daily report tuesday, 23 june 2020 contents · 6/23/2020 · tree planting 95 jet zero council 95...

Daily Report Tuesday, 23 June 2020

This report shows written answers and statements provided on 23 June 2020 and the

information is correct at the time of publication (06:24 P.M., 23 June 2020). For the latest

information on written questions and answers, ministerial corrections, and written statements,

please visit: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/

CONTENTS

ANSWERS 6

ATTORNEY GENERAL 6

Attorney General: Carers 6

Sentencing: Appeals 7

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND

INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 8

Aerospace Industry:

Sutherland 8

Aircraft 9

Business: Coronavirus and

Floods 9

Carbon Emissions 10

Ceramics: Manufacturing

Industries 10

Conditions of Employment:

Adoption 11

Coronavirus Job Retention

Scheme 12


Scheme: Redundancy 12

Department for Business,

Energy and Industrial Strategy:

Carers 13



Energy 13



Overseas Aid 14

Electric Vehicles:

Manufacturing Industries 14

Energy: Social Rented

Housing 15

Hydrogen: Alternative Fuels 16

Hydrogen: Boilers 16

Manufacturing Industries:

Contracts for Services 17

Natural Gas: Carbon

Emissions 17

Post Offices: Closures 18

Public Houses: Coronavirus 18

Small Business Grants Fund 18

Spaceflight: USA 19

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay 20

Working Conditions:

Coronavirus 22

CABINET OFFICE 22

Coronavirus: Death 22

Economic Situation: North

East 23

Electronic Surveillance 23

Mass Media: Coronavirus 24

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

NHS: Ventilators 24

Physiotherapy: Coronavirus 24

Threats, Hazards, Resilience

and Contingency Committee 24

UK Trade with EU 25

DEFENCE 25

Armed Forces: Racial

Discrimination 25

Military Bases: USA 26

Ministry of Defence: Energy 26

Veterans UK: Telephone

Services 27

Voyager Aircraft 27

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND

SPORT 28

Arts Festivals: Coronavirus 28

BBC: Ownership 29

Boxing 29

Department for Digital,

Culture, Media and Sport:

Carers 29



Energy 30



Overseas Aid 30

Gambling: Coronavirus 31

Gyms and Sportsgrounds:

Coronavirus 31

Horseracing: Coronavirus 32

Television: Licensing 32

Theatres: Coronavirus 33

EDUCATION 34

Academic Year and Free

School Meals 34

Apprentices: Degrees 34

Autism: Coronavirus 35

Children in Care 36

Children: Coronavirus 36

Children: Food 37

Department for Education:

Carers 37

Free School Meals 38

Free School Meals: Voucher

Schemes 39

Members: Correspondence 41

Pupils: Exercise and Sports 41

Schools: Sportsgrounds 42

Sixth Form Education:

Qualifications 42

Students: Rented Housing 43

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND

RURAL AFFAIRS 44

Air Pollution: Pollution Control 44

Animal Products: Trade 45

Dangerous Dogs 45

Department for Environment,

Food and Rural Affairs: Carers 46

Poultry: Imports 46

Rivers: Boats 46

Welfare Assistance Schemes:

Coronavirus 47

FOREIGN AND

COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 47

Bahrain: Coronavirus 47

Bahrain: Political Prisoners 47

Department for International

Development: Foreign and

Commonwealth Office 48

Iyad Hallaq 49

Nigeria: Armed Conflict 50

Nuclear Disarmament 50

Prisoners: Coronavirus 51

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights 51

Saudi Arabia: Women's Rights 52

Sri Lanka: Human Rights 52

UK Shared Prosperity Fund:

Brazil 53

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 54

Baroness Harding of

Winscombe 54

Coronavirus: Air Pollution 54

Coronavirus: Quarantine 55

Coronavirus: Screening 55

Health Professions:

Coronavirus 56

Hospitals: Construction 56

Hospitals: Coronavirus 57

Mental Health Services:

Telephone Services and Video

Conferencing 57

Obesity 57

Overseas Visitors:

Coronavirus 58

HOME OFFICE 58

Airports: Quarantine 58

Asylum 59

British Nationality: Syria 59

Counter-terrorism: Finance 59

Counter-terrorism: Local

Government 60

Counter-terrorism: Non-

governmental Organisations 60

Domestic Abuse: Victim

Support Schemes 61

Employment: Vetting 62

Fines: Quarantine 62

Forced Marriage 63

Home Office: Overseas Aid 63

Human Trafficking 64

Human Trafficking: Victim

Support Schemes 65

Human Trafficking: Victims 65

Immigrants: Finance 66

Immigration Controls: France 66

UK Border Force: Coronavirus 66

Visas: British National

(Overseas) 67

Visas: Coronavirus 67

HOUSE OF COMMONS

COMMISSION 68

House of Commons:

Coronavirus 68

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 69

Coronavirus: Kent 69

Council Tax and Rents:

Arrears 69

Floods 70

Freehold 70

Home Ownership Incentive

Schemes: Disability 70

Housing Occupancy:

Coronavirus 70

Local Government:

Coronavirus 71

Ministry of Housing,

Communities and Local

Government: Energy 72

Planning Permission 72

Property Development: Isle of

Dogs 72

INTERNATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT 73

Bangladesh: Migrant Camps 73

Brazil: Overseas Aid 74

Democratic Republic of

Congo: Coronavirus 74


Development: Reorganisation 75

Developing Countries:

Coronavirus 75

Developing Countries: Equality 76

Foreign, Commonwealth and

Development Office 77

International Development

Acts 77

Overseas Aid 78

Overseas Aid: Coronavirus 78

Overseas Aid: Females 79

St Christopher and Nevis:

Financial Services 80

Yemen: Overseas Aid 80

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 80


Trade: Energy 80

Hydrogen: Exports 81

Liquefied Natural Gas:

Mozambique 82

Open Individual Export

Licences: USA 82

JUSTICE 83

Courts: Disability 83

Family Proceedings:

Coronavirus 83

Legal Aid Scheme: Immigrants 84

Ministry of Justice: Energy 84

Probation 85

Registered Intermediaries 86

Treatment of, and Outcomes

for, Black, Asian and Minority

Ethnic Individuals in the

Criminal Justice System

Independent Review 86

NORTHERN IRELAND 87

Hospitality Industry and

Tourism: Northern Ireland 87

Northern Ireland Office:

Energy 88

TRANSPORT 89

Aircraft: Coronavirus 89

Bus Services: Coronavirus 89

Buses: Electric Vehicles 89

Cycling: Coronavirus 90

Department for Transport:

Energy 90

Driving Instruction:

Coronavirus 90

Driving Tests: Coronavirus 92

Ferries: Freight 93

High Speed 2 Railway Line:

Environment Protection 94

High Speed 2 Railway Line:

Tree Planting 95

Jet Zero Council 95

Northern Trains: Coronavirus 95

P and O Ferries: Contracts 96

P and O Ferries: Coronavirus 96

Public Transport: Coronavirus 97

Railways: Coronavirus 97

Railways: West Midlands 98

Taxis: Coronavirus 98

Taxis: Licensing 99

TREASURY 99

Administration of Estates:

Coronavirus 99

Brexit 100


Scheme 100

Coronavirus: Disease Control 100

Directors: Pay 101

Employment 102

Food: Wholesale Trade 102

Health Services: Protective

Clothing 103

Members: Correspondence 103

Public Houses: Coronavirus 104

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

Grant Fund and Small

Business Grants Fund 105

Self-employed: Coronavirus 105

Self-employment Income

Support Scheme 106

Taxation: Carers 106

Tourism: Coronavirus 107

Treasury: Energy 107

VAT: Tax Rates and Bands 108

Virgin Atlantic Airways 108

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES 108

Coronavirus: Ethnic Groups 108

Equal Pay: Disclosure of

Information 109

WORK AND PENSIONS 109

Care Homes: Coronavirus 109

Employment: Coronavirus 109

Industrial Health and Safety 110

Industrial Health and Safety:

Coronavirus 112

Jobseeker's Allowance 113

Long Term Unemployed

People: Linlithgow and East

Falkirk 113

Means-tested Benefits 114

Social Security Benefits:

Coronavirus 114


Greater London 116


Linlithgow and East Falkirk 117


Terminal Illnesses 117

Unemployment: Linlithgow and

East Falkirk 117

Universal Credit: Coronavirus 118

Universal Credit: North West 118

Universal Credit: Scotland 119

WRITTEN STATEMENTS 120

EDUCATION 120

Student Support in England 120

TRANSPORT 120

Safeguarding Directions for

High Speed 2 Phase 2a 120

TREASURY 121

Financial Services Regulation 121

Financial Services Update 123

Notes:

Questions marked thus [R] indicate that a relevant interest has been declared.

Questions with identification numbers of 900000 or greater indicate that the question was originally tabled as an

oral question and has since been unstarred.

ANSWERS

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Attorney General: Carers

Sir Edward Davey: [57889]

To ask the Attorney General, how many staff in her Office had caring responsibilities in

each of the last five years.

Michael Ellis:

The Annual Civil Service People Survey includes a question on caring

responsibilities. The affirmative responses to this question for the Government Legal

Department (GLD), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Serious Fraud Office

(SFO) are listed below. The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and HM Crown

Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) responses are not included due to the

small number of staff and the risk of individuals being identified.

Please note that figures collected from the People Survey may not fully represent the

number of carers as it is reliant on responses to the question. The CPS and SFO do

not hold records of the responses to the question for all of the past five years. The

CPS cannot provide data before 2018, the SFO cannot provide data before 2019 and

GLD is also unable to provide data for 2018 as those data stores are no longer

accessible and records were not held by the departments. Please also note that the

wording of the question in 2016 and 2019 were different and the higher figures are

likely due to the inclusion of childcare responsibility in those years.

Government Legal Department (GLD):

2015 – 266 out of 1,602 who responded stated they had caring responsibilities



2018 – No data


Serious Fraud Office (SFO):

2015 – No data

2016 – No data

2017 – No data

2018 – No data

2019 – 84 out of 448 who responded stated they had caring responsibilities

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS):

2015 – No data

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-10/57889

2016 – No data

2017 – No data

2018 – 1,359 out of 3,974 who responded stated they had caring responsibilities

2019 – 1,102 out of 3,720 who responded stated they had caring responsibilities

Sentencing: Appeals

Mr Richard Holden: [61628]

To ask the Attorney General, how many (a) appeals and (b) successful appeals the

Government has made against sentences on the basis of undue leniency, in each of the

last 20 years.

Michael Ellis:

The statistics from 2000 are provided below. It should be noted that Attorney

General’s Office does not hold accurate data prior to 2001 and we are not in

possession of the data indicating the number of successful appeals for the year 2000.

YEAR

APPEALS THE GOVERNMENT

HAS MADE AGAINST SENTENCES

ON THE BASIS OF UNDUE

LENIENCY

SUCCESSFUL APPEALS THE

GOVERNMENT HAS MADE

AGAINST SENTENCES ON THE

BASIS OF UNDUE LENIENCY

2000 31 Data unavailable

2001 147 90

2002 148 94

2003 96 78

2004 105 66

2005 108 67

2006 144 104

2007 76 53

2008 59 46

2009 84 58

2010 77 60

2011 117 94

2012 82 62

2013 70 61


YEAR

APPEALS THE GOVERNMENT

HAS MADE AGAINST SENTENCES

ON THE BASIS OF UNDUE

LENIENCY

SUCCESSFUL APPEALS THE

GOVERNMENT HAS MADE

AGAINST SENTENCES ON THE

BASIS OF UNDUE LENIENCY

2014 122 106

2015 136 102

2016 180 130

2017 173 137

2018 140 99

2019 97 63

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

Aerospace Industry: Sutherland

Jamie Stone: [61567]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what

assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the plans of the (a) French

Government (b) German Government and (c) US Administration to support their domestic

aerospace industries; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of

increasing support for the aerospace industry in Sutherland.

Nadhim Zahawi:

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 16 June 2020 to Question

58050. We continually assess the impact on global aerospace supply chains of other

countries. My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a host of

measures to help businesses through this period, including those in the aerospace

sector, with £330 billion worth of Government support for businesses across the UK.

The Government will continue to support all those affected by the crisis, in all parts of

the UK.

We also co-fund aerospace research and development through the £3.9 billion

Aerospace Technology Institute, as well as the £300 million Future Flight programme.

In addition, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has supported 8 million people,

emergency loan schemes have awarded billions of pounds of support, and we have a

world-leading export credit body that is expecting to support £3.5 billion of aviation

exports over the next 18 months.


We will continue to support the UK aerospace industry to get back on its feet, and

back into a position of growth, protecting high paid jobs across the length and breadth

of the UK.

Aircraft

Jack Lopresti: [R] [59434]


assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of supporting the scrappage

of older civil aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi:

We recently received an industry proposal on a scrappage scheme for older civil

large passenger aircraft and are assessing its potential impact on the UK aerospace

and aviation industries.

UK airlines and aerospace manufacturers have already been boosted by £2.16 billion

from the Covid Corporate Financing Facility. In addition, UK Export Finance expects

to provide £3.5 billion of support for UK aerospace exports over the next 18 months.

We also continue to invest heavily in technology to make our aviation sector greener

and more sustainable, through our co-funded £3.9 billion Aerospace Technology

Institute programme and £300 million Future Flight Challenge.

Business: Coronavirus and Floods

Darren Henry: [61625]


additional steps his Department plans to take to support businesses that have been

affected by both the covid-19 outbreak and the June 2020 floods.

Paul Scully:

The Government has announced an extensive package of support for businesses to

help with their ongoing business costs in recognition of the disruption caused by

Covid-19.

The Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant

Fund (RHLGF) have supported many thousands of small businesses with their

ongoing business costs in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19.

In addition, on 1 May, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that up to

£617 million is being made available to Local Authorities in England to allow them to

provide discretionary grants. The Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund (LADGF)

is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs but not liable

for business rates or rates reliefs.

The SBGF, RHLGF and LADGF are just some of the measures the Department is

working on to ensure there is immediate support for our local economies alongside

our overall ambition to level up communities across the country.



For more information on the SBGF, the RHLGF and the LADGF please visit:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-business-support-

grant-funding-guidance-for-businesses

In order to be eligible for Government’s Flood Recovery Framework, including

funding to supported flooded domestic and business properties, individual Local

Authority areas had to have in excess of 25 residential properties and should have

reported this data to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Carbon Emissions

Dr Alan Whitehead: [59333]


assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a whole energy systems

approach to reaching the UK’s decarbonisation targets.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

The Government is committed to delivering clean growth and reaching our net zero

target.

We are already making good progress in decarbonising the power sector. More than

half of our electricity (54%) was generated from low-carbon sources in 2019 and

renewables’ share of generation now stands at a record 37%. Meanwhile, the use of

coal in our electricity mix has dropped from 39% in 2012 to just 2% in 2019. Recently

we celebrated a two-month milestone of coal-free power generation.

We must continue to embrace the opportunities offered by technology to accelerate

the transition to a cleaner future including innovations in energy storage technologies,

smart and no-waste electricity grids, zero-emission vehicles, and eco-friendly

buildings.

That is why, at the Spring Budget, we announced an ambitious support package

worth over £2bn for our low carbon economy, including £270m new exchequer

funding for heat networks, £100m for heat pumps and biomass and a commitment to

at least double the size of the Energy Innovation Programme.

The Government recognises the need to fully consider the complex interactions

between different sectors of the economy, as it progresses on its ambitious

programme of decarbonisation, and the potential benefits that systems-based

thinking can bring to this.

Ceramics: Manufacturing Industries

Jonathan Gullis: [59640]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will invite

the ceramics sector to be part of one of the five Industrial Strategy Taskforces.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The ceramics sector is a valued part of the UK economy. The recovery roundtables

that my Hon friend refers to are intensive engagements and it is important they are

https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fcoronavirus-covid-19-business-support-grant-funding-guidance-for-businesses&data=02%7C01%7Chazel.rimmer%40communities.gov.uk%7Cb3555d478176413a36b908d8176a8db1%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637285094655616228&sdata=TaKR%2Be0DcnakuzsbdlHsrbOP4HxmjbbZK%2BONkXnhdvw%3D&reserved=0





focused. Inevitably, there is a limit on the number of organisations that can join.

Attendees do not encompass the full range of stakeholders that the Department

engages with, and we welcome written comments from anyone that wishes to share

their views.

We also continue to hold extensive engagement that will feed into this important work

with stakeholders from across the economy, outside of the recovery roundtbales. I

would value the views of the ceramics sector as part of this process.


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he

plans to provide support to the ceramics industry to help that industry to decarbonise.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The Department works closely with the ceramics industry to support its efforts to

decarbonise.

Manufacturers of ceramics will soon be able to access the Industrial Energy

Transformation Fund, a scheme to help businesses with high energy use to reduce

their emissions and energy costs by investing in clean technologies. The first phase

will open for applications this summer, supporting industrial energy efficiency

projects, as well as feasibility and engineering studies.

Ceramics firms can also access the Industrial Heat Recovery Support Programme.

This grant funding programme helps manufacturing businesses to identify and invest

in opportunities for recovering and reusing industrial waste heat. A total of £18 million

is available to support industrial heat recovery projects across England and Wales.

Conditions of Employment: Adoption

Rachael Maskell: [61538]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring

forward legislative proposals to extend employment protection rights for pregnant women

to people that are in the process of adopting children.

Paul Scully:

Pregnancy is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. Pregnant women also

get additional consideration under Health and Safety legislation because of the

different risks they may face in the workplace. The Government has no current plans

to extend these rights to people who are in the process of adopting children.

Employees looking to adopt are already entitled to paid time off to attend adoption

appointments. They are also entitled to up to 52 weeks Adoption Leave. When on

Adoption Leave, they have additional redundancy protections which equate to those

for Maternity Leave.



Following consultation last year, the Government has committed to extend the

redundancy protection which a parent currently enjoys while on maternity leave,

shared parental leave or adoption leave, for a period for six months following a return

to work.

We will bring these measures forward as soon as there is an appropriate opportunity.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Ian Lavery: [61494]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate

he has made of the number of employees that are furloughed under the Coronavirus Job

Retention Scheme that are being consulted on redundancy.

Ian Lavery: [61495]


he has made of the number of businesses in receipt of grant funding under the

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme that are consulting their workforces on redundancy.

Ian Lavery: [61496]


he has made of the number of businesses that are in receipt of grant funding under the

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme that have made employees redundant to date.

Paul Scully:

The Department does not hold statistics on the number of employees that are

furloughed who are being consulted for redundancies or those businesses using the

job retention scheme that are planning or have already made employees redundant.

The legal position in relation to redundancy and dismissal remains the same whether

or not an employee has been furloughed. Any redundancy process should be fair and

reasonable with appropriate equalities considerations. Employees with the necessary

qualifying service who believe that they have been unfairly selected for redundancy,

or that the redundancy was unfair in some other way, may be able to complain to an

employment tribunal.

As per the latest updates to the guidance for the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme,

grants cannot be used to substitute redundancy payments. Please visit the gov.uk

page for updates to the scheme: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-

through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Redundancy


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether

businesses are eligible to use funds for furlough for redundancy payments under the

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.




https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme




Paul Scully:

Employees who are dismissed due to redundancy and who satisfy certain qualifying

conditions are statutorily entitled to a lump sum from their employer, based on their

age, length of service and contractual weekly earnings, subject to a statutory upper

limit.

As per the latest updates to the guidance for the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme,

grants cannot be used to substitute redundancy payments. Please visit the GOV.UK

page for updates to the scheme: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-

through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Carers


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will place

in the Library a list of the workplace benefits that his Department provides to its staff with

caring responsibilities.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The Department recognises the importance of supporting employees with caring

responsibilities.

Our aim is to enable individuals to undertake their caring responsibilities while feeling

engaged and productive in the work they do. In order to support this, the Department

offers employees benefits and flexibilities. This includes flexible working

arrangements, time off/leave, access to supportive programmes and networks, and

Coronavirus specific Special Leave with pay. All requests for flexible working

arrangements or non-statutory leave are considered in the context of business need.

We are responding to this question in relation to carers, as defined in our Carers

Charter, as anyone who cares for a friend or family member who, due to illness,

disability, a mental health problem, or an addiction, cannot cope without their support.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Energy


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much

energy his departmental buildings have used in (a) each of the last five years and (b)

2020 to date.

Nadhim Zahawi:

This table shows the energy consumption of the Department at the 1 Victoria Street

building for each of the last five financial years, and for 2020/21 to the end of May

2020.






YEAR (F/Y) 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

Electricity

(kWh)

5,276,261 5,120,293 5,120,995 4,935,780 4,765,755 484,023

Gas (kWh) 2,048,622 2,279,495 2,650,640 2,374,952 2,610,826 189,726

Electricity -

Solar PV

(kWh)

1,433 1,377 1,894 2,106 2,406 295*

* Does not include data for May 2020 as this is unavailable

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Overseas Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: [59558]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his

Department's share of the Official Development Assistance budget will be reduced in the

event of a decrease in GNI.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The UK has a legal commitment to spend 0.7% of its gross national income (GNI)

each year on Official Development Assistance (ODA). HM Treasury allocates ODA

budgets to Departments and is responsible for decisions on changes to these

budgets.


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his

Department is signing new funding agreements for projects funded by Official

Development Assistance.

Nadhim Zahawi:

In the short term, we are agreeing our future work in close cooperation with other

Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending Departments, such as Cabinet

Office and HM Treasury, to ensure the best value for money and that decisions are

taken in the national interest.

Electric Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

John Spellar: [59368]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his

Department is taking to support the production of (a) electric bicycles and (b) scooters.

Nadhim Zahawi:

Through Made Smarter, the UK’s national industrial digitalisation programme, the

Government is investing up to £167 million to help manufacturers to adopt and

innovate in industrial digital technologies that will increase productivity and

competitiveness across the sector. We have also invested £350 million in seven High




Value Manufacturing Catapult centres across the UK, which are supporting

manufacturers to bring new technologies to market, and we will be investing an

additional £600 million by the end of 2023.

As part of the Future of Transport Grand Challenge we are working with the

Department for Transport to help ensure firms, like e-bike and scooter manufacturers,

have access to the right supply of talented labour and the right business support,

including access to finance.

The Department for Transport is also working to create a flexible regulatory

framework for micro mobility vehicles. Through funding to support the uptake of e-

bikes and e-cargo bikes, we are helping to create domestic demand, which is

essential to growing the UK’s e-bike manufacturing base.

Energy: Social Rented Housing



assessment he has made of the adequacy of the reports submitted to him by local

authorities in 2019 under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

In 2019 BEIS introduced standardised digital platform in 2019 which was used for

Home Energy Conservation Act responses to be collected and collated in consistent

way. In addition, local authorities are required under the legislation to publish their

report.

BEIS is exploring options on the best use of the submitted data, particularly to inform

policy thinking on energy efficiency, and to build an ongoing picture of local and

national energy efficiency policy delivery.


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he

has to provide funding for energy efficiency projects highlighted in the reports submitted

to him by local authorities in 2019 under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

We are supporting local authorities, local areas and local economies through a range

programmes. Our Local Energy programme is supporting Local Enterprise

Partnerships (LEPs), local authorities and communities in England to play a leading

role in decarbonisation and clean growth. Almost £20 million has been invested and

the programme has funded a range of measures designed to build local capacity and

capability and encourage joined-up working between local areas, investors and

central government, including:

• Five Local Energy Hubs, which have been established across England to provide

local authorities and LEPs with access to expertise to help develop and secure

investment in low carbon projects;



• Good practice guidance, tools and resources for use by local authorities and LEPs;

and

• An online communications platform for local authorities and LEPs to share

information and learn from each other.

In addition to direct funding, local authorities can voluntarily participate under the ‘LA

Flex’ mechanism of ECO. This allows local authorities to identify low income and

vulnerable households in their area and refer them to the larger energy suppliers,

who have an obligation target to deliver energy efficiency measures under ECO.

Hydrogen: Alternative Fuels


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research

his Department has undertaken on the technical and regulatory requirements of replacing

natural gas with hydrogen to help the UK meet its decarbonisation targets.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

Hydrogen is one of a number of options with the potential to play an important role in

decarbonising heat, including heat networks, heat pumps, hydrogen and biogas.

Further work is needed to assess the safety and feasibility case and better

understand the costs and benefits of using hydrogen in place of methane in the gas

grid. We are working with industry to define and take forward a full programme of

work to achieve this.

The Government is also currently investing up to £121m in a range of innovation

programmes to explore and develop the potential of low carbon hydrogen for end

uses sectors. This includes £25m on the Hy4Heat programme which is seeking to

investigate if it is technically possible and safe to replace methane with hydrogen in

appliances for residential and commercial buildings and evaluate the likely costs and

performance.

Hydrogen: Boilers


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his

Department’s policy is on mandating hydrogen ready boilers.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

Hydrogen could play a key role in eliminating our contribution to climate change by

2050 and is one of the options being explored to decarbonise heat in the UK

alongside heat pumps, heat networks and biogas. Further work is required to fully

test and assess the potential of hydrogen as an option for decarbonising heating.

Prototype ‘hydrogen-ready boilers’ are being developed under the £25m BEIS

Hy4Heat programme. This programme is seeking to investigate if it is technically

possible and safe to replace methane with hydrogen in appliances for residential and

commercial buildings and evaluate the likely costs and performance. The programme



is due to be completed in 2021, and the Department will be reviewing the outputs

from this technical work as it progresses.

On 12 June the Department published a Call for Evidence on Energy-related

Products. This consultation invites views on how to maximise the energy savings

potential of boilers and alternative heating systems, and if this would help bring to

market low-carbon heating technologies including hydrogen.

Manufacturing Industries: Contracts for Services

Rushanara Ali: [59465]


his Department has made of the number of companies that have not (a) complied with

manufacturing contracts and (b) honoured the cost of orders made as a result of the

covid-19 outbreak.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The Department does not have assessments of the number of companies that have

not (a) complied with manufacturing contracts and (b) honoured the cost of orders

made as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. However, the Government encourages all

companies to honour their contracts and orders where possible.

