Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason AFC Harrogate is exempt from Ofsted inspections; and which independent body is responsible for inspections of AFC Harrogate.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Ofsted does inspect Army Foundation College (Harrogate). Up to date reports are published online and can be found here, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welfare-and-duty-of-care-in-armed-forces-initial-training
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating businesses occupying spaces in (a) retail and (b) industrial estates to install solar panels on their roofs.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government provides fiscal incentives to encourage businesses to install rooftop solar, such as through tax relief and business rate exemptions. Through permitted development rights, there is no limit to the capacity of a commercial solar installation, although prior approval is required for installations greater than 50kW.
The forthcoming Solar Roadmap will set out recommendations on how the Government and industry will work together to achieve the ambition to radically increase the UK’s solar capacity by 2030 including for non-domestic solar.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with (a) Google and (b) Apple on in-app purchase fees; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to regulate in-app fees.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Competition and Markets Authority launched a Strategic Market Status designation investigation in January on both Apple and Google’s position in mobile ecosystems. This investigation is independent to Government and will also include the consideration of in-app purchase fees and conditions. The CMA have consulted on the scope of this investigation and is gathering evidence before publishing a provisional Strategic Market Status designation decision in July.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of agreeing with (a) the European Union and (b) individual Schengen Area countries to allow British citizens to stay up to 180 days without a visa.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The European Union is responsible for visa policy in relation to short stays in the territory of Schengen states, including visa requirements. Short stays are stays of no more than 90 days within any 180-day period, as set out in EU legislation. The UK and the EU operate independent visa policies.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) strengthen protections for NHS whistleblowers and (b) prevent repercussions for those who raise patient safety concerns.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has been clear that the silencing of whistleblowers will not be tolerated, and that National Health Service staff should have the confidence to speak out and come forward if they have concerns.
There is a network of more than 1,200 local Freedom to Speak Up Guardians across healthcare in England, whose role is to help and support NHS workers who want to speak up about any concerns that they have. There is also a national Freedom to Speak Up policy, published by NHS England, which sets out the minimum standards for local Freedom to Speak Up policies across the NHS, with all NHS organisations having been instructed to adopt this policy. These initiatives sit alongside legal protections for whistleblowers, which have been strengthened so that they also prohibit discrimination against job applicants on the grounds that they have spoken up in the past.
In November 2024, the Department launched a consultation on options for regulating NHS managers, with the aim of improving leadership quality and accountability. This will help ensure that the NHS has strong and effective leadership in place, and that leaders and managers are held accountable for their practice. The consultation closed on 18 February 2025 and had strong engagement, receiving nearly 5,000 responses.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) extending and (b) removing the 30-day time limit for completing a blue badge application.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While there is no time limit for completion of a Blue Badge application in legislation, in order to comply with UK data handling regulations personal data relating to an application on the Blue Badge online application system is deleted after thirty days. In that thirty-day period applicants are able to save and return to their online application.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that households on private water networks have access to the same (a) provision for leak allowances and (b) other protections as households supplied directly by water companies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities are the regulators for private water supplies. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has information about private water supplies on their website, some of which covers private supply networks.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing local councils to review applications by utility firms for emergency roadworks in order to determine when the roadworks should take place.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Emergency works are defined in legislation as works needed to deal with dangers to life and property and so must be carried out urgently. For these, and other urgent works needed to restore customer connections or deal with leaks, permits must be submitted to the relevant highway authority within two hours of works starting on site. The authority can assess these permits and request works are completed by a particular time.
Authorities are also required to evaluate the operation of their permit schemes, annually for the first three years of operation and then every three years after that.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to prevent freeholders holding leaseholders liable for outstanding service charges incurred by the previous leaseholder.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The seller of a leasehold property is legally responsible for service charges owed up until the completion of the sale to the next leaseholder. A freeholder cannot require a leaseholder to pay charges owed by the previous leaseholder if the new leaseholder has not agreed this as part of the sale contract. The government would expect the incoming leaseholder’s solicitors to act in their client’s best interests in advising them and negotiating the terms of the sale contract.
If a landlord tries to claim that a leaseholder is liable for charges for which they are not liable, we recommend that the leaseholder seeks independent legal advice on how to proceed. Free initial advice is available from the government’s Leasehold Advisory Service. The landlord may be able to take action against the previous leaseholder regarding their failure to pay service charges due for the previous leaseholder’s period of ownership.
The government believes that all liabilities and ongoing financial responsibilities should be made clear to potential purchasers of leasehold properties, prior to purchase.
The landlord should provide relevant information, including on any ongoing or planned service charges, and specify how regularly these charges will be reassessed or increased, during purchase of the property. This is most often set out in a Leasehold Property Enquiry form 1 (LPE1) enquiry form. Prospective buyers and their legal representative are advised to check this information carefully and take it into account when negotiating the purchase price of the property.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Chief Secretary to the Treasury plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on seizing frozen Russian assets, dated 16 January 2025.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The correspondence from the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells is receiving urgent attention and a response will be issued by HM Treasury in due course.