Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the evaluation criteria used for Energy Performance Certificates for the private rental sector.
Answered by Graham Stuart
EPCs are intended to provide prospective buyers and tenants with a guide to the energy performance of different properties, in a way which is simple to understand and comparable between properties. The Government believes that energy certificates have an important role to play to improve the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings to enable the Government to meet its ambitious net zero carbon emission targets. The Department has commenced work on developing a future version of Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP), the methodology used to produce Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for existing dwellings. The Government is also working on proposals to improve EPC metrics, with a view to consulting on these later this year, taking into account the recently published proposals from the Climate Change Committee.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of processing times for the determination of applications requesting public parole hearings.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Parole Board (Amendment) Rules 2022 Statutory Instrument contains the provisions that enable public parole hearings. Specifically, the rules provide that hearings must be held in private unless it is in the interests of justice that they be held in public. Applications can be made by anyone no later than 12 weeks before a hearing and the decision whether to grant an application rests with the Chair of the Parole Board.
I cannot confirm the exact number of applications for public parole hearings because applications are submitted directly to the Parole Board. The department is only made aware of an application when the Parole Board asks for the Secretary of State’s representations in his role as a party to the parole process. The representations enable the Secretary of State to provide his views on the prospect of a public hearing, including the views of any victims.
As the decision on whether to hold a public hearing properly sits with the Chair of the Board, the department has not produced any guidelines on the determination of applications, nor have we prescribed any timescales in which decisions should be made. The Parole Board has published extensive guidance on its approach to public hearings on its website: Applying for a Parole review to be public - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidelines his Department has in place for the Parole Board for the determination of public parole hearings.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Parole Board (Amendment) Rules 2022 Statutory Instrument contains the provisions that enable public parole hearings. Specifically, the rules provide that hearings must be held in private unless it is in the interests of justice that they be held in public. Applications can be made by anyone no later than 12 weeks before a hearing and the decision whether to grant an application rests with the Chair of the Parole Board.
I cannot confirm the exact number of applications for public parole hearings because applications are submitted directly to the Parole Board. The department is only made aware of an application when the Parole Board asks for the Secretary of State’s representations in his role as a party to the parole process. The representations enable the Secretary of State to provide his views on the prospect of a public hearing, including the views of any victims.
As the decision on whether to hold a public hearing properly sits with the Chair of the Board, the department has not produced any guidelines on the determination of applications, nor have we prescribed any timescales in which decisions should be made. The Parole Board has published extensive guidance on its approach to public hearings on its website: Applying for a Parole review to be public - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications have been made to the Parole Board to request public parole hearings as of 27 February 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Parole Board (Amendment) Rules 2022 Statutory Instrument contains the provisions that enable public parole hearings. Specifically, the rules provide that hearings must be held in private unless it is in the interests of justice that they be held in public. Applications can be made by anyone no later than 12 weeks before a hearing and the decision whether to grant an application rests with the Chair of the Parole Board.
I cannot confirm the exact number of applications for public parole hearings because applications are submitted directly to the Parole Board. The department is only made aware of an application when the Parole Board asks for the Secretary of State’s representations in his role as a party to the parole process. The representations enable the Secretary of State to provide his views on the prospect of a public hearing, including the views of any victims.
As the decision on whether to hold a public hearing properly sits with the Chair of the Board, the department has not produced any guidelines on the determination of applications, nor have we prescribed any timescales in which decisions should be made. The Parole Board has published extensive guidance on its approach to public hearings on its website: Applying for a Parole review to be public - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department is taking steps to help support and increase the export of locally produced beer and gin to overseas markets.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Business & Trade provides bespoke export advice and support to our distilleries and breweries across the UK through our network of international trade advisers and dedicated sector resource in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The Department has a dedicated workplan of export promotion activities including a strong UK presence at tradeshows such as Prowein in Germany in March, educational webinars and inward buyer visits.
We work in close partnership with trade associations such as the Wine and Spirits Trade Association and the British Beer and Pub Association to help drinks exporters to capitalise on the enormous global demand for British food and drink whilst we work to open new markets for their products.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has taken steps to help increase the diversity of local high streets to encourage more people to shop locally.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This Government is fully committed to supporting our town centres and high streets to adapt and evolve. We are enabling places to transform their high streets and town centres into thriving commercial, social and cultural hubs. We also strongly support people shopping locally.
To do so, we have reformed the use classes order to enable more flexible use of existing buildings. The use class reform creates a new 'commercial, business and service' use class which encompasses a wide range of uses which attract people to high streets and town centres. This includes offices and other business uses, shops, cafes, gyms and other uses for visiting members of the public which are suitable in a high street. Premises can move between such uses without the need for a planning application. This builds on longer-term structural interventions and funding by Government to support high streets and town centres, including the £3.6bn Towns Fund, £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund and the work of the High Street Task Force which has now supported around 115 local authorities in areas such as placemaking, planning and design.
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State was pleased to visit the New Lubbesthorpe community on 24 February 2023 and to see first-hand how such long-term structural interventions can benefit communities.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that (a) local councils and (b) housing associations develop plans for more Rural Exception Sites.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The National Planning Policy Framework already makes clear that planning policies and decisions should be responsive to local circumstances in rural areas. Our Rural Exception Sites policy allows for the development of small affordable housing sites in rural areas, with the majority of housing on these sites being available to local people in perpetuity, and we published planning practice guidance in 2020 to help local authorities and developers bring more of these sites forward.
Our proposals for the National Planning Policy Framework launched for consultation on 22 December 2022 and we would encourage engagement with the consultation. As part of this consultation we are seeking views on how we can strengthen the role of community groups in delivering affordable housing, particularly in rural areas.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to help increase funding for electric HGV research and development.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In May 2022, the Department announced an expansion to its Zero Emission Road Freight Demonstrator (ZERFD) programme, which will see hundreds of zero emission HGVs deployed on UK roads. This programme will demonstrate several zero emission HGV technologies at scale on UK roads, and inform which technology, or technology mix, is best suited for use in the UK. This follows £20m of funding provided in 2021/22 as part of the Zero Emission Road Freight Trials (ZERFT) programme for industry to conduct feasibility studies into zero emission HGVs and associated infrastructure, along with the deployment of 20 battery electric trucks.
The demonstrator programme will collect a strong evidence base to enable long-term, strategic infrastructure decisions to be made to decarbonise the road freight sector, both by the Government and industry.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department provides funding to local NHS organisations to redevelop old cottage hospitals.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department does not have specific funding set aside for the redevelopment of old cottage hospitals. The Department provides national funding to schemes that meet the conditions of specific national programmes and operational capital. This operational capital is set by NHS England at integrated care board (ICB) level and deals with the day-to-day capital needs of the National Health Service, including renewal and replacement of plant, Information Technology and equipment, minor building works, and investment to deliver core clinical strategies. Operational capital can be prioritised by ICBs in line with local plans and health strategies, including to redevelop old cottage hospitals if this is considered a local priority.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to ban the sale of nitrous oxide canisters.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 3 September 2021, the Government asked the independent statutory advisory body, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), to provide an updated assessment of the harms of nitrous oxide, including advice on whether it should be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
The ACMD is independent of Government and can provide a broad range of recommendations, including advice on regulatory or legislative changes. The Government will consider the ACMD advice carefully before deciding how to proceed.