We are seeing examples of both good and bad payment practice from large

businesses as a result of Covid-19. The Small Business Commissioner has written to

individual businesses who are protecting themselves by holding back payments to

suppliers and has urged them to rethink their strategy to ensure their small business

suppliers can survive the negative impacts of Covid-19. Conversely, the Small

Business Commissioner has written to thank those businesses showing leadership by

ensuring their smallest suppliers are paid more quickly, recognising the positive steps

that they are taking.

Natural Gas: Carbon Emissions


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his

Department’s policy is on hydrogen and biomethane blending with natural gas.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

Biomethane is currently injected into the gas grid, supported in part by the

Renewable Heat Incentive. The Government is currently consulting on the creation of

a Green Gas Support Scheme to increase the amount of biomethane in the grid.

Blending low carbon hydrogen with natural gas has the potential to lower carbon

emissions. The HyDeploy project has been commissioned by Gas Network Operators

to investigate the option of blending up to 20% hydrogen with natural gas in the gas

grid. The Health and Safety Executive have granted an exemption to the current Gas

Safety and Management Regulation to the hydrogen content limit of 0.1% for the

duration of the HyDeploy project. This is subject to strict safety arrangements being in



place. BEIS will continue to pay close attention to the results from this project, and

will take these into account in any future policy development.

Post Offices: Closures

Marion Fellows: [59512]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many

post offices have been temporarily closed in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland

and (d) each region of England since 1 April 2020.

Paul Scully:

The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and

for small businesses across the UK.

While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the

company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent

business. As such, the number of Post Offices which are temporarily closed across

the UK is an operational matter for Post Office Limited.

Public Houses: Coronavirus

Andrew Gwynne: [61441]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when pubs

without outdoor space will be allowed to reopen.

Paul Scully:

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out a roadmap in his speech on the 10May

outlining steps, or ‘phases’, to get people in the UK back to work in a way that is safe.

The roadmap sets out our ambition to reopen sections of the hospitality industry,

including pubcs, in Step Three of our strategy, provided they are safe and enforce

social distancing. Any decision to reopen this sector will be subject to the scientific

advice at the time.

We are working at pace to develop safe ways for pubs to reopen at the earliest

opportunity it is safe to do so, through our pubs and restaurants taskforce, and this

work is progressing well.

Small Business Grants Fund

Sir Desmond Swayne: [61397]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take

steps to enable local authorities to extend the discretion to distribute surplus Business

Grant funds to businesses that are (a) not covered by existing discretions and (b) are

above rateable value thresholds.

Paul Scully:

The Government has announced a package of support for business to help with their

ongoing costs in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19. This includes

£12.33 billion to local authorities in England to support businesses under the Small




Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund. As at 14

June, £10.36 billion has been paid out to over 844,000 business properties across

the two schemes.

On 1 May, the Government announced a further £617 million available, in the form of

the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund, for local authorities to support small

businesses that are not eligible for business rates or rates relief and are therefore not

in scope of the existing grant schemes. Local authorities are responsible for defining

precise eligibility for this scheme, and have discretion to pay grants to businesses

based on local economic need – within the national guidance:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-

business-support-grant-funding

Local authorities will need to manage their schemes effectively to stay within their

Discretionary Grants Fund allocation.

As with other business support measures, Ministers continue to keep the Local

Authority Discretionary Grants Fund under review, monitoring roll-out and level of

demand to assess how to ensure businesses and local economies are best

supported.

Spaceflight: USA

Owen Thompson: [61542]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the US-

UK Technology Safeguards Agreement signed on 16 June 2020 will be published.

Amanda Solloway:

The draft Agreement was signed by the US and UK governments on 16 June 2020

and will be subject to scrutiny and ratification by Parliament. It will be laid in

Parliament after enabling legislation is in force, and the Agreement will be published

as soon as practically possible thereafter.

Owen Thompson: [61543]


consultation was undertaken with the UK-based commercial space industry prior to the

signing of the US-UK Technology Safeguards Agreement on 16 June 2020.

Amanda Solloway:

Regular engagement with UK based commercial space industry was undertaken over

a three-year period prior to the signing of the US-UK Technology Safeguards

Agreement. This included direct consultations with companies and presentations to

industry groups. Companies provided valuable advice which informed the

negotiations.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding





Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Paul Maynard: [59409]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to

his Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 51817 on Tidal Power: Swansea Bay, if he will set

out the exact range of capital assumptions made by his Department, in British pounds, for

the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon value for money assessment.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

The capital cost assumptions used in the Value for Money Assessment of the

proposed programme of lagoons[1] were derived from information shared under a

non-disclosure agreement between Tidal Lagoon (Swansea Bay) Plc, Tidal Lagoon

Power Ltd and the Department.

The Department believes the non-disclosure agreement still applies in this case and

the information cannot be released.

[1] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swansea-bay-tidal-

lagoon-value-for-money-assessment


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to

his Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 51817 on Tidal Power: Swansea Bay, what range

of hurdle rates, comparable to those more established renewable energy technologies,

such as solar PV, onshore wind and large hydropower, were used for the Swansea Bay

tidal lagoon value for money assessment.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

The hurdle rates applied across the portfolio of tidal lagoons in the Department’s

value for money assessment[1] are shown in Table 1. The hurdle rates for other low

carbon technologies estimated at the time of the value for money assessment are

shown in Table 2.

Table 1: Range of hurdle rates applied to proposed programme of tidal lagoons

[2]

HURDLE RATE SCENARIO HURDLE RATE (REAL TERMS, PRE-TAX)

Low 6.2%

Central 8.0%

High 9.2%

Table 2: Selected hurdle rates for other low carbon technologies (up to date at

time the assessment was undertaken)[3]



TECHNOLOGY HURDLE RATE (REAL TERMS, PRE-TAX)

Onshore wind 6.7%

Offshore wind 8.9%

Solar PV (>5MW) 6.5%

Nuclear 8.9%

Gas with CCUS (first of a kind) 11.3%

Hydro (>5MW) 6.9%

[1] Available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/swansea-bay-tidal-lagoon-

value-for-money-assessment

[2] Source: BEIS commercial advisory

[3] Source: BEIS Electricity Generation Costs Report (2016), available at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/beis-electricity-generation-costs-november-

2016


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what

reason a 35-year contract for difference assumption was used for the Swansea Bay tidal

lagoon value for money assessment when the project's estimated lifespan is 120 years.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

The Department considered a range of factors in coming to this conclusion. These

included the proposed design life of project, the extent to which bill payers should

accept operating life risk, a rapidly evolving energy market, and the falling cost of

other renewable technologies.


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what value

assumptions his Department made in the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project value for

money assessment for years 36 to 120 of the project's lifespan, beyond the life of the 35-

year contract for difference assumption.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

The key categories of assumptions used are listed in Annex B of the Department’s

value for money assessment for the proposed programme of tidal lagoons.[1]

Test 2a of the assessment considered levelised cost, expressed in £/MWh terms, of

the proposed lagoons over their full assumed asset life of 120 years.

Test 2b (costs of the GB power system) and Test 3 (household bills) assessed the

proposed lagoons over the period to 2050. In these cases the costs of the lagoon

were spread over the full 120 year asset life. This means that for a tidal lagoon



commissioning in 2035, only 15 years’ worth of costs will have been factored in and

compared to any benefits occurring over those same 15 years. This approach avoids

a mismatch between costs and benefits in the value for money assessment.

[1] Available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/swansea-bay-tidal-lagoon-




assumptions were made in the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project value for money

assessment on the number of green jobs that would be created by the fleet of tidal lagoon

projects, starting at Swansea Bay.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

The Department’s value for money assessment for the proposed programme of tidal

lagoons[1] considered the wider benefits, including the value of jobs supported.

The estimated number of direct jobs underlying this part of the assessment peaked at

around 18,000 FTE in any one year across the lagoon fleet. The number of direct

jobs maintained across the lagoon fleet once construction had completed was

estimated at around 1,000 FTE per year. Indirect jobs were also considered, with a

range tested around 2 indirect jobs per direct job.

[1] Available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/swansea-bay-tidal-lagoon-


Working Conditions: Coronavirus

Andy McDonald: [61507]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the

Government has contributed to international research on working conditions during covid-

19 similar to the report of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and

Working Conditions entitled, Living, working and COVID-19, published on 6 May 2020.

Paul Scully:

The Department continues to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on working conditions in

the UK and internationally. We are currently contributing to domestic research on

changes to working practices in the UK which will be published in due course.

CABINET OFFICE

Coronavirus: Death

Grahame Morris: [61464]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many workers employed on outsourced

Government contracts as facilities management staff have died due to suspected covid-

19 by (a) ethnicity, (b) job role and (c) employer.




Chloe Smith:

The Cabinet Office does not hold this information.

Economic Situation: North East

Chi Onwurah: [59762]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his oral response to the hon.

Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central on 16 June 2020, if he will publish the

economic modelling on the effect on the North East economy in the event that a free

trade agreement is not secured with the EU.

Penny Mordaunt:

The economic impacts of our trade deal with the EU are already the subject of a

thriving public debate.

A Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS271) made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of

Lancaster on 8 June updated on the progress of negotiations.

We will continue to keep Parliament informed with appropriate analysis at appropriate

times.

Electronic Surveillance

Mark Pritchard: [59399]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to counter threats

posed by the use by foreign governments and other entities of commercially available

cyber intrusion and other surveillance technology against UK citizens, companies and

government departments.


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that

commercial spyware and surveillance technology is not used by foreign governments

against UK nationals.

Penny Mordaunt:

The cyber threat landscape and tools commercially available to hostile actors are

diverse, but the UK is clear that it will not tolerate malicious cyber activity and will

react robustly and proportionately to the threat using the full spectrum of HMG

capabilities at our disposal.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Centre for the Protection of

Critical National Infrastructure (CPNI) provides ongoing advice and guidance for

Government departments, Critical National Infrastructure, businesses, organisations

and the general public.

Working closely with industry partners and experts through campaigns like ‘Industry

100’, Cyber Essentials and Cyber Aware, they produce guidance and support that

sets out protective measures that can be taken to protect against a range of threats

and threat actors, including espionage and cyber-attacks.


https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-06-08/HCWS271/

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-06-08/HCWS271/



Mass Media: Coronavirus

Liz Saville Roberts: [61546]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2020 to

Question 58751, on Mass Media: Coronavirus, if he will he list of the titles that his

Department has supported through the covid-19 public information campaign.


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2020 to

Question 58751, on Mass Media: Coronavirus, whether any conditions have been

attached to the funding provided by his Department to support media outlets in response

to the covid-19 outbreak.

Chloe Smith:

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 46692 on 29 May 2020.

NHS: Ventilators

Rachel Reeves: [61475]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to award further

contracts under the ventilator challenge.

Chloe Smith:

The Ventilator Challenge has been a resounding success, with four designs in

production and over 8,500 devices delivered to the NHS. At this stage, there are no

plans to award further manufacturing or design contracts through the Ventilator

Challenge.

Physiotherapy: Coronavirus

Anthony Mangnall: [55041]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will allow the reopening of

private physiotherapy practices in line with the reopening of non-essential shops as

covid-19 restrictions are eased.

Penny Mordaunt:

Private physiotherapy practices were not required to close by law as part of the

restrictions introduced to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingency Committee


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the Threats, Hazards,

Resilience and Contingency Committee was disbanded.

Caroline Lucas: [59416]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date and for what reasons the

Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingency Committee was disbanded.







Penny Mordaunt:

The body referred to in the Hon. Members' questions was one of a number of sub-

Committees of the National Security Council. Since July 2019, the National Security

Council itself now consider matters relating to national security, foreign policy,

defence, international relations and development, resilience, energy and resource

security. This includes oversight of the National Security Risk Assessment. This

administrative measure simply reflected a wider consolidation of Cabinet Committee

sub-Committees.

UK Trade with EU


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) tariff and

quota free trade with the European Union and (b) non-tariff barriers are kept to a

minimum.

Penny Mordaunt:

The Political Declaration sets out the aim for a zero tariff and zero quota Free Trade

Agreement. We would like to achieve that. Reducing the costs and processes

associated with trade is in the interests of people and businesses across the UK and

the EU.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Racial Discrimination

Jamie Stone: [61568]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of

reported complaints of racist incidents in the Armed Forces between (a) 2015 - 2016, (b)

2016 - 2017, (c) 2017 - 2018, (d) 2018 - 2019, and (e) 2019 - to 17 June 2020.

Johnny Mercer:

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises that unacceptable behaviour, including

racism, still occurs. MOD and the UK Armed Forces are committed to taking action to

eradicate it and have a zero-tolerance approach. Defence, like many other

organisations, does not yet represent society and it is essential that it does. We

recognise that the pace of change needs to quicken; that is why we are renewing our

levels of ambition at the highest levels in Defence as we work to fulfil the key

objective in our 2018-2030 Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to eliminate discrimination

and improve diversity throughout Defence. We continue to implement all the

recommendations made by Air Chief Marshal Wigston in his 2019 review into

inappropriate behaviour.

All allegations of illegal or unacceptable behaviour are taken extremely seriously and

investigated thoroughly; Service personnel have a number of routes to raise the

issue, either with the police, within the Chain of Command or with Diversity and

Inclusion Advisers. MOD is working to prevent unacceptable behaviour from



occurring in the first place and has also designed an Active Bystander training so that

personnel have the skills to challenge unacceptable behaviour effectively when it

does occur.

The requested information is not available in the format requested and an answer

could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Allegations of racism are captured

through various mechanisms, including internal and external disciplinary proceedings,

the Service Complaints system, informal complaints and the Armed Forces

Continuous Attitude Survey. Defence is working to improve its data capture of all

unacceptable behaviour across the department.

The Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces (SCOAF)'s annual report

does not provide a full picture for ascertaining levels of racism in the Armed Forces.

The Ombudsman's report deals with issues of overrepresentation by BAME

complainants, but these complaints do not only concern racial discrimination.

However, information from the single Services' annual statistical returns on Service

Complaints to the SCOAF indicates that in 2019, five per cent of all bullying,

harassment or discrimination Service Complaints concerned racial discrimination.

Military Bases: USA

Alex Sobel: [59590]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to the Answer of 9 June 2020 to

Question 55019, on Waste Disposal: Applications, whether US fire fighting services use

fire fighting foam containing (a) PFBS, (b) PFHpA, (c) PFHxS, (d) PFOS and (e) PFOA

materials on US bases in the UK.

James Heappey:

The information needed to answer the hon. Member's question will take time to

collate. I will write to him when it is available.

Ministry of Defence: Energy


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much energy his departmental buildings

have used in (a) each of the last five years and (b) 2020 to date.

Jeremy Quin:

The Department does not hold information on the entirety of energy use by the

buildings on its estate as a (relatively small) proportion are provided ‘off contract’,

falling outside the frameworks and local contracts.

However, the Department’s recorded energy consumption across its estate, falling

under the frameworks and local contracts, for the previous 5 years and current year

to date is shown in the table below:



2015-16 5,229,447,046 KWH

2016-17 5,213,898,631 kWh

2017-18 5,090,803,519 kWh

2018-19 4,974,891,458 kWh

2019-20 4,967,433,252 kWh

2020-21 (up to April 30) 384,641,178 kWh

Veterans UK: Telephone Services

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: [61443]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2020 to

Question 51724 on the Veterans UK Helpline, how many cases have been logged by the

Veterans UK Helpline service in each month since January 2019.

Johnny Mercer:

The Ministry of Defence's Veterans UK helpline is a telephony and email service

providing veterans with help and assistance on a wide range of veterans' issues. The

helpline does not log claims or cases but where necessary, queries are referred onto

the most appropriate part of Veterans UK for resolution and reply. I refer the hon.

Member to the answer I gave to her Question 59390 on 18 June 2020 which details

the number of emails and calls per month from January 2019.

Attachments:

1. 59390 - Veterans UK Helpline Services [59390 - Veterans UK Helpline Services.docx]

Voyager Aircraft


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what direction he gave the Ministry of Defence

to paint the RAF Voyager used for ministerial travel in the colours of the Union Jack; and

if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Quin:

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 June to Question 60814.

Attachments:

1. 60814 - RAF Voyager - Repairs & Maintenance [60814 - RAF Voyager - Repairs and

Maintenance.docx]


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential

for RAF Voyager becoming more identifiable to enemy combatants after it is painted in

the colours of the Union Jack; and if he will make a statement.




Jeremy Quin:

The new livery, incorporating the Union Flag, represents Global Britain and will

support the MOD’s Defence Task to promote UK prosperity. While the distinctive new

livery will allow the aircraft to better represent the UK at high-profile events around

the world, military Air to Air refuelling remains its primary mission. Decisions on

whether to deploy the VIP Voyager aircraft, or other members of the Voyager fleet, on

military operations will be taken on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific

circumstances.

Patrick Grady: [61532]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the tendering process was for the

contract to repaint the RAF voyager plane used by the Government in the colors of the

union flag.

Jeremy Quin:

The Voyager aircraft are owned by AirTanker Limited (ATr) who are contracted

through the Voyager PFI to provide the Voyager Air to Air Refuelling and Air

Transport services to the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Therefore, this work was

contracted directly with ATr against the PFI contract. ATr has sub-contracted

elements of the work taking account of mandatory aircraft certification, regulatory and

licencing requirements. MOD worked closely with ATr to ensure that tenders were

only sought from approved suppliers and that competitive tenders received were

assessed for cost and deliverability, and where possible, benchmarked against

similar work performed previously.

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Festivals: Coronavirus

Janet Daby: [60863]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his

Department has made on the effect of the covid-19 on the financial sustainability of

independent festivals.

Caroline Dinenage:

In order to support the sustainability of the Arts sector, including independent

festivals, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a

tailored package of financial support. In March, ACE announced a £160m emergency

response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the

Government, and provide financial support for Arts organisations and individuals so

they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. More than

9000 individuals and organisations have been successful in applying for this

emergency funding.

The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult the sector extensively

to ensure we fully understand the financial impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the

sector. On the basis of that engagement, DCMS and ACE are continuing to work



closely to consider the additional measures that are needed to ensure the long-term

recovery and growth of the cultural sector.

Alongside this, I chair the Cultural Renewal Taskforce which is supported by 8

ministerially-chaired working groups that include representatives from key sector

bodies and organisations. The working groups will produce sector-led guidance for

the safe reopening of events and businesses across the arts and creative industries

sectors.

Membership of the Entertainment and Events Working Group, chaired by the Minister

for Digital and Culture, includes the Association of Independent Festivals and the

National Outdoor Events Association.

BBC: Ownership

Bill Wiggin: [59707]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will

make an assessment of the potential merits of relinquishing Government ownership of

the BBC to licence fee payers.

Mr John Whittingdale:

The Royal Charter is the constitutional basis of the BBC which guarantees the BBC’s

independence and provides the framework for how the BBC is governed and funded.

The Royal Charter was renewed in 2017 for 11 years and the Government has no

plans to review it before the next Charter Review, which is due to take place ahead of

2027.

Boxing

Stephen Farry: [59922]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he

has made of the potential risks to UK boxing of the announcement of the role of Daniel

Kinahan in organising a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury; and what steps

he is taking to raise concerns on that matter with UK based broadcasters.

Nigel Huddleston:

The arrangements for sporting competitions are a matter for the relevant sporting

bodies, and it is up to broadcasters to make decisions about which events they wish

to cover.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Carers


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will place in the

Library a list of the workplace benefits that his Department provides to its staff with caring

responsibilities.




Caroline Dinenage:

DCMS recognises the importance of providing a supportive workplace for employees

who have caring responsibilities. Our aim is to enable individuals to undertake their

caring responsibilities while at the same time feeling engaged and valued in the

workplace.

DCMS has adopted the Civil Service wide Carers' Charter and has the following

workplace policies to support carers.

• Flexible working and job sharing - to support employees’ work-life balance

particularly those with caring responsibilities.

• Special leave - policy sets out the provision and entitlements to paid special leave

and unpaid career breaks to support employees.

• Parental Leave - Parental leave available to working parents to look after their child

or to make arrangements for the child’s welfare.

• Carer’s Passport- which is a Charity for Civil Servants initiative to help civil

servants with specific caring responsibilities.

• Internal Carer’s Network - support for carers in the department enabling them to

meet other carers and to share issues and information.

• Employee Assistance programme - access to advice and counselling.

• Foster Carers’ & Family and Friends Carers’ Leave - policy to support employees

who care for children under a fostering or family and friends care arrangement.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Energy


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much energy his

departmental buildings have used in (a) each of the last five years and (b) 2020 to date.

Caroline Dinenage:

The Department’s energy is supplied by HMRC, from whom DCMS leases office

space. DCMS has no buildings of its own. As such we have no direct contact or

relationship with any energy suppliers.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Overseas Aid


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish the

criteria his Department plans to use for prioritising Official Development Assistance

spending in the event of a decrease in GNI.


To tackle and advance our Global Britain objectives, the Department for Digital,

Culture, Media and Sport ensures it takes evidence-based spending decisions and

maintains high standards of programme delivery that are consistent with HMG best

practice.




To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his

Department's share of the Official Development Assistance will be reduced in the event of

a decrease in GNI.



each year on Official Development Assistance (ODA). HM Treasury allocates ODA

budgets to departments and is responsible for decisions on changes to these.


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his

Department is signing new funding agreements for projects from the Official Development

Assistance budget.


The Government reviews the ODA funding it allocates to projects on a regular basis

in order to ensure delivery of its commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA.

Gambling: Coronavirus

Mr Clive Betts: [61428]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason Adult

Gaming Centres were not allowed to reopen on Monday 15 June 2020.

Nigel Huddleston:

While arcades are mentioned in the BEIS guidance on shops and branches published

on 11 May, the government made it clear that a final decision on which premises

would reopen on 15 June would be made nearer the time and would be based on the

current situation and scientific advice.

The government’s decision was that adult gaming centres, like other amusement

arcades and leisure and entertainment venues, should remain closed at this time.

These businesses differ from retailers in several ways, including the contact with hard

surfaces which is a necessary part of playing their games. As detailed in the

government's roadmap “Our Plan to Rebuild” the next phase of easing Covid-19

lockdown restrictions will begin no earlier than 4 July, subject to public health advice.

My department is working through the next steps with the arcades sector in line with

further announcements on the roadmap.

Gyms and Sportsgrounds: Coronavirus

Catherine West: [59544]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department

plans to allow the reopening of outside gyms and sport pitches following their closure in

response to the covid-19 outbreak.





Nigel Huddleston:

Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and

children to be active and the Government is committed to reopening facilities,

including outside gyms and sport pitches as soon as it is safe to do so.

We are holding regular discussions with representatives from across the sport sector

to develop guidance that will support them to open their facilities in a timely and safe

manner once lockdown measures are eased.

As with all aspects of the Government’s response to Covid-19, we will be guided by

the science to ensure that as restrictions are eased people can return to activity

safely.

Horseracing: Coronavirus

Kenny MacAskill: [59618]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he

has had with representatives from the Horserace Betting Levy Board on the (a) value of,

(b) timeframe for applications to and (c) transparency of the Racing Relief Fund.

Nigel Huddleston:

Following the British Horseracing Authority’s (BHA) decision to suspend racing on 18

March 2020, DCMS officials have been in regular discussions with the Horserace

Betting Levy Board (HBLB) regarding support to British racing during the coronavirus

outbreak.

These discussions did not focus on the details of the Racing Relief Fund, which is an

industry-led initiative led by the Racehorse Owners Association, with support from the

Racing Foundation, in which the HBLB has no administrative or financial role.

The £2.5 million fund was announced as part of the HBLB and Racing Foundation’s

£28 million cashflow and support package announced on 17 April. This support

package was developed collaboratively and it was agreed that the HBLB would focus

on support for racecourses and the Racing Foundation on support for participants,

both human and equine.

The Racing Relief Fund is designed to meet the welfare needs of horses whose

owners are suffering financial hardship. The scheme will provide up to £2.5 million of

grants to assist with the costs of looking after horses in racing stables and in

rehoming centres.

Television: Licensing

Bill Wiggin: [59705]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has any

plans to review the BBC licence fee in response to the covid-19 outbreak.


A television licence is required to watch, record or receive television as it is broadcast

live on any channel or online service. A licence is also required to watch or download



live or on-demand content on BBC iPlayer. It is not a fee or charge for BBC services

and is payable regardless of whether the licence holder ever watches the BBC.

Licence fee revenue is not just used to fund the BBC, it is also used for other

strategic public service objectives including funding the Welsh language broadcaster

S4C.

The Licence Fee is part of a funding settlement agreed with the BBC as part of the

Royal Charter. The government has committed to maintain the licence fee funding

model for the duration of this 11 year Charter period, until the end of 2027. However,

we have been clear that, ahead of the next Charter Review process, we will

undertake a detailed look at the future of the TV licence model itself.

TV Licensing has said that it appreciates the challenges that many people face at the

moment and it is working on ways it can provide further support. More information on

how TV Licensing is responding to the COVID-19 situation on its website here:

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/coronavirus.

Theatres: Coronavirus

Mr Kevan Jones: [60697]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is

taking to ensure the adequacy of support after October 2020 for independent theatres

that cannot operate under social distancing measures.

Caroline Dinenage:

The performing arts industry is one the UK's greatest success stories and we are

doing all we can to support the sector through the pandemic. We are providing

unprecedented assistance including a years' business rates holiday, government

loans, the recently-extended Self Employed Income Support Scheme, the Job

Retention Scheme that hundreds of organisations have received support from.

Additionally, DCMS has worked closely with its arm’s-length bodies to deliver tailored

support packages at speed, including the £160m Emergency Funding Package

announced by Arts Council England, made possible by Government funding. This

intervention complements the financial measures already announced to ensure

immediate resilience of this vital sector.

The package includes £140 million of support for artistic organisations including

independent theatres; and £20 million of financial support for individuals, including

self-employed theatre practitioners, so they can better sustain themselves, and their

work, in the coming months. To date more than 9000 individuals and organisations

have been successful in applying for this emergency funding.

