Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by the Centre for Economic Business Research entitled The pothole crisis is costing £14.4 billion a year in economic damage in England alone, published on 29 April 2024.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government agrees that, whilst local road maintenance is the responsibility of individual local authorities, more that needs to be done to improve the condition of roads across the country.
That is why we’ve committed £8.3 billion extra from savings as a result of cancelling HS2 Phase 2 to help local councils fill potholes and resurface roads.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using a potential digital pound for its own disbursements and cash management.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
No decision has yet been made to issue a digital pound. HM Treasury and the Bank of England continue to explore the feasibility and potential design choices of a digital pound as part of the current design phase. The exploration of a digital pound considers the future of central bank money, meaning that this project supports the Bank of England’s primary objectives on monetary and financial stability.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2023 to Question 5600 on Natwest: Shares, whether his Department has appointed advisers to review the potential merits of a NatWest retail share offer.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has appointed a number of advisers to support the government’s assessment of options for a retail offer, including firms specialising in market research, financial services, legal advice and marketing.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the workplace culture at the Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is operationally independent from Government, meaning it is responsible for internal matters, including its workplace culture.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment on the potential impact of increased service charges on (a) leaseholders and (b) local authorities in Oxfordshire.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Service charges should be transparent, reasonable and there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong and the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will help make this reality.
The Government has set out its position on leasehold reform as part of progress on the Leasehold and Freehold reform Bill. Full details of the measures can be found here: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to ensure low income households can appeal increased service charges.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Service charges should be transparent, reasonable and there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong and the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will help make this reality.
The Government has set out its position on leasehold reform as part of progress on the Leasehold and Freehold reform Bill. Full details of the measures can be found here: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the fiscal impact of a potential digital pound by way of increased seigniorage revenue.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
No decision has yet been made to issue a digital pound. HM Treasury and the Bank of England continue to explore the feasibility and potential design choices of a digital pound as part of the current design phase. The exploration of a digital pound considers the future of central bank money, meaning that this project supports the Bank of England’s primary objectives on monetary and financial stability.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including an employee share element as part of the sale of the Government's remaining shares in NatWest.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Spring Budget 2024, the Chancellor set out that, as part of the plan to return NatWest to private ownership, the government intends to deliver a retail offering, subject to supportive market conditions and achieving value for money for taxpayers. The government is currently exploring the most suitable terms, structure, and timing for a potential sale.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has issued to local highways authorities on the criteria for the implementation of new road safety measures; and what flexibility those authorities have to act in response to multiple fatal incidents.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Local authorities have a range of road safety measures available to them and they are best placed to make decisions on implementation.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to paragraphs 28 and 29 of the summary grounds of the Secretary of State provided in the High Court case between the King (on the application of Al-Haq) v the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, AC-2023-LON-003634, whether any of the pending 28 arms export licences to Israel identified in the Change in Circumstances review have been approved since January 2024.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza very closely.
The Government can and does respond quickly and flexibly to changing international circumstances. All licences are kept under careful and continual review and are able to be amended, suspended, refused or revoked as circumstances require.
HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.