Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funds he is allocating for legal aid to people who have lost their income as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Legal aid plays an important role in supporting access to justice; that is why we spent £1.7bn on civil and criminal legal aid in 2019-20. Individual decisions about legal aid funding are taken by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), which is responsible for administering the legal aid scheme and takes funding decisions independently of the Ministry of Justice.
We are aware that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a range of challenges for the provision of legal aid. The Government is committed to maintaining access to justice during this time. For civil legal aid, individuals who have lost their income (or suffered a reduction in their income) who apply for funding will be assessed on their current circumstances.
Individuals who are claiming Universal Credit or some other means-tested benefits will be deemed to qualify automatically within the income threshold; and will qualify for non-contributory legal aid (subject to passing any capital and merits test). As there is not a capital assessment for criminal legal aid, if an applicant’s income is within the income threshold they will qualify for non-contributory legal aid.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2021 to Question 136502 on Iran: Nuclear Reactors, what recent discussions he has had with the permanent members of the UN Security Council on Iran’s non-compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We continue to engage closely with the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council to address Iran's non-compliance. We strongly urge Iran to halt return to compliance with its JCPoA commitments without delay.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
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 are taking to ensure that residents in a Shared Ownership Scheme are not disadvantaged by the terms of their lease, particularly in regard to service charge increases.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
On 8 September the Government confirmed the new model for Shared Ownership. The new model has reduced the minimum share to 10 per cent, introduced 1 per cent staircasing and introduced a 10-year period during which the landlord will support with the cost of repairs on new build homes. These reforms will help to make the scheme more consumer friendly, more accessible and fairer, leading to a better experience for a future generation of shared owners.
In line with making Shared Ownership more consumer friendly, the Government believes very strongly that service charges should be transparent and communicated effectively, and that there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong. The law is clear that service charges are payable only to the extent that costs have been reasonably incurred. In support of this, leaseholders, including shared owners, have the ability to apply to the Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for a determination where they do not believe the charges are reasonable.
The Government established an independent working group chaired by Lord Best to raise standards across the property sector, which also considered how fees such as service charges should be presented to consumers. The working group published its final report to Government (see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulation-of-property-agents-working-group-report) and we are considering the report’s recommendations before announcing next steps.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to ensure that the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy 2021-2024 will be embedded in wider Government policy.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Tackling Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) remains a key priority of this Government and we will be publishing a new Cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in the Spring. To inform the new strategy, we launched a Call for Evidence on 10 December, inviting responses from the public, organisations that provide support to victims and survivors, frontline professionals, and academics.
Tackling VAWG is everyone’s business and requires a cross-departmental approach to help prevent these crimes from taking place, support victims, and better target perpetrators. The Government is committed to working across departments to develop the upcoming Tackling VAWG Strategy 2021-2024.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential future requirement for an armoured infantry fighting vehicle capability that can operate (a) in high threat combat environments and (b) with main battle tanks.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Regular analysis conducted by the Army has confirmed the requirement for armoured vehicles that can work together in high threat combat environments. This analysis has formed part of the evidence base for the Integrated Review.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the Combat Air capacity required by the UK beyond that provided by F-35B aircraft attributed to Carrier Strike; and how the UK F-35 Programme of Record will contribute to that capacity.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The operational capacity and capability offered by the Combat Air Force, constituting Typhoon and F-35b Lightning, have ambitious capability development plans to ensure that the UK can sustain operational advantage into the future. Our requirements are reviewed regularly - including as part of the ongoing Integrated Review - to ensure provision of a balanced portfolio which addresses current and future threats in line with our National Security Objectives.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that asylum seekers are housed in temporary accommodation that is local to their point of entry.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In order for the Home Office to fulfil their statutory obligation to accommodate asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, asylum accommodation is provided on a no choice basis and accommodation may not be provided near to the point of entry.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that Combat Stress is adequately funded for its work in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Charity Combat Stress received one of 102 grants, totalling £6million, issued under the Covid Impact Fund. They received £250,000 to enable them to accelerate the UK-wide delivery of a digital veterans' mental health service.
The Government recognises the vital role charities play in supporting veterans' mental health. In the 2018 Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer awarded £10 million to support projects that will improve the mental health and wellbeing of veterans.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Peshmerga programme.
Answered by James Heappey
The support to Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) Security Sector Reform (SSR) has been very important. Indeed, when visiting the KRG myself in December 2020 I was able to see how it contributes to our overarching support to the Iraqi state towards the enduring defeat of Daesh. So far, the UK has trained over 120,000 Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Security Forces in Infantry skills, counter-IED, engineering, and medical expertise. As a result, their capabilities have increased considerably, and they are able to contribute to the success of the counter-Daesh campaign.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is available for (a) the port of Bristol and (b) other free ports now that the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
On 17 December 2020, awards were announced regarding the £200 million Cabinet Office-led Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF). Bristol Port was allocated a Government grant of £1.75 million with which it intends to build a border control point (BCP) to allow effective import of EU goods in line with the UK’s new Border Operating Model.
Decisions on which ports shall be Freeports have not yet been taken. In November, the Government published the bidding prospectus for Freeports in England, setting out how ports can apply for Freeport status, and further policy details. The bidding period will close on 5 February 2021, with successful locations announced in the Spring following a fair, open and transparent selection process. Devolved administrations are following their own processes to a slightly later schedule.
Successful bidders to the Freeports competition will have the opportunity to access a share of £175 million of seed capital funding, as well as a small amount of revenue funding.