The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult the Art sector

extensively to ensure we fully understand the financial impact of the Covid-19

outbreak on the sector.

On the basis of that engagement, DCMS and ACE are continuing to work closely to

consider the additional measures required to ensure the long-term recovery and

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/coronavirus

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/coronavirus


growth of the cultural sector, including independent theatres, and we remain

committed to opening up venues as soon as it is safe to do so and are working

directly with the sector on detailed advice and guidance.

EDUCATION

Academic Year and Free School Meals

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: [60773]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish details of the

successful bids for the 2020 Holiday Activities and Food programme.

Vicky Ford:

The Holiday Activities and Food scheme is integral to our approach to provide healthy

food to children over the summer. It will ensure thousands of disadvantaged children

have access to healthy meals and holiday activities in summer 2020, building on the

success of the 2018 and 2019 programmes.

On Saturday 20 June, we published the list of successful bidders for 2020. The 10

co-ordinators delivering across 17 local authorities are:

• StreetGames (Newcastle, North East region)

• Gateshead Council (Gateshead - North East region)

• Edsential (Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, Wirral - North West region)

• Spring North (Blackburn with Darwen - North West region)

• Leeds Community Foundation (Leeds and Bradford - Yorkshire and the Humber

region)

• Voluntary Action Sheffield (Sheffield - Yorkshire & the Humber region)

• Suffolk County Council (Suffolk - East of England region)

• Mayor’s Fund for London (Lambeth and Southwark - London)

• Tower Hamlets Local Authority (Tower Hamlets - London)

Apprentices: Degrees

Robert Halfon: [61466]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether degree apprenticeships will be

included in the temporary student number controls introduced for the higher education

sector.

Michelle Donelan:

Apprenticeships will be excluded from student number controls. When monitoring

potential recruitment above a student number control, a higher education provider will

not be considered to have exceeded the student number control by virtue of the

number of apprenticeship students that it has.



Apprenticeships are jobs with a sustained element of training, so this provision is

delivered in conjunction with local employers where the apprentice is employed.

Relationships between these employers and providers are usually well established,

so they are unlikely to be vulnerable to aggressive recruitment practices and they

pose little or no threat to the stability of the higher education sector.

However, despite apprentices being in full-time employment, they are sometimes also

recorded as studying full-time in the Higher Education Students Early Statistics

(HESES) data. This data is used to calculate and monitor student number controls.

For HESES20, the Office for Students will provide guidance on how apprentices are

recorded in the data return, which will allow all apprenticeship places to be identified.

Autism: Coronavirus

Emma Hardy: [59879]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department provides to

parents of autistic children who are unable to access childcare during the covid-19

lockdown restrictions.

Vicky Ford:

The government recognises the significant challenges the COVID-19 outbreak has

presented for autistic children and young people, and their families.

From 1 June, early years providers, including childminders, have been able to

welcome back children of all ages.

For school age children, from the week commencing 1 June, we have asked primary

schools to welcome back children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, alongside priority

groups. This includes children and young people with an education, health and care

(EHC) plan who are not already attending, according to individual risk assessment.

We have also asked special schools to work towards a phased return of more

children and young people, without a focus on specific year groups and informed by

risk assessments.

We are asking local authorities and education settings, working in partnership with

parents, carers and young people, to maintain risk assessments for children and

young people with EHC plans who are remaining at home. These assessments help

inform decisions about the support children and young people should receive, noting

that circumstances, such as the child’s and family’s needs and wellbeing, may

change. Our latest guidance on supporting children and young people with special

educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to return to school or college is available

here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-

assessment-guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-assessment-guidance.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-assessment-guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-assessment-guidance



Children in Care


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the (a) minimum and (b) maximum

number of days a child can reside in care without a visit from their social worker.

Vicky Ford:

We expect local authorities to conduct social worker visits to children in care within

the statutory timeframes set out in Regulation 28 of the Care Planning, Placement

and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010. The statutory timeframes have not

changed and the minimum and maximum requirements for visits will depend on the

type of placement the child is in.

In exceptional cases, where these visits cannot be made within the prescribed

timeframes, such as during periods of significant staff shortages as a result of

COVID-19, temporary flexibility has been provided through The Adoption and

Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020. This includes allowing visits

from the child’s responsible authority to be conducted as soon as reasonably

practicable and by telephone, video, or other electronic means.

Flexibilities should only be used when absolutely necessary, with senior management

oversight, and must always be consistent with the overarching safeguarding and

welfare duties that remain in place.

Children: Coronavirus


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Adoption and Children

(Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 445); i); if he will publish

the (a) local authorities, (b) organisations and (c) social workers who asked for the

changes; and whether those (i) organisations and (ii) individuals were consulted on the

Regulations.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Adoption and Children

(Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 445); on what date he met

with the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families For England to discuss the

Regulations; and what representations the Chief Social Worker made to him on them.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in relation to Adoption and Children

(Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 445); if he will publish the

local authorities that have enacted the changes contained in those Regulations; what

changes those local authorities have made; and what processes his Department has put

in place to monitor compliance with those regulations.





Vicky Ford:

The urgency with which the Regulations needed to be drafted meant that a formal

consultation was not possible, views were sought from the department’s key delivery

partners and stakeholders. As a departmental official, the Chief Social Worker is

routinely involved in development of policy on children’s social care providing

independent expert advice.

The department does not intend to publish the names of local authorities,

organisations and social workers who provided views on the regulation changes as

we did not seek the information on that basis.

Our approach to monitoring the Regulations is based on a triangulation of information

gathered from a variety of sources, including local authorities, charities and key

partners including Ofsted. I have committed to reporting to Parliament before summer

recess on the outcome of the work the department has done to monitor the use of the

amended regulations and the frequency in which they have been used.

Children: Food

Stuart Anderson: [59612]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure that (a)

children from disadvantaged families and (b) other children have adequate access to food

during all school holidays.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: [59614]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of

pupils on free school meals in Streatham constituency during the school summer holidays

in 2020.

Vicky Ford:

I refer the hon. Members to the answer I have given today to Question 54195.

Department for Education: Carers


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will place in the Library a list of the

workplace benefits that his Department provides to its staff with caring responsibilities.

Nick Gibb:

The Department for Education provides the following workplace benefits to its staff

with caring responsibilities:

• A Flexible Working Policy which enables employees with caring responsibilities to

achieve a more effective work/life balance. Flexible working offers a wide range of

working patterns, for example: informal flexible working, part-time working, or

remote/home working.

• The DfE Carers Charter sets out the policies and helps managers to understand

how they can best support employees with caring responsibilities.




• A Special Leave Policy that offers a variation of leave which can be requested by

employees who are carers: up to 5 days special leave with pay for domestic

emergencies, statutory emergency leave for dependants, extended unplanned

special leave

• Career breaks which can be requested for a variety of reasons, including caring for

dependants.

For the past five years the DfE has supported a Carers’ Support Network for its

employees with a caring role. This group of volunteers provide emotional and

practical support to carers as well as working to influence DfE HR Policy.

.

Free School Meals

Tulip Siddiq: [54195]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of

pupils on free school meals over the school summer holidays in 2020.

Vicky Ford:

Provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only. However, owing to the

COVID-19 outbreak, the government fully understands that children and parents face

an entirely unprecedented situation over the summer. To reflect this, we will be

providing additional funding for a Covid Summer Food Fund which will enable

children who are eligible for free school meals to receive food vouchers covering the

6-week holiday period. This is a specific measure to reflect the unique circumstances

of the outbreak.

The government has made significant wider support available for children and

families at this time. On 10 June, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, confirmed

an additional £63 million to be distributed to local authorities in England to help those

who are struggling to afford food and other essentials due to COVID-19. In addition,

the government has introduced an uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit

by around £1,000 a year for the next 12 months as part of an injection of over £6.5

billion by the government into the welfare system.

Additional support has been pledged by various departments across government with

the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announcing the provision of £16

million for food support through charities, including FareShare and WRAP. DEFRA

have also issued 2 million food packages to those who are shielding.

The Department for Education’s Holiday Activities and Food programme ensures that

thousands of disadvantaged children have access to enriching activities and

nutritious healthy meals over the summer, and will be backed by £9 million this year.

More widely, the government has supported families to cope with the impact of

COVID-19 by introducing a range of support measures, including the Coronavirus

Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme. Support has


also been provided to help families pay their rent or mortgage, access sick pay, and

delay tax payments.

In relation to free school meals, this response applies to educational settings in

England only. Education is a devolved matter and it will be for each administration to

determine the actions they wish to take.

Free School Meals: Voucher Schemes

Afzal Khan: [59610]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the

potential effect of not extending the free school meals voucher scheme over the 2020

school summer holidays on foodbank usage.

Vicky Ford:

Provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only. However, owing to

COVID-19, the government fully understands that children and parents face an

entirely unprecedented situation over the summer. To reflect this, we will be providing

additional funding for a COVID-19 Summer Food Fund which will enable families with


6-week holiday period. This is a specific measure to reflect the unique circumstances

of the outbreak and builds on wider support put in place by the government. This

support includes the Department for Education’s holiday activities and food

programme, providing support to thousands of disadvantaged children this summer,

and our investment of up to £35 million in a national breakfast clubs programme,

which provides a healthy start to children in schools in disadvantaged areas.

Fiona Bruce: [61463]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he will take to ensure that free

school meal vouchers provided during the school holidays are not spent on (a) alcohol

and (b) other non-food items.

Vicky Ford:


COVID-19 pandemic, the government understands that children and parents face an


additional funding for a COVID-19 Summer Food Fund which will enable families with


6-week holiday period.

Families are free to select the most appropriate food for their child. When selecting

products, we encourage families to consider health and nutrition. The School Food

Standards and the NHS Eat Well website may act as a useful guide for families.

These can be found at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-school-food-in-england

and; https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/?tabname=recipes-and-tips.





https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/?tabname=recipes-and-tips

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/?tabname=recipes-and-tips

The vouchers should be used for food and must not be redeemed for any age-

restricted items, such as alcohol, cigarettes or lottery tickets. I have recently written to

participating supermarkets to ensure their ongoing support in relation to these

restrictions.

Afzal Khan: [61571]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect

of extending the free school meals voucher scheme on levels of child poverty.

Vicky Ford:

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. As the Education Secretary has set out, we are listening to those who

need help and taking substantial action during this unprecedented time to make sure

no child goes hungry.

Our latest guidance on free school meals is set out below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-

guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.


COVID-19 outbreak the government understands that children and parents face an


additional funding for a Covid Summer Food Fund which will enable children who are

eligible for free school meals to receive food vouchers covering the 6-week holiday

period.

The government has made significant wider support available for children and

families at this time. On 10 June, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, confirmed

an additional £63 million to be distributed to local authorities in England to help those

who are struggling to afford food and other essentials due to COVID-19. In addition,

the government has introduced an uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit

by around £1,000 a year for the next 12 months as part of an injection of over £6.5

billion by the government into the welfare system.

Additional support has been pledged by various departments across the government

with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announcing the provision of £16

million for food support through charities, including FareShare and WRAP. DEFRA

have also issued 2 million food packages to those who are shielding.

The Department for Education’s Holiday Activities and Food programme ensures that

thousands of disadvantaged children have access to enriching activities and

nutritious healthy meals over the summer.

More widely, the government has supported families to cope with the impact of

COVID-19 by introducing a range of support measures, including the Coronavirus

Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme. Support has


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools



also been provided to help families pay their rent or mortgage, access sick pay, and

delay tax payments.

Members: Correspondence

Dame Diana Johnson: [59391]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to respond to the letter of 7

April 2020 from the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North, on the University of Hull.

Nick Gibb:

I can confirm that the letter, received into the Department on 8 April 2020, from the

hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North has been responded to.

Dame Diana Johnson: [59392]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to respond to the letter of 28

April 2020 from the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North, on student healthcare

workers' student loans.

Nick Gibb:

I can confirm that the letter, addressed to my right hon. Friends, the Secretary of

State for Education and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, received

into the Department on 28 April 2020, from the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull

North has been responded to.

Pupils: Exercise and Sports

Edward Timpson: [59404]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made

of the effect of the School Sport and Activity Action Plan published in 2019.

Nick Gibb:

The School Sport and Activity Action Plan set out a range of measures to ensure that

all children have access to high quality PE and sport sessions during the school week

and opportunities to be physically active throughout the school day, to help them do

the 60 minutes a day of physical exercise recommended by the Chief Medical Officer.

The Government remains committed to supporting schools to make good use of their

sports facilities and to promote physical literacy and competitive sport. We plan to

update the School Sport Activity Action Plan with longer-term proposals to support

schools to work with sports clubs, coaches and others to ensure children’s activity

levels continue to rise when they return to school.

The Government has already provided £2.4 million in funding to support this activity

and has worked with Active Partnerships, helping schools, clubs and others to adapt

plans to provide activity while schools have been closed.

Active Partnerships have been working with national and local partners to identify

how best to support the sport and physical activity sector during the coronavirus

outbreak. The Department has also published online educational resources approved




by subject experts for schools and parents to help children to learn at home, including

resources for PE.

As schools open more widely, we recognise the importance of children returning to

taking part in physical activity and PE as part of the curriculum, with well-established

links between physical activity, improved mental wellbeing and educational

attainment. The Department’s guidance includes details on the teaching of subject

areas including PE and ensuring children have opportunities to increase their

physical activity throughout the school day.

Schools: Sportsgrounds

Layla Moran: [59587]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of

school playing fields that have been sold in 2020.

Nick Gibb:

The Department is keen to protect school playing fields and schools are only able to

sell playing fields when they demonstrate that the disposal does not impact their

curriculum and that they have explored all possible alternatives.

The Department periodically updates a playing field decision list on GOV.UK and the

next update will be in July. The Department is currently collating data for this update.

The list is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-land-

decisions-about-disposals.

Sixth Form Education: Qualifications


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on

the Review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England.

Alexander Stafford: [60899]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on

its review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England.

Gillian Keegan:

The review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below, alongside the development

of T Levels, is central to building a world-class technical education system. The first

stage of the qualifications review consultation ran from March to June 2019. The

second stage consultation is due to be published later in 2020. The review is looking

at complex questions about the range of qualifications needed at post-16 and we

want to take the time to get this right. We are taking a number of steps in advance of

this to drive up quality and reduce complexity in the system.

From 1 August 2020, we will withdraw funding approval for new starts on 163 older

qualifications that have been superseded by newer more rigorous versions. From 1

September 2020, we will not approve new qualifications for funding for students aged

16 and above, to stabilise the publicly funded offer in advance of further reform. We


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-land-decisions-about-disposals





have also, this year, started the process to remove public funding approval of

qualifications with low or no publicly funded enrolments. Subject to the outcomes of

this process, from August 2021 we will remove funding approval for qualifications with

no publicly funded enrolments; and from August 2022 we will remove funding

approval for qualifications with low numbers of publicly funded enrolments, unless

doing so would have a significant adverse impact on a particular sector, geographical

area or student group.

Students: Rented Housing

Fabian Hamilton: [59373]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support the Government is providing to

students who are no longer occupying their accommodation but who are still being

required to pay rent.

Michelle Donelan:

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. We expect universities to communicate clearly with residential

students on rents for this period and administer accommodation provision in a fair

manner.

Students will continue to receive scheduled payments of loans towards their living

costs for the remainder of the current 2019/20 academic year. Many higher education

(HE) providers will have hardship funds to support students in times of need,

including emergencies. The expectation is that, where any student requires additional

support, providers will support them through their own hardship funds. As part of the

HE stabilisation package, the government has worked closely with the Office for

Students to help clarify that providers can draw upon existing funding to provide

hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19.

Providers are able to use the funding, worth around £23 million per month for April

through to July, towards student hardship funds, including for the purchase of IT

equipment and mental health support as well as to support providers’ access and

participation plans.

A number of universities and large companies have waived rents for the summer

term or released students early from their contracts. Students who are tenants with

individual private landlords can discuss the possibility of an early release from their

lease. If they face financial hardship and struggle to pay their rent, support is

available: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-support-available-for-landlords-

and-renters-reflecting-the-current-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak .In the first

instance, a student should speak to their landlord if they think they will have difficulty

meeting a rental payment, and in this unique context tenants and landlords are

encouraged to work together to put in place a rent payment scheme. If a student

thinks that their accommodation provider is treating them unfairly, they can raise a

complaint under the accommodation codes of practice as long as their provider is a

code member. The codes can be found at: https://www.thesac.org.uk/ ;


https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-support-available-for-landlords-and-renters-reflecting-the-current-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak



https://www.thesac.org.uk/

https://www.thesac.org.uk/

https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain and:

https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml.

Information published by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gives

guidance on the COVID-19 outbreak’s effects on consumer contracts and may be

helpful to students, including those who have already paid deposits for

accommodation: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-

concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-

coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds.

The guidance sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers

understand their rights and to help businesses treat their customers fairly. Students

may be entitled to refunds from certain accommodation providers depending on the

terms of their contract and their particular circumstances. If students need help,

organisations such as Citizens Advice offer a free service, providing information and

support.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution: Pollution Control

Neil Parish: [59439]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has

made an assessment of the effect on public health of the delays in (a) implementing local

Clean Air Zones and (b) achieving compliance with legal limits on air pollution.


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent

assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) Clean Air Zones and (b) other

restrictions on the use of vehicles compared with other means of tackling illegal levels of

air pollution.


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his

Department is taking to ensure that (a) the response to the covid-19 outbreak does not

delay the urgent steps required to tackle illegal levels of air pollution and protect people’s

health and (b) local authorities deliver their air quality plans as soon as possible.

Rebecca Pow:

Air pollution poses one of the biggest environmental threats to public health. Our

ambitious plans to decarbonise transport, improve air quality and support more active

forms of travel have not changed, including the £3.8 billion we are already investing

to clean up our air.

The 2017 UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) Concentrations

sets out how we will achieve compliance with legal NO 2 limits in the shortest possible

time. We are continuing to work closely with those local authorities identified to assist

https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain

https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain

https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml

https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds







them in developing local plans to tackle NO 2 exceedances. These plans can include

charging Clean Air Zones (CAZ) although other measures that are at least as

effective are preferred. We rigorously assess local plans to make sure they will

deliver reductions in NO 2 levels in the shortest possible time.

To help them focus on their response to coronavirus, we agreed with Leeds and

Birmingham’s requests to delay the introduction of CAZ until after January 2021.

However, CAZ development work is continuing, and we are working to deliver

compliance as soon as possible. Our recent rapid call for evidence will ensure we can

fully understand the impact that coronavirus is having on changes in air pollution

emissions, concentrations and exposure. Recent Automatic Urban and Rural Network

provisional NO 2 data from 23 March to 15 June shows that average NO 2 levels

decreased by 45%. It is not clear that these reductions will be maintained long term.

Improving air quality as soon as possible remains vital and we continue to engage

with local authorities and keep plans for all CAZ under constant review.

Animal Products: Trade

Paul Girvan: [59246]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has

been made by the Government on bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the

import and export of hunting trophies.

Victoria Prentis:

The Government takes the conservation of endangered species seriously

and committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from endangered species in

our manifesto. A consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies

to and from the UK was undertaken between 2 November 2019 and 25 February

2020. The outcome of the consultation and the accompanying call for evidence will

inform our next steps. We are continuing to work on this important area and will

publish the Government response as soon as it is practical to do so.

Dangerous Dogs

Holly Mumby-Croft: [59647]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he

has made on implementing the recommendations of the Environment, Food and Rural

Affairs Committee in its Ninth Report of Session 2017-19, Controlling Dangerous Dogs,

HC 1040.

Victoria Prentis:

The Government response to the report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Committee entitled “Controlling Dangerous Dogs (HC1040)”, was published on 28

January 2019 and addressed each of the Committee’s recommendations. In its

response the Government noted it has commissioned research from Middlesex

University into dog attacks. The research is ongoing and will help to inform

implementation of some of EFRA’s recommendations.



Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Carers


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will place in

the Library a list of the workplace benefits that his Department provides to its staff with

caring responsibilities.

Victoria Prentis:

In Defra we follow the Civil Service Carers Charter, which details the support

available for employees who have caring responsibilities and helps managers

understand how they can support carers in the workplace. This includes support such

as flexible working, job sharing, special leave (paid and unpaid), career breaks and

parental leave.

Defra has a carer’s passport which is used to help employees discuss caring

responsibilities, at present or in the future, with their line manager.

Other support for employees who are carers is available from our Employee

Assistance Programme offering independent advice, information and counselling

from trained practitioners. Defra is also a member of Employers for Carers, the

employers’ membership forum which is part of Carers UK.

Defra has an active employee-led Carers Network providing information, advice and

support to all employees.

It is the intention to place the relevant documents in the Library.

Poultry: Imports

Ms Angela Eagle: [60686]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the top five

countries were for chicken imports to the UK in each of the last five years.

Victoria Prentis:

The attached table shows the top five countries importing chicken meat into the UK in

the last five years. It is based on Defra analysis of HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics.

Attachments:

1. Table of chicken imports over the last 5 years [60686 - Table with chicken imports over

the last 5 years.pdf]

Rivers: Boats

Gareth Thomas: [59339]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, under which

statutes are users of small craft restricted from any Common Law rights to navigate freely

the inland rivers of England and Wales.




Rebecca Pow:

Those seeking to navigate inland rivers for recreational purposes where there is no

navigation authority should establish that they have a legal right to do so, either

through voluntary agreement with riparian landowners or otherwise.

Welfare Assistance Schemes: Coronavirus


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the

Answer of 15 June 2020 to Question 57983 on Welfare Assistance Schemes; when he

plans to make that funding available; and what formula he plans to use to allocate that

funding to each local authority.

Victoria Prentis:

We are working at pace to establish an allocation model to focus support where it is

most needed and to disburse the money to local authorities as soon as we can.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

Bahrain: Coronavirus

Margaret Ferrier: [59500]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to

the Bahrain authorities' decision to release some prisoners during the covid-19 pandemic,

if he will make representations to the Government of Bahrain on the release of (a) Sheikh

Ali Salman, (b) Hassan Mushaima and (c) other imprisoned Bahraini political opposition

leaders.

James Cleverly:

From January to June 2020, 1,055 Bahraini prisoners have received royal pardons

and been released from prison. In March, a further 585 prisoners received alternative,

non-custodial sentences. We welcome the continued use of alternative sentencing in

Bahrain, which was introduced with UK Government support for Bahraini-led reforms

of the judicial system. The use of alternative sentencing is governed by clear eligibility

guidelines. So far, over 1,700 alternative sentences have been handed down since

2017.

We continue to monitor the cases of Hassan Mushaima and Sheikh Ali Salman.

Bahrain: Political Prisoners

Margaret Ferrier: [59499]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what

representations he has made to the Government of Bahrain on the provision of

appropriate medical care to (a) Dr Abduljalil Al Singace, (b) Hassan Mushaima, (c) Ali Al

Hajee and (d) Naji Fateel; and if he will call for their release.




James Cleverly:

The Government of Bahrain has made clear in public statements that access to

appropriate medical care for those in detention is guaranteed by the Constitution of

Bahrain. These statements stated publicly that, under normal circumstances, any

prisoner wishing to see a doctor is taken to the prison clinic, with referral to specialist

facilities where required. However as part of COVID-19 precautions, all medical

consultations now take place via video calls, ensuring the safety of both patients and

medical staff. We welcome these assurances from the Government of Bahrain, urge

continued transparency and would encourage those with any concerns about

treatment in detention to raise them with the appropriate Bahraini human rights

oversight body.

We continue to monitor the cases of Abduljalil al-Singace, Hassan Mushaima, Ali Al

Hajee and Naji Fateel.

Department for International Development: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Mary Kelly Foy: [61595]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral

contribution of the Prime Minister on 16 June 2020, Official Report, column 678, what

discussions he had with the Prime Minister on the Prime Minister’s consultation with (a)

international aid organisations and (b) humanitarian and development experts prior to the

decision to merge the Department for International Development with the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office.



contribution of the Prime Minister of 16 June 2020, Official Report, column 678, what

assessment he made of the potential merits of the outcomes of the Prime Minister's

consultation with (a) international aid organisations and (b) humanitarian and

development experts on the decision to merge the Department for International

Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.



contribution of the Prime Minister on 16 June 2020, Official Report, column 678, what

discussions he had with the Prime Minister on the consultations that took place with (a)

international aid organisations and (b) humanitarian and development experts regarding

the decision to merge the Department for International Development with the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office.

James Cleverly:

The Government continues to engage with UK and international Non-Governmental

Organisations on all relevant issues. The Prime Minister has concluded that in the

next decade, international issues will be even more important to the lives of our

citizens and our own national interest; that the world will become even more complex

and competitive, with growing, interconnected challenges and opportunities for the




UK; and that therefore we need a new all-of-government approach if we are to secure

our values and interests in a changing world.

By aligning our efforts, merging the departments will allow us to bring together our

international effort and maximise our influence around the world. This will ensure that

all of our national efforts, including our aid budget and expertise, are used to make

the UK a force for good in the world. This will strengthen our ability to lead the world's

efforts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and allow us to seize the

opportunities ahead, as we prepare to take on the G7 presidency and host COP26

next year.

Ben Everitt: [61629]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's spending will adhere to the OECD

Development Assistance Committee's internationally agreed standards for aid spending;

and whether that Office will retain the legal safeguards and scrutiny mechanisms

provided by the (i) International Development Committee, (ii) Independent Commission

for Aid Impact and t(iii) International Development Acts.

James Cleverly:

There are no plans to repeal or replace any of the Acts. Spending 0.7 percent of our

national income on aid is enshrined in law. We will continue to be guided by our

responsibilities under the International Development Act, including a commitment to

poverty reduction. The Government will undertake the necessary parliamentary

process to transfer responsibilities under the International Development Act to the

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be accountable to

parliament for how it spends UK aid. The form this takes is a matter for parliament.

