Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What steps her Department is taking to support the removal of land mines in developing countries.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Landmines are indiscriminate weapons of war that maim and kill innocent children every day. UK support announced in April last year will make safe land equivalent to the size of over 20,000 football pitches and help 800,000 people live their lives free from the threat of mines.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of Romanian criminals in the UK appealing extradition to Romania on the grounds that the size of prison cells in that country breach Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is working closely with the Romanian Ministry of Justice to ensure that all wanted Romanians currently in the UK are extradited as quickly as possible. My officials continue to work with the CPS to obtain adequate assurances in respect of Romanian prison conditions to make extraditions possible.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals on legally binding pre-nuptial agreements; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dominic Raab
We will consider nuptial agreements as part of our wider work in family justice reform to give support to couples when they have a family dispute.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish all responses received by the current inquiry into infected blood.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Government has committed to providing a further update to the House after the consultation closes on 18 October. This update will include a summary of responses to the consultation received. All consultation responses will be passed on to the independent inquiry once established.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what measures the Government plans to introduce to ensure that small charities are not treated less favourably than other small businesses in relation to their liability for non-domestic rates.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
Where a property is occupied by a charity and used for charitable purposes they will usually receive a mandatory 80 per cent relief from rates, which can be increased to 100 per cent at the discretion of the local billing authority. Unlike small businesses, charities qualify for this relief irrespective of their occupation of other properties or the rateable value of the property.
The Government fully recognises the important public benefit that charities bring to communities, and charities also enjoy a range of additional tax benefits on their operations that businesses do not.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make representations to Transport for London to require rail franchisees to respond in a timely manner to passenger requests.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
My Department is responsible for letting and managing rail franchises and we engage in regular dialogue with our franchisees to ensure that they are acting in the passenger’s best interests.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to designate stations outside the current Greater London boundary as Greater London Stations for the purposes of possible inclusion in the services devolved to Transport for London.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State has no such plans.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 on (a) rental costs and (b) the supply of rental housing.
Answered by David Gauke
The government estimates that only 1 in 5 landlords will pay more tax as a result of this measure.
Given this, the government does not expect it to have a large impact on either rental costs or the supply of rental housing. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) also expect the impact on the housing market will be small and did not adjust their forecast for house prices.
Basic rate income tax relief will still be available on a landlord's finance costs, and when the restriction is introduced in April 2017, it will be phased in over 4 years, giving gives landlords time to adjust.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to introduce regulatory proposals for bodies which manage shared accommodation in which vulnerable people are housed.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The Government understands the importance of protecting the most vulnerable in our society.
Housing is regulated differently dependent on the form of support provided. Social housing provided by Housing Associations is regulated by the Homes and Communities Agency, registered Care Homes are inspected by the Care Quality Commission.
Houses of Multiple Occupancy in the private rental sector are, where appropriate, licensed by the local authority, and we are proposing changes to widen mandatory licensing of large Houses of Multiple Occupancies.
As part of our consultation on the future funding of supported housing, the Government is considering how further to improve oversight and assurance for vulnerable adults living in supported housing. As part of the Care and Quality Commission’s next phase of regulation consultation, the Care and Quality Commission is looking to make changes to its regulation of providers to use a more targeted, responsive and collaborative approach to meet the emerging new care models.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether routine checks are made on the non-UK driving licences of foreign nationals driving on UK roads when they are stopped or otherwise required to show their licence; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Any checks on driving licences, whether domestic or foreign, by the police at the roadside, are only conducted if considered necessary. This is an operational matter for the police who will decide what action to take in response to the given situation.