Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support people who rely solely on rent from tenants for income during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Chancellor has announced unprecedented support for businesses affected by Coronavirus including giving them access to cash to pay their rent, salaries or suppliers. The Government has also taken steps to protect commercial tenants from eviction and is working with the sector to publish a Code of Practice to guide and encourage all parties to work together to protect viable businesses and ensure a swift recovery.
In the residential sector, we recognise the pressures which residents and landlords are facing. That is why the Government has extended the suspension of evictions from social or private rented accommodation for a further 2 months and included Buy-to-let mortgages in the extension to the window for applying for a mortgage holiday until 31 October 2020.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to facilitate the development of electric vehicle battery manufacturing in the UK; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits for North Wales and Wrexham of Stoke-on-Trent becoming a manufacturing location for those batteries.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
There are a range of factors that will influence the location of any UK Gigafactory investment, and the final location decision will be a commercial matter.
The Government has a long-standing programme of support to maintain the competitiveness of the UK automotive sector. Through the Automotive Sector Deal, we are working with the industry to develop world-leading battery technologies.
We have already invested £274 million in the Faraday Battery Challenge (FBC) through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The FBC is a cutting-edge programme, helping UK businesses to lead the world in the design, development, and manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles. Under the FBC, we have invested £120 million in the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), the first phase of which was completed in March 2020, and which will provide a state-of-the-art pilot facility to test new cell technology. UKBIC will play a key role in laying the groundwork to secure a battery Gigafactory in the UK.
The Faraday Institution commissioned a study which showed that by 2040, an estimated eight Gigafactories (of 15GWh per year capacity) will be needed in the UK and consequently employment in the automotive industry and battery supply chain could increase to 246,000 jobs.
The Government has announced up to £1 billion of additional funding to develop UK electric vehicle supply chains, and for further electric vehicles research and development. This funding will accelerate mass production of key technologies in the UK, through major investments in the manufacturing of batteries, electric motors, power electronics, and hydrogen fuel cells, along with their component and materials supply chains.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support freelance and self-employed people who take only dividends from their business.
Answered by Jesse Norman
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer to Parliamentary Question 54215 on 9 June 2020.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to support British charities responding to the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton
UK Civil Society organisations (CSOs) are crucial partners for DFID and play a critical role in ensuring UK aid reaches the most vulnerable in the global response to COVID-19. UK charities, such as Christian Aid and Humanity & Inclusion, are receiving funding to support vulnerable people around the world during the crisis. We have allocated £18 million to charities through the Rapid Response Facility and over £24 million through our partnership with Unilever.
A new UK Aid Direct funding round has also been launched, some of which has been set aside for rapid access by existing UK Aid Direct grant holders who are able to respond immediately to COVID-19. As DFID’s country network adapts programming to respond to COVID-19, country teams are considering how they can do this through partners, including through CSOs.
In addition, DFID welcomes the vital role that NGOs will continue to play in service delivery through multilaterals. UN agencies have undertaken a review of their existing procedures related to partnership management and issued additional internal guidance to simplify and expedite collaboration where appropriate. We will be working with the UN and DFID’s country offices to increasingly better understand and track eventual flows to NGOs in-country.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the support available to extremely vulnerable adults in Wales during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
For those who are at the highest risk in our society, we have ensured more is done to keep them safe. The shielding programme, which was initiated by the UK Government, is an unprecedented package of support for those most at risk from coronavirus. It has required collaboration between the food and drink industry, drivers, volunteers and councils. Consistency to support the vulnerable has been key. This is why the UK Government and the Welsh Government are working together to protect the most vulnerable in Wales and I discuss this support as part of my regular dialogue with the First Minister and his Ministerial team.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the CPS’s handling of assault cases against emergency workers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Suella Braverman
A disappointing feature of this pandemic is the high number of assaults against emergency workers. The CPS is prosecuting cases robustly. During the first month of lockdown, the CPS prosecuted over 300 cases of assaults against emergency workers and it’s clear that when an individual threatens to infect an emergency worker by spitting or coughing, it will be treated extremely seriously by prosecutors.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure victims of crime can continue to access support during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
We are committed to ensuring victims and witnesses receive the support they need during this challenging time.
We have been working across government, with the sector and local bodies through our Covid-19 Victims and Witnesses Silver Group, which has helped to identify needs to ensure support is available for victims and witnesses.
We have secured £25million as part of the £76million government package for charities supporting vulnerable people including victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse, made almost £600k of funding available to assist helpline services and committed £3million per annum to Independent Sexual Violence advisers until 2022.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the use of online interactive taught lessons during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.
Since 23 March, in line with the scientific advice, nurseries, schools and colleges have remained open to children of critical workers and vulnerable children. The Department is committed to ensuring that all children can continue to learn at home in these very difficult circumstances, including vulnerable pupils who do not attend school. It is up to each school to determine how to deliver education to its pupils and we recognise that many schools have already shared resources for children who are at home. Our latest guidance on remote education during COVID-19 outbreak is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
This includes an initial list of free online resources identified by educational experts and teachers. Many suppliers have also helpfully made their resources available for free.
Leading state schools collaborated to open The Oak National Academy, which was launched online on 20 April. This initiative is led by 40 teachers who have assembled video lessons and resources for any teacher in the country to make use of if they wish to do so. 180 video lessons will be provided each week, across a broad range of subjects, for every year group from Reception through to Year 10. The Oak National Academy’s role is to supplement, not to replace, existing provision.
Additionally, the BBC has developed resources for families as part of a comprehensive new education package, which is now available on TV via the red button, on iPlayer and online at BBC Bitesize.
The Government has also committed over £100 million to boost remote education. This includes providing devices and internet access for vulnerable children who need it most, ensuring every school that wants it has access to free, expert technical support to get set up on Google for Education or Microsoft’s Office 365 Education, and offering peer support from schools and colleges leading the way with the use of education technology. Provision of internet access, and technical support, will continue to be available to schools during the phased return of children and young people. Devices will be owned by schools and organisations and will benefit children’s education long after schools have opened to all pupils.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
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 with UK manufacturers to increase the supply of personal protective equipment.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 15 May, over 13,000 businesses have contacted the Government with offers of help on supplying personal protective equipment (PPE). Many are related to the manufacture of PPE for the National Health Service and care sectors, a vast majority of which we are taking forward, predominantly from United Kingdom-based companies but also including multinational companies. Some offers were not progressed due to financial and capability considerations.
The Department engages directly with potential manufacturers to qualify and prioritise the opportunity, based on availability of/access to raw supplies, lead-times to manufacture, and other commercial considerations. Product prototypes are submitted to a Technical Product Review process, to ensure they meet essential health, safety and quality standards for PPE. Financial due diligence and fraud prevention measures are also undertaken, after which the Department can contract with the manufacturer.
Lord Deighton is leading the Government’s efforts to secure sufficient PPE and ensure this gets to where it is needed. He is also driving forward coordination of the end-to-end process design and manufacture of new domestic PPE supplies. As at 15 May, the Department has entered into contract and placed orders with eight manufacturers to provide millions of items of PPE products to the National Health Service and carers. Details of this work can be found in the links below. The volumes will increase in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on co-ordinating a UK-wide response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
I have regular discussions with all my cabinet colleagues on the Covid-19 outbreak, including the co-ordination of a UK-wide response.
This Government is absolutely committed to a UK-wide approach. We will continue to work together with the Scottish Government and other Devolved Administrations to ensure a coordinated approach across the UK, while respecting the devolution settlements.