Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support he will provide to residents of park homes who are not eligible for the energy bill rebate because their energy is supplied direct to the operating business and then recharged to the resident.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October. This will be delivered via energy suppliers and will be clearly identifiable as a line item on electricity bills.
There are certain situations where a third party will be responsible for the bill (and be named on it). In this situation, any electricity charges are then passed onto the end user, typically through an all-inclusive rent (in the case of a landlord/tenant) or ‘pitch’ charges, e.g. for a park home.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will explore this issue further, including by gathering further information via the government consultation on the delivery of the Energy Bill Support Scheme for households.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the supply chain carbon cost per MWh is for power generated by Drax when fuelled by (a) domestically sourced coal and (b) wood exported from the USA.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold this information.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether pension benefits that retired teachers are in receipt of will be protected, in a similar way that pension benefits of retired NHS workers have been since the start of the covid-19 outbreak, in the event that they return to work after being called upon by him in December 2021.
Answered by Robin Walker
Generally, retired teachers returning to the classroom following the recent call for ex-teachers to help will not be subject to potential abatement of their teachers’ pension. This is because it is expected that they will be employed by supply teacher agencies, which tend not to be participating Teacher Pensions’ Scheme (TPS) employers.
TPS abatement rules would currently apply to retired teachers, with a final salary pension, if they were to be employed directly by a participating TPS employer. However, the call for ex-teachers to help in the classroom is expected to involve short-term and/or part-time appointments. Consequently, the amount of earnings involved is unlikely to result in any adjustment to individuals’ pension benefits on account of abatement.
We do not, therefore, anticipate there being a compelling need to suspend the abatement provisions in the way that the NHS has done to facilitate the longer-term re-employment of key staff. However, the department is monitoring the situation and, if needed, we will review the policy position.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to introduce a time limit on the duration of development once a building's work has commenced.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is clear that developers should build-out permissions as quickly as possible. Where planning permission has been granted for new development, or where sites are stalled or experiencing delays to being delivered, it is for local authorities and developers to work closely together at a local level to overcome any barriers. There are instances where delays in starting or progressing sites may be avoidable and the Government wants to empower authorities with the tools to respond to such cases. Consequently, we are exploring all options to support faster build out as part of the wider package of proposed planning reforms.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the outcomes of the Developer Loans for Schools pilot between 2019-2021; and whether that programme will remain open in 2022.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Developer Loans for Schools pilot was launched in October 2019. Expressions of interest were received and assessed against the initial eligibility criteria. No loans were agreed, and no monies were committed. In July 2020, an internal review of all aspects of the pilot concluded that the need had changed, and it would not continue. There is no intention to revisit the initiative in 2022.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to consult the public as part of the Government’s social care reform process.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We continue working with organisations in the social care sector, including members of the public with lived experience of care and support, to inform the implementation of the reforms. We will also launch a public consultation on the charging reform operational guidance in the spring.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Health and Safety Executive has considered making risk assessments, including protective barriers, vehicle run-off zones and noise distancing, a mandatory requirement at temporary motorsport events, including grass track meetings on farmers' fields.
Answered by Chloe Smith
There is already a legal requirement to assess risk at motorsport events by identifying control measures, such as protective barriers, run-off zones and noise control. This includes temporary events such as those taking place upon farmer’s fields. Employers and organisers of such events are subject to wide ranging duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 2 (relating to duties owed to employees) and Section 3 (a duty to ensure the safety of persons not employed by the dutyholder, such as spectators or members of the public).
The Health and Safety Executive has produced the guidance publication HSG112 “Management of Health and Safety at Motorsport Events, HSG112. Whilst this publication has a focus upon the professional sport, the information within it is of use to those planning and controlling smaller temporary events.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions officials in his Department are having with representatives of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons on (a) extending the waiver on level 7 English language requirements for Official Veterinarians introduced in June 2021 and (b) relaxing the technical supervisory conditions imposed as a condition of that waiver.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
There are no current plans to discuss extending the waiver on level 7 language requirements for official veterinarians supporting the delivery of official controls in abattoirs. Nor are there any plans to discuss relaxing the technical supervisory conditions imposed because of that waiver. Defra has therefore not raised these proposals in discussion with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to maintain the supply of free coal to former miners as part of their existing pension entitlements.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are no plans to alter the current concessionary fuel arrangements awarded to certain qualifying former employees and their widows of the coal mining industry.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What recent assessment he has made of the political situation in the Crimea.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Seven years on from Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, we continue to make clear to Moscow that Crimea is, and will remain part of Ukraine. Russia must withdraw forces and end illegitimate control.
Under UK leadership, G7 Foreign Ministers issued statements on 18 March, to mark the seventh anniversary of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, and on 12 April, calling for de-escalation following Russia's build-up of military forces in Crimea and near the Ukrainian border. At the G7 Cornwall Summit in June, G7 leaders called on Russia to withdraw military troops and materiel from Crimea. The Foreign Secretary has raised these matters directly with his counterparts, including on 17 June with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.
We will continue to call for international monitoring missions to have access to Crimea, currently denied by Russia. We have contributed nearly £700,000 this financial year to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, which monitors and documents human rights abuses in Crimea. We welcome and support Ukraine’s proposal to establish an International Crimean Platform. We are exploring what role we can play.
We also remain deeply concerned about ongoing human rights abuses experienced by minorities in Crimea, including Crimean Tatars.