Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to ensure that the UK Infrastructure Bank makes an assessment of the implications for its policies of the recommendations of the Union Connectivity Review.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to levelling up all regions of the country and unleashing the power of the union. Both the infrastructure bank and the Union Connectivity Review are part of the strategic vision set out in the National Infrastructure Strategy to transform the nation’s infrastructure. The new bank will help to support infrastructure projects across the whole of the UK. Further details will be announced at Budget. The Union Connectivity Review will look at options to improve transport connectivity between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The interim report is due to be published shortly, with the full report expected in Summer 2021.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his criteria are for determining the location of the UK Infrastructure Bank; whether local authorities have been invited to submit bids to host the bank; and when he plans to announce a decision on the location of the bank.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is considering a wide range of relevant factors, in order to ensure that it chooses a location in the North of England that meets the bank’s needs while supporting the Government’s wider levelling up agenda. At Budget, the Chancellor will set out comprehensive details regarding the operations, mandate and scale of the bank.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish the prospectus for the first round of applications to the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Levelling Up Fund will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities and will support economic recovery. We will publish a prospectus for the fund and launch the first round of competitions very soon.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has in place to take into account the recommendations of the Union Connectivity Review when assessing applications to the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
This government recognises the importance of connectivity to levelling up all parts of the UK. The Levelling Up Fund is one part of this wider strategy and its investments will include local road schemes, bus lanes, and rail station upgrades. Further details will be published soon in the prospectus.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that the needs of cross-border commuters and their communities are taken into account during the preparation of the prospectus for the first round of applications to the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Levelling Up Fund will empower local areas to identify and bring forward genuine local priorities: we will only fund projects prepared in collaboration with local stakeholders that have clear benefits to the local community and are aligned with a broader local economic strategy. Further details will be published in the prospectus.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department can make available to vulnerable individuals who are unable to afford minimum spending requirements or delivery charges for priority supermarket home delivery slots.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
DEFRA is continuing to hold regular conversations with each of the seven supermarkets participating in the priority access to online deliveries offer: Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. The department uses these meetings as an opportunity to convey any concerns raised by charities or Local Authorities around topics such as delivery charges. Although DEFRA cannot legally dictate the delivery costs charged by supermarkets, our regular conversations ensure that supermarkets understand the impact that delivery charges can have in preventing a clinically extremely vulnerable person from being able to access food.
Alongside encouraging supermarkets to seriously consider the impact delivery charges can have on clinically extremely vulnerable people, the department also monitors delivery charges and circulates this information to Local Authorities to allow them to advise their residents accordingly.
If a vulnerable customer is struggling to afford the costs associated with online delivery, they could consider using a supermarket’s click and collect service. While there is no priority access to click and collect slots, slot availability tends to be much higher than for online deliveries. Vulnerable customers could ask friends, family or a volunteer to visit the store and collect the shopping they ordered online on their behalf. If a vulnerable customer is unable to access food through one of these routes, then they may wish to contact their local council to see what support they are able to offer.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of whether proposals regarding the preferred discount rates for costs and health effects used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence should be included in the scope of his Department's consultations during its ongoing review into evaluation methods used to carry out technology appraisals.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is therefore responsible for its own methods and processes. The discount rates applied by NICE in its health technology assessments are specified in its methods guides. NICE, not the Department, will carry out three public consultations as part of its methods review. The most recent consultation being 6 November to 18 December on the case for change to its methods.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the economic effect of covid-19 on supply chains in the hospitality industry.
Answered by Paul Scully
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector, including businesses in the supply chain, to understand the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.
Businesses have been able to benefit from Government support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Government-backed loans.
On 5 January, when the new National Lockdown began, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extra £4.6bn in business support including a £594 million discretionary fund to support impacted businesses.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support businesses in the hospitality supply chain that have not received financial support from their local authority during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector, including businesses in the supply chain, to understand the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.
Businesses have been able to benefit from Government support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Government-backed loans.
On 5 January, when the new National Lockdown began, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extra £4.6bn in business support including a £594 million discretionary fund to support impacted businesses.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of the temporary reduction in VAT for hospitality, holiday accommodation and attractions on levels of (a) growth, (b) employment and (c) tax revenues of companies in the hospitality sector and its supply chain.
Answered by Jesse Norman
To support the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and to protect 2.4 million jobs, the Government has applied a temporary reduced rate of VAT (5 per cent) to goods and services supplied by the tourism and hospitality sectors until 31 March. This relief is estimated to be worth over £2 billion to the tourism and hospitality sectors.