Iyad Hallaq

Mr Virendra Sharma: [61457]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what

representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the killing of disabled

Palestinian Eyad Hallaq by Israeli border police on 30 May 2020.

James Cleverly:

As the UK Consul General in Jerusalem and the UK Ambassador in Tel Aviv stated

on 31 May, we are deeply saddened to hear about the death of Iyad Khairi Hallaq

after he was shot by Israeli police in East Jerusalem. Our heartfelt condolences go

out to his family. We urge restraint in the use of live fire by the Israel Defense Forces.

In instances where there have been accusations of excessive use of force, we have

advocated swift, transparent investigations and if wrongdoing is found, that those

responsible be held to account. The perpetual cycle of violence must end.



Nigeria: Armed Conflict

Dr Lisa Cameron: [59800]


the report published by Amnesty International entitled We dried our tears: addressing the

toll on children of Northeast Nigeria's conflict, if he will make it his policy that continued

support by the Government for Operation Safe Corridor is conditional on the Nigerian

authorities (a) undertaking a full investigation into deaths in the military-run detention

centre and (b) taking steps to ensure that the military respects children's rights.

James Duddridge:

We are concerned by allegations of human rights abuses in Amnesty International's

recent report, We Dried Our Tears. The British High Commissioner has raised the

report's findings with the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, calling for a full

investigation into the allegations and prosecution of any individuals found to have

committed abuses in military detention facilities. The UK Government does not

provide any support to the military detention facilities mentioned or provide funding

directly to the Government of Nigeria.

We are also concerned by criticisms in the report of Operation Safe Corridor. The

programme is run by the Federal Government of Nigeria and is intended to provide

defectors from Boko Haram with a voluntary way to disarm and reintegrate with

society through de-radicalisation, psychosocial support and livelihood training. By

providing a way to disengage from conflict, these programmes are an essential part

of peacebuilding but they must fit for purpose and conducted in a way that fully

respects human rights.

The UK, alongside the US and EU, provides funding to the International Organisation

for Migration (IOM) to assist in the reintegration element of the Operation Safe

Corridor. All UK Government programme spend is subject to regular monitoring and

review. We are urgently following up points raised in the report with IOM, in particular

in relation to the process for screening participants, the conditions in which they are

detained and the timeline for rehabilitation. IOM have assured us that no children are

currently enrolled. The UK's position on human rights is clear: they are universal and

must apply equally to all people. The UK will continue to call on all parties to the

conflict in North East Nigeria to respect human rights, including the rights of children,

and abide by international humanitarian and human rights law.

Nuclear Disarmament

Nadia Whittome: [61636]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent

discussions he has had with his international counterparts and partners on progress

towards nuclear disarmament.

James Cleverly:

The Foreign Secretary regularly discusses issues related to international security with

international counterparts. Earlier this year, P5 Foreign Ministers of the five Nuclear



Weapon States issued a joint declaration reaffirming our commitment to the Nuclear

Non-Proliferation Treaty, to mark the Treaty's 50th anniversary. The UK Government

hosted a P5 Conference in London on 12-13 February, which allowed the five

Nuclear Weapon States to deepen our engagement on nuclear issues, including

disarmament. Officials also continue to have regular discussions with international

partners on multilateral disarmament.

Prisoners: Coronavirus

Jim Shannon: [59462]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic

steps he is taking to help ensure the protection of human rights defenders imprisoned

and at risk from covid-19.

Nigel Adams:

The UK strongly supports human rights defenders worldwide to enable them to carry

out their work safely and without fear. We regularly assess how we can enhance our

ability to make a positive difference, including in the context of the increased risks

posed by the Covid-19 outbreak.

On 4 June, the UK joined human rights Ambassadors from six other European

nations to issue a statement highlighting the importance of ensuring a safe enabling

environment for human rights defenders. The statement made clear that states have

a responsibility to ensure that any emergency powers in place to combat Covid-19

are not used as tools to repress civil society, marginal groups or populations as a

whole.

In July 2019, the UK set out its ongoing dedication to support and protect human right

defenders in the document "UK Support for Human Rights Defenders". The

publication makes clear that our diplomatic network will work with and alongside Non

Governmental Organisation representatives and human rights defenders to address

the challenges they face. This includes human rights defenders who are detained, on

trial or imprisoned.

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

Jim Shannon: [59460]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make

public representations to the authorities in Saudi Arabia on the immediate and

unconditional release of 13 women human rights defenders on trial for reportedly

peaceful activism.

James Cleverly:

We remain concerned about the continued detention of women's rights activists in

Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns about the ongoing

detention of political detainees, including women's rights defenders with Saudi

Ministers during his visit this year to Riyadh in March. We regularly raise areas of

concern with the Saudi authorities at all levels, through Ministers, our Ambassador



and the Embassy in Riyadh. We consistently underline the importance of political

freedoms globally. This includes respect for the right to peaceful protest, the rule of

law, and freedom of speech, the press, and assembly. We continue to raise concerns

about individual cases regularly and monitor the situation closely.

Saudi Arabia: Women's Rights



the document UK Support for Human Rights Defenders, published in July 2019, what

additional support his Department plans to provide to women in Saudi Arabia who

campaigned for the right to drive but remain on trial.

James Cleverly:

We remain concerned about the continued detention of women's rights activists in

Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns about the ongoing

detention of political detainees, including women's rights defenders with Saudi

Ministers during his visit this year to Riyadh on 4 and 5 March. We regularly raise

areas of concern with the Saudi authorities at all levels, through Ministers, our

Ambassador and the Embassy in Riyadh. We continue to raise concerns about

individual cases regularly and monitor the situation closely.

We welcome recent positive developments, including the end on the ban on women

driving and guardianship reforms. Women's rights still fall short of international

standards, and we will continue to raise the issue with Saudi Arabia.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights

Stephen Kinnock: [61517]

To ask the Secretary of State, what steps the Government plans to take with international

partners at the Human Rights Council to deliver international accountability in relation to

alleged war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan civil war, with reference to the Sri

Lankan Government’s recent repudiation of its commitments under Human Rights

Council Resolution 30/1 and the termination of that process in March 2021.

Nigel Adams:

The UK Government regularly engages with international partners on the importance

of truth, accountability and justice for all victims of the civil war in Sri Lanka. At the

UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, the UK works closely with the Core

Group on Sri Lanka, and made clear our continued support for justice for victims of

conflict in a joint statement delivered at the UNHRC in February. While in Geneva in

February, the Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, Lord (Tariq)

Ahmad of Wimbledon, met the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena to

underline this message, and the Foreign Secretary raised the importance of

accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka during a call with Foreign Minister

Gunawardena in May. On 20 May, in a call with the UN's High Commissioner for



Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, Lord Ahmad, who is also the Minister of State

responsible for Human Rights, welcomed her recent engagement on Sri Lanka.

The British High Commission in Colombo continues to engage with international

partners on this important issue. The UK has long supported Sri Lanka's

accountability commitments made to the UNHRC through resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and

40/1 as the best way to establish truth regarding alleged crimes committed by all

sides during the Sri Lankan civil war, as well as to achieve accountability and

reconciliation.

Stephen Kinnock: [61518]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions

the Prime Minister, as Chair in Office of the Commonwealth, has had with the

Commonwealth Secretariat on the need for a Commonwealth good offices initiative to Sri

Lanka.

Nigel Adams:

The Prime Minister, as Commonwealth Chair-in-Office, has not held discussions with

the Commonwealth Secretariat on a Commonwealth good offices initiative to Sri

Lanka, but we are monitoring the situation in Sri Lanka closely. Respect for human

rights, democracy and good governance are fundamental tenets of the

Commonwealth Charter, and we encourage all member states to uphold those

shared commitments.

The UK is also a member of the Core Group on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights

Council (UNHRC) and has long supported Sri Lanka's commitments under UNHRC

resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1 on accountability, justice and reconciliation following

the Sri Lankan civil war.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Brazil


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is

taking to ensure that the UK’s Prosperity Fund programme in Brazil upholds the rights of

indigenous communities living in the Amazon.

Nigel Adams:

The Prosperity Fund programme in Brazil will support better public services, more

sustainable energy and investment, and more efficient international trade. The

programme is evolving to 'build back better' after the COVID-19 pandemic, including

focusing on vulnerable groups and in the Amazon region, working on issues such as

solar energy, primary health, and skills development. All Prosperity Fund

programmes follow robust due diligence procedures, and take a 'do no harm'

approach as a minimum standard. The UK is working with indigenous communities

across Brazil, including in the Amazon region. The UK supports the Reducing

Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) Early Movers

programme, which helps indigenous communities to develop sustainable income

sources and strengthen food security: 19,593 families have benefitted so far. Through



Partnerships for Forests, the UK also supports almost 2,000 indigenous people to

strengthen livelihoods through sustainable forest management. The UK Government

is committed to promoting and defending the human rights of all individuals, including

indigenous peoples.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Baroness Harding of Winscombe


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applicants were

interviewed before Baroness Harding of Winscombe was appointed to lead the NHS Test

and Trace system.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the (a) TalkTalk 2015

data breach and (b) TalkTalk poor customer service rating were considered in the due

diligence process before the appointment of former CEO Baroness Harding of

Winscombe to lead the NHS Test and Trace system.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

Baroness Harding was appointed to lead the programme of testing and tracing as

part of the Government’s ongoing response to COVID-19 in line with the long-

standing practice that Ministers can directly appoint individuals to undertake short-

term pieces of work. Baroness Harding also holds public appointments as the Chair

of NHS Improvement and a non-executive director of the Court of the Bank of

England. In both cases, her skills and experience were independently assessed prior

to appointment.

Coronavirus: Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: [55656]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made

of the potential merits for people's health of the reduction in air pollution during the covid-

19 lockdown.

Jo Churchill:

[Holding answer 10 June 2020]: The implementation of social distancing measures

to slow the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in short-term reductions in the

measured concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and particulate matter (PM).

When these measures are eased, PM and NO 2 levels are likely to return to pre-

epidemic levels. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Public

Health England and the Office for National Statistics are working together to assess

whether there is evidence of an association between exposure to particulates and

COVID-19 mortality in the United Kingdom. The Department for Environment, Food

and Rural Affairs’ independent Air Quality Expert Group launched a call for evidence




to help with assessing the impact of the pandemic, and a summary report will be

produced.

Coronavirus: Quarantine


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether travellers to the UK are

obliged to quarantine if they have had a positive antibody test for covid-19.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

[Holding answer 16 June 2020]: On 8 June new rules for international travellers were

introduced in order to reduce the risk of new cases from abroad.

Before considering whether antibody testing could ever be used to lessen or exempt

specific individuals from self-isolation measures, we first need to improve our

understanding of how the immune system responds to COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a new disease and the science around ‘immunity’ to the virus remains

uncertain. There is no strong evidence yet to suggest that those who have been

proven to have had the virus are immune. We do not know, for example, how long an

antibody response to the virus lasts nor whether having antibodies means one does

not transmit the virus to others.

Coronavirus: Screening

Rosie Cooper: [53348]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average length of time

taken to answer a call to the test and trace service from someone with covid-19

symptoms is in (a) each region and (b) across the UK for the latest period in which figures

are available.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

[Holding answer 8 June 2020]: Regional data is not available. The devolved

administrations have their own contact tracing systems in place.

Steve McCabe: [58629]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has

asked for feedback from local authorities on the effectiveness of Public Health England's

communication of covid-19 test results; and what steps have been taken to improve those

communications as a result of feedback received.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

We aim to move towards a testing model which has greater local ownership with local

delivery models tailored to local need. This means a relentless focus on quality,

access and speed across the programme; and building the capacity to enable

more frequent, targeted testing of priority groups where this will improve infection

control.




We are in daily discussions about how best to deliver data on COVID-19 to local

authorities and options to integrate this data into their current health response

systems. We are also working on producing a toolkit that will support local authorities

in data management. This will be complemented by the recently established Joint

Biosecurity Centre. This operates as an independent analytical function that will work

with local areas to provide real time analysis and assessment of infection outbreaks

at a community level, to enable rapid intervention before outbreaks grow.

Wes Streeting: [903706]

What assessment he has made of the availability of covid-19 testing for (a) care home

residents and (b) home care recipients (i) under and (ii) over 65 years old.

Helen Whately:

Testing kits for staff and residents are available for all adult care homes in England

through the whole care home portal.

Over 9,000 care homes for older people and those with dementia have had their

testing kits and we are currently getting testing kits out to residential homes for adults

under 65.

Home care workers - and those who receive care at home - with symptoms of

coronavirus can book tests via the National Health Service portal or 119.

Health Professions: Coronavirus


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is

for doctors who are contacted by the covid-19 contact tracers; and whether other

healthcare professionals working in the same hospital will have to quarantine for 14 days

in the event of such a contact.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

[Holding answer 11 June 2020]: People identified by NHS Test and Trace as having

been in close contact with someone who has a positive test must stay at home for 14

days, even if they do not have symptoms, to minimise the risk that they unknowingly

spread the virus. Only those who have had close, recent contact with someone who

tests positive will be asked to self-isolate.

If someone who works in – or has recently visited – a health or social care setting,

tests positive for COVID-19, their case will be escalated to local public health experts,

who will liaise with the relevant setting to agree on the most appropriate action. If they

were wearing appropriate personal protective equipment as part of their professional

duties at the time of the contact, this will not count as a contact.

Hospitals: Construction

Elliot Colburn: [903704]

What progress his Department has made on the building of new hospitals.




Edward Argar:

Considerable progress has been made since the announcement of the Health

Infrastructure Plan (HIP) schemes last September, despite coronavirus impacts. A

number of the six HIP 1 schemes for new hospitals are approaching early enabling

works. HIP 2 schemes have received seed funding and are working up their business

cases at pace. We remain committed to, and on target to deliver, on our pledge to

build 40 new hospitals.

Hospitals: Coronavirus

Chi Onwurah: [55965]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3

June 2020 to Question 49689, whether positive covid-19 results of NHS hospital patients

are shared with local authorities.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

[Holding answer 11 June 2020]: Public Health England publishes data on positive

COVID-19 tests in the National Health Service at upper and lower tier local authority

level on GOV.UK as part of the information on pillar 1 testing available at the

following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-track-coronavirus-cases

Local authorities are also notified about individual positive test results of hospital

patients when these form part of outbreak and contact tracing investigations involving

local authorities.

Mental Health Services: Telephone Services and Video Conferencing

Mary Glindon: [59449]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of Improving

Access to Psychological Therapies service providers offered telephone and video

appointments in place of face-to-face appointments between 23 March and 15 June

2020.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

We are unable to provide the data as requested.

The information on whether appointments take place face-to-face or by phone or

video is only available in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies annual

publications.

This information covering the period 1 April 2019 - 31 March 2020 is due to be

published on 30 July 2020.

Obesity

Nick Smith: [903718]

What steps his Department is taking to tackle obesity.






Jo Churchill:

This is our decade of change to drive forward this important work.

To achieve our bold ambition of halving childhood obesity by 2030, we are delivering

a wide range of measures through the three chapters of ‘Childhood obesity: a plan for

action’.

Overseas Visitors: Coronavirus

Peter Kyle: [58033]


of the potential merits of allowing exemptions to the Government's 14 day quarantine

requirement for visitors to the UK who can prove that they have tested negative for covid-

19 within the last seven days.

Peter Kyle: [58034]


of the potential merits of allowing exemptions to the Government's 14 day quarantine

requirement for visitors who have come to the UK to visit terminally ill relatives and can

prove that they test negative for covid-19.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

[Holding answer 15 June 2020]: The purpose of these measures is to manage the

risk of transmissions being introduced from abroad. Testing before or at the border is

currently not a part of these measures as the 14-day incubation period for COVID-19

could result in false negatives and undetected asymptomatic travellers entering the

UK. The regulations will be reviewed on 29 June to ensure they are in line with the

latest scientific evidence and remain effective and necessary.

Visitors entering the United Kingdom from outside of the Common Travel Area are

required to self-isolate for the first 14 days on their arrival. However, an individual

may leave the place where they are self-isolating for compassionate reasons,

including attending a funeral of a close family member or close friend, or to attend to

a terminally ill relative.

HOME OFFICE

Airports: Quarantine


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the criteria is for the review

of the 14-day quarantine at UK airports.

Kevin Foster:

The measures will be subject to review at the three week point and at regular

intervals thereafter. The review will take into account the latest scientific evidence

and consider a range of other factors, including the impact on the economy and

industry, in order to ensure the measures remain effective and necessary.




The first review will take place by 29 June and will include further engagement with

industry partners.

Asylum


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when reporting requirements are

due to be reinstated for asylum seekers in each (a) nation and (b) region of the UK.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made

of the potential merits of extending the current exemption from reporting requirements for

asylum seekers.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what notice period will be

provided to asylum seekers before reporting requirements are reinstated.

Chris Philp:

Reporting centres will only begin to open when social distancing and other

preventative measures are in place to keep those that we require to report safe.

Centres will only open in line with each of the four nations public health guidelines.

59811

Before inviting individuals back into reporting, case owners will assess cases based

on the persons harm they pose to the public, their vulnerability and personal

circumstances. 59812

All individuals required to return to a reporting centre will be given a minimum of

seven days’ notice before their first appointment.

British Nationality: Syria

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: [61537]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will revoke UK citizenship

for (a) family members of the Syrian President and (b) other members of the Syrian

Government who hold such citizenship; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire:

I do not comment on individual cases.

The Home Secretary can deprive individuals of their British citizenship where it is

conducive to the public good to do so.

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Neil Coyle: [59487]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is a requirement for

companies and civil society organisations who receive Prevent strategy funding to submit






receipts and invoices to (a) her Department or (b) local authorities to account how they

have used that funding.

James Brokenshire:

To reduce the threat from terrorism, the Home Office funds dedicated Prevent posts

and locally commissioned projects in local authority areas where the risk of

radicalisation is most acute. Organisations that are commissioned by local authorities

to deliver Prevent projects funded by the Home Office are required to submit receipts

and invoices to the local authority that commissioned them. On a quarterly basis, the

local authority submits a request for grant payment to the Home Office with a

breakdown of their expenditure.

Neil Coyle: [59488]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what due diligence her

Department undertakes on projects that receive Prevent strategy funding.

James Brokenshire:

Prevent projects funded by the Home Office are commissioned through local

authorities. Local authorities, as the commissioner, are responsible for carrying out

due diligence checks. The Home Office funding agreement with local authorities

stipulates that a documented due diligence process must be in place and include

efforts to understand a delivery partners financial status, viability and capability;

technical skills and capacity; operational and commercial processes and procedures;

background and history.

Counter-terrorism: Local Government

Neil Coyle: [59485]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the quarterly reviews of

the Prevent strategy carried out by local authorities are made publicly available.

James Brokenshire:

To help monitor the impact, effectiveness and value for money of local Prevent

delivery, local authorities in receipt of Home Office Prevent funding submit quarterly

returns to the Home Office. These provide evidence of local Prevent activities,

outcomes, issues and expenditure. These returns are not publicly available.

Counter-terrorism: Non-governmental Organisations

Neil Coyle: [59486]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department defines a

civil society organisation within the context of the Prevent strategy; and whether that

definition includes private companies.

James Brokenshire:

To help monitor the impact, effectiveness and value for money of local Prevent

delivery, local authorities in receipt of Home Office Prevent funding submit quarterly




returns to the Home Office. These provide evidence of local Prevent activities,

outcomes, issues and expenditure. These returns are not publicly available.

Domestic Abuse: Victim Support Schemes


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has

made of the effect that the measures outlined in the Domestic Abuse Bill will have on the

provision of community-based services for adult and child victims of domestic abuse.

Victoria Atkins:

The Domestic Abuse Bill, as introduced on 3 March, includes a new statutory duty on

tier one local authorities in England to provide support to victims of domestic abuse,

and their children, within safe accommodation.

On 17 February 2020, the Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local

Government announced £16.6 million to go to 75 local authority projects for delivery

of support to victims of domestic abuse, and their children, within safe

accommodation, helping up to 43,000 survivors.

We will ensure that local authorities receive appropriate financial support to meet the

new duty.

To enable us to better understand the complex landscape for community-based

support for all victims, including children, the Designate Domestic Abuse

Commissioner has agreed to undertake an in-depth exploration of the current

community-based support landscape over 2020/21.

The Government will then work with the Commissioner to understand the needs

identified and develop options on how best to address them.

Christian Wakeford: [57414]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what communications campaign

has been launched to (a) raise awareness of domestic abuse, (b) reassure the public that

the police and support services are still available and accessible during the covid-19

outbreak and (c) encourage people to access help and support when they need it.

Victoria Atkins:

The Home Office launched the #YouAreNotAlone communications campaign on 11

April to inform victims of domestic abuse that they can leave home; raise awareness

that police response and support services remain available, and signpost help and

support.

The campaign drives people towards support and advice on

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help and includes the

following channels:

• Digital and social media advertising

• Influencer and PR activity, creating a movement where people have shown

solidarity with victims and signposted to support by sharing the campaign assets



and using the hashtag #YouAreNotAlone. High profile supporters include Emma

Watson, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Dua Lipa and Russell Howard.

• Ongoing work with specialist agency The Multicultural Marketing Consultancy

(MMC) to extend campaign messaging into diverse black and minority ethnic

community channels and media.

• The campaign assets are also being disseminated via partners and employers

through partner packs which, so far, have been sent to 250 stakeholders and

nearly 10,000 employers. This includes other government departments, banks,

post offices, pharmacies and supermarkets who have all helped promote campaign

materials and raise awareness. Materials have been translated in 15 languages

and Welsh.

Employment: Vetting

Martyn Day: [57289]


of the effect on unemployed people starting employment of the time taken by the

Disclosure and Barring Service to process applications in each year since 2015.

Victoria Atkins:

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is a fee funded Arm’s Length Body that

provides disclosure certificates and barring functions: which help employers make

safer recruitment decisions in England and Wales and prevents unsuitable people

from working with vulnerable groups and children. It does this by issuing three levels

of criminal records certificate, known as disclosure checks, and can bar individuals

from working in regulated activity - certain roles that involve working with vulnerable

groups and children.

A link to the DBS’s datasets showing statistics against performance standards

including the time taken to process disclosure certificates, from April 2015 to March

2020, is shown below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbs-dataset-1-disclosure-progress-

information-disclosed-and-update-service-subscriptions

Fines: Quarantine


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the number of

(a) UK nationals and (b) non-UK nationals who have been issued with fines for not

complying with the requirement to quarantine upon entering the UK; and if she will

publish the number of fines issued for each day that the quarantine requirement has been

in place.


https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fstatistics%2Fdbs-dataset-1-disclosure-progress-information-disclosed-and-update-service-subscriptions&data=02%7C01%7CEdward.Quigley1%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7Cd72f3bbee2b6447aad0f08d80d216712%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C637273784412911495&sdata=TByAtOSTlRA8byCZiD%2FUejy89zGttUSVM%2FEftLAiCbs%3D&reserved=0




Kit Malthouse:

Information on the number of fixed penalty notices that have been issued by the

police in England and Wales in relation to a breach of the COVID-19 health

regulations are published by the National Police Chiefs Council on a fortnightly basis.

Forced Marriage

Jess Phillips: [56015]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the

National Referral Mechanism (NRM) made reference to forced marriage in the last full

reporting year; of those how many people were (a) accepted into the NRM and (b) had

their application declined.

Victoria Atkins:

The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual high-level statistics on the number

of referrals made to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for adults and children

which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-

mechanism-statistics. The Home Office does not currently produce data on

references to forced marriage within cases referred to the NRM.

Home Office: Overseas Aid


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the criteria her

Department plans to use for prioritising Official Development Assistance spending in the

event of a decrease in GNI.

Chris Philp:

To tackle poverty and advance our Global Britain objectives, departments will take

evidence-based spending decisions and maintains high standards of programme

delivery that are consistent with HMG best practice.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department's share

of the Official Development Assistance budget will be decreased in the event of a

reduction in GNI.

Chris Philp:


each year on Official Development Assistance (ODA). Since this commitment is

linked to the size of the economy, the level of ODA spend is likely to decrease this

year. HM Treasury allocates ODA budgets to departments and is responsible for

decisions on changes to these.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is

signing new funding agreements for projects funded by Official Development Assistance.





Chris Philp:

In the short term, government has paused some new decisions including the signing

of some new funding agreements while we agree our future work in close cooperation

with other aid spending Departments. We are working closely with Cabinet Office,

HMT and all other ODA departments to ensure the best value for money and that

decisions are taken in the national interest. We will set out more detail in due course.

Human Trafficking

Carolyn Harris: [56068]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment of need and

risk informs the offer of safe house accommodation to someone in the National Referral

Mechanism for identifying victims of trafficking; and how such assessments are

conducted.

Carolyn Harris: [56069]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the factors are that make

someone who has a positive RG decision through the National Referral Mechnism not

eligible for safe house accommodation.

Victoria Atkins:

All adults referred in to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) are eligible to receive

support through the Victim Care Contract to assist with recovery from their modern

slavery experience(s).

The type of support received is tailored, at each stage, according to the potential

victim or confirmed victim’s needs. Support provision may include any combination of

subsistence payments, support worker contact and assistance, and accommodation

provision.

Upon referral for support, The Salvation Army (who are the Prime Contractor in

delivery of Victim Care Contract Services) will undertake an initial needs assessment

with the potential victim, usually over the telephone. This brief assessment, alongside

the information provided within the NRM referral form, is used to establish immediate

priorities for accommodation support provision. Considerations such as the

individual’s health and wellbeing, any current risk that the individual faces from their

exploiters, their current accommodation provision (if any) and their eligibility to access

other support services are all taken into account at this early stage. Accommodation

may be offered at this stage if an individual would otherwise be destitute or will be

made destitute within two weeks of the referral, or if an individual is unable to

otherwise access safe and secure accommodation.

