local Short Breaks Duty Statement showing what services are available, how they are responding to the needs of local parent carers, and how short breaks can be accessed, including any eligibility criteria. Local authorities are responsible for funding this short breaks provision.

Between April 2011 and March 2015, the government made available £800 million to local authorities for short break provision, along with an additional £80 million of capital funding for equipment and infrastructure.

Between April 2015 and March 2016, we awarded £250,555 to the Short Breaks Partnership (a consortium made up of Contact a Family, the Council for Disabled Children, Action for Children, and KIDS) to provide information and advice to those involved in designing, commissioning, providing, and taking up short breaks for disabled children. The Department for Education has allocated £200m funding over the next 4 years to support innovation and improvement to children’s social work practice. We are currently considering how we can use some of this funding to support local innovative approaches to short breaks for disabled children and their families and for making services more accessible.

The Department’s Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Advisory Team is continuing to offer support and challenge to local authorities to help make sure they meet all of their statutory requirements and that quality continues to improve. From this summer, there will be opportunities through the new Ofsted/Care Quality Commission SEND inspections framework for local areas to consider how well they are providing for the education, health and care needs of those with SEND, including their need for short breaks services. In addition, Together for Short lives, the UK charity for children and young people with life limiting conditions, received £551,029 from the Department for Education over a 3 year period – between April 2013 and March 2016, to help ensure children and young people with life limiting conditions benefited from the SEND reforms.

The Secretary of State has not met with any civil society groups to discuss the potential adverse health effects of introducing more technology in schools.

There has been no specific research undertaken by the department on the potential effect of digital screen use on students in the last five years.

The National Park and the Broads Authorities are independent bodies operating within the local government framework and therefore it is for the Lake District National Park Authority to decide whether to adopt the recommendation to implement the Boat Safety Scheme. I understand the National Park Authority will shortly be seeking its members’ views on the recommendation.

DFID is at the forefront of global efforts to tackle illegal logging and promote sustainable trade in timber, and eliminate deforestation from supply chains. These programmes, and other assistance from the UK, are helping to preserve the world’s most valuable habitats and address biodiversity loss.

No request for assistance was made by the Indian Government. A decision to not provide support was taken following a comprehensive assessment. The immediate humanitarian crisis is now over and compensation for those impacted by the floods has been announced by the Government.

FGM is violence against women and girls. The UK has made the largest donor commitment ever to help end FGM, with a flagship programme of £35 million in at least 17 countries.

The Prime Minister will host a summit in July which will step up global efforts to end both FGM and child, early and forced marriage within a generation.

The Department collects information on personal injury road collisions reported to police via the STATS19 data collection system.

Fatal casualties do not have an injury recorded for them. Only slight and serious casualties reported on an injury-based reporting system have detail on the type of injuries sustained in the collision. In 2022, 27 out of 44 police forces were using an injury-based reporting system.

The number of serious casualties where the most severe recorded injury was a head injury, by road user type in Great Britain for 2022, for which is the latest available year, can be found in the table below.

£589m funding announced in July 2020 has enabled further design and development work on the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme. The first stages of Overhead Line Electrification (OLE) installation have begun between York and Church Fenton, and in the Spring Network Rail will be carrying out engineering work between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge to support future masts and electric wires.

The government is committed to ensuring Yorkshire reaps the benefits on high-speed services. The Integrated Rail Plan will consider the sequencing and delivery of HS2, as well as Northern Powerhouse Rail and other rail investment projects to ensure the benefits of these investments are delivered to passengers and communities more quickly. We intend to publish the IRP this Spring.

We do not hold information on how many buses are operating in a particular area, but we can provide the number of buses & coaches registered in West Yorkshire according to the location of the recorded keeper of each vehicle.

The following table relates to where these vehicles are registered by their keeper, which does not mean they are operated in these areas, nor does it stop other buses & coaches registered elsewhere from operating in these areas.

Table: Registered battery electric buses & coaches at the end of March 2020

Through the Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme (ULEBS), West Yorkshire Combined Authority (which includes both Colne Valley and Kirklees) and First West Yorkshire received £617,000.00 for 5 electric buses and charging infrastructure and £1,770,472.50 for 9 electric buses and charging infrastructure respectively, totalling £2,387,472.50.

Discussions continue between Her Majesty’s Government and Post Office LTD regarding the future of the Post Office card account and the needs of our customers beyond March 2015, announcements will be made when these discussions reach a conclusion.