Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to introduce a legally binding extended producer responsibility scheme for litter.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
UK legislation already exists to establish Producer Responsibility schemes for a number of items, including for packaging, which unfortunately can still be littered.
The Government’s Litter Strategy for England, published on 10 April, outlines a range of measures to reduce litter and littering behaviour. As part of the Strategy we are establishing a working group to explore voluntary or regulatory measures to reduce the incidence of commonly littered items.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many flood prevention schemes have been put in place in Beckenham constituency since 2015.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Environment Agency has not put any flood prevention schemes in place in the Beckenham constituency since 2015. However between 2013 and 2015, the Government has invested £155,000 on capital works, better protecting 12 properties from flooding, and £450,000 on maintenance works along the River Ravensbourne.
Between April 2016 and March 2021, the Government plans to invest a further £924,000 on flood risk management schemes in the Beckenham constituency, better protecting around 200 properties from flooding.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce the introduction of Thameslink Class 700 trains into Kent.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
New Class 700 trains started operating some Thameslink services between Sevenoaks and London Blackfriars via Bromley South and Catford in November 2016. GoVia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will be introducing more of these trains over the coming months.
GTR’s consultation on proposals for the 2018 Timetable included options for Thameslink services to operate on new routes in Kent and enhanced frequencies on other routes, including those via Catford. Detailed timetable development work is currently ongoing. The next phase of public consultation on the detailed timetable is planned for summer 2017.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce a levy on companies employing foreign workers below an agreed wage threshold.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Foreign workers in the UK benefit from the same rights under National Minimum Wage legislation as UK workers.
In addition, companies sponsoring non-EEA workers to fill vacancies under Tier 2 (General), the skilled work immigration route, must pay a salary of at least £20,800 (rising to £25,000 later this autumn and £30,000 in April 2017) or the appropriate rate for the particular occupation, whichever is higher. For non-EEA workers using the Tier 2 (Intra Company Transfer) route for multi-national companies, the salary minimum is £24,500, rising to £30,000 later this autumn and £41,500 from April 2017.
From April 2017, the Government will levy an Immigration Skills Charge on Tier 2 employers of £1,000 per sponsored worker per year. A reduced rate of £364 will apply to small and charitable sponsors. PhD-level roles, intra-company transfer graduate trainees, and graduates switching from the student route will be exempt.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will assess the potential merits of abolishing UK corporation tax.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Government is committed to a competitive and fair tax system, one that encourages innovation and business investment and taxes the profits of economic activity that occur in the UK. That is why this Government has cut the main rate of corporation tax from 28% in 2010 to 17% in 2020, and announced a package of measures at Budget 2016 to tackle aggressive tax planning by multinationals, forecast to raise around £8 billion across the next five years.
Corporation tax raised £44.4 billion for the Exchequer in 2015/16. This revenue makes a vital contribution to the Government’s wider objectives of delivering vital public services and fiscal sustainability.
The Government will continue to explore how the tax regime can be reformed to best support business investment and growth.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will assess the potential merits of deploying fishing trawlers to patrol the UK coastline to prevent illegal immigration.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Border Force is actively engaged through partners in the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) with commercial fishing operators. The UK’s commercial fishing operators already form a valuable part of the Project KRAKEN network providing ‘intelligence’ reports based on their assessment of unusual activity, however, they are not specifically tasked with official patrolling.
Border security is a priority for this Government. We are committed to countering threats to the UK coastline using an intelligence-led approach and through working with the wider law enforcement community. Border Force has long-standing working relationships and intelligence-sharing practices in place, and is increasing interaction with key partners as well as undertaking joint operations in order to disrupt organised criminal gangs looking to facilitate illegal entry into the UK.
Border Force and operational partners are conducting activity on a number of fronts to prevent migrants from entering the UK via clandestine and illegal means, strengthening the coordination of maritime security assets so that maximum coverage at sea is delivered. Border Force currently operates three cutters in UK territorial waters at any given time.
The cutters form part of a layered approach to coastal defence, including patrols comprising additional law enforcement vessels, on-shore resources and intelligence and surveillance. Border Force has invested in additional coastal patrol vessels (CPV) to complement the work being done by our cutters to combat attempts to smuggle migrants and illicit goods into the UK illegally.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals for a new clean air act.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
There is extensive existing legislation to support action to improve air quality. Councils can already implement clean air zones although we are introducing legislation which will allow the government to mandate councils to take action. A consultation seeking views on the draft Clean Air Zone Framework and on the draft regulation mandating the implementation of Clean Air Zones was published on the 13 of October.
Legislative proposals are being drafted related to the implementation of the Medium Combustion Plant Directive and the National Emissions Ceilings Directive.
Defra also plans to consult this autumn on proposals to reduce pollution from electricity generating plants with high emissions of nitrogen oxides that are not currently regulated. The proposals would set emission limit values on relevant air pollutants, with a view to having legislation in force no later than January 2019, and possibly sooner.
Air quality is improving; since 1970 sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions have decreased by 95%, particulate matter (PM10) by 73% and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 69%.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to make the punishment of people traffickers more severe to increase its deterrent effect.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 increased the maximum sentence for modern slavery offences from 14 years to life imprisonment. The Act also gave law enforcement agencies the power to seize traffickers’ assets and introduced risk and prevention orders which restrict the activities of traffickers outside prison if they are judged to pose a serious threat.
Earlier this year, the Government commissioned the barrister Caroline Haughey to carry out an independent review of the operation of the criminal justice provisions in the Modern Slavery Act. Ms Haughey found that the Act had set an international benchmark to which other jurisdictions aspire, and recommended that we do more to ensure that law enforcement agencies use the Act to full effect.
The Government agrees and the Prime Minister recently announced that she will be chairing a modern slavery taskforce to ensure that we leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators of this vile crime to justice.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the potential merits of reforming the rail franchising system by reinstating sole ownership and maintenance of infrastructure and trains.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have high passenger satisfaction and one of the safest railways for passengers of any major network in Europe. At the heart of this success lies a diverse range of commercial passenger and freight operators working in partnership with Government and industry suppliers.
With passenger numbers having more than doubled since privatisation, we want to deliver further improvements including a more joined-up approach to running the trains and tracks, and to make things work better for the public.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to introduce a sovereign wealth fund.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The government’s current priority is to reduce the deficit and start paying down national debt.