Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to review the performance of the Motor Insurance Bureau against their statutory obligations.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not currently have any plans to review the performance of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau against their statutory duty.
The Government is clear that addressing the rising costs of motor insurance is a priority and will set out the next steps on this in due course.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to impose VAT on private school fees for any part of the academic school year commencing in September 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential public services, including investing in the state education system.
The Prime Minister has been clear that if a child has an Education, Health and Care Plan that requires them to attend a private school because their needs cannot be met in the state sector, they will not feel an impact from VAT being charged on fees. The Chancellor has also been clear that changes will not come into force until 2025.
Further details on this policy will be set out in due course. The Government engages with a wide range of stakeholders with an interest in Government policy, including VAT, as part of the policy development and implementation process as a matter of course.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of making water companies statutory consultees in planning permission applications for new housing developments.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Government committed during the passage of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 to consult on whether water companies should become statutory consultees on certain planning applications, and if so, how best to do this. The Secretary of State has since commissioned Sam Richards to undertake an independent review of statutory consultees within the planning system and the recommendations from this will be published in due course.
In the meantime, it is important that water companies engage local planning authorities on their applications at the right time so they can input effectively and not slow down the application process.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ending the automatic right of new housing developments to connect to the sewage system.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water Industry Act 1991 permits owners of premises or of private sewers to connect to the public sewer and to discharge into it foul and surface water. A sewerage company may, however, refuse this connection if it appears that the construction or condition of the connecting drain or sewer does not reasonably satisfy the standards it reasonably requires or if the connection would be prejudicial to its own sewerage system. Where there are questions or disputes about reasonableness, the regulator - Ofwat - would make the final determination.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to commence schedule 3 of the Floods and Water Act 2010.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government remains firmly committed to delivering standardised sustainable drainage systems in new developments as stated in our Plan for Water (April 2023). A consultation will take place shortly and final implementation decisions will be made on scope, threshold and process.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason kinship carers can only claim the lower rate of Child Benefit if they already have children for whom they claim Child Benefit; and if he will take steps to review this policy.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
The higher rate of Child Benefit can only be paid for the eldest child. It is intended to help all families with children, acknowledging the impact on a family’s finances of the arrival of a child/children in the family. The arrival of a child for the first time may mean for instance that many parents have to give up work altogether or work reduced hours. When Child Benefit ends for the eldest child, the higher rate becomes payable for the next eldest child. The government keeps all policies under review in the usual way.
Financial support for kinship carers is paid at the discretion of the local authority and in accordance with their model for assessing support needs. There is no limit on the level of support, including financial support, that local authorities can provide. The local authority should have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average holding time was for phone calls to the probate office contact line in each year since 2019.
Answered by Mike Freer
The average holding time (Average Speed of Answer (ASA)) for phone calls to the Probate office contact line in each year since 2019 is as follows:
2021 = 17 minutes 28 seconds
2022 = 33 minutes 23 seconds
2023 = 12 minutes 17 seconds
HMCTS does not hold ASA data prior to 2021 due to a change in system in Spring 2021.
HMCTS has recruited over 100 additional staff, between June 2022 and June 2023, to improve both telephone response times and increase the overall volume and speed of grants being issued.
In addition, HMCTS have undertaken additional staff training to ensure probate call agents can resolve more queries at the first time of contact and issue the grant wherever possible.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with local authorities on the long-term effect of the speaking of Welsh of inter-library loan charges for Welsh language books.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities. It is for each local authority to determine operational matters such as its stock management policy, including participation in an inter-library loan service. This is a co-operative and voluntary agreement among libraries which allows books and other materials from one library to be loaned out to a user from another.
Library services providing an inter-library loan service can apply charges for all book titles requested for borrowing from other library services, and are not limited to Welsh language books.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department issues on the publication by local authorities of public notices; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to allow the publication of such notices online.
Answered by Simon Hoare
Statutory notices are an important means for ensuring that the public is kept informed of decisions by their council which may affect their quality of life, local services or amenities, or their property. The Government has no current plans to legislate on changing provisions on statutory notices.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the refusal of applications for planning permission for solar farms in excess of 50 MW where financing has not been secured.
Answered by Lee Rowley
In deciding whether or not to grant an application for development consent for above 50MW electricity generation stations such as solar farms, the Energy Secretary of State must have regard under section 104 of the Planning Act 2008 to any relevant National Policy Statement where one has effect.
In addition to this, and also where decisions are taken where no National Policy Statement has effect, the Secretary of State must also have regard to any other matters which are both important and relevant to the decision which may, where compulsory acquisition powers are requested, include details of how the project in question is proposed to be funded.
Revised Energy National Policy Statements were designated on 24 January 2024.
Whilst I appreciate the point my Honourable Friend is making, the planning system upholds a long-standing principle of planning considerations being the lawful basis in making a determination.