Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Charity Commission on regulatory compliance cases into (a) Dar Alhekma and (b) the Abrar Islamic Foundation.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to charity regulation. As the Charity Commission is independent from the Government in its regulatory decision making, it will be for the Charity Commission to assess these matters further.

The Charity Commission has live regulatory compliance cases into Dar Alhekma Trust and Abrar Islamic Foundation. These cases were temporarily paused at the request of the Metropolitan Police Service, to avoid prejudicing the police’s assessment of the concerns raised. The Charity Commission is now engaging with the trustees of both charities to assess the allegations.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is considering regulatory steps to encourage the fitting of fire suppression systems to agricultural equipment, such as combine harvesters.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is not considering regulatory steps to encourage fitting fire suppression systems to agricultural equipment. This is because existing requirements under The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 set out that machinery must be designed and constructed in a way to avoid the risk of fire or overheating posed by the machinery itself or by gases, liquids, dust, vapours or other substances produced or used by the machinery. Many organisations also issue guidance to farmers to avoid the damage and disruption caused by accidental combine harvester fires.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the risk of applying a 4% impairment fee on EPR on future impairment rates as a result of additional pressure on business finances.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Incorporating impairment provisions for bad debt in a cost recovery scheme is an expected consideration of Government, as detailed in Managing Public Money guidelines, and is common practice when setting fees. Whilst Notice of Liabilities issued under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme are due for payment after 50 calendar days, liable producers have the facility to pay in quarterly instalments. These impairment provisions can only be used for specific purposes and will be subject to regular scrutiny and review. To minimise impairment and provide transparency, PackUK intends to collect debt rigorously but fairly and will review the impairment provision at least quarterly. Where the impairment provision isn’t fully utilised liable producers will be given a refund.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what determination was made to assess the proportionality and fairness of the 4% impairment fee applied under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The impairment provision is based on the bad debt experience of Defra with charging schemes that are most similar to pEPR, whilst taking into consideration the large values of some of our Notice of Liabilities.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues in MHCLG responsible for fire services regarding what further steps can be taken to prevent farm fires.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra Ministers and officials have regular discussions with their counterparts in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of issues.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the eCall system on the number of casualties or fatalities on the roads.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

A 2013 pre-legislation appraisal concluded that following full adoption of eCall in the UK (in 2018), casualty reduction was likely to be at most 13 fatalities a year and 100 serious injuries involving car and van occupants only. No post-implementation review has been conducted.