Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 23 February 2022 to Question 124937 on Sovico Group: Linacre College, if she will publish (a) correspondence, (b) advice, (c) emails and (d) notes held by her Department on Linacre College and the University of Oxford working with Vietnamese entities in each of the last 2 years, including background information supplied to (i) Linacre College and (ii) the University of Oxford on working with those entities relating to (A) the Sovico Group and (B) Nguyen Thi Phurong Thao.
Answered by Amanda Milling
FCDO Officials have given background information to Linacre College and the University of Oxford, at the request of these institutions, in line with the advice we offer UK organisations and businesses looking to work with Vietnamese entities. The offer would be the same globally.
It would not be appropriate to publish background advice given to any third party institution.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 6 December 2021 to Question 85168 on Flats: Construction, what safeguards have been put in place to ensure that leaseholders do not have to pay for remedial works to apartment blocks caused by (a) faulty design and workmanship by contractors and (b) inadequate supervision by freeholders; whether he plans to introduce additional safeguards for leaseholders; if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on liability for remedial works of the use of ad hoc limited companies by contractors and freeholders to (i) carry out works and (ii) nominally take over ownership of such blocks after the completion of remedial work; and if he will make it his policy to require planning authorities that permit the construction of additional storeys to existing apartment blocks to conduct annual surveys on the (A) frequency of defective outcomes and (B) implications for existing leaseholders for their (1) costs, (2) property values and (3) quality of life.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
The landmark Building Safety Act 2022 delivers robust and far-reaching protections for leaseholders in buildings above 11 metres in height or with at least five storeys from the costs associated with historical building safety defects. A leaseholder qualifies for the protections if, on 14 February 2022, the property was their principal home, or if they owned up to three UK properties in total.
The Act protects qualifying leaseholders from all costs related to the remediation of unsafe cladding and the costs for remediation of non-cladding defects and interim measures like waking watches are subject to a firm cap. Once the leaseholder caps have been reached, landlords will be unable to demand further non-cladding costs from leaseholders. Qualifying leaseholders will be protected from costs associated with both shoddy workmanship and faulty design: the protections safeguard against costs associated with any defect that has arisen in the past 30 years because of anything done or not done, or anything used or not used in connection with works to the building that also causes a building safety risk. This includes defects associated with the provision of professional services, for example those of an architect.
The Act ensures that corporate structures cannot be used to evade liability for building safety defects. Freeholders with links to the building’s original developer, such as where the freeholder is a subsidiary of the developer, will need to meet remediation costs for their buildings in full. As the Act looks at the situation on 14 February 2022, any future buyer of the freehold will assume the same liabilities of the previous freeholder; as such, freeholders will not be able to simply sell off their buildings to evade liability. The Act also grants a power to the High Court allowing them to extend specific liabilities for one company to associated companies, removing the protection afforded to developers and contractors by special purpose vehicles.
All development, whether allowed through a permitted development right or an application for planning permission, must meet building regulations including fire and other building safety requirements. The Government has no plans at present to review the permitted development rights for building upwards.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 20 April 2022, Official Report, column 161, what steps he is taking to ensure that surviving nuclear test veterans receive recognition for their service.
Answered by Leo Docherty
Those who participated in the Nuclear Test Programme made a significant contribution to the safety and security of the UK by ensuring that we were equipped with an appropriate nuclear capability; it is right that their contribution is recognised.
The Prime Minister and I look forward to meeting with representatives of the Nuclear Test Veteran community shortly.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to substantively respond to Questions (a) 124936 on Surgical Mesh Implants: South East, due for Answer on 23 February, (b) 127247 on Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Independent Review, due for answer on 25 February and (c) 131025 on Members: Correspondence, seeking a response to a letter dated 6 December 2021 from the Rt hon. Member for New Forest East about a vulnerable constituent and due for answer on 3 March; for what reason none of the substantive answers have yet been forthcoming; and what steps he plans take to ensure that Questions receive a substantive answer on the date they are due.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answers to Questions 124936, 127247 and 131025.