Upon receipt of a positive Reasonable Grounds decision, The Salvation Army will

conduct a more detailed needs assessment to inform the provision of continued or

further support, if any is required, within the Victim Care Contract, taking into account

their eligibility to access services outside of the VCC. Throughout an individual’s time

in Victim Care Contract Support, their needs will be continually considered by their

support worker to inform provision of services. The final consideration of an



individual’s needs related to their modern slavery experience will take place following

receipt of a positive Conclusive Grounds decision, in the form of a Recovery Needs

Assessment.

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Alex Norris: [59580]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, at what point of a Recovery

Needs Assessment would an individual who is receiving support via the National Referral

Mechanism have their subsistence payments ended.

Victoria Atkins:

Financial support payments will be provided to victims of modern slavery for as long

as there is an identified recovery need for those payments.

Potential victims who enter the National Referral Mechanism, receive a positive

Reasonable Grounds decision, and are in Victim Care Contract (VCC)

accommodation or receive VCC outreach support, will be paid financial support to

assist with their identified recovery needs.

The Recovery Needs Assessment (RNA) process takes place for all confirmed

victims of modern slavery supported through the VCC, following receipt of their

positive Conclusive Grounds decision. This process ensures that ongoing support is

tailored to their individual recovery needs arising from their modern slavery

experiences.

Financial support payments will only come to an end where the RNA process finds

that there is no longer an identified recovery need for VCC support or that the

confirmed victim has access to an alternative source of income to meet their needs,

such as income from employment or mainstream state benefits.

Human Trafficking: Victims

Alex Norris: [58067]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion

of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism were made without the relevant first

responder having met and interviewed the potential victim in person in (a) 2018 and (b)

2019.

Victoria Atkins:

It is not necessary for a First Responder to meet and interview a potential victim of

modern slavery before referring them to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

A First Responder’s decision whether to refer a potential victim into the NRM is based

on their professional judgment and on the evidence available to them. Data about

whether a First Responder has met and interviewed a potential victim is not currently

specifically recorded within NRM referral forms.



Immigrants: Finance

Stella Creasy: [61489]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to conduct a

pilot project to assess the needs of migrant women with no recourse to public funds; on

what basis the decision to carry out that pilot was made; and what the findings are of the

internal review conducted by her Department into that matter.

Chris Philp:

The Government committed to review its overall response to migrant victims of

domestic abuse in response to the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the

Draft Domestic Abuse Bill in June 2019.

The evidence gathering phase of the review has been completed and detailed

findings will be published by Commons Report stage.

This will provide further information on the rationale behind conducting a pilot project

to assess the needs of migrant victims with no recourse to public funds and the basis

upon which the decision to carry out the pilot was made.

Immigration Controls: France


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her

Department has had with the Australian Border Force on the UK's border controls with

France.

Chris Philp:

The Home Office continues to monitor and evaluate its approach to border policy and

keeps this under review. As part of this we consult with a wide range of partners on

their implementation of border controls.

UK Border Force: Coronavirus



of the level of compliance with social distancing guidance of Border Force officials

working at the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles to collect fingerprints from people found

trying to enter the UK irregularly.

Chris Philp:

All operational staff have always had the relevant Personal Protective Equipment

(PPE) available to them, along with detailed guidance on how to safely deal with

individuals who display coronavirus symptoms or where social distancing measures

cannot be adhered to.

PPE has been used in line with advice from Public Health England and the

Department of Health and Social Care.




Visas: British National (Overseas)


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Prime

Minister's article in The Times newspaper of 3 June 2020, what steps she is taking to

ensure that the pathway to citizenship, referred to by the Prime Minister, is

straightforward and accessible for students who hold BN(O) passports.

Kevin Foster:

The UK will continue to defend the rights & freedoms of the people of Hong Kong.

Should China push ahead and impose national security legislation on Hong Kong

then we will provide a generous offer to BN(O)s of a bespoke immigration route

providing unrestricted access to work and study with a pathway to apply for

citizenship.

We are working closely with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and domestic

departments on the offer to British Nationals (Overseas) and will set out more detail

in due course.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to

ensure that young people from Hong Kong born after 1997 and therefore not holding

British National (Overseas) passports are able to access asylum in the event that the

proposed National Security law is implemented and they are in danger of political

prosecution.

Kevin Foster:

There is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to

travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. All asylum claims must be

lodged in-country and we have no plans to amend this.

However, in considering arrangements for BN(O)s to come to the UK, we will also

consider our approach to the dependants of BN(O)s who do not themselves hold

BN(O) status.

Visas: Coronavirus

Dan Jarvis: [61500]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May

2020 to Question 40621, on Visas: Married People, whether she has plans to waive fees

for visa holders applying for extensions to family visas who are unable to marry before

those visas expire as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Kevin Foster:

The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by

the Covid-19 outbreak. We continue to monitor the situation closely and take these

exceptional circumstances into account.




A fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner whose wedding or civil partnership is

delayed due to COVID-19, can request an extension until 31 July by updating their

records with the Coronavirus Immigration Team.

(https://gov.smartwebportal.co.uk/homeoffice/public/ho_form.html)

The family Immigration Rules currently allows for an extension of leave if there is

good reason for a wedding or civil partnership not taking place during the initial six-

month period of leave to enter. Restrictions on giving notice to marry or delay to a

wedding or civil partnership due to Covid-19 will be considered a good reason under

this policy. Applicants are still required to pay the application fee and charges. They

may otherwise be eligible to remain on the basis of exceptional circumstances.

These are unprecedented times and we may make further temporary adjustments to

requirements where necessary and appropriate.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

House of Commons: Coronavirus


To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of

Commons Commission, if the Commission will publish the covid-19 risk assessment of

Parliament undertaken by the House authorities with Public Health England before

Parliament reconvened on 2 June 2020.

Pete Wishart:

The risk assessment was published on 28th May and can be accessed at the

following link on the UK Parliament transparency pages.


To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of

Commons Commission, what plans the Commission has to (a) test and (b) trace the

contacts of (i) staff and (ii) hon. Members in the event that a member of staff or hon.

Member contracts covid-19.

Pete Wishart:

Responsibility for and access to testing and tracing is a matter for the Department of

Health and Social Care and the relevant public health body.

The House of Commons Commission continues to work closely with the public health

agencies and has put in place arrangements to support any requests made by these

agencies as part of the contracting tracing process.



HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Coronavirus: Kent

Tom Tugendhat: [59827]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what

discussions (a) he, (b) his Ministers, and (c) officials in his Department have had with (i)

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and (ii) Sevenoaks District Council on continuing

support for people on the shielded patient list when direct support from the Government

ends in advance of the letter due to be sent out to those on that list in the week

commencing 15 June 2020.

Christopher Pincher:

We have been working closely with councils and each local authority has a dedicated

contact point in the shielding programme. Our South East Regional Team currently

works closely with Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, as well as Kent County

Council and its lead District Council Tunbridge Wells. Officers from the team continue

to speak with senior officers on matters regarding people who are shielding. This

support will continue as the core offer to those shielding has been extended until the

end of July.

Council Tax and Rents: Arrears

Stephen McPartland: [61491]


plans he has to stop local authorities using (a) bailiffs and (b) debt collection agents

collecting (i) rent and (ii) council tax arrears.

Mr 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.



Floods



discussions his Department has had with (a) borough and (b) county councils on support

for residents affected by the June 2020 floods.

Luke Hall:

Flooding, wherever it occurs, can very distressing for local communities and the

Government has every sympathy for those affected. To date, my Department has not

been approached by any local authority impacted by recent flash flooding incidents.

Where such localised incidents do occur, local authorities are expected to have in

place well established contingency arrangements to respond to them and to support

any recovery efforts.

Freehold

Sir Greg Knight: [61434]


progress he had made on the establishment of a new statutory regime to ensure that

freeholders who pay maintenance charges have equivalent rights to leaseholders to

challenge the reasonableness of those charges; and if he will make a statement.

Luke Hall:

The Government intends to legislate to give freeholders on private and mixed tenure

estates equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge the reasonableness of estate

rentcharges as well as the right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new

manager for the provision of services covered by estate rentcharges. We will bring

forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Home Ownership Incentive Schemes: Disability

Kate Griffiths: [59890]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how

many homes have been purchased under the Home Ownership for those with Long-term

Disabilities scheme in each year since 2015.


We do not hold data on the number of homes purchased through the Home

Ownership for Long-term Disabilities (HOLD) scheme.

Housing Occupancy: Coronavirus

Shabana Mahmood: [57939]


steps his Department is taking to help reduce the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on

people living in multi-generational households as lockdown restrictions are eased.






[Holding answer 15 June 2020]: As set out in Our Plan to Rebuild, the Government is

introducing a range of adjustments to social distancing measures, timing these

carefully according to both the current transmission rate of the virus and the

Government’s ability to ensure safety. The steps for modifying social distancing

measures are set out in the plan, with strict conditions to safely move from each step

to the next.

Public Health England recently updated its guidance for households with

grandparents, parents and children living together where a member of the household

is aged 70 or over, or has an underlying health condition, meaning they are at

increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.

The guidance can be viewed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-

guidance/guidance-for-households-with-grandparents-parents-and-children-living-

together-where-someone-is-at-increased-risk-or-has-symptoms-of-coronavirus-cov

Local Government: Coronavirus

Tom Tugendhat: [59826]


support his Department plans to provide to local authorities to enable them to support

vulnerable people on the covid-19 shielded patient list after the provision of direct

Government support to those people has ended.


The Government is injecting an additional £63 million to boost local authority welfare

assistance to ensure that no one has to go without food and other basic necessities.

This is on top of £3.2 billion in additional funding to help councils manage the

immediate impact of coronavirus, including supporting local shielding programmes.

As announced on 22 June, the Government is relaxing advice to those shielding in

two stages. From Monday 6 July, those shielding can spend time outdoors in a group

of up to six people (including those outside of their household). From Saturday 1

August, advice to those shielding will be further relaxed, meaning people who are

clinically extremely vulnerable will be advised they can go to work or to the shops, as

long as they are able to maintain social distancing and are robustly practicing good,

frequent hand washing. Support for those shielding has been extended to the end of

July – this includes the delivery of food and medicines.

The Government will continue to review the risks for the clinically extremely

vulnerable as they review social distancing advice for the general population.

https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fcovid-19-stay-at-home-guidance%2Fguidance-for-households-with-grandparents-parents-and-children-living-together-where-someone-is-at-increased-risk-or-has-symptoms-of-coronavirus-cov&data=02%7C01%7CParliamentary%40communities.gov.uk%7Cf53bef21c4914ff6f6f208d816aeb9b1%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637284286973802322&sdata=vpwbBwDri%2FsaI5GBjZWm6WnKej5yQMuPa74I6IOgr9I%3D&reserved=0





Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Energy


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how

much energy his departmental buildings have used in (a) each of the last five years and

(b) 2020 to date.

Luke Hall:

The information for the years 2015-16 to 2018-19 is available in our Annual Report

and Accounts.

Data for 2019-20 and for 2020 to date is not held centrally.

Planning Permission



estimate he has made of the outstanding number of dwellings for which planning

permission has been granted.


As of 29 May 2020, there were circa 894,000 residential units with detailed planning

permission granted on sites which had not yet been completed. Of these, circa

457,000 have started on site and circa 438,000 are yet to start on site (outstanding).

Of those yet to start, circa 356,000 are progressing towards a start.

Property Development: Isle of Dogs

Apsana Begum: [61608]


assessment his Department has made of the effect of his decision to grant planning

permission for the Westferry Printworks site (PA/18/01877/A1) on local targets on (a)

overcrowded and homeless households, (b) local housing waiting lists, and (c) local

housing density.

Apsana Begum: [61609]


assessment his Department has made of the affordability of the housing element of the

Westferry Printworks site plan as amended (PA/18/01877/A1) for Tower Hamlets

Residents who are (a) living in temporary accommodation, (b) homeless and (c) on the

housing list.


The Secretary of State’s full analysis of the considerations in this case are set out in

his Decision Letter of 14 January and accompanying Inspector’s Report.

The proposed development would have provided nearly 300 new affordable homes

and a brand new school for the local community.





INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bangladesh: Migrant Camps

Yasmin Qureshi: [59725]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of

27 April 2020 to Question 38888 on Bangladesh: Migrant Camps, what recent

representations he has made to his Bangladeshi counterpart on changes to the

telecommunications restrictions in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Nigel Adams:

The UK continues to raise this issue with the Government of Bangladesh and has

requested full lifting of the telecommunications restrictions. The Minister for South

Asia, Lord Ahmad, has been raising the issue of internet access in the Cox's Bazar

Rohingya refugee camps with the Government of Bangladesh, including with the

Bangladeshi High Commissioner in London.  The British High Commissioner in

Dhaka has raised the issue on multiple occasions, including with the Bangladeshi

Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has

made of the potential merits of the recommendations on page 13 of the report entitled,

The Shadow Pandemic: Gender-Based Violence among Rohingya refugees in Cox’s

Bazar, published in May 2020; and if she will hold discussions with (a) the Government of

Bangladesh and (b) NGOs on improving the site-management of refugee camps.

Nigel Adams:

The International Rescue Committee’s report clearly highlights that despite the

tireless efforts of the Government of Bangladesh and international response to scale

up humanitarian assistance, women and girls continue to live with the threat of

gender-based violence (GBV). We share the report’s assessment that these risks are

likely to be compounded by the spread of COVID-19 and steps taken to mitigate the

virus. GBV remains a major concern that requires a multi-pronged approach. This is

reflected in the priorities and funding appeal of the UN-led Joint Response Plan 2020,

and the complementary COVID-19 response planning.

DFID regularly engages with the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation

Commission, humanitarian NGO partners and the Site Management and

Development sector group to discuss how site management can be improved. This

includes supporting decision-making based on community feedback and particularly

the views of women and girls. This has included spotting and rectifying problems

such as non-functional street lights. DFID has funded the installation of more than

29,500 street lights in the camps and host communities since 2017. Protection focal

points are also embedded in the Site Management and Development sector to

ensure protection issues such as GBV are taken into account.



Brazil: Overseas Aid


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to

ensure that Official Development Assistance spent in Brazil supports the rights of

indigenous communities living in the Amazon region.

Wendy Morton:

The Prosperity Fund programme in Brazil will support better public services, more

sustainable energy and investment, and more efficient international trade. The

programme is evolving to ‘build back better’ after the COVID-19 pandemic, including

focusing on vulnerable groups and in the Amazon region, working on issues such as

solar energy, primary health, and skills development. All Prosperity Fund

programmes follow robust due diligence procedures and take a ‘do no harm’

approach as a minimum standard. The UK is working with indigenous communities

across Brazil, including in the Amazon region. The UK supports the REDD (Reducing

Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) Early Movers programme,

which helps indigenous communities to develop sustainable income sources and

strengthen food security: 19,593 families have benefitted so far. Through

Partnerships for Forests, the UK also supports almost 2,000 indigenous people to

strengthen livelihoods through sustainable forest management. The UK Government

is committed to promoting and defending the human rights of all individuals, including

indigenous peoples.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Coronavirus

Wendy Chamberlain: [61599]


15th June to Question 57377, (a) how much UK aid to combat covid-19 has been

allocated to the Democratic Republic of Congo; and (b) what percentage of UK aid

designated to combat covid-19-19 in DRC is allocated to UN agencies and WHO.

James Duddridge:

At the forefront of global efforts to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak, the UK has

provided £764 million of UK aid toward ending the pandemic as quickly as possible.

This includes funding to vulnerable countries, like the Democratic Republic of Congo

(DRC) and to global organisations like the WHO, and investment in rapid diagnostics

and vaccines.

Within DRC, UK programmes are supporting health facilities to respond to the virus

and support the most vulnerable to maintain access to food. Existing humanitarian,

health and economic development programmes are also addressing needs arising

from the impact of COVID-19. This includes support to UNICEF.



Department for International Development: Reorganisation


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what consultation her

Department had with (a) international aid organisations and (b) humanitarian and

development experts on the decision to merge the Department for International

Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan:

The Prime Minister has decided to merge the Department for International

Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to form a new international

department – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Government

will continue to engage closely with interested stakeholders, including UK and

international NGOs, in the weeks and months to come as we work to create the new

department, which will unite our development expertise and first class diplomatic

service to make the UK a force for good in the world.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she was made aware

of the merger of her Department with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.


Decisions on Machinery of Government changes are made by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister discussed the merger with both the Foreign Secretary and me

ahead of his announcement in the House.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she had meetings

with the Prime Minister ahead of the announcement that her Department is to merge with

the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.


Decisions on Machinery of Government changes are made by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister discussed the merger with both the Foreign Secretary and me

ahead of his announcement in the House.

Developing Countries: Coronavirus


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, following lessons learned

during the recent West Africa Ebola epidemic, how is the UK Government working with

faith leaders in developing countries to maximise the effectiveness of the covid-19

response.

Nigel Adams:

I recognise both the important place that religious belief has for many people around

the world affected by COVID-19 and the role that faith leaders are playing in the

response.





The Ebola Crisis has shown that faith groups are amongst the first to respond and

can play an effective role in the behaviour change essential to slow the spread,

reduce infection, illness and death of epidemics.

Faith groups are key policy and delivery partners for DFID. We are committed to

working with and alongside faith-based actors to meet the challenges posed to both

the UK and internationally by COVID-19.

DFID is taking forward a structured approach to working with UK and international

civil society organisations, including faith-based actors. This is incorporating strategic

and technical discussions to help inform the sector’s response to the pandemic.

Specifically, Baroness Sugg has chaired round table discussions with the Chief

Executive Officers from key civil society organisations, including faith-based

organisations. This has been to update the sector on DFID’s COVID-19 response to

date, engage with concerns across the sector, and explore how to mitigate the

threats posed by COVID-19 to sector resilience.

Lord Ahmad also hosted a round table with faith leaders and faith-based

development organisations on 8 June to discuss how we can work together more

effectively on the response to COVID-19.

DFID has pledged new funding for civil society organisations, including faith-based

organisations, to support the response. This includes £20 million through the Rapid

Response Facility, which includes funding for Christian Aid; up to £30 million of new

grants through the next round of the UK Aid Direct programme, and significant

funding through the DFID Unilever COVID-19 Hygiene and Behaviour Change

Coalition.

Faith-based organisations can receive funding through multilateral organisations, as

downstream partners as part of the UK’s response, and through our country office

network.

We have been reviewing our programme portfolio in light of the COVID-19 response,

enabling us to identify existing activities which can already support the response and

others that can be adapted or scaled up, such as our support to health systems and

humanitarian crises.

Developing Countries: Equality


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has

made of the effectiveness of public-private sector partnerships for improving gender

equality in developing countries.

Wendy Morton:

Working with the private sector can crowd additional finance to benefit women and

girls including through more productive jobs. DFID’s Work and Opportunities for

Women is advising British multinational companies to secure better paid and secure

work for 400,000 women in global supply chains. Our co-financing of the G20 Women


Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative will help reach 115,000 women entrepreneurs in

developing countries and mobilise additional public and private sector resources of

$2.6 billion. CDC has co-led a collective commitment by the G7 Development

Finance Institutions to mobilise $3 billion of public and private investments advancing

gender equality in developing countries.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Lisa Nandy: [59749]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Prime

Minister's Oral Statement of 16 June 2020 on Global Britain, whether there will be a loss

of (a) staff members and (b) expertise from the Department for International Development

as a result of the merger of the Department of International Development with the Foreign

and Commonwealth Office to create a new department, the Foreign, Commonwealth and

Development Office.


Merging the departments will bring together the best of what we do in aid and

diplomacy, and create new opportunities for staff. The ambition, vision and expertise

of DFID staff will be at the heart of the new department – taking forward the work of

UK aid, which will remain central to our mission. There will be no compulsory

redundancies.

Lisa Nandy: [60749]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what consultation the

Government undertook with (a) humanitarian and development experts and (b) leading

aid organisations before the decision was made to merge the Department for

International Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to create a new

department, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.


The Prime Minister has decided to merge the Department for International

Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to form a new international

department – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Government

will continue to engage closely with interested stakeholders, including UK and

international NGOs, in the weeks and months to come as we work to create the new

department, which will unite our development expertise and first-class diplomatic

service to make the UK a force for good in the world.

International Development Acts


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has plans to

bring forward legislative proposals to (a) repeal or (b) replace the (i) International

Development Act 2002, (ii) International Development Act 2006, (c) International

Development Act 2014 and (d) International Development Act 2015.





Spending 0.7 percent of our national income on aid is enshrined in law. We will

continue to be guided by our responsibilities under the International Development

Act. The Government will undertake the necessary parliamentary process to transfer

responsibilities under the International Development Act to the Foreign,

Commonwealth and Development Office.

Overseas Aid

Mr Barry Sheerman: [61431]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether it will remain

Government policy to spend 0.7 per cent of GNI on development aid when her

Department merges with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and if she will make a

statement.


On 16 June the Prime Minister announced that the Foreign and Commonwealth

Office and Department for International Development will merge to form a new

international department – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The

Government remains committed to the target of spending 0.7 percent on aid, which is

enshrined in law, and the UK continues to abide by the OECD DAC rules for aid.

Overseas Aid: Coronavirus

Chris Law: [59797]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she is

having with UN agencies to ensure that funding for the covid-19 response is allocated

urgently to organisations operating at community level.

Nigel Adams:

My officials continue to liaise with UN partners on all aspects of its COVID-19

response, including their work with NGOs and civil society organisations.

DFID welcomes the vital role that NGOs and civil society organisations 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.

Chris Law: [59798]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to

ensure that programmes funded by her Department can be adapted to respond to the

covid-19 pandemic and progress on development does not stop as a result of it.

Wendy Morton:

We are maximising the UK’s efforts to tackle COVID-19 by adapting and scaling up

existing programmes where they can respond to the crisis. In country, we are working




quickly to pivot our programming to support the COVID-19 response, reinforcing

health, humanitarian, social protection or economic support programmes.



15th June to Question 57377, (a) what percentage of the £764 million of UK AID is going

to UN agencies and WHO, and (b) which countries have so far benefitted from UK AID

funding to combat covid-19.

Wendy Morton:

We have committed up to £764 million of UK Aid to combat COVID-19 and reinforce

the global effort to find a vaccine. We are using UK aid to its full effect to counter the

health, humanitarian, and economic risks and impact of this pandemic in the

developing world. The UK has committed £145 million, roughly 19% of the £764

million, to the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan. Details of which countries are

included in the GHRP can be found here.

We have also adapted over one hundred existing bilateral health and humanitarian

programmes, and close to two hundred existing social protection, economic,

governance, conflict and other programmes, across 35 countries and regions relevant

to the COVID-19 response.

Overseas Aid: Females


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 6

May 2020 to Question 41953 on Overseas Aid: Females, whether the (a) Strategic Vision

and (b) implementation plan have been amended as a result of that NAO report to enable

(i) overall progress and (ii) value for money to be better assessed.

Wendy Morton:

As acknowledged by the NAO, DFID’s Strategic Vision for Gender Equality is

ambitious, wide-ranging and well-researched. The review also set out that our

partners would value a long-term, high-level plan that includes the key milestones for

DFID’s actions on gender equality between now and 2030.

We are continually challenging ourselves on how we can increase our impact and

deliver even better value for money for the UK taxpayer. We will therefore take

forward this recommendation on this important agenda by consulting on and

publishing a high-level plan in early 2021. It is critical that we understand the

emerging challenges that COVID-19 poses for women and girls globally, across all

areas of our Strategic Vision, and address this in the design of the plan.

The plan will set out measurable milestones that can be tracked. We will also ensure

that it is flexible enough to accommodate new priorities, challenges and opportunities

at the global and country level.



St Christopher and Nevis: Financial Services


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress the St Kitts

and Nevis Government has made in reforming its financial sector; and what support her

Department is providing to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank to regulate the Eastern

Caribbean Currency Union.

Wendy Morton:

The UK does not have a bilateral development programme in St. Kitts and Nevis as it

is a high income country and therefore not eligible for Official Development

Assistance (ODA). However, we are providing technical support through the

International Monetary Fund Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre

(CARTAC) to St. Kitts and Nevis to strengthen financial stress testing frameworks for

the insurance sector. CARTAC is also helping to strengthen financial sector

regulation and supervision by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank over the Eastern

Caribbean Currency Union.

Yemen: Overseas Aid

Chris Law: [59799]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department

is taking to ensure that aid to Yemen is received by people who need it most.

James Cleverly:

The UK Government has a zero-tolerance policy to the diversion of UK aid funds and

seeks to minimise the risks, to ensure our life-saving assistance (such as food, clean

water and medical support) reaches those vulnerable Yemenis who need it most.

We do this by only channelling our support through organisations with a strong record

of delivering and monitoring assistance, such as UN agencies and international

NGOs. We also subject our partners to rigorous due diligence processes and regular

reviews (including independent third-party verification of delivery).

We also continue to actively call on the Houthis and all parties to the conflict to

immediately end all restrictions on aid agencies and comply with UN Security Council

Resolution 2451 by allowing safe, rapid, and unhindered access for the humanitarian

response and commercial supplies.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Department for International Trade: Energy


To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much energy her departmental

buildings have used in (a) each of the last five years and (b) 2020 to date.




Mr Ranil Jayawardena:

The Department for International Trade was formed in 2016 and only holds

information relating to the financial years 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20, which is

provided in the table below.

ENERGY

CONSUMPTION BY

TYPE (MWH) 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Electricity non

renewable

0 0 0

Electricity

renewable

1,766 1,928 1,989

Gas

483 538 619

Other Energy

Sources

144 227 162

Total energy

consumption

2,393 2,693 2,771

The figures relate to our 55 Whitehall and 3-5 Whitehall Place buildings. Information

for other buildings occupied by the Department, but where we are not the main

occupier (including overseas), are not reported by the Department.

Details of energy consumption for the Department’s buildings for 2017/18 and

2018/19 can also be found in its Annual Reports and Accounts which are published

on GOV.UK (and, for completeness, the energy consumption details included in the

2018/19 Annual Report & Accounts differ from the above table because they were

based on estimates that were available at the time of publication.)

