Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he is taking steps to help (a) repair and (b) reopen the Forum Leisure Centre swimming pool located within his Department's property in Quarry Hill, Leeds.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions are in the process of arranging a comprehensive scheme of repairs to the plant room servicing the Quarry House Leisure Centre Pool.
A quote for the works has been received and validated. With lead time for materials & subsequent programme of works, it is anticipated the pool will re-open in December 2023.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what security checks financial institutions are required to make for credit card applications in order to prevent identity fraud.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for regulating the consumer credit market. FCA rules dictate that firms (including those offering credit cards) must have adequate policies and procedures in place to counter the risk that they might be used in financial crime, such as identity fraud. Furthermore, firms must ensure that the systems and controls monitoring these are subject to regular assessment.
Firms are also required by law to verify someone’s identity when they establish a business relationship with them. This includes when opening a credit account such as a credit card. Firms are required to take a proportionate approach commensurate with their assessment of the risk. Each firm will have their own policies on identification, customer due diligence and on the circumstances in which additional security checks should be undertaken. Firms are assisted in making such policies through industry produced guidance. The government has also published a Good Practice Guide for firms on how to prove and verify someone’s identity, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/identity-proofing-and-verification-of-an-individual/how-to-prove-and-verify-someones-identity
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential cost of upgrading all homes in England to at least energy performance certificate rating C.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government set out an aspiration in the Clean Growth Strategy for as many homes as possible to reach an Energy Performance Rating Band C by 2035 where cost-effective, affordable and practical. Achieving this will require mobilising up to £65 billion of capital investment.
The Government is investing £6.6 billion over this Parliament on clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings. In addition, £6 billion of new Government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides on whether making a credit card application using someone else's details is a criminal offence.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Existing legislation can already be used to prosecute those committing fraud using a stolen identity.
The Fraud Act 2006 covers the selling and using of stolen personal information to commit fraud. The Computer Misuse Act 1990, the Identity Documents Act 2010 and the Data Protection Act 2018 cover the protection of personal data.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to help leaseholders who cannot sell their homes due to managing agents not providing deeds of certificate for cladding.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The lack of a landlord's certificate, should not, in most cases, be a barrier to the sale of a property over 11 metres. If a landlord does not provide a valid landlord's certificate within 4 weeks of a leaseholder requesting a certificate (if necessary, via the managing agent), they will be unable legally to pass costs for remediation onto qualifying leaseholders.
A leaseholder can evidence they qualify to receive the protections from remediation costs in the Building Safety Act by completing a leaseholder deed of certificate. This certificate should be sufficient evidence for a lender to consider a mortgage application for a building with building safety issues; major mortgage lenders (covering 70% of the UK mortgage market) have committed to this in a joint statement.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
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 offer financial assistance to businesses that may have lost trade because their building is covered in scaffolding in order to repair unsafe cladding.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Government building safety schemes provide funding for the remediation or mitigation of life safety fire risks associated with externally clad walls, ensuring the safety of all occupants, including co-located businesses. While there is no additional funding for businesses affected by necessary remediation works, we do expect companies in these buildings to be consulted about proposed repairs. We also require construction companies funded to carry out this work to comply with the Considerate Constructors Scheme, through which they work to manage the impact on the local community and the environment.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the travel industry on trends in the cost of family holidays during school holidays.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Secretary of State for Education has not had recent discussions with the travel industry on trends in the cost of family holidays during school holidays. However, information and research on the cost of holidays is widely available online.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the age ranges of unaccompanied children detained at the Kent Intake Unit since 1 January 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office has no plans to publish data on the age range of unaccompanied children detained at the Kent Intake Unit at this time.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time taken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency was to respond to a clinical trials application in the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what proportion of those applications have been responded to within 30 days in that period.
Answered by Will Quince
From July 2022 to June 2023, 587 clinical trial authorisation applications were assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in an average of 65.43 days. Out of the 587 applications, 100 of those, or 17.04%, were assessed within 30 days.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he received a report from the Financial Conduct Authority on the collapse of the Safe Hands funeral group.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Throughout the process of bringing the pre-paid funeral plan sector into regulation, the government has worked closely with the FCA to ensure that the regulation of the sector is proportionate and effective.
As part of regular engagement with HM Treasury, the FCA made officials aware in March 2022 that Safe Hands would enter administration.
The government and the FCA continue to engage regularly as we monitor the impact of regulation in this sector.