Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support he is making available for people who are mortgage prisoners and are subject to significant payment rises.
Answered by John Glen - Shadow Paymaster General
The Government has worked with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on changes to regulation, making it possible for lenders to offer products to a greater number of mortgage prisoners. We have also put resources in place so that mortgage prisoners can understand their options better, including their ability to switch, and access advice through MoneyHelper.
The Treasury continues to work with industry to determine if there are any further solutions which would meaningfully benefit mortgage prisoners and are fair to other borrowers in the wider mortgage market, including those who are also paying variable rates.
On the cost of living more broadly, the Government has introduced over £15bn of additional support, targeted particularly at those with the greatest need. This package builds on the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year. Millions of the most vulnerable households will receive at least £1,200 of one-off support in total this year to help with the cost of living.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of rolling out electric vehicle charge points in Newcastle City Council area by 2030.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
It is for Newcastle City Council to identify the most effective electric vehicle chargepoint strategy for their residents.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the number of off-street electric vehicle charge points required in the Newcastle City Council area by 2030.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
It is for Newcastle City Council to identify the number of chargepoints needed and the most effective electric vehicle chargepoint strategy for their residents.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases have been handled by the MP Account Manager team in the last 6 months; and what proportion of these cases received a substantial response within 20 working days.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Department works to a target of responding to 95% of Hon. Members written correspondence within 20 working days.
Performance has been impacted by a very significant increase in the volume of correspondence received, including the unprecedented amount of correspondence about the situation in Afghanistan and more recently in Ukraine. Ministers and officials also had to instigate a remote process for drafting and signing correspondence during the period of COVID-19 restrictions.
The Department recognises it has not been able to meet service standard in some cases, but has implemented an action plan to clear backlogs and drive up performance.
Data about intake and performance in answering Hon. Members correspondence are published quarterly with the latest Quarter available at: Customer service operations data: Q4 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and this includes data up to and including the end of quarter 4 - 2021.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for an answer on the UKVI MP Account Manager Team hotline.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis there has been a significant increase in calls to the MP Enquiry Line leading to lengthy wait times for which we apologise.
Normal staffing levels for the MPs Enquiry Line is a maximum of 6 agents available at peak times and this was increased to 16 on Monday 4th April.
We are now seeing a reduction in waiting times and we anticipate call wait times volumes will drop significantly from next week.
To ease pressure on the lines during this period we have requested MPs Offices only use the line for Ukraine queries or non-Ukraine compassionate/urgent cases.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff are assigned to the UKVI MP Account Manager Team hotline.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis there has been a significant increase in calls to the MP Enquiry Line leading to lengthy wait times for which we apologise.
Normal staffing levels for the MPs Enquiry Line is a maximum of 6 agents available at peak times and this was increased to 16 on Monday 4th April.
We are now seeing a reduction in waiting times and we anticipate call wait times volumes will drop significantly from next week.
To ease pressure on the lines during this period we have requested MPs Offices only use the line for Ukraine queries or non-Ukraine compassionate/urgent cases.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will allocate extra funding to constabularies to deliver in-depth, face to face and role specific disclosure and rebuttable presumption material training for all officers and staff involved in the submission of files to the CPS.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Training standards and the national policing curriculum are set by the College of Policing. However, forces provide local training and development at several different levels ranging from initial entry, leadership and ongoing development.
Following the revised Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure coming into force at the end of 2020, the College have updated their core curriculum and a suite of learning products, including videos, was developed by the College and National Police Chiefs’ Council to explain the changes to the guidance.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who owns the freehold for the Benton Park View site in Newcastle upon Tyne that is used by HMRC.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Newcastle Estates Partnership, part of the Semperian Group, own the freehold for the Benton Park View site in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what studies have been carried out on the environmental impact of (a) zinc and (b) lead contaminants between Walker Quay and the upper reaches of the River Tyne.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Metals from abandoned mines impact water quality and aquatic wildlife in more than 150 kilometres of the South Tyne catchment, and these metals ultimately accumulate in the Tyne estuary sediments.
The Environment Agency (EA) has investigated the environmental impacts of zinc and lead from historic mine activity in the upper reaches of the River Tyne, particularly in the Rivers Nent and West Allen, which are two of the most metal-polluted rivers in England.
EA surveys in 2017 and 2018 showed populations of brown trout in the River Nent were about half that of a similar, unpolluted, control catchment. EA studies of river-flies (invertebrates) in the Nent and West Allen catchments also found decreased abundance and variety. The concentrations of zinc in the River Nent are high enough to be acutely toxic to fish but the brown trout appear to have adapted after two centuries of exposure.
The EA is working in partnership with the Coal Authority and Defra to implement measures to control inputs of metals in the Tyne headwaters as part of the Water and Abandoned Metal Mines Programme. In 2022/23, construction of the Nent Haggs mine water treatment scheme will be completed; once fully operational in 2023, this should capture up to 3 tonnes of zinc and cadmium each year and improve water quality in 60km of rivers. Other measures are being developed to stop metals polluting the River South Tyne and decrease the amount of metals that accumulate in Tyne estuary sediments.
We are currently consulting on a target to reduce the length of rivers pollution by metals from Abandoned Metal Mines by 50% by 2037 in the Environment Act Targets consultation. This will include zinc and lead pollution.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to take steps to increase school budgets in response to rising energy costs.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department recognises that schools will be facing cost pressures in the coming months, particularly due to the increase in energy prices. We are looking carefully at how this will impact schools and are considering what additional support we could offer.
Cost increases should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. The government is delivering a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding to £53.8 billion. This includes an additional £1.2 billion for schools in the new schools supplementary grant for the 2022/23 financial year. Overall, this represents a 7% cash terms per pupil boost, which will help schools meet the pressures we know they are facing, particularly around energy costs. The department pays close attention to financial health of the sector, and we are closely assessing where energy costs may more significantly impact schools’ financial health.
All schools can access a range of school resource management (SRM) tools to help them get the best value from their resources, to help them save on regular purchases and reduce non-teaching costs. Our SRM tools include recommended deals for energy costs and ancillary services relating to energy. The department will also update and strengthen guidance on a regular basis to inform schools of the market and commercial position, with practical advice on exiting existing and entering new contracts, available here: https://www.get-help-buying-for-schools.service.gov.uk/procurement-support. The Get Help Buying for Schools service will also be able to offer support to schools in switching and entering new contracts.
The department recognises that every school’s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.