James Duddridge

The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible, and affordable universal postal service. Ofcom is the independent regulator for postal services and it has the power and responsibility under the Postal Services Act 2011 to regulate the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient UK universal postal service.

Ofcom has in place a monitoring regime that seeks to identify any threats or risks to the universal postal service and it publishes on its website an annual report summarising its monitoring programme which includes an assessment of Royal Mail’s overall financial position:

www.ofcom.org.uk/postal-services/information-for-the-postal-industry/monitoring_reports.

The Government has no current plans to change the statutory minimum requirements of the universal postal service which are set out in the Postal Services Act 2011.

There is a clear and transparent process for how changes to the universal postal service should be considered and any change would need to be made through secondary legislation and agreed by Parliament.

The register of people with significant control requires companies to register individuals who meet one of 5 conditions with relation to a company to be recorded on the company’s PSC register and that information must be provided to Companies House when the company completes its confirmation statement (formerly the annual return).

The conditions for being a PSC are:

i. Directly or indirectly holding more than 25% of the shares,

ii. Directly or indirectly holding more than 25% of the voting rights,

iii. Directly or indirectly holding the right to appoint or remove a majority of directors,

iv. Otherwise having the right to exercise, or actually exercising, significant influence or control,

v. Having the right to exercise, or actually exercising, significant influence or control over the activities of a trust or firm which is not a legal entity, but would itself satisfy any of the first four conditions if it were an individual.

Anyone who meets these conditions for a company is a PSC. Schedule 1A to the Companies Act 2006 provides for situations where someone may knowingly or otherwise structure their company to avoid these requirements. This includes provisions for the treatment of nominees with regards to the PSC register. This states that nominees should not be included in the register and any shares they hold should be treated as being held by the person that the nominee is holding on behalf of.

We are absolutely committed to supporting the continued growth of the Tourism and Hospitality industry. We continue to work closely with key stakeholders to ensure continued jobs creation - as well as meeting the ambitious employment growth targets.

Yes. Hospitality Works ran from the 7 February 2018 to 7 March 2018. This was a joint initiative between DWP and Trade Bodies (British Hospitality Association, Association of Licensed and Multiple Retailers and the British Beer & Pub Association) and partners (SpringboardUK).

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport met the newly appointed CEO of UKHospitality on 1^st March 2018 and the Department will work closely with this new trade body. Both UKHospitality and DCMS have ambitious targets for driving continued Tourism and Hospitality growth - and we look forward to developing collaborative programmes that share the economic and job creation benefits of this vibrant sector right across the country.

We have been strengthening the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities system through the biggest programme of reforms in a generation. We have legislated to improve the system and have invested £341 million since 2014 to help ensure the reforms make a real difference. We will continue to build on this, so that every child has the chance to fulfil their potential.

Nationally, we have allocated £5.8bn from 2015 to 2020 to create more school places. Between 2010 and 2016, 735,000 new school places have been created.

Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them in doing so is one of this Government’s top priorities. Local authorities make decisions on where to add capacity, based on local circumstances. Southend-on-Sea has received £20 million for new places between 2011 and 2017 and has been allocated a further £9.5 million for 2017 to 2020.

The department has not made an estimate of the funding required to establish a free school in Southend-on-Sea in 2019.

The department has provided Southend-on-Sea Borough Council with £20 million to fund new school places between 2011 and 2017 and a further £9.5 million for 2017 to 2020. This includes nearly £5 million for school places the local authority reported were needed for September 2019.

Where a local authority has identified that an area needs enough additional places to warrant a new school, it should run a competition to identify potential providers to run the school.

Guidance on this process is available on GOV.UK via this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/establishing-a-new-school-free-school-presumption.

Defra carried out a review into making sustainable drainage systems mandatory for new developments in England. The review was published on 10 January 2023 and the Government is now looking at how best to implement through Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. Final decisions on scope, threshold and process will be made following a public consultation later this year and implementation will take place during 2024.

Sections 85(5) and 86(8) of the Environment Act 1995.

The Veterinary Medicines Regulations are in place to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of veterinary medicines.

No distinction is made between homeopathic medicines, herbs, vitamins and mineral supplements if they are marketed as having a beneficial effect on health, make medicinal claims or if they contain certain ingredients that exert a pharmacological effect on the target animal. They require a marketing authorisation to be sold in the UK.

Defra has no immediate plans to review the regulation of homeopathic medicines, herbs, vitamins and mineral supplements once we have left the EU. The Government’s intention is to repatriate the laws and restrictions into British law via a proposed repeal Bill. Following our exit, this bill will afford us all the time we need to review each piece of inherited legislation and decide which parts to preserve in new UK law and which parts to discard.

Out of a daily demand of 800 mega litres, the City of Harare is only able to provide 500 mega litres. Through a multi-donor trust fund called ZIMFUND, DFID has, since 2010, supported the rehabilitation of water supply infrastructure to improve waste water treatment capacity and water supply to some areas. Through UNICEF we are supporting the City of Harare with repairing water infrastructures and boreholes in cholera prone areas.