Figures for 2020/21 to date are not currently available.

Hydrogen: Exports

Kevin Hollinrake: [60825]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to (a)

promote the UK's hydrogen sector to international markets and (b) develop new export

opportunities.

Graham Stuart:

The Department for International Trade (DIT) is engaging with UK suppliers from the

hydrogen industry, sector specific research centres and trade associations to

understand the UK’s capability across hydrogen technologies. Officials have been

raising awareness of the UK’s capability to our domestic and overseas networks, to

enable the promotion of the hydrogen sector and support discussions with potential

buyers.


DIT undertakes a range of activities to support exports from the renewable energy

sector, including in hydrogen. For example, earlier this year the Department

participated in HyVolution in Paris, with a departmental representative giving a

speech to attendees on UK capabilities in Hydrogen.

Liquefied Natural Gas: Mozambique

Kate Osamor: [59527]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she is making an

assessment in addition to the UKEF environmental, social and health impact assessment

of the implications for her policy on funding for the Category A Mozambique LNG project

of (a) the correlation between gas industry activity and the level of covid-19 cases, (b)

attacks on local villages and increasing violence and instability in the region and (c) other

human rights issues.

Graham Stuart:

The Mozambique LNG Project is still under consideration, and we cannot comment

on potential transactions for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) carries out due diligence on all relevant aspects of a

project before coming to a decision on whether to provide support.

As the question acknowledges, the Government has already published a Category A

notice which includes a link to an Environmental, Social and Health Impact

Assessment (ESHR) of the Mozambique LNG project and related information. The

Category A Notice is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/category-a-project-under-consideration-

mozambique-lng-project/category-a-project-under-consideration-mozambique-lng-

project

UKEF has a specialist ESHR team that reviews relevant projects for such risks and

impacts prior to UKEF taking a decision on support.

Open Individual Export Licences: USA

Emily Thornberry: [61444]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will publish all end user data

associated with Open Individual Export Licence 4P to the USA issued in 2015.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will publish all end user

conditions associated with Open Individual Export Licence 4P to the USA, issued in 2015.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will publish the compliance

record associated with Open Individual Export Licence 4P to the USA, issued in 2015.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/category-a-project-under-consideration-mozambique-lng-project/category-a-project-under-consideration-mozambique-lng-project








To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many compliance visits have

been conducted to date to monitor Open Individual Export Licence 4P to the USA, issued

in 2015.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the US police

response to Black Lives Matter protests in that country, if she will instruct her officials to

carry out an urgent compliance visit to monitor Open Individual Export Licence 4P to the

USA, issued in 2015.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena:

The licence referred to and published on GOV.UK in the data for 1st July to 30th

September 2015 as “4P”, permitting certain exports to the United States of America,

expired in July 2018.

Two compliance visits were conducted during the validity of the licence, but

compliance records are commercially sensitive and cannot be published.

The Rt. Hon. Lady will know that standard end user conditions for all Open Individual

Export Licences (OIELs) are available to view on GOV.UK and, under this licence,

the exporter could only export to a government directly or companies using the listed

goods in fulfilment of any part of a government contract.

JUSTICE

Courts: Disability

Alex Cunningham: [61493]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to record

data on the disability impairment of people participating in (a) physical and (b) virtual

court proceedings.

Chris Philp:

HMCTS works closely with disability groups to both understand the challenges that

disabled people may face throughout the justice system and to put in place measures

that address those challenges and help ensure HMCTS meets its responsibilities in

the Equality Act 2010.

Under the HMCTS Reform Programme new systems are being developed to improve

accuracy and consistency of data in physical and remote proceedings. This includes

data on disability and other protected characteristics.

Family Proceedings: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: [59611]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has been made of the

implications for his policies of the Family Mediation Council's proposals entitled Covid-19





and the Family Justice System – Meeting the Challenge: Potential Contributions by the

Family Mediation Profession, published 6 May 2020.

Alex Chalk:

We have been in regular communication with the Family Mediation Council

throughout the Covid-19 response and welcome the chance to work closely with the

sector during this time. We know that now is a particularly difficult time for families, as

relationships are placed under intense pressures, and we are committed to

championing mediation as a suitable option for many of these families. My officials

are currently reviewing the proposals in detail and will be in touch with the Family

Mediation Council to discuss further shortly.

Legal Aid Scheme: Immigrants


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost of

extending legal aid to EEA and Swiss nationals to enable them to apply for rights to enter

and remain in the UK after the transition period.

Alex Chalk:

The legal aid scheme is designed to target legal aid at those who need it most.

Publicly-funded immigration legal advice is available to particularly vulnerable

individuals such as victims of modern slavery. Legal aid may also be available

through the Exceptional Case Funding scheme, subject to the relevant criteria being

met.

Therefore, no estimate has been made as to the cost of extending legal aid to EEA

and Swiss nationals to apply for rights to enter and remain in the UK after the

transition period.

Ministry of Justice: Energy


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much energy his departmental buildings


Chris Philp:

The amount of energy used by the Ministry of Justice in each of the last five years is

as follows:

FINANCIAL

YEAR 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Energy (MWh) 1,434,498 1,409,163 1,356,100 1,367,729 1,320,597

Data is not yet available for any part of 2020/21 as this is collated quarterly in arrears.



The department is committed to reducing its carbon emissions on a trajectory to Net

Zero by 2050 or sooner; and has reduced its total emissions by 44% by 2019-20

compared to 2009-10.

Probation

Ms Lyn Brown: [59403]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his oral contribution of 11 June

2020 on Probation Services, Official Report, column 426, whether (a) accommodation, (b)

employment, training, and education, (c) finance, benefits, and debt, (d) dependency and

recovery, (e) family and significant others, (f) lifestyle and associates, (g) emotional

wellbeing, (h) social inclusion, (i) cognitive and behavioural change, (j) women, (k) young

adults, (l) black, asian, and minority ethnic, (m) restorative justice and (n) service user

involvement services are included among the specialist resettlement and rehabilitative

services that will be prioritised in order to build a solid foundation that can be delivered

within the specified timeframe.

Lucy Frazer:

In his statement to the House on 11 June 2020, the Lord Chancellor confirmed plans

for a Probation Services Dynamic Framework through which the National Probation

Service and other public bodies can commission rehabilitative and resettlement

services. It opened on 11th June for registration by prospective suppliers with an

interest in provision of one or more of 14 service categories.

I want to be clear that registration for the Probation Services Dynamic Framework is

open to all organisations that provide accommodation, employment, training, and

education, finance, benefits, and debt, dependency and recovery, family and

significant others, lifestyle and associates, emotional wellbeing, social inclusion,

cognitive and behavioural change, women, young adults, black, Asian, and minority

ethnic, restorative justice and service user involvement services.

Our plans for the first set of contracts to be commissioned through the Framework

reflect our assessment of the relative distribution of offender needs, the availability of

existing local provision, and the capacity of both the third sector and HMPPS (in light

of the impact of COVID-19) to complete call-off competitions and mobilise services in

time for the start of future arrangements in June 2021. We initially intend to run

competitions for lots which cover the following Probation Services Dynamic

Framework service categories:

• Accommodation

• Employment, training, and education

• Family and significant others

• Lifestyle and associates

• Emotional wellbeing

• Social inclusion


• Women

• Young adults (in Wales only)

We will expect Regional Probation Directors to use their established relationships

with local commissioners to secure high quality interventions via other funding means

in relation to dependency and recovery and finance, benefits and debt, and to assess

the need for services in relation to the additional categories. The Probation Services

Dynamic Framework will enable Regional Probation Directors, over a period of time,

to secure a suite of services across the range of service categories above which

matches their locally-identified needs.

Registered Intermediaries

Alex Cunningham: [59217]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential

merits of introducing a registered defendant intermediary scheme, similar to that for

witnesses, to support the duty to make reasonable adjustments and fair trial rights, as

recommended by the Law Commission.

Alex Chalk:

The Ministry of Justice is currently conducting a review of intermediaries across the

justice system. This includes an assessment of the feasibility of implementing the

recommendations of the Law Commission on providing intermediaries to defendants,

and how such provision might be organised and delivered. In the meantime, courts

can continue to use their common law powers to order the use of intermediaries for

defendants, in the interests of a fair trial.

Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the

Criminal Justice System Independent Review

Mr Steve Baker: [59745]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will implement the recommendations of the

final report of the Lammy Review - An independent review into the treatment of, and

outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the Criminal Justice System;

and if he will make a statement.

Alex Chalk:

We are committed to publishing routinely progress on the implementation of the

Lammy Review and, as of 16 June 2020, the status of the recommendation are as

follows:

Out of the 35 recommendations;

i. 16 have been completed (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 22, 23, 33, 35)

ii. 17 recommendations are still in progress, of which:

1. 1 recommendation is in the initial stages (34),



2. 11 recommendations aim to be completed within 6 – 12 months (15, 17, 20, 21, 24,

25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)

3. 5 recommendations will take longer than 12 months to be completed (1, 9, 10, 31,

32)

iii. In the Government’s response to the Review in December 2017, it was stated that

two recommendations specific to a target for judicial appointments and appraisal (14,

16) would not be taken forward.

The Government is committed to advancing each recommendation of the Review in

some way and where a recommendation could not be implemented in full or exactly

as set out, alternative approaches have been sought to achieve the same aim. The

Government’s response also identified actions going beyond the Review’s

recommendations. Progress on recommendations and additional actions, and

decisions on other areas of disparity where the principle of “explain or change” needs

to apply, are overseen by a CJS Race and Ethnicity Board. The Board was created in

response to the Review.

The Government provided a detailed public update on progress against each of the

35 recommendations of the Lammy Review, and the other related activities, in

February 2019 in the “Tackling racial disparity in the Criminal Justice System” update:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-racial-disparity-in-the-criminal-

justice-system-2020.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Hospitality Industry and Tourism: Northern Ireland

Simon Baynes: [59904]

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to

support the hospitality and tourism industries in Northern Ireland to prepare for the lifting

of covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Mr Robin Walker:

The Secretary of State and I are working closely with Cabinet colleagues and the NI

Executive to support businesses, including those in the tourism and hospitality

sectors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recognising the exceptional circumstances faced by businesses across the country,

the Chancellor announced an unprecedented package of measures to support

businesses, employees and the self-employed. This includes government backed

loans and direct support for wages, which are available to the hospitality and tourism

sectors.

In Northern Ireland, this is supplemented by additional support for businesses from

the NI Executive following significant increases of approximately £1.3bn in the

spending power of the Executive to enable it to respond to Covid-19. The Executive

has used this additional spending power to deliver the £25,000 Business Support

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-racial-disparity-in-the-criminal-justice-system-2020




Grant to help protect jobs, prevent business closures and promote economic

recovery across some of the most significantly affected industries, including

hospitality and tourism. This is in line with the £25,000 Business Support Grants

being delivered in England, Scotland and Wales where the Business Support Grants

are available for eligible businesses within the hospitality and tourism sectors.

The Government has been developing guidance to help tourism and hospitality

businesses plan for social distancing and hygiene measures and the NI Executive is

considering how this can be tailored to Northern Ireland. I am pleased that the NI

Executive has published dates for the re-opening of the tourism and hospitality

sectors in NI beginning with camping and caravan sites as well as self-catering

accommodation on 26 June.

Northern Ireland Office: Energy


To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much energy was used by his

Department's buildings in (a) 2020 to date and (b) each of the last five years.

Mr Robin Walker:

My Department is based in two leased sites, 1 Horse Guards Road, London and

Stormont House, Belfast. In London, energy charges are included within the leasing

arrangement from the landlord, Her Majesty's Treasury and my Department does not

hold any figures for energy usage. In Belfast, energy usage is as follows:

(a) 2020/21 to date: No energy usage figures are available for 2020/21. Invoices for

Gas and Electricity are processed via the Landlord on a quarterly basis so no figures

are available for 2020/21.

(b)

YEAR ELECTRICITY GAS

2015/16 850,490 Kwh 22,803 m3

2016/17 805,366 Kwh 18,133 m3

2017/18 792,333 Kwh 17,410 m3

2018/19 687,639 Kwh 22,155 m3

2019/20 644,416 Kwh 25,304 m3


TRANSPORT

Aircraft: Coronavirus

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: [59545]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there has been a review of the

safety of air conditioning systems in commercial aircraft to reduce the risk of those

systems spreading covid-19 among passengers.

Kelly Tolhurst:

Air conditioning systems on modern aircraft filter cabin air every few minutes through

High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters. These filters are very effective at

capturing airborne microbes in the filtered air, and when coupled with the drawn in

fresh air, can help to mitigate the longer range risk of transmission. A review is being

undertaken for the other known routes of transmission.

Bus Services: Coronavirus

Mike Amesbury: [59592]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made in

developing an urgent package of financial support for coach travel businesses affected by

the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

Rachel Maclean:

We are encouraging coach operators to make use of the wide range of support

measures the Chancellor announced. These amount to £330 billion of loans and

guarantees for businesses. We are continuing to engage with the coach sector to

understand what the ongoing risks and issues are, and how these could be

addressed in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

Buses: Electric Vehicles

Wera Hobhouse: [59546]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2020 to

Question 49803 on hydrogen buses, what funding his Department has provided to

increase the use of battery electric buses; and how many battery electric buses have

been purchased through that funding.

Rachel Maclean:

The Department has provided funding to assist the purchase of low emission buses.

Funding to date has been technology neutral, including, the ultra-low emission bus

scheme (ULEBS) and the low emission bus scheme (LEBS). These provided

successful bidders with £43,517,720 which was used to purchase 341 fully electric

buses.

In addition to this, the Department is currently considering its response to

expressions of interest in a £50 million All-Electric Bus Town competition.




Cycling: Coronavirus


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to (a) promote national

cycling safety campaigns and (b) issue guidance to local authorities on cycling safety in

response to the increase in cycling due to the covid-19 outbreak.

Chris Heaton-Harris:

On the 9th May the Government announced a £2 billion package of funding for cycling

and walking over the next five years. The Government will say more in the summer

about its plans to boost cycling and improve cycle safety.

The Government has issued new statutory guidance to local authorities encouraging

them to take measures to reallocate road space to people walking and cycling. It has

also introduced a £225 million Emergency Active Travel Fund, available to local

authorities this financial year for immediate measures to improve cycle safety

including new cycle lanes.

Department for Transport: Energy


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much energy his departmental buildings



The information requested is as follows:

KWH ELECTRICITY NATURAL GAS OIL

2015 31,382,315 37,923,270 1,779,302

2016 40,726,077 41,017,631 2,046,502

2017 36,791,494 38,266,104 1,298,068

2018 37,578,398 37,105,347 1,063,723

2019 33,752,594 33,677,336 1,665,576

2020 (to 31-03-20) 9,404,303 10,405,464 645,728

Driving Instruction: Coronavirus

Sir Greg Knight: [59376]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the latest guidance is that his

Department has issued to (a) driving instructors and (b) motoring schools on teaching

non-key workers during the covid-19 outbreak; whether he plans to relax restrictions on

that activity in the next month; and if he will make a statement.




Rachel Maclean:

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working closely with the

Department for Transport to prepare for a safe return to testing. It will announce

details of resumption in due course. The DVSA is committed to resuming testing

services for all candidates as soon as it is safe to do so and in line with Government

advice.

The DVSA’s Chief Executive issued further guidance on resuming testing to

approved driving instructors, motorcycle training schools, and vocational driving

instructors on 15 June 2020. This guidance is published on GOV.UK and can be

found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-letter-from-

dvsa-chief-executive-to-driver-and-rider-trainers-about-restarting-instruction-and-

tests?utm_source=69d5d459-d250-4458-9252-

9485392b0d13&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-

notifications&utm_content=immediate

Daniel Zeichner: [59490]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the

potential level of safety of driving instructors wearing PPE (a) when checking pupils' facial

expressions and reactions and (b) in other situations when teaching.

Rachel Maclean:

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has carried out a risk assessment

for driving examiners conducting driving tests. It is for instructors to make sure their

face coverings or PPE do not impact upon safety during driving lessons with their

pupils.

Driving instructors must ensure they are able to fulfil their responsibilities as an

instructor, and accompanying driver, safely whilst wearing appropriate PPE.

Professional instructors should be able to adapt their teaching to ensure pupils’

comprehension and correct reaction whilst learning safely.

The DVSA would encourage all driving instructors to keep up to date with the driving

instructors’ National Associations Strategic Partnership (NASP) website for advice

and guidance: http://www.n-a-s-p.co.uk/


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on

ensuring that the DVSA has effective procedures in place so that driving instructors are

able to match refunds to pupils.

Rachel Maclean:

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has closed its driving test booking

system as all tests are currently suspended other than for emergency tests for critical

workers. The DVSA is developing plans to resume its testing services and will adopt

a phased return to testing.

The DVSA will email approved driving instructors (ADI) and candidates when the

Government is confident that it is safe to restart driving tests. ADIs and candidates


http://www.n-a-s-p.co.uk/

http://www.n-a-s-p.co.uk/


will be asked to go online and choose their preferred test date and time. Candidates

who wish to cancel their practical test can email the DVSA and request a full refund.


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the

insurance sector on covering driving instructors for claims made in relation to accidents

when the instructor was (a) wearing PPE and (b) had (i) installed a protective screen

between themselves and their pupils and (ii) made other health protection modifications.

Rachel Maclean:

Driving instructors must ensure they are able to fulfil their responsibilities as an

instructor, and accompanying driver, safely whilst wearing appropriate PPE. The

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) would encourage all driving instructors

to keep up to date with the driving instructors’ National Associations Strategic

Partnership (NASP) website for advice and guidance: http://www.n-a-s-p.co.uk/

In line with guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Public Health

England (PHE), the DVSA does not recommend unapproved protective screens are

fitted in vehicles. The driver, and for a learner driver the accompanying driver, has a

responsibility to ensure the vehicle and its driver are able to comply with the Road

Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended. Any modifications

made to a vehicle must not prevent compliance with these regulations, for example,

ensuring that the driver still has a clear view to the front.

Driving Tests: Coronavirus


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to restart (a) practical driving

and (b) driving theory tests for all pupils.

Rachel Maclean:

As the health and safety of staff and customers is key, the Driver and Vehicle

Standards Agency (DVSA) is working closely with the Department for Transport to

prepare for a safe return to testing. It will announce details of resumption in due

course.


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had

with Pearson VUE on restarting driving theory tests in a socially distanced way.

Rachel Maclean:

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is committed to resuming theory

tests for all candidates as soon as it is safe to do so and in line with Government

advice.

Following public health advice, the DVSA and Pearson VUE are preparing new

processes for delivering theory tests. This will include protective screens, two metre

social distancing and appropriate protective equipment. The DVSA will make further

announcements on GOV.UK as soon as possible.





To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is seeking a refund from Pearson

VUE for the non-delivery of driving tests as a result of its closure of test centres.

Rachel Maclean:

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is not seeking a refund from

Pearson VUE for the non-delivery of theory tests as the contract the DVSA has with

Pearson VUE is volume based. This means the service arrangements are that the

DVSA pays for each theory test delivered by Pearson VUE.


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will issue guidance on

whether driving examiners should wear face coverings.

Rachel Maclean:

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is reviewing and updating the

guidance for driving examiners about carrying out driving tests. This includes things

like the PPE they need to wear, greeting candidates and cleaning equipment such as

sat navs and tablets. Further guidance will be issued as soon as possible.

Ferries: Freight

Karl Turner: [61469]


Question 51906 on Ferries: Freight, what recent estimate has made of the value of the

Public Service Obligation agreements in place with operators on ferry routes from (a)

Hull, (b) Dover and (c) other eligible routes from a UK port.

Kelly Tolhurst:

Payments on PSO routes are calculated using actual revenues each week, so final

payments will depend on performance of both the freight and passenger market.

Results for weeks to date are currently being assessed and final award values for

those weeks are not yet known; details of the actual subsidy amounts paid will be

published in due course.

The estimated values of the PSO Agreements at the point of contract award were

published in the Official Journal of the European Union and were as follows:

ROUTE OPERATOR

ESTIMATED VALUE AT

CONTRACT AWARD

Portsmouth-Santander Brittany Ferries £1,508,265

Portsmouth-Cherbourg Brittany Ferries £1,042,551

Poole-Bilbao Brittany Ferries £370,395

Dover-Dunkerque DFDS £3,068,766




ROUTE OPERATOR

ESTIMATED VALUE AT

CONTRACT AWARD

Dover-Calais DFDS £3,770,838

Folkestone-Coquelles Eurotunnel £3,431,863

Dover-Calais P&O £1,173,915

Cairnryan-Larne P&O £3,581,685

Tilbury-Zeebrugge P&O £2,053,206

Teesport-Europoort P&O £1,098,369

Hull-Europoort P&O £3,504,249 *

Hull-Zeebrugge P&O £1,842,210

Heysham-Warrenpoint Seatruck £849,159

Rotterdam-Killingholme Stena £2,018,547

Cairnryan-Belfast Stena £1,077,597

Harwich-Rotterdam Stena £1,822,365

Harwich-Hoek van Holland Stena £1,608,003

* The estimate for Hull-Europoort was later revised to £4,779,369.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Environment Protection

Kirsten Oswald: [59505]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2020 to

Question 52101, within what parameters are potential breaches of (a) wildlife and (b)

environmental protection legislation investigated by HS2 Ltd.

Andrew Stephenson:

Every report or allegation of a breach of wildlife or environmental protection

legislation is investigated to assess whether a breach has taken place. Allegations

may come from a wide range of sources, including direct correspondence, phone

calls to the HS2 helpline, media reports, tweets and campaign websites. There are no

discretionary parameters as to whether a report is investigated or not.



Question 52101 on High Speed 2 Railway Line: Environment Protection, how many

credible potential breaches of (a) wildlife and (b) environmental protection legislation

have been recorded using HS2 Ltd's process of live recording and reporting of breaches.



Andrew Stephenson:

HS2 Ltd’s live reporting over the past 5 years has recorded 93 possible breaches of

Wildlife legislation, and 307 possible breaches of Environmental Protection

legislation. HS2 takes credible potential breaches very seriously and each is

investigated as necessary with the involvement of the relevant statutory authority

where applicable.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Tree Planting



Question 52100, who fulfils the role of HS2 independent inspector; when that

appointment was made; what procurement method was used in making that appointment;

and where the independent inspector's reports are published.

Andrew Stephenson:

The Independent Assessor of Plant Material role is undertaken through Aecom

Infrastructure and Environment Limited. There are a number of qualified individuals

that support that contract. The contract was awarded following a competitive tender

process and for a period of two years from 23rd January 2017. The Contract has since

been extended until 31st March 2021. The reports are not published, as their intent is

to help provide an independent view of plant quality to help ensure that planting is

successful, and are not designed to be a public record of the status of the planting

that is taking place.

Jet Zero Council


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the members of the Jet Zero Council will

be.

Kelly Tolhurst:

The Government is working on the details of the Jet Zero Council and will look to

engage with stakeholders shortly to agree the Council membership, drawing as

broadly as possible across airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers, fuel suppliers,

and environmental groups.

Further details and the Council’s Terms of Reference will be announced in due

course.

Northern Trains: Coronavirus


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his Answer of 8 June 2020 to

Question 49667, on Northern Rail: Coronavirus, how many additional cleaners have been

employed by ISS to clean train stations managed by Northern Trains since the start of the

covid-19 outbreak.





ISS is in the process of recruiting more cleaners, who will all be in position in July.

The total number of additional cleaners it will employ to carry out touch point cleaning

with its new enhanced cleaning chemical will be 25.

P and O Ferries: Contracts



Question 51906 on P&O Ferries, how much recognised revenue P&O Ferries has

received from roll-on roll-off ferry services operated under Public Service Agreements

with his Department from (a) Hull, (b) Dover, (c) Tilbury, (d) Teesport, (e) Cairnryan and

(f) Larne ports from 11 May 2020 to date.

Kelly Tolhurst:

The Department holds information on revenues received, but will not release it as it is

commercially sensitive and confidential.

Details of subsidy amounts paid out under the PSO Agreements will be published in

due course.

P and O Ferries: Coronavirus



Question 55949 on P&O Ferries: Coronavirus, whether he has held discussions with

representatives from P&O Ferries on the implication for seafarers in Hull of that

company's proposals for (a) making redundant full-time Ratings on the Pride of Hull and

(b) retaining agency crew from the Philippines to work on that vessel.

Kelly Tolhurst:

I have met with both P&O Ferries and the maritime unions to discuss P&O’s

redundancy proposal. As P&O remains in the consultation phase its proposals have

not been finalised.


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with

representatives from the UK Chamber of Shipping’s Ferry Recovery Group on P&O

Ferries’ plans for redundancies of full time seafarers in (a) Hull and (b) Dover.

Kelly Tolhurst:

The Chamber of Shipping’s Ferry Recovery Group is an industry forum and does not

have government participation. I and Senior Officials have had individual and group

calls with a number of ferry operators and have regular dialogue with the UK

Chamber of Shipping where views from the Ferry Recovery Group can be conveyed.




Public Transport: Coronavirus


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that people

with sight loss can safely access public transport while covid-19 social distancing

measures are in place.


The Government remains committed to delivering inclusive transport for all

passengers. Our expectation is that transport operators should continue to assist

disabled passengers who need assistance, including those with sight loss, as they

did before the COVID-19 pandemic. I made this clear in my open letter to the rail

industry on 8 April 2020.

I am also meeting regularly with key disability stakeholders, including Guide Dogs, to

hear directly from them about the experiences of disabled people using transport.

This means we will be able to take action quickly if we find that passengers are not

receiving the assistance to which they are entitled.

The Department has published guidance for transport operators to help

organisations, agencies and others (such as self-employed transport providers)

understand how to provide safer workplaces and services for themselves, their

workers and passengers across all modes of private and public transport. The

guidance makes it clear operators need to consider accessibility at every stage of the

passenger journey and that passenger assistance should be provided when

requested. Service providers have duties to ensure individuals with protected

characteristics, such as disabled people, the elderly and pregnant women are able to

access transport networks and that everyone should be supported to access

transport and comply with social distancing.

