Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on ensuring businesses and citizens are prepared for the end of the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown in England.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Cabinet Office has been in discussion with other Departments regarding COVID-19 guidance for England after 2 December. The Government is publishing new guidance or updating existing guidance ahead of 2 December.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will publish guidance to businesses on any new regulations that may be imposed following the end of the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown in advance of the end of that lockdown period.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Cabinet Office has been in discussion with other Departments regarding COVID-19 guidance for England after 2 December. The Government is publishing new guidance or updating existing guidance ahead of 2 December.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what grant support is available to one-person limited companies trading from the director's home that are affected by covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Winter Economy Plan set out a package of targeted measures in response to the current economic context that will enable businesses to protect jobs and manage their finances in the face of reduced or uncertain demand. These include extending the temporary VAT reduced rate for hospitality and tourism, extending the application window of the access to finance schemes, and providing further support for employees and the self-employed.
Following the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), company directors who pay themselves a salary through a PAYE scheme are able to apply for CJRS support, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria of the scheme. In addition, company directors may be eligible for other elements of the package of financial support available. This includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, increased levels of Universal Credit, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support job retention during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been in place since March 2020 and has now been extended to March 2021. This extension will support businesses during the latest national restrictions by paying up to 80% of wages for furloughed employees.
Up until 15 November 2020 the scheme has helped 1.2 million employers and 9.6 million employees.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to use (a) universities, (b) businesses and (c) other private laboratories to increase covid-19 testing and lab capacity; and whether he has fast-tracked private medical laboratory accreditation for that purpose.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pillar 2 uses Lighthouse laboratories and has partnership arrangements with public, private and academic sector laboratories. The United Kingdom’s daily COVID-19 testing capacity passed the 500,000 mark on 31 October. Testing capacity in the UK across all pillars between 29 October and 4 November was at 4,367,049 tests, an increase of 21% compared to the previous week.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that home-educated students are taken account of when his Department is forming its policy on the sitting of GCSE, AS and A-level examinations due to take place in 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Examinations are the best and fairest way of judging pupils’ performance, and it is the Department’s intention that next year’s GCSE, AS and A level exam series will go ahead.
The Department is working with Ofqual to engage with the sector, including those representing home-educated pupils, to develop contingencies if disruption as a result of COVID-19 affects pupils’ ability to sit examinations. Following a period of engagement, more details will be published later in the autumn.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the administrative efficiency of the Windrush Compensation Scheme in making payments to eligible people.
Answered by Priti Patel
The Home Office is processing claims as quickly as possible, but all claims are different, and the time taken will depend on many factors, including the complexity of the case. Wherever possible, the Home Office makes interim payments on parts of the claim that are straightforward to determine, such as immigration fees.
However, it is worth noting that the Home Office works with claimants during the process to obtain as much information about the claim as possible. This approach ensures that claimants receive the maximum amount to which they are entitled under the scheme
The most recent published statistics on the payments made under the Windrush Compensation Scheme show a clear increasing trajectory of payments: £755,111 paid up to 30 June 2020, of which £392,114 was paid in the most recent three months of that period. I also announced on 15 July that over £1.5m has now been offered in compensation to claimants. Once the offers are accepted by the applicants, the payments will be made.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to review the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the efficiency of the Windrush Compensation Scheme in processing claims.
Answered by Priti Patel
The Home Office is processing claims as quickly as possible, but all claims are different, and the time taken will depend on many factors, including the complexity of the case.
The Home Office recently published statistics on the payments made under the Windrush Compensation Scheme (WCS) at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-compensation-scheme-data-july-2020.
These show a clear increasing trajectory of payments: £755,111 paid up to 30 June 2020, of which £392,114 was paid in the most recent three months of that period. which includes the initial period of the covid-19 lockdown.
I also announced on 15 July that over £1.5m has now been offered in compensation to claimants. Once the offers are accepted by the applicants, the payments will be made. The trajectory of compensation awards therefore continues to increase, despite the covid-19 lockdown.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to issue guidance on safely reopening public toilets to enable people with (a) inflammatory bowel disease and (b) other hidden disabilities to feel comfortable leaving home as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Public hygiene is of the utmost importance, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, and enabling access to toilets safely is vital. Closed toilets may disproportionately impact certain groups who for health reasons rely on access to public toilets to leave their homes.
Government has made clear through COVID-19 guidance that public toilets, portable toilets and toilets inside premises should be kept open and carefully managed to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.
The guidance outlines measures such as signs to promote good hygiene, providing suitable handwashing and hand drying facilities, and increasing frequency of cleaning facilities.
The Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government and the Minister for Environment recently wrote to local authorities urging them to reopen public toilets. The letter also highlighted the disproportionate impact closed toilets may have on certain groups who for health reasons rely on access to public toilets to be able to leave their homes.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that primacy school pupils can take part in physical education safely when they return to school as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is working to ensure that schools are fully supported as pupils return now and are able to give pupils opportunities to be physically active during the school day. Schools are free to organise and deliver a PE curriculum that suits the needs of all their pupils whilst following COVID-19 government guidelines. The latest guidance for schools can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings. The Government’s intention is for all children to return to school from September and will publish guidance soon. The Department is considering what further advice to provide on PE and school sport in that guidance.
The Department has worked closely with nurseries, schools, physical activity experts and sport providers so that pupils who have not yet been able to return to school have advice and resources to participate in regular exercise. The Department has published online educational resources approved by subject experts for schools and parents, to help children to learn at home; these resources include those for PE.
The Government remains committed to supporting schools to make good use of their sports facilities and to promote physical literacy and competitive sport. We plan to update the School Sport Activity Action Plan with longer-term proposals to support schools and providers to work together to support children’s activity levels to continue to rise after they return to school.