Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will provide a Government loan facility for leaseholders needing to fund cladding safety works.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is providing £1.6 billion to speed up the removal of unsafe cladding and make homes safer, quicker. We have also appointed construction experts who are reviewing remediation timescales and identifying what can be done to increase pace. Where building owners have failed to act, despite government support, the Government has supported enforcement action.
However,?we recognise that there are wider remediation costs which will need to be met to ensure the safety of existing blocks of flats. We have asked MHCLG advisor Michael Wade to accelerate work on identifying options for financing solutions that remove barriers to fixing historic defects and protect leaseholders from unaffordable costs; but we must also ensure that the bill does not fall on taxpayers.
The new building safety regime will prevent similar safety defects occurring in new builds in the future. It will also systematically address historic defects by requiring safety case reviews and reasonable improvements.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of Ministerial vehicles are electric.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
With the support of the Department for Transport, the Government Car Service (GCS) is replacing its fleet with Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles as they become due for replacement. Currently 50% of the GCS fleet is now either battery electric or petrol/electric hybrid and we are actively looking at options to accelerate this transition.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what Government support is available to help small tutoring companies become an approved Tuition Partner; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), our delivery partner on the Tuition Partner strand of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), launched the funding criteria on 31 August. Organisations will be selected to become NTP Tuition Partners through an open competition - the process is transparently set out on their website, together with information on criteria and expectations of partners: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/ntp-tuition-partners/for-tuition-partners.
As this is a competitive process, there are no plans to offer specific support for individual companies. Quality is the core principle of this programme, and EEF are seeking high quality tutoring organisations of any size, who can manage delivery in line with robust quality, safeguarding and evaluation standards. EEF anticipate inviting a large number of organisations to be Tuition Partners. In addition to existing tutoring providers, EEF are happy to accept applications from other organisations, for example, charities, local authorities or universities who are able to meet the necessary criteria. Applications will also be welcome from partnerships made up of a number of organisations with differing, but relevant, experience.
EEF will not have an appeals system for this process. They will, however, offer feedback on all applications, to help unsuccessful applicants understand how they might improve their offer in the future.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the application process for tuition companies to become NTP Tuition Partners is fair and transparent; and what appeal system is in place for that application process.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), our delivery partner on the Tuition Partner strand of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), launched the funding criteria on 31 August. Organisations will be selected to become NTP Tuition Partners through an open competition - the process is transparently set out on their website, together with information on criteria and expectations of partners: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/ntp-tuition-partners/for-tuition-partners.
As this is a competitive process, there are no plans to offer specific support for individual companies. Quality is the core principle of this programme, and EEF are seeking high quality tutoring organisations of any size, who can manage delivery in line with robust quality, safeguarding and evaluation standards. EEF anticipate inviting a large number of organisations to be Tuition Partners. In addition to existing tutoring providers, EEF are happy to accept applications from other organisations, for example, charities, local authorities or universities who are able to meet the necessary criteria. Applications will also be welcome from partnerships made up of a number of organisations with differing, but relevant, experience.
EEF will not have an appeals system for this process. They will, however, offer feedback on all applications, to help unsuccessful applicants understand how they might improve their offer in the future.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the additional 20,000 Police Officers will be allocated to (a) Hertfordshire Police and (b) British Transport Police.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Hertfordshire Police has been allocated 91 officers in year one of the uplift. These officers are to be recruited by the end of March 2021. This is supported by an increase of £15.9m in 2020/21. Decisions on the allocation of officers for years two and three are yet to be taken.
The British Transport Police are not included within the allocation of officers for the 20,000 uplift. They are funded directly by train operators and are a separate entity from the 43 territorial forces.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on extending eligibility to Right to Buy discounts to Housing Association tenants.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
This Government strongly believes in supporting social housing tenants to buy their own home. The Voluntary Right to Buy for housing association tenants is currently being piloted in the Midlands, which is giving thousands of tenants in the East and West Midlands the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of home ownership. The pilot will be fully evaluated after its completion. As set out in the 2019 manifesto, we will be evaluating new pilot areas, and we will announce more details on this in due course.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to stop local authorities using (a) bailiffs and (b) debt collection agents collecting (i) rent and (ii) council tax arrears.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government has put in place measures to prevent enforcement agents taking control of goods at residential premises and on highways until 23 August 2020.
This is part of an unprecedented support package to help prevent people getting into rent arrears or financial hardship. The Government has also taken action to prevent renters, including council tenants, from eviction. On 5 June, the Government announced that the current suspension of evictions from social or private rented accommodation will be extended by 2 months until 23 August 2020. This means that no action to evict a tenant will proceed before 24 August 2020. The emergency measures in the Coronavirus Act, which requires landlords to give at least 3 months' notice to evict tenants, are unaffected by this and remain in place until 30 September 2020.
Many local authorities have put in place alternative council tax collection arrangements to support their local residents in paying their bills. In addition, the Government has provided an additional £500 million hardship fund to help some of the most vulnerable households with their council tax bills.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish its response to the review of the regulation of air weapons in England and Wales, published in October 2017.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government fully understands the interest that Members of Parliament and others have in the outcomes of the review of air weapons regulation, and the concerns that have been expressed about the consequences, sometimes tragic, arising from the misuse of these weapons.
We intend to publish our conclusions in due course, alongside a consultation on firearms safety issues, to which we committed during the passage of the Offensive Weapons Bill.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to allow people who are paid annually but their RTI was submitted after the 19 March for the 2019-20 tax year eligibility to access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
For an employee to be eligible for the CJRS, the employee must have been notified to HMRC on a real-time information (RTI) submission on or before 19 March.
Those paid annually are eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions, including being notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020 which relates to a payment of earnings in the 2019/20 tax year.
Anyone paid annually and notified on an RTI submission after that date will not be eligible for the scheme. This position also applies to those who are paid more frequently and were not notified to HMRC on or before 19 March.
The 19 March date allows as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement, and mitigates the risk of fraud that exists as soon as the scheme became public.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to extend (a) the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and (b) mortgage payment holidays to cover the same period as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The UK has one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world. The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) opened on 13 May, ahead of schedule, and it provides support worth up to £7,500 each to millions of individuals. Recipients will have the grants in their bank accounts within six working days of making an application.
The Chancellor indicated that the SEISS would be temporary when he announced it at the end of March, and that it could be extended if necessary. The Government is keeping this under review.
The Government will also continue to work closely with lenders and the Financial Conduct Authority to ensure that borrowers are supported during the present challenging times, especially if they are facing financial distress. Lenders are continuing to show forbearance as required, working together with borrowers to establish how they can best affordably and gradually get back on track. Borrowers concerned about their current financial situation should contact their lenders at the earliest possible opportunity.