Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the contribution of Video Games Tax Relief to (a) jobs, (b) investment and (c) productivity in the UK video games sector; and what plans he has to increase video games tax relief from 25 per cent to 32 per cent in April 2023.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises the valuable economic and cultural contribution of the video games industry. The Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR) has supported £5.1 billion of UK expenditure on 1,940 games since its introduction in 2014.
The Government keeps all tax reliefs under review. Any externally commissioned evaluation will be published in the usual way, in line with the Government Social Research Publication Protocol.
The Government regularly receives proposals for changes to tax reliefs. When considering changes, the Government must ensure they provide support to businesses in a fair way and that taxpayer money is effectively targeted. An uplift in the rate of VGTR is not currently under consideration.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What diplomatic steps he is taking to support the operation of political opposition in Belarus.
Answered by Wendy Morton
We support the opposition’s struggle to seek a democratic future for all Belarusians through peaceful means. We strongly condemn the ongoing repression and human rights violations committed by the Lukashenko regime. The Government has increased financial support to civil society organisations and independent media. We have provided over £1m in 2020, and an additional £1.8m this financial year to support civil society and media freedom in Belarus. We have imposed over 90 sanctions designations in response to the fraudulent elections and human rights violations in Belarus and we are actively considering further designations. Following the FR4978 flight, the UK took clear decisive action:
We suspended the operating permit of Belavia airlines.
We banned Belarusian airlines from UK airspace without prior authorisation
We have advised all UK airlines to avoid flying over Belarus.
The Foreign Secretary discussed the political situation in Belarus and further measures the UK might take with the opposition leader in exile, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya 2 June. The UK pressed for a fact finding investigation by ICAO, the international organisation responsible for civil aviation, which was established on 27 May.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to improve access for UK exporters to high growth global markets.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As an independent trading nation, we are building strong trading relationships across the world and removing market access barriers for British businesses. We have secured trade agreements with 66 non-EU countries, worth £217bn in 2019. We have formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement which removes tariffs on 95% of goods between members and will deepen UK access to key markets around the world, from Mexico to Malaysia.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) information about dangerous individuals who would be a risk to children are identified in the social service system and (b) that that information is shared amongst relevant authorities; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a national database to record previous involvement of individuals with social services.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Ensuring that vulnerable children remain protected is a top priority for the government.
The multi-agency statutory guidance document ‘Working Together (2018)’ sets out what professionals and organisations need to do to safeguard children, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.
Working Together (2018), is clear that practitioners should be proactive in sharing information as early as possible to help identify, assess and respond to risks or concerns about the safety and welfare of children. Practitioners should be alert to sharing important information about any adults with whom that child has contact, which may impact the child’s safety or welfare.
Section 11 of the Children Act, 2004 places duties on a range of organisations, agencies and individuals to ensure their functions, and any services that they contract out to others, are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Many of the agencies subject to the section 11 duty are members of the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), including the police, prison and probation services. MAPPA should work together with ‘duty to co-operate agencies’ to manage the risks posed by violent and sexual offenders living in the community in order to protect the public and should work closely with the safeguarding partners over services to commission locally.
The government is introducing measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, introduced in the House of Commons on 9 March 2021, to clarify the information sharing powers of those agencies subject to the duty to co-operate under MAPPA.
Furthermore, provisions in the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill, currently passing through parliament, will contribute further to the management of offenders. Perpetrators who are subject to a Domestic Abuse Protection Order are required to notify the police of their name and address and any changes to this information. Failure to notify constitutes a breach punishable by up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
The government has not conducted an assessment of the potential merits of a national database.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Network Rail Limited’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020, page 1, to what extent (a) station retail sales and (b) income to reinvest have grown (i) nationally, (ii) in each of the five Network Rail Regions, and (iii) at Stoke-on-Trent station; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In 2019/20, income from Network Rail’s managed stations, all of which is reinvested in the railway, grew by £8m / 4%.
A full break down of this information by region is provided in the table attached.
Stoke-On-Trent Station is owned by Network Rail and leased to the Train Operating Company, Avanti. We do not hold information on income for this station.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 54 of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) report of 6 November 2018 entitled Investigation into the use of data analytics in political campaigns, what the status is of the ICO's investigation into the (a) Liberal Democrats' sale of electoral data to Open Britain and (b) use of personal data by the Remain side of the EU referendum campaign.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The ICO took advice from the Electoral Commission on the matter of the Liberal Democrats. As a result this case was referred to the Metropolitan Police on 26 October 2018 as the issues fell outside the jurisdiction of the ICO. The Metropolitan Police later confirmed that they were unable to consider the matter any further.