The UK Morocco Association Agreement has been in operation since 1 January 2021 and we are now working effectively with Morocco to assess how we can maximise trade under the agreement. At the trade sub-committee earlier this year, we discussed a range of priority sectors, including fruits and vegetables which constitute around 35% of all goods imported from Morocco to the UK.

There is an ongoing Judicial Review pertaining to the application of the Association Agreement to the Western Sahara. We are unable to comment as this is a matter of sub-judice whilst the matter is in UK courts.

The table below shows the number of car practical driving tests conducted at Southend-on-Sea driving test centre each year. The test centre did not open until May 2012.

The Department for Transport does not hold data on the number of hackney carriage licences revoked by local licensing authorities.

The number of tests conducted and passed at Southend on Sea Driving Test Centre are in the table below. Southend on Sea Driving Test Centre opened in May 2012.

The British Transport Police force has a comprehensive proactive approach to addressing the risk to the mental health of its officers, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This has been developed with the support of mental health professionals, and includes training and education for officers and managers, operational processes to minimise unnecessary exposure to traumatic events, and a network of trained Trauma / Risk Management officers to provide support and assessment. This is supported by an in-house occupational health service which provides services to employees who show signs of, or who are diagnosed with PTSD or suspected PTSD.

The number of young people being killed on our roads is far too high and we are determined to tackle this issue. It is an issue which, understandably, features prominently in the range of representations which we receive about road safety generally.

As part of our consideration of the way forward, we met the insurance industry on 27 January 2014 to discuss novice drivers and, in particular, our proposed research into the role which telematics can play in changing the behaviours and attitudes of new drivers. My officials regularly talk to the insurance industry and current discussions are aimed at encouraging participation in the research project before we can get it underway. We will publish the results of the research when they are available.

We will also publish the findings of the focus groups comprising parents, young people and employers which we undertook in order to get a better understanding of the issues from their perspective.

We have had no such discussions. Decisions on the location of National Health Service Hospital Helicopter Landing Sites, including night landing capacity, are taken locally by NHS organisations consistent with their clinical services and patient needs.

The Department has not made any recent assessment. Commissioning decisions for the adoption of technology products in diabetes are guided by authoritative, evidence-based guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

NICE has made a number of recommendations on continuous glucose monitoring in its suite of guidelines on diabetes, which are currently being updated. NICE will consider the evidence on and expects to publish its updated guidance in March 2022.

Centralising stroke care into a smaller number of larger units provides the opportunity to ensure that there are specialist nurses and doctors available to manage patients at all times, and provides immediate access to imaging and other investigatory facilities if required.

Benefits of the system have been shown in Manchester and London with reduced mortality and more efficient use of resources. Most other parts of the country have implemented similar changes, or are planning to.

The UK endorses the President of Malawi's commitment to fight corruption in Malawi. We welcome the reversal of the decision to suspend the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Martha Chizuma, after criminal charges against her were dropped. The UK provides technical assistance to Malawian law enforcement agencies, such as the Anti-Corruption Bureau, to help increase their capacity to pursue cases linked to serious corruption.

The UK Government remains disappointed by the lack of progress towards meaningful dialogue in Eswatini to address the restrictions on democratic and civil rights. We are clear that all citizens have the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression and that the Government of Eswatini must exercise restraint and respect the human rights of its people. Through our High Commissioner in Mbabane, representations on this matter have been made directly to King Mswati III, the Prime Minister of Eswatini and others, including senior officers in the police service. The High Commissioner has also engaged with political activists within the Political Parties Assembly (PPA) and the wider Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) to better understand their aspirations and capacities and to encourage constructive pursuit of their political goals. The FCDO will continue to monitor the human rights and security situation in Eswatini and promote dialogue and peaceful resolution of the political and social conflicts within the country.

The full time equivalent FCDO staff in Eswatini is fewer than 10.

The UK and Mauritius have decided to begin negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago. You will appreciate that we are not able to provide any detail on the content of ongoing discussions, or speculate on the possible outcome of negotiations. However, we will keep Members and Parliament informed at key junctures.

The Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with Cabinet colleagues on this matter.

In 2014 the government doubled the contribution limits for the Share Incentive Plans and Save As You Earn schemes from £250 to £500 per month. There are no current plans to change these limits. The government keeps all areas of the tax system under review.

Share Incentive Plans were introduced to encourage employee share ownership and are designed to provide companies with flexibility to meet their business needs. The scheme is also designed to incentivise staff retention. The Government continues to keep employee share scheme policy under review.

An Employee Share Ownership Plan provides a company's workforce with an ownership interest in the company. The Government has no immediate plans to change the schemes but continues to keep employee share schemes policy under review.

HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) plans to move to regional centres is part of the wider Government strategy to develop Government hubs. This will help to maximise flexibility, collaboration and customer service while reducing costs to the taxpayer. HMRC is not intending to make any significant changes to its already announced strategy.

The Government does not hold this information.