Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle violence against women and girls.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We are treating violence against women and girls as a national emergency.
We are investing £550 million in victim support services; introducing world leading law on intimate images; rolling out tough new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders; introducing new court measures to protect victims; and providing an Independent Legal Advice service for adult rape victims.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the number of UK households without connection to the electricity grid.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government does not publish a regular assessment of the number of UK households without a connection to the electricity grid. However, the Energy Bills Support Scheme Impact Assessment estimated that around 500 to 2,000 energy consumers were living off grid.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment has the Government made of the effectiveness of the application of VAT to first-time electricity mains connections for existing occupied residential properties that have never previously been connected to the electricity network, with first-time connections for qualifying new residential developments being eligible for zero-rating.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Government does not hold VAT specific data on the number of properties affected by these different VAT treatments, nor does it hold information on connection costs that would enable the VAT involved to be readily estimated.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to strengthen the UK’s resilience to climate change, including through the (a) protection and (b) restoration of nature.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Government is strengthening climate resilience through the third National Adaptation Programme, which addresses key climate risks to habitats, species, water, food production and communities. The Climate Change Committee’s latest assessment will inform the next UK Climate Change Risk Assessment and fourth National Adaptation Programme. Protecting and restoring nature is central to this work, including through Environmental Land Management schemes and wider funding for trees, peatland and other vital habitats and species restoration funding, and stronger protections for sensitive habitats such as upland peat. Most recently, for example, we announced a new £30m Wildlife-Rich Habitat fund for Protected Landscapes and £47m to protect and improve peatland.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support locally led innovation investment.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
I’m proud that just last month the Secretary of State announced we will devolve future Local Innovation Partnerships Funding to mayors of Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities.
This will put money and power into the hands of regional leaders that know their communities best.
And we are currently investing up to £500 million to help local leaders unleash their regions’ full innovation potential and create jobs, including £30 million for the Northeast.
This is real change at a local level, boosting the locally led industries and technologies that will drive the growth, jobs and businesses of the future.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the tax system.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
Reforms across the last two Budgets have shown that the government is committed to a fair and efficient tax system. The UK tax system generates substantial revenue to fund our vital public services whilst remaining internationally competitive – in the G7, our tax-to-GDP ratio is in the middle of the pack, and we have the lowest headline rate of corporation tax. And we’re ensuring everyone pays the tax they owe with ambitious measures to close the tax gap.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve the private rented sector for tenants.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 1 May, we switched on the first phase of our transformative Renters’ Rights Act.
Measures brought into force included the long overdue abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, a limit of one rent increase a year, new rights to challenge unreasonable rent hikes and a ban on rental bidding wars.
The Act’s remaining provisions will be brought into force in two further phases, with the rollout of the Private Rented Sector Database beginning later this year.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how her Department plans to support the BBC in growing the North East’s creative economy.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The BBC is a vital national institution and an engine of the nations and regions, including the North East of England. In that context, this news is concerning for the BBC workforce who are facing significant uncertainty, and for the sector as a whole. The BBC is delivering significant savings, which requires difficult decisions to be made independent of the Government. The BBC have stated that there will be more information on their plans later this year. Looking ahead, the Charter Review aims to deliver a BBC that is sustainably funded in a way that sets the BBC on a path to thrive until well into the latter half of this century. The Charter Review will consider how the BBC can support the creative economy and drive growth across the UK.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will (a) include cinemas as eligible recipients of capital funding for UK cultural venues and (b) introduce a (i) complementary and (ii) parallel funding scheme for cinemas.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Cinemas help to sustain our high streets whilst offering one of the most accessible and affordable cultural experiences for communities around the country.
In a challenging fiscal environment, we have to make difficult choices about where to direct available funding. Whilst we have no current plans to expand the eligibility criteria of existing schemes or introduce new capital funding schemes, we continue to engage with cinema stakeholders to identify options to support the sector.
Cinemas based in eligible venues can benefit from capital investment through the Creative Foundations Fund (CFF). Not-for-profit mixed arts venues in England are eligible for the CFF, including those with cinemas on site. The first round of CFF recipients included many mixed arts venues with cinemas, including Firstsite in Colchester, the Rich Mix Cultural Foundation in London, and the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre in Hexham. We are also supporting the cinema sector through permanently lower business rates multipliers; public funding schemes through the British Film Institute including the National Lottery Audience Projects Fund and the Film Audience Network; and our significant investment in stimulating production - including through generous tax credits and the £75 million Screen Growth Package we announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan - which creates the strong slate of films cinemas need to thrive.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support rural sports clubs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport clubs, including those in rural areas, which play an important role within communities across the country.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport clubs through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding. They invest in over 90 Place Partnerships in various locations across the country, including in rural areas, to promote sport and physical activity.