Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a reduced apprenticeship levy contribution for companies which take on apprentices with SEND.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to expedite delivery of the Haughley Junction rail project, north of Stowmarket.
Answered by Huw Merriman
We are currently considering next steps for the delivery of the Ely Area Capacity Enhancements (EACE) and Haughley junction upgrade rail projects. All schemes will be subject to the development and approval of business cases and will undergo all formal governance, in line with relevant fiscal and legal duties. We are working with Network Rail on next steps and will update stakeholders in due course.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what the process is for the (a) liquidation, (b) declamation and (c) possession of a residential building by the Crown.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
An interest in a freehold property owned by a company in liquidation will be dealt with by the appointed liquidator, who will decide how best to deal with the property interest to achieve the best outcome for creditors.
Where the property interest is onerous, for example it is not readily saleable or may give rise to a liability, the liquidator may seek to disclaim it.
Once disclaimed the freehold property interest, in the absence of any other owner or a vesting order, may pass to the Crown Estate according to the legal principle of escheat.
The Crown Estate does not usually seek to take possession of property subject to escheat and does not assume the responsibilities ordinarily attributable to a property owner. It therefore does not manage or insure properties subject to escheat.
The Crown Estate is not bound to dispose of property subject to escheat, or to dispose of such property to any particular purchaser. Normal policy is to dispose of such property to an appropriate purchaser where it is possible to do so.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what guidance her Department has issued on the prosecution of pro-Hamas demonstrators.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
On 13 October, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published further prosecution guidance on protests and demonstrations in light of the Middle East conflict. This compliments the already extensive prosecution guidance on hate crime and offences committed during protests.
A link to the CPS statement can be found here:
https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/cps-prosecution-guidance-protests-and-demonstrations-light-middle-east-conflict
The CPS provided additional prosecutors to offer advice and assistance to policing in real-time, including in the Met command centre, during recent protests. The CPS continues to work closely with its operational partners to ensure a coordinated and consistent response.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the announcement that the Ely Junction and Haughley Junction rail projects will receive Government funding, what the timescales are for the delivery of each project.
Answered by Huw Merriman
We have committed to Ely as part of £36bn Network North programme. We are currently considering next steps for the delivery of the Ely Area Capacity Enhancements (EACE) and Haughley junction upgrade rail projects. All schemes will be subject to the development and approval of business cases and will undergo all formal governance, in line with relevant fiscal and legal duties. We are working with Network Rail on next steps and will update stakeholders in due course.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential benefits to passenger services in Ipswich of the upgrade of (a) Ely Junction and (b) Haughley Junction.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Ely Area Capacity Enhancements (EACE) scheme would create capacity to increase trains through the Ely ‘bottle neck’ from 6.5 per hour to 10 trains per hour, doubling passenger services on the Ely-King’s Lynn and Ipswich-Peterborough routes. We anticipate that the EACE scheme will take 98,000 lorry journeys off roads every year, improving road safety and reducing road congestion.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to road users in (a) Ipswich and (b) Suffolk of the upgrading of (i) Ely North Junction and (ii) Haughley Junction.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Ely Area Capacity Enhancements (EACE) scheme would increase freight train capacity into the port of Felixstowe from 36 to 42 trains per day, as well as increasing passenger service capacity. This is the equivalent of 98,000 lorry journeys every year, which would improve road safety and reduce road congestion.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Novotel in Ipswich being taken over by her Department on (a) tourism in Ipswich and (b) the local economy.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
For the safety of asylum seekers and staff in the hotels the Home Office does not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised.
The Home Office recognises the strain that local authorities, are facing at this time and the challenges that hotel accommodation brings. We are committed to work with local authorities through our multi-agency meetings to ensure sites are successfully managed and the impact on the local communities is minimised.
The Home Office is committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer. This is why we are delivering a range of alternative accommodation sites, maximising hotel space, operationalising the Illegal Migration Act and continuing our hard work to clear the asylum backlog by the end of 2023.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support leaseholders at The Mill in Ipswich with rectifying (a) cladding and (b) structural issues.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I want to see a good resolution for Leaseholders at the Mill. Our priority is finding a way to keep the residents safe in their homes and make sure unsafe cladding is remediated. The department are working at pace with the building’s Insolvency Practitioners, Ipswich Borough Council and Homes England to find solutions.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's timescales are for introducing the social care cap.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
As announced in the Autumn Statement, we listened to the concerns of local Government and took the difficult decision to delay the planned adult social care charging reforms. The funding intended for charging reform has been retained in local authority budgets to address current pressures and ensure that local authorities have the capacity and system readiness to deliver reform successfully.