The ICO’s wider investigations of several organisations on both the remain and the leave side of the UK’s referendum about membership of the EU has now concluded. The ICO identified no significant breaches of the privacy and electronic marketing regulations and data protection legislation that met the threshold for formal regulatory action. Where an organisation has continued in operation, the ICO has provided advice and guidance to support better future compliance with the rules.
The ICO will shortly publish a report of audits on the main political parties.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Home Office:
What steps her Department is taking to stop migrants crossing the English Channel illegally.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have a duty both to protect our borders and prevent loss of life. That’s why we are doing everything we can to stop these dangerous Channel crossings and bring to justice the criminals behind this evil trade.
No one should be making these dangerous and illegally-facilitated crossings. France is a safe country with a well-run asylum system.
The National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement, Border Force and UK Police are working closely with French authorities to stop ruthless criminals who facilitate the crossings, putting lives at risk. A UK-France Coordination and Information Centre was opened in Calais in November 2018 to co-ordinate law enforcement activity.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the allocation of an additional £474 million of Government funding to local authorities in Staffordshire in response to the covid-19 outbreak, if he will publish the (a) expenditure of that funding by local authority area and (b) the budget headings under which that funding was spent.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Councils are on the front line as we tackle this pandemic, and we have now made £3.2 billion available to local authorities through an un-ringfenced grant so they can address pressures in response to COVID-19.
It is important that we carefully monitor the pressures councils are facing. We have now carried out three rounds of the COVID-19 financial monitoring survey and received data for every single authority in the latest round. We are currently analysing the results from the third round and we will publish the data in due course.
We are extremely grateful for the continued collaboration from councils, which enables us to understand pressures at a national and local level. A summary of the data provided to us by councils in England from the first two rounds of monitoring can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-covid-19-financial-impact-monitoring-information . We are not currently publishing LA-level data, but are keeping this approach under review.
We know from the first two rounds of monitoring that the majority of the money is being allocated to supporting those most vulnerable in society, as we would expect. Other service areas that money is being allocated to environmental costs (which includes death management) and housing which includes homelessness and rough sleeping.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the allocation of an additional £474 million of Government funding to local authorities in Staffordshire in response to the covid-19 outbreak, if he will publish (a) the expenditure of that funding by local authority area and (b) the budget headings under which that funding was so expended.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Councils are on the front line as we tackle this pandemic, and we have now made £3.2 billion available to local authorities through an un-ringfenced grant so they can address pressures in response to Covid-19.
It is important that we carefully monitor the pressures they are facing. Across both rounds of our Covid-19 financial monitoring survey we received data from every single authority asked. We are extremely grateful for their continued collaboration, which enables us to understand pressures at a national and local level. A summary of the data provided to us by councils in England will be available in due course.
We know from the first two rounds of monitoring that the majority of the money is being allocated to supporting those most vulnerable in society, as we would expect. Other service areas that money is being allocated to environmental costs (which includes death management) and housing which includes homelessness and rough sleeping.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Government departments buy (a) ceramic tableware and (b) other products from UK manufacturers (i) during and (ii) after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Further to the comments on the ceramics industry by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster made in the House on 19 May 2020, the Government has taken unprecedented action to support businesses, including the ceramics sector, during the outbreak of COVID-19 by introducing a range of initiatives from the opportunity to defer VAT and/or income tax for 3 months to the Job Retention Scheme and access to government-backed financing.
Government departments and executive agencies spend a significant sum on public procurement, and we are aware of the vital role this will play in kick-starting the economy once the pandemic has passed. Contracting Authorities are already required to consider the social and environmental impacts of procurements and we intend to deliver a package of ambitious measures, including launching a new social value model, to support the recovery effort to ensure that Government’s huge purchasing power is used to support communities and the local economy. The model can form a key part of the government’s overall plan for recovery as it enables commercial teams to select policy outcomes to:
Tackle regional inequality with new jobs and skills, including retraining the unemployed in clean growth sectors, and helping disadvantaged communities recover.
Promote economic growth and prosperity by supporting SMEs and start-ups to lead or be part of government supply chains.
Support physical and mental health and ensure those in disadvantaged groups have equal opportunity to become part of a diverse, resilient workforce.