Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) international counterparts on the viability of establishing covid-tested, resort based package holidays with British holiday companies.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
We are committed to tackling this virus while enabling a sustainable and responsible return to international travel, and keep our approach to border measures under regular review to ensure that they remain effective and practical. To that effect, the Transport Secretary discusses a range of topics relating to COVID-19 with Cabinet colleagues and international counterparts.
On 7 October 2020, the Government announced the new Global Travel Taskforce, to support the travel industry and support the safe recovery of international travel. The Taskforce will accelerate work to inform proposals on a future testing regime, and develop options for how this could be introduced.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications he has received for the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Between September 2019 and August 2020, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles received 38,612 applications under the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the viability of a deposit return scheme in the UK.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since consulting on the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers in 2019, officials have been developing final proposals for a DRS using further evidence and ongoing engagement with stakeholders. This will be presented in a second consultation in 2021 alongside a full impact assessment.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
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 protect existing leaseholders from increasing service charges.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The law is clear that service charges must be reasonable and, where costs relate to work or services, they must be of a reasonable standard.
Leaseholders may make an application to the First-tier Tribunal to make a determination on the reasonableness of their service charges.
Where disputes arise or there is uncertainty over costs, leaseholders may benefit from seeking free initial advice via the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), the specialist advisory body funded by?the Department to?provide assistance to?leaseholders.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of residential sales currently unable to proceed as a result of the lack of an EWS1 certificate.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The EWS1 form was introduced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to assist in valuation of high-rise residential buildings for mortgage purposes. Each lender has their own policies regarding valuation requirements. Some do not require an EWS1 form, and other seek them for a greater range of buildings than the process was designed for. Where requested the EWS1 assessments are commissioned by individual building owners and so the Department does not hold data on their use. The Department is working to estimate the potential impact of these requests on leaseholders and sales, and is urging a pragmatic approach by lenders and valuers, especially for lower rise blocks.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with mortgage lenders to ensure industry-wide consistency in only requiring an EWS1 certificate for properties over 18 metres in height.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
To support the valuation process for high-rise residential blocks, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors designed the EWS1 process. This is not a regulatory requirement and my Department is urging a more pragmatic approach, especially for lower rise blocks. The form should only be used where there is clear need, and where no reasonable assurances or regulatory evidence exists to support valuations. The Building Safety Minister has met with lenders and UK Finance on a number of occasions and will meet with them this month to seek assurance on progress.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
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 assist owners of commonhold properties in accessing flammability assessments and EWS1 certificates.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
It is the responsibility of the building owner, whether freeholder or common holder, to ensure their building is safe. This includes ensuring that there is an up-to-date fire risk assessment. To support the valuation process for high-rise residential blocks, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors designed the EWS1 process. This is not a regulatory requirement and not all lenders require it. My department is urging a more pragmatic approach, especially for lower rise blocks.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing the Dartford toll charges for owners of wholly electric vehicles.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Dartford Thurrock Crossing was designed to handle up to 135,000 vehicle movements each day, but it is not uncommon for over 180,000 vehicles to use the Crossing.
The Dartford Road User Charge was introduced in 2003 to manage user demand which currently exceeds the capacity of the Crossing. Given that low or zero emission vehicles also use scarce road capacity, there is a rationale for continuing to charge them to use the Crossing. The Department currently has no plans to remove charges for owners of wholly electric vehicles using the Crossing.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) reports and (b) referrals were received by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office in respect of poor sentencing by lay magistrates in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office’s (JCIO) statutory remit is to deal with complaints of judicial misconduct.
Judicial decisions, including sentencing decisions, fall outside the scope of the judicial disciplinary system as they can be only challenged through the courts. There have therefore been no referrals to the JCIO about poor sentencing or poor decision making by lay magistrates.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) reports and (b) referrals were received by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office in respect of poor decision-making by lay magistrates in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office’s (JCIO) statutory remit is to deal with complaints of judicial misconduct.
Judicial decisions, including sentencing decisions, fall outside the scope of the judicial disciplinary system as they can be only challenged through the courts. There have therefore been no referrals to the JCIO about poor sentencing or poor decision making by lay magistrates.