Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department will take to support home owners whose insurance premiums are increasing as a result of damage to their property caused by a neighbouring property being in disrepair.
Answered by John Glen
Insurers must treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules.
Insurers make decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. The Government does not intend to intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market. This competition is important and leads to better products and lower prices for consumers.
It is worth noting that different insurers may take a different view and customers are encouraged to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of increased insurance premiums on home owners as a result of damage to their property resulting from a neighbouring property being in disrepair.
Answered by John Glen
Insurers must treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules.
Insurers make decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. The Government does not intend to intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market. This competition is important and leads to better products and lower prices for consumers.
It is worth noting that different insurers may take a different view and customers are encouraged to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the announcement in Budget 2021 that lifetime financial support will be provided for survivors of the Thalidomide scandal, whether the Government plans to provide lifetime financial support to the survivors and victims of the contaminated blood scandal.
Answered by Steve Barclay
The Budget confirmed that the existing health grant for those affected by Thalidomide will continue when the existing funding commitment expires in 2022/23.
Infected blood support schemes were established in 2017, following the publication of the Penrose Inquiry, and the government confirmed increased financial support in 2019 for those infected and affected.
We will consider any recommendations when the Infected Blood Inquiry reports, including any around financial support.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make additional funding available to the Department of Health to enable improvements in the infected blood support schemes.
Answered by Steve Barclay
The Budget confirmed that the existing health grant for those affected by Thalidomide will continue when the existing funding commitment expires in 2022/23.
Infected blood support schemes were established in 2017, following the publication of the Penrose Inquiry, and the government confirmed increased financial support in 2019 for those infected and affected.
We will consider any recommendations when the Infected Blood Inquiry reports, including any around financial support.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast that unemployment would peak in the fourth quarter of 2020 -21 at 11.9 per cent is not realised.
Answered by John Glen
In its November 2020 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast unemployment to peak at 7.5% in Q2 2021, down from the forecast peak of 11.9% in Q4 2020 in its July Fiscal Sustainability Report.
During the pandemic, the Government has taken unprecedented action to protect jobs, most notably through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which was extended until the end of April 2021 for all parts of the UK. The OBR noted that the extension of CJRS, along with other new measures, was expected to reduce the level of unemployment by around 300,000 in the second quarter of this year, relative to what would have happened in the CJRS’ absence. As at 31 December, 700,000 employers were using the scheme to furlough more than 3.8 million jobs.
While the Government has taken extensive action to protect jobs, a comprehensive package of support is in place to help those who have unfortunately lost their job, helping them find work and build the skills they need to get into work. This includes: doubling the number of work coaches in Jobcentre Plus by March 2021; the £2.9 billion Restart programme, which will provide intensive and tailored support to over 1 million unemployed people and help them find work; and the £2 billion Kickstart Scheme which will create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across the country.
The Chancellor has always been clear that the Government would keep the situation under review, adapting its approach as the context evolved. The Budget on the 3 March will set out the next phase of the plan to tackle the virus and protect jobs.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2020 to Question 85972, what scoping exercises his Department undertook to determine the most appropriate local authority locations for the placement of lorry parks, prior to the Town and Country Planning (Border Facilities and Infrastructure) (EU Exit) (England) Special Development Order 2020 being laid before Parliament on 1 September 2020.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The local authority areas have been identified within the Order by the relevant departments so that should inland border facilities be required to support relevant ports, these can be provided within a reasonable distance of a port and/or strategic highway network.Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that (a) the Humber Ports and (b) all other ports will have adequate customs infrastructure in place by the end of the transition period.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HMRC are working closely across Government and with ports to understand and implement infrastructure changes in line with the support announced by the Government.
Border controls for EU goods imported into Great Britain will be introduced at the end of the Transition Period in stages (1 January and 1 July 2021). This flexible and pragmatic approach will give industry extra time to make necessary arrangements.
The Government has committed to supporting ports and airports to put in place new or expanded border facilities in Great Britain for carrying out required checks, as well as to providing targeted support to ports to build new infrastructure.
Given the scale of infrastructure required and where there is a lack of space in ports, the Government is aiming to provide inland sites at strategic locations where these checks and other activities will take place.
The Government is already consulting with ports on what infrastructure will be required and to inform decisions on where inland sites should be provided. In preparation, a number of potential sites have been identified at strategic locations across the UK. These have been prioritised where there are shared HMG requirements in specific locations.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the his Department's news story entitled, Pay rises for doctors, police and more in the public sector, published on 21 July 2020, for what reasons the fire service was not included in the list of public sector professions to receive a pay rise.
Answered by Steve Barclay
The pay awards announced on 21 July 2020 are for workforces covered by Pay Review Bodies (PRBs) which are; the armed forces, teachers, police officers, the National Crime Agency, prison officers, doctors and dentists, the Judiciary, senior civil servants and senior military personnel.
Pay awards for firefighters are agreed independently of this process by the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (NJC) which includes representatives of employers, devolved administrations and unions.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the letter of 28 April 2020 from the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North constituency on the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
I would like to reassure the Member that her letter is receiving urgent attention and will be responded to shortly.