Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 13 April 2022 to Question 140404 on Diabetes and Eating Disorders, where the five additional pilot sites areas will be; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Five additional new treatment sites are to open in 2022/23 in the following areas:
- Coventry and Warwickshire;
- Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutlands;
- Norfolk and Waveney;
- Cheshire and Merseyside;
- Humber and North Yorkshire.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 4 July 2022 to Questions 27553 and 27554 on Credit and with reference to Sponsor Designated legal advice, whether his Department, when issuing its debt, provides for its legal advice to be funded by the counter-parties buying that debt.
Answered by Simon Clarke
HM Treasury, when issuing debt through the UK Debt Management Office, does not provide for its legal advice to be funded by the counterparties buying that debt. Each party selects and pays for its own legal advisers as it deems appropriate.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has raised concerns about the use of Sponsor Designated legal advice in the UK debt market with the (a) Financial Conduct Authority and (b) Solicitors Regulation Authority during the last five years; and if he will make statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK is well known internationally as a hub for high quality capital markets backed by strong and effective regulation. The Treasury is committed to ensuring the proper functioning of capital markets, including working with the Financial Conduct Authority to monitor any potential risks to UK markets.
The Treasury is not aware of any concerns that Sponsor Designation of legal advice poses a risk to UK debt markets, and as such has not raised this matter with the Financial Conduct Authority or the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of transactions in the UK debt market where the legal advice has been provided under Sponsor Designation by the borrower to the lender over the last 10 years; what assessment his Department has made of the potential risk that Sponsor Designation of legal advice poses to the debt market; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK is well known internationally as a hub for high quality capital markets backed by strong and effective regulation. The Treasury is committed to ensuring the proper functioning of capital markets, including working with the Financial Conduct Authority to monitor any potential risks to UK markets.
The Treasury is not aware of any concerns that Sponsor Designation of legal advice poses a risk to UK debt markets, and as such has not raised this matter with the Financial Conduct Authority or the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will investigate the risk of a legal and best advice conflict of interest arising in cases where one party to a transaction both (a) chooses and (b) funds the legal advice of the counter-party; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Conflict of interest in the provision of legal advice is guided by professional ethics. The legal profession in England and Wales is independent of government, as is the legal regulatory structure, for which the Legal Services Board has oversight responsibility.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the approved regulator of solicitors in England and Wales. The SRA has a detailed Code of Conduct for solicitors including conflict of interest provisions which cover situations where a conflict of interest, or a serious risk of such a conflict arises, for example when a solicitor is acting for two or more clients. The Ministry of Justice therefore has no plans to investigate this issue.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the UK has a reciprocal arrangement with Spain on the mutual recognition of drivers licenses from each country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government is working at pace to conclude a driving licence exchange agreement with Spain so that UK licence holders who are resident in Spain for more than six months will be able to obtain a Spanish driving licence without needing to take a test. Until an agreement is reached, UK licence holders who have been resident in Spain for longer than six months, cannot use their UK issued licence to drive in Spain.
This does not affect visiting motorists. UK driving licences are recognised by Spain without the need for a separate International Driving permit. The UK recognises Spanish licences of both those who are resident in the UK and visitors, and will exchange the licences of residents on expiry or request.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to prioritise passport renewals for aeroplane cabin crew currently grounded by delays at Her Majesty's Passport Office; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Ahead of unrestricted international travel returning, HM Passport Office prepared extensively to serve an unprecedented number of customers, with 9.5 million British passport applications forecasted throughout 2022.
These preparations, which include the recruitment of 500 additional staff since April 2021 and with plans in place to recruit a further 700 by this summer, have ensured passport applications can be processed in higher numbers than ever before. Across March and April 2022, HM Passport Office completed the processing of approximately two million applications.
Ministers continue to meet regularly with officials to monitor performance, and to explore further options that will help to ensure that people receive their passports in good time.
Any customer who has submitted a passport application using Her Majesty’s Passport Office’s standard service and now needs their passport sooner, is advised to contact the Passport Adviceline.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to regulate the cost of residential lease extensions; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
We are taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market.
Under the current system, too many leaseholders find the process for extending their lease or buying their freehold prohibitively expensive, too complex and lacking transparency. The Government is addressing historic imbalance to ensure fairness for leaseholders, whilst taking account of the legitimate rights of freeholders. We will continue to ensure we meet this objective as we bring forward reforms.
In January 2021, the Government announced a package of reforms on enfranchisement valuation. The Government will reform the process of valuation that leaseholders must follow to calculate the cost of extending their lease or buying their freehold. We will abolish marriage value, cap the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value, and prescribe rates for the calculations at market value. The Government will also introduce an online calculator, further simplifying the process and ensuring standardisation and fairness for all. These changes will result in substantial savings for some leaseholders, particularly those with fewer than 80 years left on their lease. Our reforms also make sure that sufficient compensation is paid to landlords to reflect their legitimate property interests.
Through these reforms, the length of a statutory lease extension will increase to 990 years, from 90 years (for flats) and 50 years (for houses). Leaseholders will be able to extend their lease with zero ground rent on payment of a premium.
We have already taken action to end unfair practices in the leasehold market, beginning with the Ground Rent Act, which comes into force on 30 June 2022, and is the first part of a two-part programme of legislation to reform the leasehold system in this Parliament.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve the (a) early detection and (b) treatment of prostate cancer; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In February and March 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement and Prostate Cancer UK delivered an awareness campaign on prostate cancer risks. This encouraged men to use Prostate Cancer UK’s clinically approved risk checker to understand their level of risk and make an informed choice on whether to have further tests.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are implementing a best practice timed pathway for prostate cancer, including the use of multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging prior to biopsy for a faster diagnosis. NHS England and NHS Improvement have introduced a new financial incentive for 2022/23 through the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme to support the delivery of the pathway.
In 2018, we allocated £75 million for clinical trials for prostate cancer focusing on improving early diagnosis and survival rates and exploring options for different treatments. Through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, patients can now access lutetium vipivotide tetraxetan in the treatment of prostate-specific membrane antigen positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if, in cases where carers are rehired by their original employers, having lost their job due to being unvaccinated for covid-19, he will make it his policy to introduce measures whereby they do not lose their accrued employment rights built up prior to their dismissal; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The vaccination requirement for care homes was in force between 11 November 2021 and 14 March 2022. During that period, care homes were legally required to only deploy vaccinated or exempt staff. The re-employment of these staff is matter for each employer, including any accrued entitlements which may have been affected by breaks in service.