Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Cycle to Work Scheme in improving cycle ownership among people on low incomes.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Cycle to Work scheme is a benefit-in-kind provided by employers to their employees. A benefit-in-kind is a form of non-cash remuneration provided by employers to their employees. Income tax and National Insurance contribution relief is provided on the scheme to both employers and their employees via salary sacrifice arrangements.
Employees earning at or near the National Minimum Wage (NMW) cannot access salary sacrifice if the arrangement will take their contractual salary below the relevant NMW rate. The Government is not currently considering changing the NMW legislation to apply to an employee’s salary after deductions have been made for salary sacrifice.
HMRC has commissioned an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Cycle to Work scheme and will publish its findings in due course.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing further regulations on X to tackle the spread the of (a) disinformation and (b) misinformation.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act will require all in-scope services, including X, to tackle mis- and disinformation where it is illegal or harmful to children.
The Act will also hold Category 1 services to account over the enforcement of their terms of service, including those on mis- and disinformation.
Our immediate focus is getting the Online Safety Act implemented quickly and effectively. Social media companies have a clear responsibility to keep people safe on their platforms, and this is a government priority.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will set out her timeline for the implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November (HCWS244) which sets out further detail on implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. It also clarifies government's plans to reform leasehold and commonhold.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential health benefits of improving access to cycles for people on low incomes.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that reducing physical inactivity is beneficial for everyone and evidence suggests that cycling has positive physical and mental health benefits. Public Health England’s cycling and walking evidence review, published in 2018, found mixed evidence for whether increasing cycling in deprived socioeconomic status groups is more beneficial than in the general population. This review is available at the following link:
The Department of Health and Social Care is currently working with the Department for Transport, and Active Travel England, on an updated evidence review, which will further examine active travel’s impact on mental health, physical health, and health inequalities. Findings are expected by mid-2025.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to strengthen employee rights for those who were employed by an employer that has become insolvent.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
When an employer enters insolvency, the Government’s Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) can pay statutory amounts owed to employees from the National Insurance Fund. These include redundancy pay, holiday pay, arrears of pay, compensatory notice pay and pension contributions.
In 2023-24 RPS paid out more than £490 million in redundancy and related payments, with claims processed in an average of 10 days.
It is important to ensure that employees are not left in vulnerable situations where their employer has become insolvent. It is also important to ensure that the framework provides good value for taxpayers.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will take steps to ensure that households that do not have driveways can access (a) on-street and (b) domestic EV charging infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is dedicated to ensuring EV drivers can charge across the country, wherever they live. Through the Local EV Infrastructure Fund, local authorities in England are being supported to install tens of thousands of chargepoints.
For those without off-street parking, the Government also offers the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking. Eligible applicants can get up to £350 off the cost of installing a domestic chargepoint, when paired with a cross-pavement solution.
Going forward, the Government confirmed in the October 2024 Budget that it will be investing over £200 million in 2025-26 to accelerate EV chargepoint rollout, including funding to support local authorities to install on-street chargepoints across England.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 introducing mandatory codes of practice for businesses to reduce litter.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is not, at this time, planning to make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory codes of practice for businesses to reduce litter.
We want to see businesses recognising what they can do to discourage the littering of their products and packaging, and the potential benefits to their brand of being associated with tackling, rather than causing, litter. Local councils do, however, have powers to intervene where needed. These include Community Protection Notices which can be used to require the owner of premises to take certain actions to tackle litter created by their activities. Planning guidance also clarifies the powers available to councils to ensure new hot food takeaways do not increase the impact of litter on local communities.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to bring empty homes back into use.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 6686 on 14 October 2024.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps has her Department is taking with the Teacher's Pension Scheme to reduce the time taken to provide pension valuations for teachers undergoing divorce proceedings.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is aware of a backlog with the number of outstanding Cash Equivalent Transfer Value figures that are used by members in divorce proceedings. The backlog has arisen as a result of the Transitional Protection (McCloud) remedy and the need for complex guidance to be provided before affected cases could be processed by the scheme administrator.
The scheme administrator has undertaken IT development to help expedite these cases in order to increase capacity. Discussions are ongoing regarding any additional efficiencies and resource that can be used, as the department appreciates the impact that a delay has on members in these circumstances.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy to amend the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to classify driving instructors as a position of trust.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to protecting children and young people from sexual abuse. We have robust legislation in this area, and “position of trust” offences were reviewed and updated in 2022. We continue to keep this important area of law under review.