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Written Question
Housing: Construction
Monday 22nd July 2019

Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that more homes are built to accessible and adaptable standards for older and disabled people; and what steps his Department is taking to assess progress on such building standards.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

On 25 June, the Prime Minister announced we will consult on mandating higher accessibility standards for new housing. New Planning guidance was published on 26 June to support councils to put clear policies in place for addressing the housing needs of older and disabled people.

The annual English Housing Survey collects data on accessible and adaptable features in new homes retrospectively.


Written Question
Housing: Construction
Wednesday 17th July 2019

Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the number of Local Plans which include a requirement for new homes to be accessible and adaptable.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

At present, the Government does not collect this data. A recent report by Habinteg suggests that less than a third of all English local plans currently set specific requirements for a percentage of new homes to be built to accessible or adaptable standards.

We have strengthened policy in the revised National Planning Policy Framework, published in July 2018, so that local planning authorities are expected to put in place specific policies to address the housing needs of older and disabled people. We have also strengthened the policy approach to accessible housing by setting out an expectation that planning policies for housing should make use of government standards for accessible and adaptable housing.


Written Question
Taxis: Licensing
Tuesday 19th February 2019

Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a definition of cross border hiring, as recommended by the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and PHV Licensing, to (a) stop drivers operating in an area where they have not been licensed and (b) protect passengers; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)

On 12 February the Government issued its response to the report by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing. Government agrees with the principle of restricting out-of-area working and will consider further, with a view to legislation, how it might best work in detail.

Government will need to consider any flexibilities or exemptions which might be needed to reduce or avoid negative impacts on particular services.

The response is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/775983/taxi-task-and-finish-gov-repsonse.pdf


Written Question
Taxis: Licensing
Thursday 31st January 2019

Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to the September 2018 report of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and PHV Licensing; and whether he plans to bring forward primary legislation to implement that report’s recommendations.

Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)

Ministers are considering the recommendations made by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing, a Government response will be issued in due course.

Legislation to reform the regulation of taxis and private hire vehicles will be brought forward if required.


Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties
Thursday 17th January 2019

Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money has been raised for the public purse from vehicle excise duties from the Greater London Authority area in each year for which information is available; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of devolving the proceeds of vehicle excise duties raised in the Greater London Authority area to London local authorities.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

In 2017-18, Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) raised a total of around £6.2 billion in revenue.

VED is collected nationwide and since it is tied to where individuals choose to register their vehicles, there is no official methodology to identify the VED collected in any particular region. As such, VED does not lend itself to devolution as vehicle registrations do not necessarily correlate with either emissions or vehicle use.

VED revenues will be hypothecated to the National Roads Fund (NRF) in England from 2020-21. The NRF will provide certainty for roads investment, including in London.


Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties
Thursday 10th January 2019

Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring the proceeds of vehicle excise duties raised in the Greater London Authority area to London local authorities.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The government has committed to hypothecate Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) in England from 2020-21 into the National Roads Fund (NRF), providing long-term certainty for roads investment. This will be used to maintain the country’s main arterial routes and enhance national road connectivity.

Devolving VED to London would undermine the purpose of the NRF to deliver nationally significant schemes across the strategic road network, including those in London such as the M25 and some recently announced Major Road Network candidates which will also be funded by the NRF.


Written Question
National Security
Monday 11th June 2018

Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

What recent discussions he has had with the National Security Adviser on the current and future intensity of the threat environment.

Answered by Gavin Williamson

As the House is aware, the Ministry of Defence is currently conducting the Modernising Defence Programme.

I meet the National Security Adviser on a regular basis to discuss key issues including Russia’s increasingly destabilising behaviour, conflict and tension in Syria and the wider Middle East, the spread of violent extremism and organised crime in ungoverned spaces, and the situation on the Korean peninsula.

The Modernising Defence Programme will take all of this into account as we determine what capabilities and policies we need to meet the threats we face.


Written Question
Social Services: Minimum Wage
Thursday 8th March 2018

Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the total sleep­ in back pay liability is estimated to be for providers in (a) Hornchurch and Upminster constituency and (b) London Borough of Havering Council.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) on 26 February 2018 to Question 128962.


Written Question
Radiotherapy
Wednesday 7th February 2018

Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to widen access to proton radiotherapy for cancer patients in England.

Answered by Steve Brine

In April 2012, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that £250 million will be invested to build proton beam therapy facilities at The Christie Hospital in Manchester and University College London Hospitals in London. Building work is well underway on both sites and service planning and development is on schedule to begin treating patients from August 2018 at The Christie and summer 2020 for University College London Hospitals.


Written Question
Hospital Wards: Children
Wednesday 7th February 2018

Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to ensure that NHS England provides (a) complementary wifi and (b) basic television services in children's hospital wards.

Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Being in hospital can be traumatic for any patient, but especially so for children. Providing a warm and caring environment, including access to television services, is therefore very important and National Health Service trusts are expected to provide this as a matter of course. Data for 2017 shows that 93% of organisations provide children in hospitals with a range of equipment appropriate to their age, including a bedside TV, radio and telephone.

NHS Digital is working to make sure that everyone can access free WiFi in NHS sites in England. NHS WiFi will provide a secure, stable, and reliable WiFi capability, consistent across all NHS settings. It will allow patients and the public to download health apps, browse the internet and access health and care information.