Railways: Coronavirus

Ms Karen Buck: [61416]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the condition on the

additional funding to TfL that Government officials will attend TfL board meetings,

whether Government officials will attend the board meetings of each train operator with a

franchise agreement with his Department and report back on the use of additional

resources provided to them in response to the covid-19 outbreak.


The Secretary of State has not appointed an external advisor to train operator boards

and has no immediate plans to do so. The Emergency Measures Agreements

(EMAs) give the Department enhanced controls over financial decisions made by

train operators. This includes a formal process of monthly budget reviews, allowing

additional financial scrutiny of operators, with the ability for the Department to deem

expenditure disallowable, in which case the train operator would have to bear the

costs.



The funding and financing package for TfL amounts to £1.6 billion.

Railways: West Midlands

Zarah Sultana: [59621]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to

improve the (a) affordability and (b) quality of rail travel in (i) Coventry and (ii) the West

Midlands.

Chris Heaton-Harris

The Government has frozen regulated rail fares in line with inflation for the seventh year in a row.

The future introduction of HS2 will help improve the quality of rail travel across Coventry and the West Midlands, but there are initiatives that are making a real difference now:

• In May 2019, West Midlands Trains (WMT) introduced through services and longer trains between Leamington and Nuneaton via Coventry.

• WMT is investing £700million to introduce 180 brand new carriages and add 20,000 more peak hour seats into Birmingham in the next couple of years.

• Subject to the approval of Avanti’s proposal by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Walsall will receive its first direct Intercity West Coast services to London in 2021, while Coventry and the West Midlands are due to benefit from additional services on weekends from 2021, and earlier weekday morning services from December 2022.

• We are investing to provide additional carriages to increase capacity on CrossCountry (XC) services at Coventry and across the West Midlands from 2021.

Taxis: Coronavirus

Sir Charles Walker: [61440]


Question 59192 on Taxis: Coronavirus, which part of that guidance applies to the

licensed taxi trade; whether black cabs are allowed to pick up passengers from

international airports serving London; and if he will make a statement.

Rachel Maclean:

The Coronavirus (COVID-19): how to self-isolate when you travel to the UK guidance

instructs those arriving in the UK and required to self-isolate to only use public

transport (which includes taxis and private hire vehicles) if they have no other option.

Passengers are advised in the Coronavirus (COVID-19): safer travel guidance for

passengers that a face covering should be worn when using a taxi or private hire

vehicle and that they may be refused carriage if they do not wear one. Face

coverings should also be worn in other enclosed spaces where it is difficult to

maintain social distancing, for example, at stations, interchanges and ports.



Taxis: Licensing

Daisy Cooper: [59615]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in response to the report by the Chair of the

Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Vehicle Hire Licensing issues, published on

12 February 2019, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to enable national

minimum standards in taxi licensing that would enable greater enforcement powers for

licensing officers.

Rachel Maclean:

The Government will continue to engage with the sector on our plans for reforming

the regulation of taxis and private hire vehicles, including options to introduce new

legislation. The Department is supporting licensing authorities to make use of their

extensive existing powers to safeguard passengers through statutory taxi and private

hire vehicle standards, which will be issued shortly. The Department will consult on

updated best practice guidance on other matters later this year.

TREASURY

Administration of Estates: Coronavirus

Sir Charles Walker: [61439]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will issue guidance to (a) banks and (b)

other financial institutions on the timely provision of information to Executors seeking to

wind-up estates for probate during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

John Glen:

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government, alongside the financial

regulators, has been working closely with the financial services industry to ensure

that individuals and businesses have the support they need. If anyone has concerns

or questions about their banking, including the administration around bereavement,

we urge them to speak to their provider. Frontline staff in banks, building societies

and credit unions are working tirelessly to deal with a significant volume of customer

enquiries.

The treatment of customers by UK firms which are regulated by the Financial

Conduct Authority (FCA) is governed by its Principles of Business. This includes a

general requirement for firms to provide a prompt, efficient and fair service to all of

their customers, including those who have recently suffered a bereavement. The

Government is also supportive of previous industry efforts to improve handling of

these sensitive cases, including the implementation of the British Bankers’

Association’s (now known as UK Finance) Bereavement Principles. These Principles

include a commitment from firms to provide support to meet individuals’ needs

throughout the bereavement process and to work to resolve everything as quickly

and simply as possible.



The Government will continue to work with the FCA and industry to understand how

they are handling bereavement processes and policies around probate in the current

context.

Brexit


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the (a) gross and

(b) net savings accrued to the public purse of the UK not being a member of the EU in

each of the next four years.

Steve Barclay:

Having left the EU, from 2021 the UK will no longer contribute to the EU budget as a

Member State, leaving only payments due as part of Financial Settlement obligations.

As set out at Spring Budget 2020, the government has accounted for this when

setting its spending plans, allowing it to determine how an additional £14.6 billion of

spending by 2024-25 can be allocated to its domestic priorities, rather than be sent in

contributions to the EU. This will be allocated as part of the overall spending

envelope at the next Comprehensive Spending Review.

The OBR’s March 2020 Economic and Financial Outlook provides a forecast of the

direct fiscal impact of leaving the EU. This is expected to be £4.3bn in 2020-21,

£5.0bn in 2021- 22, £7.1bn in 2022-23, £11.3bn in 2023-24 and £14.6bn in 2024-25.

The OBR forecast is calculated relative to their forecast of what the UK would have

contributed as member state. The future contributions of member states is currently

under review in the negotiation of the next MFF.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Ian Lavery: [61497]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people who had wages paid using

the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme have been made redundant, to date.

Jesse Norman:

Employers are not required to inform HMRC of redundancies.

CJRS is a new scheme and HMRC are currently working through the analysis they

will be able to provide based on the data available.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachel Reeves: [61477]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether ministerial directions relating to the

response to the covid-19 outbreak have been issued other than those that have been

published.

Kemi Badenoch:

Ministerial Directions are published on GOV.UK. As set out in paragraph 3.4.5. of

Managing Public Money, (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-




public-money) it is the responsibility of the relevant Accounting Officer to arrange for

the existence of the direction to be published, no later than in the next report and

accounts, unless the matter must be kept confidential.

Directors: Pay

Sam Tarry: [60890]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2020 to

Question 52599 on Directors: Pay, how many of those directors reported as directors of a

close company in the (a) less than £10,000, (b) £10,000-20,000, (c) £20,000-30,000, (d)

£30,000-40,000 and (e) £40,000-50,000 bands of income reported in the last 12-month

period for which figures are available.

Sam Tarry: [60891]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2020 to

Question 52599, what (a) total and (b) median dividend income was reported by directors

who reported total income of (a) less than £10,000, (b) £10,000-20,000, (c) £20,000-

30,000, (d) £30,000-40,000 and (e) £40,000-50,000 in the last 12 month period for which

figures are available.

Jesse Norman:

Individuals can report that they are a director, and whether this directorship is of a

Close Company, to HMRC on their Self-Assessment return.

The estimates are based on HMRC administrative data for the 2018/19 tax year. The

data will not account for some late filing, those who have chosen not to report this

information on the form, nor those who do not need to complete Self-Assessment

returns.

Estimates of the number of directors of close companies and their income is set out

in the table below. These numbers are rounded to the nearest 10,000 for individuals

and the nearest £10 million for total dividends.

TOTAL INCOME

REPORTED

60890NUMBER OF

CLOSE COMPANY

DIRECTORS

60891TOTAL DIVIDEND

INCOME OF DIRECTORS

60891MEDIAN DIVIDEND

INCOME OF DIRECTORS

Less than £10k 100,000 £50m £0

£10-20k 220,000 £1.07bn £2,000

£20-30k 180,000 £2.55bn £10,750

£30-40k 160,000 £3.78bn £20,000

£40-50k 220,000 £8.01bn £31,000



Employment

Debbie Abrahams: [59772]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people were estimated to be paid

employees according to HMRC's PAYE and RTI data in (a) England, (b) the North West,

(c) Oldham local authority and (d) Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency in each

month from April 2019 to May 2020.

Jesse Norman:

The table below sets out the quarterly numbers for paid employees in England and

the North West, from April 2019 to March 2020, from HMRC PAYE RTI data.

APRIL 2019 - JUNE

2019

JULY 2019 -

SEPTEMBER 2019

OCTOBER 2019 -

DECEMBER 2019

JANUARY 2020 -

MARCH 2020

England 25,578,000 25,873,000 25,800,000 25,737,000

North West 3,272,000 3,306,000 3,305,000 3,291,000

Paid Employees in England and the North West

Figures rounded to the nearest thousand

It is not possible for HMRC to provide answers to the other aspects of this question

due to the time taken to calculate these figures.

Food: Wholesale Trade

Julian Sturdy: [59443]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what policy changes he plans to make in

response to the findings of a Federation of Wholesale Distributors survey that (a) 50 per

cent of the 150 food and drink wholesale businesses surveyed, all of which have a

turnover of £45 million or lower, are in danger of going into liquidation in the next three

months to a year, (b) 70 per cent of those respondents supply food and drink to schools,

care homes, hospitals and (c) £270 million worth of public sector contracts are at risk

without urgent financial support; and if he will make a statement.

Kemi Badenoch:

The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to

protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of

guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. Local Authorities (LAs) can choose to

make discretionary grants to businesses in supply chains, like wholesale distributors,

if they feel there is a particular local economic need. The Government has allocated

up to £617 million to LAs to enable them to give discretionary grants to businesses in

this situation. LAs may choose to focus payments on those priority groups which are

most relevant to their local areas or to businesses outside of these priority groups, so

long as the business was trading on 11th March, and has not received any other cash

grant funded by central Government.



Wholesale distributors continue to have access to other elements of the

Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including the

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the four government-backed loan

schemes for firms of all sizes. The Business Support website provides further

information about how businesses can access the support that has been made

available, who is eligible and how to apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-

coronavirus-support-finder.

On 11 May the Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which sets out

our plan for moving to the next phase of our response. The strategy sets out a

cautious roadmap for easing existing measures in a safe and measured way. On 15

June the non-essential retail sector reopened. The roadmap will be kept constantly

under review, and we will continue to work hard to support business and workers as

the situation evolves.

Health Services: Protective Clothing


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) quantity and (b) value was of

healthcare personal protective equipment (i) exported from and (ii) imported to the UK in

2020.

Jesse Norman:

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are responsible for the collection and publication of

data on UK imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC release this

information monthly, as a National Statistic: the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics.

There is aggregated trade data available for personal protective equipment (PPE)

goods and for the periods requested on HMRC’s uktradeinfo.com website, under

‘Build your own data tables’. The site also contains a ‘Help’ function with information

on how to extract trade data.

To search for trade data relating to any particular good, the commodity code of that

good is required. HMRC maintain a list of COVID-19 products, including PPE goods,

and their commodity codes on GOV.UK:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm

ent_data/file/890809/COVID-19_commodity_codes.csv/preview.

However, the trade data collected may not allow PPE goods classified under a

particular commodity code to be distinguished from any non-PPE goods classified

under that same commodity code.

Members: Correspondence

David Linden: [61569]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the letter of 6 April

2020, reference DL5296, from the hon. Member for Glasgow East.

https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder




https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/890809/COVID-19_commodity_codes.csv/preview




Kemi Badenoch:

HM Treasury has received unprecedented amounts of correspondence since the start

of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK, and apologises for the delay in responding to

the Honourable Member. HM Treasury passed the Honourable Member’s

correspondence to HM Revenue and Customs as it concerns an operational issue.

HM Revenue and Customs will reply as soon as possible.

Public Houses: Coronavirus

Dan Jarvis: [61498]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to provide

support to pubs that ineligible for most of the Government’s financial support measures

during the covid-19 outbreak due to operating under a management services agreement.

Kemi Badenoch:

The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to

protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of

guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. Businesses in the hospitality sector,

including pubs, continue to have access to a range of support measures including,

but not limited to:

• A 12-month business rates holiday for all eligible retail, leisure and hospitality

businesses in England

• The retail, hospitality and leisure grant fund (RHLGF)

• A Discretionary Grant Fund for Local Authorities in England

• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)

• The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)

• The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBL) for small and micro enterprises

• VAT deferral for up to 12 months

• The Time To Pay scheme, through which businesses in financial distress, and with

outstanding tax liabilities, can receive support with their tax affairs

• Protection for commercial leaseholders against automatic forfeiture for non-

payment until June 30, 2020 – with an option for the Government to extend if

needed.

The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses

can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible and how to

apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.

On 11 May the Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which sets out

our plan for moving to the next phase of our response. The strategy sets out a

cautious roadmap for easing existing measures in a safe and measured way. The

Government`s aim is to allow businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors,

including pubs, that meet the required social distancing and public health measures




to open from 4 July. This roadmap will be kept constantly under review, and we will

continue to work hard to support business and workers as the situation evolves.

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund and Small Business Grants Fund

Andrew Gwynne: [61442]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential

merits of extending eligibility for the (a) Small Business Grants Fund and (b) Retail,

Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund to small events businesses operating without fixed

premises.

Kemi Badenoch:

The Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund

have been designed to help the smallest businesses, and small businesses in some

of the sectors which have been hit hardest by COVID-19. Both grant funds are also

designed to support small businesses facing high fixed property-related costs, which

is why the funds have been tied to the business rates system.

Small businesses which are not eligible for business grants should still be able to

benefit from other elements of the Government’s unprecedented package of support

for business, including:

• An option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months;

• The Bounce Back Loan Scheme, which will ensure that small and micro

businesses can quickly access loans of up to £50,000 which are 100 per cent

guaranteed by the Government;

• The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all

businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit;

• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage

bills; and

• The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-

employed.

The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses

can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, when the

schemes open and how to apply - https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-

business-support/.

Self-employed: Coronavirus

Chris Elmore: [61549]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support is available for self-employed

people who have become self-employed in the last 12 months.

Jesse Norman:

The newly self-employed are eligible for many elements of the unprecedented

financial support provided by the Government. This package includes Bounce Back


https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/




loans, tax deferrals, rental support, increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage

holidays, and other business support grants. More information about the full range of

business support measures is available at

www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-

coronavirus-covid-19.

Self-employment Income Support Scheme

Richard Fuller: [61458]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of

the potential merits of enabling information from the 2019-20 financial year tax return only

to be used for eligibility for the Self-employment Income Support Scheme in (a) the

hospitality sector and (b) other sectors of the economy that are unable to reopen in a

timely manner as the covid-19 restrictions are eased.

Jesse Norman:

There would be significant risks for the public purse if the Government relied on

2019-20 returns for the SEISS, as this would create an opportunity for fraudulent

activity through the manipulation of trading profit figures. The Government cannot

expose the tax system to these risks.

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) continues to be one of the

most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world as the

economy reopens.

The SEISS is one element of the unprecedented financial support provided by the

Government. This support includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental

support, increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage holidays, and other business

support grants.

Taxation: Carers


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if HM Revenue and Customs will waive the tax

on the Welsh Government's £500 payments to carers.

Jesse Norman:

The UK Government values the contribution of care workers greatly, particularly

during the current COVID-19 crisis.

HM Revenue and Customs are working with the Welsh Government to understand

the nature of the payments. Under the longstanding rules of income tax, any

payments made in connection with an employment are chargeable to income tax and

National Insurance contributions.

This is consistent with the Government’s approach across different forms of financial

support during COVID-19, including payments made under the Job Retention

Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, which are liable to tax.



Tourism: Coronavirus


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the letter entitled, Business

Rates Support for all Leisure Businesses from the Local Government Association and

others, dated 24 April 2020, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of

classifying coach operators as leisure businesses to enable those businesses to access

covid-19 business rates and grant schemes.

Jesse Norman:

The Government has provided enhanced support through business rates relief and

business grants to businesses occupying properties used for retail, hospitality and

leisure given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those

sectors.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published

guidance for Local Authorities (LAs) on the implementation of the business rates

holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure. Eligibility is based on the use of property,

and it is for LAs to determine eligibility in line with guidance.

While certain businesses will not be eligible for business rates relief, they may still

benefit from the wider business and employment support package the Government

has made available, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme,

the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employment Income Support

Scheme (SEISS) and the deferral of VAT payments for this quarter. In addition, LAs

can choose to make discretionary grants to businesses which have been excluded

from the existing grants schemes if they consider there is a particular local economic

need. To receive a discretionary grant, a business must have been trading as of 11

March and must not have received any other cash grant funded by central

Government (with the exception of the SEISS).

Treasury: Energy


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much energy his departmental buildings

used in (a) 2020 and (b) each of the last five years.

Kemi Badenoch:

Details of HM Treasury’s energy use in 1 Horse Guard’s Road can be found in the

Treasury’s Annual report and accounts:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-annual-report. Details on our energy

use can be found on page 203.

The Annual Report for 2019-20 will be published later in the year and this will include

the energy usage for 2019-20.

Details on the energy usage in the Treasury’s Norwich office is not readily available

as this information is held by the landlord the Government Property Agency.



VAT: Tax Rates and Bands

Dr Luke Evans: [61606]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential

merits of a time-limited reduction in VAT to support economic recovery as the covid-19

lockdown restrictions are eased.

Jesse Norman:

VAT raised over £130 billion in 2019/2020. It is a vital source of revenue for the

Exchequer and plays an important part in funding the Government’s spending

priorities including hospitals, schools and defence.

A temporary VAT reduction therefore would come at a considerable cost to the

Exchequer.

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Treasury have implemented a range of

measures to help individuals and businesses through the crisis, including grants,

loans and relief from business rates worth more than £300 billion.

The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Virgin Atlantic Airways

Gavin Newlands: [59508]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions have taken place between

Ministers in his Department and representatives of Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd and Virgin

Atlantic International Ltd on the operation and employment practices of Virgin Atlantic and

any potential financial support available to that airline.

Kemi Badenoch:

Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of stakeholders across

sectors as part of ongoing policy development and implementation.

Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport are in regular contact with

airlines, airports and unions to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on the

sector and its workers.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Coronavirus: Ethnic Groups

Neil Gray: [59483]

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if the Government will publish the reasons

for the higher number of deaths from covid-19 among BAME people; and what steps she

plans to take to reduce that higher number of deaths.

Kemi Badenoch:

On 4 June the Government announced the next steps to address the disparities

identified in the Public Health England (PHE) Report. As Minister for Equalities, I will

be working with the Race Disparity Unit (RDU) and the Department for Health and




Social Care to further understand the drivers of disparities. This includes

commissioning further data, research and analytical work by the Equality Hub to

clarify the scale, and drivers, of the gaps in evidence highlighted by the Report. This

vital work will help the government take appropriate evidence-based action to

address the disparities.

Equal Pay: Disclosure of Information

Marsha De Cordova: [61590]

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when gender pay gap reporting will be

resumed.

Kemi Badenoch:

In recognition of the unprecedented uncertainty and pressure facing employers due

to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government and the Equality and Human Rights

Commission suspended enforcement of the gender pay gap reporting deadlines for

2019/20. However, employers can still choose to report their data and we have

carried on providing support to those who need it. Over 5,500 employers have

reported to date and more continue to do so.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: [902942]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has

had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential prosecution of cases of breaches of health

and safety legislation in care homes that took place during the covid-19 outbreak.

Mims Davies:

[Holding answer 4 June 2020]: No discussions have taken place with Cabinet

colleagues on the potential prosecution of cases of breaches of health and safety

legislation in care homes that took place during the covid-19 peak. Health and safety

in Residential (i.e. non-nursing) care homes is enforced by Local Authorities (LAs);

apart from resident related issues in England (enforced by the Care Quality

Commission), or Wales (enforced by the Care Inspectorate Wales). Each LA is an

independent health and safety regulator and, whilst HSE takes steps to promote LA

regulatory consistency, it has no power to routinely gather detailed sector or

enforcement action specific data from LAs.

Employment: Coronavirus

Shabana Mahmood: [57941]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with

the Chancellor of the Exchequer on financial support for people living in multi-

generational households who may be unable to return to work as covid-19 lockdown

restrictions are eased.




Mims Davies:

[Holding answer 15 June 2020]: The Secretary of State has had a number of

discussions with the Chancellor about the Government’s response to the Covid-19

outbreak. The Secretary of State is committed to supporting people of all ages

through this difficult period, just as she is committed to ensuring opportunities are

available to people across all regions of the UK to ensure we level up our economy

as we respond to the pandemic.

Industrial Health and Safety

Ian Lavery: [48436]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many reports in relation to the

safety of workplaces were received by the HSE in (a) the UK, (b) England (c) the North

East and (d) Wansbeck constituency in each month in 2020.

Mims Davies:

The tables below provide numbers of all reports i.e. reports of incidents under the

Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013

(RIDDORs) and reports of workplace concerns received this year. The Health and

Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulator for Great Britain (GB) only and there is a

separate regulator in Northern Ireland. HSE is unable to analyse data at constituency

level, so data for Wansbeck is not provided.

1) RIDDOR Reports

HSE LOCAL AUTHORITIES ONR

Month

reported

(2020)

GB England NE GB England NE GB England NE

January 6016 5082 243 2776 2442 92 7 5 -

February 6072 5134 278 2639 2292 99 7 5 -

March 5196 4351 235 2185 1941 69 7 6 -

April 4334 3692 191 1308 1217 44 2 2 -

1 st – 18 th May

3682 3109 196 1295 1174 35 1 - -

Grand

Total

25300 21368 1143 10203 9066 339 24 18 -


2) Workplace Concerns

MONTH REPORTED

(2020) GB ENGLAND*

CONCERNS RECEIVED

FOR COUNTIES:

‘DURHAM /

NORTHUMBERLAND /

TYNE & WEAR /

CLEVELAND’*

January 2396 2084 62

February 2494 2178 74

March 4584 3968 163

April 3809 3313 180

1 st – 18 th May 2118 1845 94

Grand Total 15400 13388 573

*Country and County are given by the notifier. 2 records in the same dataset had no

‘Country’ and 699 records in the same dataset had no ‘County’.

RIDDOR puts duties on employers, the self-employed and people in control of work

premises (the Responsible Person) to report certain serious workplace accidents,

occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses).

Figures represent all RIDDOR types of notifications made each day, as received in a

HSE-managed system. These are as reported, no assessment has been made

whether individual reports are reportable under RIDDOR, as some reports may not

meet the reporting criteria. Reports relate to incidents occurring within Great Britain,

excluding any made directly to the Office of Rail and Road about railways-related

reports.

The RIDDOR reporting system is managed by HSE, so includes reports made which

are enforced by others who access the system, namely local authorities (LA), and a

small number assigned to the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR).


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June

2020 to Question 48675 on Industrial Health and Safety, how many investigations of

workplace concerns relating to (a) covid-19 and (b) other concerns, where checks have

been made to ensure that measures have been put in place to comply with the law, have

been made in each month since January 2020, and how many enforcement notices

served.


Mims Davies:

The table below shows the breakdown, by month, of workplace concerns investigated

by the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) field staff. In April 2020, HSE introduced

a change to its recording system to identify concerns relating to Covid-19 and

therefore it is not possible to identify such concerns which were made before then.

The number of enforcement notices served is also provided and arises from all HSE’s

regulatory activities.

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN TOTAL

Covid-19

Concerns*

- - - 1714 992 160 2866

Non-Covid-

19**

521 488 446 329 215 26 2025

Enforcement

Notices

378 560 483 68 108 31 1628

*the number of Covid-19 related concerns created on HSE’s database by month and

where an outcome is recorded.

** the number of non-Covid-19 concerns created on HSE’s database by month and

which have a status of “closed”.

NB: the above data was extracted from an operational database on 5 th June 2020

and is subject to change e.g. due to the delay between action being taken and

recording the information onto the database.

Industrial Health and Safety: Coronavirus

Jonathan Ashworth: [51993]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many spot checks of

workplaces the Health and Safety Executive has carried out to ensure that appropriate

measures are in place to protect workers from covid-19 since 1 May 2020.

Mims Davies:

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently setting up and trialling an

approach to spot checks with initial contact being made remotely, and with a follow

up with employers who do not provide the necessary assurance that they have

sufficient measures in place to protect workers. As of 2nd June 2020, 108 initial

contacts had been made and this number will increase significantly in the coming

weeks.




2020 to Question 48675 on Industrial Health and Safety, how many of the enforcement

notices served in each month since January 2020 in relation to covid-19.

Mims Davies:

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has received in excess of 7,000 Covid-19

related workplace concerns, predominately from workers and members of the public.

The majority of concerns are dealt with by HSE’s call handling team with HSE’s field

staff dealing with the more difficult cases. It has only been necessary to serve four

enforcement notices to secure compliance which were each served in May 2020. The

remaining cases were resolved through verbal advice or correspondence.

NB: the above quoted numbers were taken from HSE’s operational database on 3 rd

June 2020 and are subject to change e.g. as there can be a delay before actions are

updated on the database.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Jonathan Reynolds: [51935]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, will a parent on job seekers

allowance who chooses not to return their child to school during the covid-19 outbreak be

(a) classified as not looking for work and (b) sanctioned if they are unable to attend

interviews due to lack of child care.

Mims Davies:

We made the decision to temporarily suspend the requirement for face-to-face

Jobcentre Plus appointments for all claimants in Universal Credit, New Style

Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), old-

style JSA and ESA, and Income Support.

Arrangements for after suspension will be communicated in due course.

Long Term Unemployed People: Linlithgow and East Falkirk

Martyn Day: [54960]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department is

providing to people aged 18 to 25 who are classified as long-term unemployed in

Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency.

Mims Davies:

We acknowledge that it is important that Jobcentres continue to support young

people through the economic recovery post-COVID-19. They have already started to

re-engage with new and existing claimants and are signposting them to appropriate

support.

Anyone over the age of 18 can claim New Style Employment and Support Allowance

and Jobseeker’s Allowance if they have sufficient paid National Insurance




contributions. Neither of those benefits is means-tested. Those on low incomes and

with limited capital can claim Universal Credit or legacy Jobseeker’s Allowance.

