Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will have discussions with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Scottish Government on the impact of the outbreak of covid-19 on fiscal deficits in (i) the UK and (ii) Scotland.
Answered by Iain Stewart
The UK Government supported businesses and households throughout the global pandemic and the British Business Bank loan scheme alone saved up to 500,000 businesses and 2.9 million jobs UK-wide alone.
We have taken action last year and returned the public finances to a sustainable path, and the Government is on track to meet its fiscal rules.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on providing support for (a) working families, (b) pensioners and (c) benefit recipients in Northern Ireland in the context of the rise in the cost of living.
Answered by Conor Burns
The Government has provided significant resources to the Executive to address these issues and I continue to urge the parties to form an Executive, so that the £435 million provided by the Government can be allocated to help people across Northern Ireland as a matter of urgency.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What proportion of addresses have access to gigabit-capable broadband connections in (a) Kettering constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
88 per cent of premises in the Honourable Member’s constituency are able to access gigabit-capable broadband.
Across the UK as a whole, 66 per cent of premises now have access to gigabit broadband, up from six per cent three years ago. This means Kettering’s connectivity is above the national average and we are on track for gigabit coverage to reach at least 85 per cent of premises by 2025 and we are working to reach near-universal coverage as soon as possible thereafter.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the creation of the National Shipbuilding Office on (a) the number of ships being built in the UK and (b) the amount of (i) British technology, (ii) components and (iii) steel in those ships.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The National Shipbuilding Office will be responsible for driving forward one of the Prime Minister’s key domestic priorities across Government. It will report directly to the Shipbuilding Tsar and will oversee all of the UK Government’s interests in UK shipbuilding.
Our National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, which will be published later this year, will set out our approach in more detail.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What assessment she has made of how international trade benefits (a) Kettering constituency, (b) North Northamptonshire and (c) England.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Kettering and the wider East Midlands economy already benefit from the higher productivity and better-quality jobs associated with international trade. Over 680,000 jobs in the region were directly or indirectly linked to exports in 2016, and new Foreign Direct Investment created over 2,149 new jobs in 2020/21. We are confident the new Free Trade Agreements we are striking globally will create even more opportunities for Kettering and Northamptonshire companies.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Attorney General:
If he will hold discussions with the CPS on improving prosecution rates for assault of emergency workers in (a) Kettering, (b) North Northamptonshire and (c) England.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
I agree that we should do everything we can to protect our emergency workers. I hope that the Honourable Member will be pleased to know that between 2019 and 2020 the numbers of prosecutions for these offences increased by 27.2% in the East Midlands CPS Area and by 25.1% overall across England and Wales.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether all participants regardless of their covid-19 vaccination status are tested both prior to and after the event they attend in the large events pilots of the Events Research Programme; when and how those results are published; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Events Research Programme Science Board has planned for testing to take place both before and after each of the event pilots to ensure event safety and to gather evidence on the pilots. This will be for all attendees, regardless of COVID vaccination status, and there will be no requirement for participants to show proof of the vaccine.
The Events Research Programme (including DCMS, DHSC and BEIS) will report at the end of May to the Prime Minister, to feed into wider discussions around Step 4 of the roadmap.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to covid-19 testing at large events pilots taking place as part of the Events Research Programme, whether the test results are planned to be recorded separately for people who have received (a) zero, (b) one and (c) two doses of a covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
An individual’s vaccination status will be included as a variable when analysing test result data relating to the Events Research Programme (ERP). This will enable analysis of whether vaccinations have impacted on any potential transmission at the events.
The Events Research Programme (including DCMS, DHSC and BEIS) will report at the end of May to the Prime Minister, to feed into wider discussions around Step 4 of the roadmap.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
What recent discussions the Government has had with the EU on improving the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has provided a joint work programme to the EU as a first step in working together to resolve the full range of issues that we have identified with the operation of the Protocol.
Our priority now is to move those discussions forward, address concerns, and ensure the Protocol is given effect in the pragmatic and proportionate way intended.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution on Building Safety on 10 February 2021, Official report, column 329, whether cladding on residential buildings of less than 11 metres in height by default does not require remedial work; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Longstanding safety advice from the independent expert advisory panel established by Government following the Grenfell tragedy is that height is a central factor in assessing risk, and it is right we prioritise action on higher rise buildings where risk to multiple households is greater when fire spreads. For lower and medium-rise blocks of flats, the risks are significantly lower and the remediation of cladding is less likely to be needed - in many cases, it will not be needed at all. Government funding does not absolve building owners of their responsibility to ensure their buildings are safe. They should consider all routes to meet costs, protecting leaseholders where they can – for example through warranties and recovering costs from contractors for incorrect or poor work.