Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of launching a consultation on the introduction of a social energy tariff.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
A social tariff is fundamentally about supporting the most vulnerable with the cost of energy and this is what we have delivered. Between 2022-25 we are delivering a package of support worth £108 billion, or £3,800 per household on average.
In 2023-24 we have supported millions of vulnerable households with up to £900 in further cost-of-living payments. Despite the Quarter 2 2024 Ofgem price cap falling nearly 60% since its 2023 peak, we have committed to supporting households past April, by cutting National Insurance, and increasing benefits and the National Living Wage.
We have also been working with Ofgem on their new involuntary prepayment meter rules and a long-term solution to end the prepayment meter premium. I met with suppliers at the end of last year to outline my expectation that they support vulnerable customers and improve their customer service.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what role Paula Vennells had in advising the Commissioners after 2019; and which committees she attended.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
In the spring of 2019 the House of Bishops discussed why some of the recommendations of the Church Buildings Review, which was approved by the General Synod in November 2015, had not been implemented. Paula Vennells was subsequently asked by the Archbishops to undertake a lessons learnt review. During the course of the review its remit was expanded to look at the wider working together of the National Church Institutions (NCIs), including issues around organisational governance, leadership and culture. The report, ‘Church Buildings Review- Lessons Learnt’, was completed in October 2019 and Paula Vennells attended a meeting of the House of Bishops in December 2019 at which it was presented.
In February 2020 Paula Vennells was invited to attend the Church Commissioners Board of Governors for a discussion of the Lessons Learnt report, but she was unable to attend and the report was considered in her absence. The Lessons Learnt report was considered by the Archbishops’ Council in March 2020, again in the absence of Paula Vennells, who was invited but unable to attend.
In March 2020 the Archbishops established a Coordinating Group, to continue the work of the Triennium Funding Working Group, and to coordinate certain strands of national work for the Church during the Covid 19 pandemic. Paula Vennells was invited to join the Coordinating Group and to lead on the part focusing on Governance. She attended three meetings of the Group, in April, May and June 2020 and sent apologies to two further meetings in June and July, before withdrawing from the work. The Coordinating Group became what is now the Emerging Church Steering Group. A Governance Review group under the Chairmanship of the Bishop of Leeds proceeded from August 2020, without the involvement of Paula Vennells.
The Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) is convened and funded by the three National Investment Bodies, to whom it provides ethical investment advice. Paula Vennells was appointed to the EIAG by its Nominations Committee and was a member between March 2019 and April 2021. She attended two meetings, in March and October 2019, and sent apologies for meetings thereafter until she took leave of absence from the Group from June 2020, lasting until her resignation in April 2021. More information about the EIAG can be found here: Ethical Investment Advisory Group | The Church of England
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce delays relating to probate claims.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has set targets for train operating companies to reduce operational costs for rail stations.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This is an industry-led process. The outcomes of the consultations will not be known until the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement process has been concluded.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the safety risk assessments for the berthing in Portland Port of the Bibby Stockholm.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
No individuals will be placed on the vessel unless it is safe to do so and all the legal and regulatory requirements are met.
The vessel will be managed by our supplier, under contractual terms agreed with the Home Office. The same supplier has safely and successfully managed two vessels for Ukrainian refugees for the Scottish Government over the past year.
The supplier and partners including Dorset Council, Dorset Police, Dorset Fire & Rescue and the Health & Safety Executive will ensure that the appropriate risk assessments have been completed and approved to ensure that the accommodation is safe to occupy prior to the first cohort of asylum seekers arriving.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen the regulatory framework for multi-academy trusts.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department provides multi-academy trusts with a high level of autonomy to drive improvement in the school sector. This approach ensures trust leaders are accountable to their trustees.
Inspection of individual schools and financial oversight from the Education and Skills Funding Agency are the two primary levers in the Department’s regulation of trusts. We publish performance information on multi-academy trusts and have powers to intervene in the event of failures of governance.
In March, the Department published the Academies Regulatory and Commissioning Review. This sets out how we will revise and consolidate our regulatory approach, so it is more proportionate, effective and risk-based, delivering regulatory oversight in a more strategic manner. It also details how the Department will support the continued transition to a self-improving system by sharing best practice and supporting trust improvement.
Finally, the Review sets out how we will reform our approach to commissioning multi-academy trusts to grow. It was followed in July by the publication of the ‘Commissioning high-quality trusts’ guidance. Together, these documents set out new, high expectations on trusts that want to grow which we will apply consistently and transparently. The result will be that standards in the trust sector will continue to rise.
Multi-academy trusts continue to improve standards in schools with poor Ofsted ratings, with 88% of schools now rated good or outstanding compared to 68% in 2010. This reflects the ability of high quality trusts to introduce effective approaches to raising standards, and to deploy the capacity and capability of the trust to target underperformance.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that Revenue Support Grant allocations are fair.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Revenue Support Grant funding is allocated via a fair assessment of local authority need and is but one part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending the South Western Railway contract on customers.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The impact on customers is the primary consideration in the award of National Rail Contracts. Having considered all options available to us, this extension provides the best outcome for customers in the South West of England and provides a bridge towards future Passenger Service Contracts under GBR.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to re-open the Abbotsbury Road GP surgery in Chickerell.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Abbotsbury Road Surgery closed to patients in March 2019 and the contract was returned. Registered patients were assigned to local practices to ensure the continuity of care. Since the closure of Abbotsbury Road surgery, there have been discussions on a potential new building at Chickerell, although this is currently on hold.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's policy is on resolving universal credit overpayments in the event that the overpayment is due to an error by her Department.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Where Official Error overpayments do occur in a very small number of cases, the introduction of the 2012 Welfare Reform Act means that all overpayments of Universal Credit are recoverable.
Where recovery is made by deduction from Universal Credit, there is a limit placed on the overall amount that can be deducted which is currently 25% of the Standard Allowance. Moreover, a priority order is applied, which determines the order in which deductions can be made, with ‘last resort’ deductions, such as rent or fuel costs, taking precedence.
Anyone with overpayment deductions who does experience financial hardship is encouraged to contact the Department’s Debt Management unit. Where a person cannot afford the proposed rate, a lower amount can be negotiated.