Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the legal profession of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Government recognises its responsibility to fully consider all possible outcomes of the negotiations. The professional and business services technical notice published by the Government on 12 October sets out the implications of no deal for legal professionals and business owners, and directs them to relevant regulatory bodies for detailed information.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Chilean counterpart on Martin Pickett, a constituent of the Rt hon Member for Sevenoaks, to help him re-establish contact with his children who are living in Chile.
Answered by Alan Duncan
We have advised Mr Pickett that we cannot interfere in the Chilean judicial process and have encouraged him to seek the advice of a local lawyer on what other legal recourse may be open to him to re-establish contact with his children.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to monitor variations in the water table in the area around Stonehenge to ensure that any new roads constructed near to that site do not have a destructive impact on the archaeological remains.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Previous surveys have provided an extensive understanding of the variations in the water table that can occur in the area around Stonehenge. Highways England are supplementing this knowledge through further groundwater monitoring, which is informing hydrological modelling being undertaken in collaboration with the Environment Agency.
The scheme is being designed to minimise effects on groundwater flows. The proposed use of a tunnel boring machine means the tunnel would be constructed in a sealed, watertight environment. This means water would not need to be pumped out of the ground during construction, ensuring no adverse effects on the water table.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Article 4 of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, what assessment he has made of whether plans for a new tunnel and flyover at Stonehenge are compliant with the terms of that Convention.
Answered by Jesse Norman
A key aim of the scheme is to remove the roads and heavy traffic, with their associated noise and disturbance, from the vicinity of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site – improving the presentation of the Site both for now and for future generations.
A full environmental impact assessment of the A303 Stonehenge scheme is under way. This will include a Heritage Impact Assessment, that has regard to Article 4 of the World Heritage Convention. This will be published as part of Highways England’s application for a Development Consent Order.
A historic environment assessment was undertaken in relation to the choice of preferred route for the A303 Stonehenge scheme. This is contained in Appendix E to the scheme assessment report published in September 2017 and is available at: https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.com/cip/a303-stonehenge/results/sar-volume-7.pdf
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the prehistoric landscape at Stonehenge of the proposals for a new flyover and tunnel.
Answered by Jesse Norman
A principal aim of the scheme is to remove the roads and heavy traffic, with their associated noise and disturbance from the vicinity of the stones and to reunite Stonehenge with its surrounding monuments in their natural chalk downland setting. This involves removing the road and its traffic completely from within sight of the stones, with the locations of the tunnel portals being beyond the visual horizons from Stonehenge.
Highways England is carrying out extensive Heritage Impact Assessments to ensure the scheme brings benefits without creating unacceptable effects on the important features of the World Heritage Site.
A programme of archaeological surveys has been developed with input from an independent Scientific Committee, which comprises some of the country’s most eminent archaeologists. The project also has a Heritage Monitoring and Advisory Group comprising Historic England, Wiltshire Council Archaeology Service, English Heritage and The National Trust. The Scientific Committee and Advisory Group will continue to have oversight of all the archaeological findings as the scheme develops. Further information about the Scientific Committee’s work can be found at: http://www.a303scientificcommittee.org.uk/
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the UK commemorative coin market held by the Royal Mint.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Her Majesty’s Treasury have not estimated the size or value of The Royal Mint’s share of the UK commemorative coin market.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Royal Mint supplies wholesalers outside the UK, including other EU nations.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Her Majesty’s Treasury can confirm that The Royal Mint does supply several wholesalers outside the UK, including in other EU countries.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the planned increase to the contributions holiday for SAYE schemes will apply to new SAYE contracts only or also cover pre-existing SAYE contracts.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The government announced at Autumn Budget that it would extend the Save As You Earn (SAYE) contributions holiday from 6 to 12 months for those on maternity and parental leave from 6 April 2018. After receiving representations from the share plan industry, the government is delaying the implementation of this change until 1 September 2018 to allow for software changes and testing.
The government will, from the same date, extend the SAYE contributions holiday to 12 months for all SAYE plans. This change will extend the benefit to all SAYE participants, including those with pre-existing contracts.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his planned increase to contributions holidays for SAYE schemes will apply to those (a) on maternity leave, (b) on shared parental leave, (c) on adoption leave and (d) who miss payment contributions.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The government announced at Autumn Budget that it would extend the Save As You Earn (SAYE) contributions holiday from 6 to 12 months for those on maternity and parental leave from 6 April 2018. After receiving representations from the share plan industry, the government is delaying the implementation of this change until 1 September 2018 to allow for software changes and testing.
The government will, from the same date, extend the SAYE contributions holiday to 12 months for all SAYE plans. This change will extend the benefit to all SAYE participants, including those with pre-existing contracts.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of deferring the upcoming increase in the contributions holiday for SAYE schemes from six to 12 months to allow more time for the share plan industry to undertake (a) system development and (b) regression testing.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The government announced at Autumn Budget that it would extend the Save As You Earn (SAYE) contributions holiday from 6 to 12 months for those on maternity and parental leave from 6 April 2018. After receiving representations from the share plan industry, the government is delaying the implementation of this change until 1 September 2018 to allow for software changes and testing.
The government will, from the same date, extend the SAYE contributions holiday to 12 months for all SAYE plans. This change will extend the benefit to all SAYE participants, including those with pre-existing contracts.