We take parliamentary scrutiny incredibly seriously and it is fundamentally important that hon. Members are provided with accurate and timely information to enable them to hold the Government to account. We are working rapidly to provide all Members with accurate answers to their questions, while supporting the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2022 to Question 139243 on Russia: Sanctions, whether shipping carrying Russian-originated cargo, but (a) owned, (b) operated, (c) controlled, (d) chartered, (e) registered or (f) flagged by or to countries other than Russia, including NATO countries, are banned from entering British ports; what representations she plans to make to EU and NATO countries to institute similar bans on all vessels carrying Russian-originated cargo; and if she will take steps, in conjunction with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and HM Treasury to ensure that Russia is excluded from all aspects of the London Commercial Insurance market.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Home Secretary
The UK Government has banned all ships that are Russian owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged from entering British ports. We continue to consider further trade measures to support our policy of ratcheting up economic pressure on Russia. Nothing is off the table until Russia reverses its illegal invasion of Ukraine, stops undermining Ukraine's sovereignty and abides by international law.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on (a) extending the visa expiry dates and (b) offering other measures of relief to Russian (i) Tier 5 unpaid charity volunteers, (ii) students at UK universities whose courses are coming to an end and (iii) other citizens stranded in the UK as a result of sanctions imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Someone subject to immigration control who is legally present in the UK is expected to leave the UK before the expiry of their current permission, or to make an in-time application for permission to stay on a route for which they meet the requirements.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish a consolidated list of all Russian banks and comparable institutions which (a) are and (b) are not being sanctioned, together with an explanation of the decision not to impose sanctions on all the organisations listed and an estimate of the extent to which those which remain unsanctioned undermine the effectiveness of the sanctions against the Russian banking sector.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Home Secretary
The UK Sanctions List, published by the FCDO on GOV.UK, is the comprehensive list of persons or ships designated. Additionally, there are entities listed in Schedule 2 of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which are covered by sectoral financial measures. The UK is working with our international partners to ensure any action is coordinated and has the maximum impact on parties involved in the unlawful invasion of Ukraine. We will continue to work with allies to identify targets as appropriate.
We have made powerful designations including banking designations which will be the most significant financial sanctions in history. We have introduced asset freezes on major banks, a prohibition on clearing for Sberbank, and the removal of selected banks from SWIFT. We have cut off Russian banks with global assets of £348 billion as well as the central bank in Moscow. We are focusing on measures that have the greatest impact rather than the numbers.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to assess the practicability of using empty NHS and Social Services buildings, including Nightingale hospitals, to assist in the short-term transition of Ukrainian refugee families between arrival in the UK and placement with the sponsors who are offering to accommodate them; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government is exploring using vacant public sector property for Ukrainians arriving into the UK. Those arriving under the Homes for Ukraine scheme should however proceed directly to the housing provided by their sponsor.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 1 Investor visa applications by people from Russia led to the granting of British citizenship in each year since 2008, broken down by people who subsequently (a) retained and (b) renounced Russian citizenship.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The data is not available. Immigration statistics for the year ending December 2021 are published at Migration statistics. While these include statistics for naturalisation as a British citizen based on residence, they do not identify the specific routes of entry used to secure that residence.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2022 to Question 129730 on British nationality: Russia, if she will urgently take steps to ascertain how many high net-worth Russian people were granted British citizenship in each year since 2010 broken down by people who subsequently (a) retained and (b) renounced Russian citizenship.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As set out in my answer to question 129730, the requirements for a person to register or naturalise as a British citizen are set out in the British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA81). All applications for British citizenship are considered against the relevant requirements of the BNA81.
The net worth of an individual is not a basis on which an application for British citizenship would be granted. Therefore, we do not hold the data as requested as no information relating to an applicant’s net-worth is captured as part of the application process for British citizenship.