For Universal Credit, New Claims Advances of up to 100% of potential entitlement

are available within a few days if a claimant needs support during their first

assessment period. Face-to-face checks for Universal Credit advances have been

scrapped due to Covid-19, so people get the support they need despite COVID-19

restrictions. We have also increased the Standard Allowance for everyone by over

£80 a month on top of the existing 1.7% (CPI) increase already announced. This

additional increase means all claimants will be up to £1040 better off.

DWP is also engaging with a number of external stakeholders including the Youth

Employment Group (set up by the Prince’s Trust, Youth Employment UK, the Institute

for Employment Studies, the Youth Futures Foundation and Impetus) as well as

continuing to work across Whitehall to develop appropriate support aimed at young

people.

Means-tested Benefits

Hywel Williams: [51623]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has

made of the appropriateness of the savings thresholds for (a) universal credit, (b) pension

credit, (c) income-based jobseekers allowance, (d) income-related employment and

support allowance, (e) housing benefit and (f) income support.

Will Quince:

[Holding answer 4 June 2020]: The capital limits are kept under continual review.

However, they can be increased only when priorities and resources allow. The

Government does not intend to increase the threshold at this time.

Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus

Stephen Timms: [55657]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has in

place to ensure that benefit claimants who (a) are shielding due to the covid- 19 outbreak

and (b) have caring responsibilities are not sanctioned if they are unable to take up

employment when conditionality easements for (i) universal credit and (ii) jobseeker's

allowance come to an end on 30 June 2020.

Mims Davies:

[Holding answer 10 June 2020]: We made the decision to temporarily suspend the

requirement for face-to-face Jobcentre Plus appointments for all claimants in

Universal Credit, New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and Employment and

Support Allowance (ESA), old-style JSA and ESA, and Income Support.

Arrangements after the 30th June will be communicated in due course.




To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to

provide ongoing additional support through the social security system to families

financially affected by the covid-19 outbreak.

Will Quince:

The Government has been clear with its commitment to support those affected in

these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system to

ensure people are receiving the support they need. These changes include:

• making it easier to access benefits. Those applying for Contributory Employment

and Support Allowance (ESA) who may have coronavirus, are self-isolating, or

caring for a child (or qualifying young person) who falls into either of those

categories, or individuals who have been advised to ’shield’ because they are at

high risk of severe illness, will be entitled from day 1 of their claim – as opposed to

day 8 - and we have removed the need for face-to-face assessments. Both

Universal Credit (UC) and ESA can now be claimed online or by phone;

• increasing the standard allowance of UC by up to £1,040 this year;

• temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor for all self-

employed claimants affected by COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can

access UC at a more generous rate;

• making Statutory Sick Pay available from day 1 – as opposed to day 4 - where an

eligible individual is sick or self-isolating; and

• increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates for UC and Housing Benefit

claimants so that it covers the cheapest 30% of local market rents – which is on

average £600 in people’s pockets.

These steps form part of a wider package of measures which represent an

investment of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system following the outbreak of

COVID-19. These measures, along with the other job and business support

programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most

comprehensive packages of support by an advanced economy.

We know that circumstances can change rapidly, and that was particularly true at the

beginning of the outbreak of COVID-19, which is why the Government will continue to

keep the adequacy of its welfare response under review.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has

made of the potential merits of continuing additional support for vulnerable social security

claimants after the covid-19 outbreak.

Will Quince:

The Government has been clear with its commitment to support those affected in

these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system to

ensure people are receiving the support they need. These changes include:



• making it easier to access benefits. Those applying for Contributory Employment

and Support Allowance (ESA) who may have coronavirus, are self-isolating, or

caring for a child (or qualifying young person) who falls into either of those

categories, or individuals who have been advised to ’shield’ because they are at

high risk of severe illness, will be entitled from day 1 of their claim – as opposed to

day 8 - and we have removed the need for face-to-face assessments. Both

Universal Credit (UC) and ESA can now be claimed online or by phone;

• increasing the standard allowance of UC by up to £1,040 this year;

• temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor for all self-

employed claimants affected by COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can

access UC at a more generous rate;

• making Statutory Sick Pay available from day 1 – as opposed to day 4 - where an

eligible individual is sick or self-isolating; and

• increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates for UC and Housing Benefit

claimants so that it covers the cheapest 30% of local market rents – which is on

average £600 in people’s pockets.

These steps form part of a wider package of measures which represent an

investment of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system following the outbreak of

COVID-19. These measures, along with the other job and business support

programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most

comprehensive packages of support by an advanced economy.

We know that circumstances can change rapidly, and that was particularly true at the

beginning of the outbreak of COVID-19, which is why the Government will continue to

keep the adequacy of its welfare response under review.

Social Security Benefits: Greater London

Seema Malhotra: [52005]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of

the implications for her policies of the finding in the report by Policy in Practice, entitled

The interaction of covid-19 measures and the benefit cap on low-income Londoners, that

22,000 existing benefit claimants in London became capped following the increases in

benefits awards introduced by the Government in April 2020 as a result of the covid-19

outbreak.

Mims Davies:

[Holding answer 4 June 2020]: We have noted the findings in this report.

The benefit cap provides fairness for hard-working taxpaying households, whilst

providing a reasonable safety net of support for the most vulnerable claimants who

are entitled to disability benefits and carer benefits. The London cap of £23,000 is

equivalent to gross family earnings of around £28,000.


Social Security Benefits: Linlithgow and East Falkirk

Martyn Day: [54961]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants have

been sanctioned in Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency in each of the last five years.

Mims Davies:

The number of Universal Credit claimants who have been sanctioned is published

quarterly. The latest figures for Universal Credit sanction rates are up to February

2020 and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-

pensions/about/statistics

Geographical breakdowns of the figures can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance for users is available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The number of Universal Credit claimants who have been sanctioned since 1 March

2020 will not be available until the next publication of these statistics in August 2020.

Social Security Benefits: Terminal Illnesses

Jessica Morden: [61449]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to publish the

findings from the review announced on 11 July 2019 into how the welfare system

supports people who are terminally ill.

Justin Tomlinson:

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Parliamentary Question PQ 52243 on

4 June 2020.

Unemployment: Linlithgow and East Falkirk

Martyn Day: [55091]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate the Government has

made of the number of workless households in Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency.

Mims Davies:

Sub-regional estimates of workless households* are produced annually by the Office

for National Statistics (ONS) using the Annual Population Survey (APS). The latest

available statistics were published on 31 July 2019 and cover the period January to

December 2018.

ONS do not publish Parliamentary constituency figures on workless households but

they do produce local authority figures. Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency

covers the eastern portion of the Falkirk local authority and the western portion of the

West Lothian local authority area.


https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/statistics









https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_(district)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_(district)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lothian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lothian

ONS estimate that between January to December 2018 there were approximately:

• 8,000 (or 15.7%) workless households in Falkirk local authority; and

• 8,000 (or 14.3%) workless households in West Lothian local authority.

These estimates are based on a sample of cases and therefore subject to sampling

uncertainty.

ONS will publish updated figures for January-December 2019 on 29 July 2020 and

will pre-date the COVID-19 pandemic which began in March 2020.

* A workless household is a household that contains at least one person aged 16 to

64, where no-one aged 16 or over is in employment.

Universal Credit: Coronavirus


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of

people claiming universal credit since the start of the covid-19 outbreak will receive the

child element of that benefit.

Will Quince:

Between March 16th and March 29th, 180,000 open claims (26% of open claims)

received the Child Element in their first assessment period.

Universal Credit: North West


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit

claimants have been sanctioned since 1 March 2020 in (a) the North West, (b) Liverpool

City Region, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey.

Mims Davies:

[Holding answer 15 June 2020]: The number of Universal Credit claimants who have

been sanctioned is published quarterly. The latest figures for Universal Credit

sanction rates are up to February 2020 and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-

pensions/about/statistics

Geographical breakdowns of the figures can be found at:


Guidance for users is available at:


The number of Universal Credit claimants who have been sanctioned since 1 March

2020 will not be available until the next publication of these statistics in August 2020.










Universal Credit: Scotland

Ian Murray: [58693]


2020 to Question 43917, on Universal Credit, how many families in Scotland who have

made a claim for universal credit since 23 March 2020 have three or more children.

Will Quince:

[Holding answer 16 June 2020]: From 23 rd March 2020 to 5 th May 2020, 3,500 of

the 57,000 applications made by claimants with children to Universal Credit, who had

three or more children in their family, were from Scotland


WRITTEN STATEMENTS

EDUCATION

Student Support in England

The Minister of State for Universities (Michelle Donelan): [HCWS310]

I am today confirming the eligibility rules for EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals, and their

family members, who wish to commence courses in England in the Academic Year

starting in August 2021. Following our decision to leave the EU, EU, other EEA and

Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for home fee status, undergraduate,

postgraduate and advanced learner financial support from Student Finance England for

courses starting in academic year 2021/22. This change will also apply to Further

Education funding for those aged 19+, and funding for apprenticeships. It will not affect

students starting courses in academic year 2020/21, nor those EU, other EEA and Swiss

nationals benefitting from Citizens’ Rights under the EU Withdrawal Agreement, EEA

EFTA Separation Agreement or Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement respectively. It will

also not apply to Irish nationals living in the UK and Ireland whose right to study and to

access benefits and services will be preserved on a reciprocal basis for UK and Irish

nationals under the Common Travel Area arrangement. EU, other EEA and Swiss

students, staff and researchers make an important contribution to our universities. I want

that contribution to continue and am confident – given the world-leading quality of our

higher education sector – that it will.

TRANSPORT

Safeguarding Directions for High Speed 2 Phase 2a

Minister of State for Transport (Andrew Stephenson): [HCWS308]

Motions to revive the High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) Bill, known as the Phase

2a Bill, have now been passed in each House, and the Bill was re-introduced on 3 March.

I look forward to the progression of the Bill as it nears its final stages.

I am today publishing revised Safeguarding Directions for the whole of the Phase 2a

route. These Safeguarding Directions reflect the amendments (and therefore land

requirements) which have been made to the hybrid Bill by the House of Commons as it

passed through Select Committee.

Through these revised Safeguarding Directions, the Government has protected land that

we anticipate at this stage will be needed to build Phase 2a of HS2 and where there may

otherwise be a risk of conflicting development. Planning restrictions put in place following

the issue of previous Safeguarding Directions have been removed where we no longer

expect to need that land.

Crucially, issuing revised Safeguarding Directions gives people affected more clarity on

the route and allows eligible property owners to access statutory blight compensation.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-06-23/HCWS310/


Under the statutory blight regime, qualifying property owners are able to apply to sell their

home or small business to the Government from the time that their property is subject to

Safeguarding Directions.

In addition to statutory blight compensation, the Government has implemented a package

of non-statutory property compensation schemes that go above and beyond what is

required by law. The schemes are open to qualifying property owners across the three

phases of the HS2 route including Phase 2a. They will be in place until one year after

each phase of HS2 is operational.

I want to ensure that those living near the route receive the right support at all stages of

the project and that those affected are properly compensated and treated with

compassion, dignity and respect.

Copies of these Safeguarding Directions will be laid in the both Libraries of the House.

Information on HS2 property compensation schemes are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/claim-compensation-if-affected-by-hs2

Attachments:

1. Safeguarding Directions for High Speed 2 Phase 2a [200623 Ph2a SG Directions and

Guidance.PDF]

TREASURY

Financial Services Regulation

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rishi Sunak): [HCWS307]

The Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Rates (RFRWG), the Financial Conduct

Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England published joint statements on the 25 th March[1]

and 29 th April[2] relating to LIBOR transition. These statements underline the need for

firms to continue to migrate away from LIBOR as a reference in their financial contracts

and reiterate that firms cannot rely on the benchmark’s continued publication as the

current voluntary agreement between the FCA and LIBOR panel banks will expire after

end-2021 (as announced in 2017[3]). The Government has followed these and related

global regulatory developments closely, including the Tough Legacy Taskforce report[4]

published by the RFRWG.

The Government shares both the regulators’ pragmatism in recognising the interim

timetable for transition has been slowed by Covid-19 and their urgency that the market

must continue actively transitioning away from LIBOR. It is in the interests of financial

markets and their customers that the pool of contracts referencing LIBOR is shrunk to an

irreducible core ahead of LIBOR’s expected cessation, leaving behind only those

contracts that genuinely have no or inappropriate alternatives and no realistic ability to be

renegotiated or amended. The Government recognises, however, that legislative steps

could help deal with this narrow pool of ‘tough legacy’ contracts that cannot transition

from LIBOR.




Unlike many jurisdictions, the UK has an existing regulatory framework for critical

benchmarks such as LIBOR. The Government therefore intends to legislate to amend

and strengthen that existing regulatory framework, rather than directly to impose legal

changes on LIBOR-referencing contracts that are governed by UK law. The legislation

will ensure that, by end-2021, the FCA has the appropriate regulatory powers to manage

and direct any wind-down period prior to eventual LIBOR cessation in a way that protects

consumers and/or ensures market integrity. The Government therefore intends to:

• Amend the UK’s existing regulatory framework for benchmarks to ensure it can be

used to manage different scenarios prior to a critical benchmark’s eventual

cessation. In particular, the Government will introduce amendments to the

Benchmarks Regulation 2016/1011 as amended by the Benchmarks (Amendment)

(EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (the ‘UK BMR’), to ensure that FCA powers are

sufficient to manage an orderly transition from LIBOR.

• Extend the circumstances in which the FCA may require an administrator to

change the methodology of a critical benchmark and clarify the purpose for which

the FCA may exercise this power. New regulatory powers would enable the FCA to

direct a methodology change for a critical benchmark, in circumstances where the

regulator has found that the benchmark’s representativeness will not be restored

and where action is necessary to protect consumers and/or to ensure market

integrity.

• Strengthen existing law to prohibit use of an individual critical benchmark where its

representativeness will not be restored, whilst giving the regulator the ability to

specify limited continued use in legacy contracts.

• Refine ancillary areas of the UK’s regulatory framework for benchmarks to ensure

its effectiveness in managing the orderly wind down of a critical benchmark,

including that administrators have adequate plans in place for such situations.

The Government intends to take these measures forward in the forthcoming Financial

Services Bill. Following engagement with industry and global counterparts, the FCA will,

where appropriate, issue a number of statements of policy relating to its approach to a

range of new powers provided by the legislation before it exercises those new powers.

The FCA may consider, among other factors, international impacts before exercising its

new powers, given LIBOR’s global usage.

The Government agrees with the RFRWG’s Tough Legacy Taskforce that active

transition of legacy contracts remains of key importance and provides the best route to

certainty for parties to contracts referencing LIBOR. Parties who rely on regulatory action,

enabled by the legislation the Government plans to bring forward, will not have control

over the economic terms of that action. Moreover regulatory action may not be able to

address all issues or be practicable in all circumstances, for example where a

methodology change is not feasible, or would not protect consumers or market integrity.

This reinforces the importance of parties who can transition away from LIBOR doing so

on terms that they themselves agree with their counterparties. The Government, the FCA

and the Bank of England will continue to work closely to encourage market-led transition

from LIBOR and to monitor progress.

[1] https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/impact-coronavirus-firms-libor-transition-plans

[2] https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/further-statement-rfrwg-impact-coronavirus-

timeline-firms-libor-transition-plans

[3] https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/the-future-of-libor

[4] https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/markets/benchmarks/paper-on-the-

identification-of-tough-legacy-

issues.pdf?la=en&hash=0E8CA18F27F75352B0A0573DCBBC93D903077B6E

Financial Services Update

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rishi Sunak): [HCWS309]

Leaving the EU means the UK has taken back control of the rules governing our world-

leading financial services sector. The UK has always championed and remains

committed to the highest international standards of financial regulation. The financial

services sector plays a crucial role in supporting the wider economy, creating jobs across

the UK, supporting SMEs, contributing taxes, driving regional growth and investment,

tackling climate change and embracing technology and innovation. The UK's financial

services sector has also been at the forefront of our response to the economic impact of

COVID-19, extending more than £35 bn of credit to provide fundamental support to

businesses and offering crucial forbearance on mortgages and consumer credit products.

Frontline staff have worked to keep bank and building society branches open throughout

the pandemic, ensuring that people all across the UK could access the vital financial

services they need.

The future success of the UK financial sector will be underpinned by a world-class

environment for doing business. In turn, our future legislation will be guided by what is

right for the UK, to support economic prosperity across the country, to ensure financial

stability, market integrity and consumer protection, and to continue to ensure the UK

remains a world leading financial centre. An enduring future relationship with the EU

would help complement the UK’s leading global role in financial services. The

Government continues to believe that comprehensive mutual findings of equivalence

between the UK and the EU are in the best interests of both parties and we remain open

and committed to continuing dialogue with the EU about their intentions in this respect.

There are now a range of important regulatory reforms in the process of being

implemented at the international and European level that the UK needs to address before

the end of the Transition Period on 31 December 2020. The purpose of this WMS is to

set out how the UK intends to approach these, as well as a limited number of discrete

areas for review to ensure relevant regulations remain appropriate for the UK financial

sector. Today I would like to update Parliament on how the UK intends to approach these

in the immediate term.

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/impact-coronavirus-firms-libor-transition-plans

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/impact-coronavirus-firms-libor-transition-plans

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/further-statement-rfrwg-impact-coronavirus-timeline-firms-libor-transition-plans



https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/the-future-of-libor

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/the-future-of-libor

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/markets/benchmarks/paper-on-the-identification-of-tough-legacy-issues.pdf?la=en&hash=0E8CA18F27F75352B0A0573DCBBC93D903077B6E





Last year, HM Treasury launched the Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework

Review, a long-term review looking at how the UK’s regulatory framework needs to adapt

to the future and in particular to the UK’s position outside of the EU. The next phase of

the Review will look at how financial services policy and regulation are made in the UK,

including the role of Parliament, the Treasury and the financial services regulators, and

how stakeholders are involved in the process. HM Treasury will consult on its approach to

the next phase of the Review in the second half of this year.

In the Queen’s Speech on 19 th December 2019, the Government also announced its

intention to bring forward a Financial Services Bill in order to deliver a number of existing

government commitments and to ensure that the UK maintains its world-leading

regulatory standards and remains open to international markets. The Financial Services

Bill will deliver our commitments to: long-term market access between the UK and

Gibraltar for financial services firms based on shared, high standards; and simplified

process which allows overseas investment funds to be sold in the UK.

In general, consistent with the UK’s position as a major international financial hub, the

Government intends to implement immediate reforms in line with existing expectations of

the industry and the approach of the EU and other international partners where relevant.

Naturally there will be some defined areas where it is appropriate for the UK – as a large

and complex financial services jurisdiction - to take an approach which better suits our

market, while remaining consistent with international standards.

Today’s announcements provide clarity to all stakeholders about the UK’s legislative

plans for the near future in relation to these forthcoming reforms, in relation to updating

prudential requirements; maintaining sound capital markets; and, managing future risks.

Updating Prudential Requirements

The features that distinguish the UK as a leading global financial centre – openness,

safety and transparency, innovative and resilient markets – are also in part anchored in

international standards for financial regulation that the UK has had a significant hand in

designing. Through organisations such as the G20, Financial Stability Board (FSB), and

the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the UK has led the way in a number of key

reform areas. Harmonised international standards are key to promoting the openness and

resilience underpinning the UK’s sector.

The UK played a pivotal role in the design of EU financial services regulation. The

Government remains committed to maintaining prudential soundness and other important

regulatory outcomes such as consumer protection and proportionality. However, rules

designed as a compromise for 28 countries cannot be expected in every respect to be the

right approach for a large and complex international financial sector such as the UK. Now

that the UK has left the EU, the EU is naturally already making decisions on amending its

current rules without regard for the UK’s interests. We will therefore also tailor our

approach to implementation to ensure that it better suits the UK market outside the EU.

The Government has previously announced its intention to use the Financial Services Bill

to legislate to enable the implementation of a new prudential regime for investment firms

and to update the regulation of credit institutions, including the implementation of the

international Basel III standards. HM Treasury has today set out more detail on our

legislative approach to prudential regulation in the document “ Prudential standards in

the Financial Services Bill: June update ”. In particular, the Government intends to

introduce updated prudential standards in a flexible and proportionate manner, as called

for by industry and the House of Lords EU Affairs sub-committee. The Government

intends to do this by delegating responsibility for firm requirements to the relevant

regulator – the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority

(FCA) – subject to an enhanced accountability framework to ensure that the regulators

have regard to competitiveness and equivalence when making rules for these regimes.

Both the PRA and the FCA will set out further details on the substance of the proposed

regimes in due course.

To minimise uncertainty, the Government and the Regulators propose to introduce the

new Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR) and updated rules for credit institutions

in line with the intended outcomes of the EU’s Investment Firms Regulation and Directive,

and the second Capital Requirements Regulation respectively For the IFPR, the June

update further clarifies that the Government and the PRA do not intend to require PRA-

designated investment firms to re-authorise as credit institutions, unlike the EU regime. It

also clarifies that the Government does not intend to require FCA-regulated investment

firms to comply with the requirements of the Fifth Capital Requirements Directive (CRDV)

in the period until the new IFPR applies. A consultation on our transposition of CRDV will

take place in July.

During the Transition Period, and under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the

Government will implement EU legislation that requires transposition before the end of

2020. This includes the transposition of the Fifth Capital Requirements Directive (CRDV),

and the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive II (BRRDII) by 28 December 2020.

BRRDII makes amendments to the original 2014 Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive

(BRRD) provisions, in order to update the EU’s resolution policy and Minimum

Requirements for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL) framework.

However, HM Treasury is considering how best to implement aspects of files that do not

come into force until after the 31 st December 2020. Given some of these changes do not

come into force until the UK has left the Transition Period, it is right that the UK exercises

its discretion when implementing these files.

For example, while we are committing to transposing most aspects of BRRDII, HM

Treasury has considered how to ensure that it suits the UK market and we have today

published a consultation document setting out more detail on this. In our transposition of

BRRDII we are not intending to transpose the requirements in the Directive that do not

need to be complied with by firms until after the end of the EU Exit Transition Period, in

particular Article 1(17) which revises the framework for MREL requirements across the

EU. MREL is the minimum amount of equity and debt that a firm must maintain to absorb

losses and provide for recapitalisation, in the event of resolution. The purpose of MREL is

to ensure that investors and shareholders, and not the taxpayer, absorb losses when a

firm fails. The UK already has in place a MREL framework in line with international

standards. BRRDII states that the deadline for institutions and entities to comply with

end-state MREL requirements shall be 1 January 2024. Given this is after the end of the

Transition Period, it is right that the UK exercises its discretion about whether to

transpose those requirements.

The Government also plans to bring forward a review of certain features of Solvency II

to ensure that it is properly tailored to take account of the structural features of the UK

insurance sector. The review will consider areas that have been the subject of long-

standing discussion while the UK was a Member State, some of which may also form part

of the EU’s intended review. These will include, but are not limited to, the risk margin, the

matching adjustment, the operation of internal models and reporting requirements for

insurers. The Government expects to publish a Call for Evidence in Autumn 2020.

Maintaining Sound Capital Markets

Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Government will implement EU

legislation that comes into force before the end of the Transition Period. The EU is in the

process of implementing a range of provisions on capital markets, with some aspects

applying before and after the end of the Transition Period. HM Treasury has considered

how to take forward this legislation in the way that is to the benefit of the UK sector, while

maintaining high regulatory standards

The Government is committed to regulation that supports and enhances the functioning

of UK capital markets. It will therefore consider the future approach to the UK’s

settlement discipline framework, given the importance of ensuring that regulation

facilitates the settlement of market transactions in a timely manner while sustaining

market liquidity and efficiency. As such, the UK will not be implementing the EU’s new

settlement discipline regime, set out in the Central Securities Depositories Regulation,

which is due to apply in February 2021. UK firms should instead continue to apply the

existing industry-led framework. Any future legislative changes will be developed through

dialogue with the financial services industry, and sufficient time will be provided to

prepare for the implementation of any new future regime

Additionally, the UK will not be taking action to incorporate into UK law the reporting

obligation of the EU’s Securities Financing Transactions Regulation for non-financial

counterparties (NFCs), which is due to apply in the EU from January 2021. Given that

systemically important NFC trading activity will be captured sufficiently through the other

reporting obligations that are due to apply to financial counterparties, it is appropriate for

the UK not to impose this further obligation on UK firms.

In addition to these measures set out above, HM Treasury will continue to maintain a

global outlook on regulatory best practices, regardless of where those practices come

from. This approach will continue to be guided by a commitment to maintaining high

standards and achieving the same or better prudential outcomes as today, in the way that

works best for the UK. HM Treasury plans to set out further detail on upcoming legislation

in due course, which will include:

• Amendments to the Benchmarks Regulation to ensure continued market access to

third country benchmarks until end-2025. HM Treasury will publish a policy

statement in July 2020;

• Amendments to the Market Abuse Regulation to confirm and clarify that both

issuers and those acting on their behalf must maintain their own insider lists and to

change the timeline issuers have to comply with when disclosing certain

transaction undertaken by their senior managers (‘Persons Discharging Managerial

Responsibilities’);

• Legislation to improve the functioning of the PRIIPs regime in the UK and address

potential risks of consumer harm in response to industry and regulator feedback.

HMT will publish a policy statement July 2020; and

• Legislation to complete the implementation of the European Market Infrastructure

Regulation (REFIT) to improve trade repository data and ensure that smaller firms

are able to access clearing on fair and reasonable terms.

Managing upcoming risks

HM Treasury has today also published a written ministerial statement relating to LIBOR

transition. The statement sets out detail on the Government’s approach to legislative

steps that could help deal with ‘tough legacy’ contracts that cannot transition from LIBOR

before end-2021. In particular the Government will use the Financial Services Bill to

introduce amendments to the Benchmarks Regulation 2016/1011 as amended by the

Benchmarks (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (the ‘UK BMR’), to ensure that

FCA powers are sufficient to manage an orderly transition from LIBOR.

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