Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support private providers of school transport for SEND pupils.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Home-to-school travel is an integral part of the school system. It provides a valuable service on which many families rely. The department is grateful to the many transport operators for the crucial role they play in ensuring that children receive the education that they need to help them thrive.
Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel for eligible children. It is for them to determine how best to do so, based on local circumstances and the needs of the children travelling. They might, for example, have an in-house fleet, provide passes for free travel on public transport or contract with private transport operators for the provision of buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles. Where they contract with private operators, it is for the local authority and the operator to agree suitable terms.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on SEND transport to educational institutions.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Broxbourne to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure adequate infrastructure is in place before new housing is built.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.
Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.
The government provides financial support for essential infrastructure in areas of greatest housing demand through Land and Infrastructure funding programmes, such as the Housing Infrastructure Fund.
The changes to the National Planning Policy Framework announced on 12 December will also support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure.
The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle financial scams.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to working with law enforcement, industry, civil society and international partners to tackle financial scams. This includes blocking fraud at its source, disrupting it before it reaches the public, and providing preventative advice and support such as our “Stop! Think Fraud” campaign.
Further industry action includes potential legislative action to ban “SIM farms”, technical devices that allow criminals to send scam texts to thousands of people at the same time, and the Online Safety Act codes of practice which will come into effect in March.
In due course we will publish an expanded Fraud Strategy as set out in our manifesto, which will cover the full range of threats that our society faces from this crime.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on ending the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of people stuck in limbo without any prospect of having their claims processed. At their peak use under the previous government, in the autumn of 2023, more than 400 asylum hotels were being leased by the Home Office, at a cost of almost £9 million a day.
We took immediate action to resolve that chaos by restarting asylum processing, establishing the new Border Security Command to tackle the people-smuggling gangs, cracking down on illegal working across the country, and increasing the return and removal of people with no right to be here.
Inevitably, due to the size of the backlog we inherited, the Home Office has been forced to continue with the use of hotels for the time being. But this is not a permanent solution, and the small increase in the number in use at the end of last year was just a temporary but necessary step to manage pressures in the system, which is now in the process of being reversed.
It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs. In the interim, we are also continuing to increase our operational activity against smuggling gangs and illegal working, and we have increased returns to their highest level since 2018, with 16,400 people removed in the first six months this government was in charge.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question 15845 on Small Businesses: Recruitment, when he plans to publish the small business strategy.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government will publish a Small Business Strategy Paper later this year.
This will set out the Government’s vision for all small businesses, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy, across key policy areas such as creating thriving high streets, making it easier to access finance, opening up overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment.
The paper will complement the Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy and Trade Strategy.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the utilities industry on minimising disruption caused by street works.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport works closely with industry stakeholders, including utility companies, as we continue to review our legislation, statutory guidance and guidance, to identify areas where the regime can be improved to minimise the impact of street works. We have recently announced to the industry that we will be clamping down on disruptive works by doubling fixed penalty notices for utility companies who fail to comply with rules and extending charges for works that overrun into weekends.
As more highway authorities are progressing with their applications to operate lane rental schemes to target the most disruptive works on our roads, my Department have been engaging with utility companies directly as part of a series of regional visits. Utility companies have also been invited, along with a range of other stakeholders, to take part in a consultation on proposals to improve and simplify the lane rental application process.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many street works carried out under emergency procedures she considers as evidence of misuse.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department have examined data from our Street Manager digital service and spoken to industry representatives and found no evidence of misuse. Emergency works are needed to deal with danger to life and urgent works are needed, for example, to repair leaks, restore customer connections, and repair dangerous potholes. The Government believes, however, that there is scope to improve how such works are managed and communicated to road users and we are working with the sector to develop proposals to address this.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with Transport for London to reduce fare evasion.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues including fare evasion on their network. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL is responsible for operational decisions to support reduced fare evasion.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department’s Planning Newsletter issued to local authorities on 13 December 2024, what steps local planning authorities will need to take as part of the requirement to update their Local Development Scheme within 12 weeks of the publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework; and whether this will require amendments to an existing Local Plan.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local Planning Authorities have a statutory obligation to produce a Local Development Scheme and to keep it up-to-date and publicly available. As the Secretary of State set out in her letter of 12 December 2024, we are asking all Local Planning Authorities to review and update their Local Development Scheme in light of the revised National Planning Policy Framework and transitional arrangements by no later than 6 March 2025.