Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a means-tested visa fee and immigration health surcharge waiver in response to financial obstacles being put in the way of British Nationals (Overseas) seeking to leave Hong Kong and come to the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There are no plans to introduce a fee waiver or immigration health surcharge waiver on the British Nationals (Overseas) (BN(O)) route.
The cost of the BN(O) visa has been set at a lower level than many other routes to the UK. In setting the fee, we have looked at analogous routes, the principles for determining fees set out in the Immigration Act 2014 and the overall design of the new immigration system.
Like others coming to the UK, applicants to this route should contribute towards the cost of the NHS services they will be relying on when in the UK.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps in response to reports that financial institutions headquartered in the UK are preventing early withdrawal access of pension savings held by British Nationals (Overseas) who are seeking to leave Hong Kong and resettle in the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The right of people to leave Hong Kong is guaranteed under the Basic Law and should be upheld. It is unacceptable for Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Funds (MPF) Schemes Authority to declare that they will not accept the BN(O) visa as evidence in support of an application for early withdrawal of the MPF.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports that the British National (Overseas) visa is not being recognised by the Hong Kong Government as valid proof of permanent departure from Hong Kong and that people holding that visa and seeking to leave Hong Kong for the UK are being denied early withdrawal of their pension savings as a result.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The right of people to leave Hong Kong is guaranteed under the Basic Law and should be upheld. It is unacceptable for Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Funds (MPF) Schemes Authority to declare that they will not accept the BN(O) visa as evidence in support of an application for early withdrawal of the MPF.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that British Nationals (Overseas) who are arriving in the UK are protected from intimidation and hostility from groups in the UK.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
On 8 April, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a new UK-wide Welcome Programme to support Hong Kong BN(O) status holders with a package worth £43.1 million.
The Government’s ambition is for Hong Kong BN(O)s to feel welcomed and supported and that is why, as a part of the integration package for Hong Kong BN(O) status holders, we have committed £300,000 to set up a new third party hate crime reporting service.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with representatives of the food and drink industry who will be affected by the introduction of the Government's proposed restrictions on the online advertising of products that are high in fat, salt and sugar; and if he will provide those representatives with the Government's planned timelines for the implementation of those proposed restrictions.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has committed to implementing restrictions for TV and online simultaneously and will aim to do so at the end of 2022. This will give industry time to prepare and understand any guidance published by the Government or by regulators. There has been extensive engagement with key stakeholders and industry throughout the consultation and publication process. This will continue from the introduction of the Bill through to implementation of the restrictions.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2021 to Question 179006 on Food: Marketing and the statement in that Answer that his Department intends to lay secondary legislation before Parliament by mid-2021, by what date his Department plans to lay that secondary legislation.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are awaiting confirmation of a laying date.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will consult on the potential merits of providing large society lotteries the choice of a £50 million or £100 million annual licence, as set out in the Response to the Consultation on Society Lottery Reform published on 16 July 2019.
Answered by John Whittingdale
In July 2020 the annual sales limit for society lotteries increased from £10 million to £50 million. This increase will enable us to monitor the impact on the sector and build a robust evidence base, particularly with regard to the impact on the proportion of proceeds being returned to good causes.
Any future change would need to increase good cause returns across the sector, and we wish to be confident that the regulatory framework is right for fundraising at this scale. We have no present plans to consult on making further changes to the annual sales limit.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the ban on online advertising of foods high in fat, salt or sugar on the (a) creative and digital advertising sector and (b) food and drink sector.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Prime Minister has made it clear that tackling obesity is a priority for this Government. In July 2020 the Government outlined it’s Tackling Obesity strategy which details a host of measures aimed at improving the chances of citizens living a healthy lifestyle.
The Government proposed various options for restricting HFSS advertising in the 2019 and 2020 consultations targeted at protecting children from being exposed to advertising of unhealthy food products.
Balanced against the priority of protecting children and tackling obesity, we have carefully considered the impact that any restrictions will have on industry and in particular the potential for market distortion or disproportionate effects on key business sectors.
The final policy will be set out in our consultation response due to be published shortly. The Government is committed to acting collaboratively to prepare businesses, individuals and organisations for changes to the rules around HFSS advertising.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on the effect of restrictions on online advertising of foods high in fat, salt or sugar on small businesses in the food and drink sector.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Prime Minister has made it clear that tackling obesity is a priority for this Government. In July 2020 the Government outlined it’s Tackling Obesity strategy which details a host of measures aimed at improving the chances of citizens living a healthy lifestyle.
The Government proposed various options for restricting HFSS advertising in the 2019 and 2020 consultations targeted at protecting children from being exposed to advertising of unhealthy food products.
Balanced against the priority of protecting children and tackling obesity, we have carefully considered the impact that any restrictions will have on industry and in particular the potential for market distortion or disproportionate effects on key business sectors.
The final policy will be set out in our consultation response due to be published shortly. The Government is committed to acting collaboratively to prepare businesses, individuals and organisations for changes to the rules around HFSS advertising.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason his Department’s Tackling obesity strategy is using primary and secondary legislation to introduce proposed restrictions on advertising of products that are high in fat, salt and sugar, and promotion and placement of those products, respectively.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have been careful to consider the views of stakeholders and experts as we developed our plans for implementing the healthy weight strategy, including restrictions on advertising and promotions. This process will continue as these measures pass through Parliament ensuring there is adequate time for scrutiny. Different legislative approaches being pursued reflect the current legislative framework and implementation routes available to the Government. For the promotions restrictions, we intend to use powers in the Food Safety Act (FSA) 1990 to lay secondary legislation before Parliament by mid-2021. The statutory instrument will be subject to the affirmative parliamentary procedure.
Subject to the outcome of the consultations on further advertising restrictions on TV and online, we intend to legislate through the Health and Care Bill. For online advertising restrictions primary legislation has to be used because there is no existing legislation on which to build. The decision was taken that the TV aspect should also be implemented through primary legislation because the two policies are closely aligned.