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Written Question
Infrastructure
Wednesday 30th October 2019

Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the implications for its policies of the recommendations made by the Institution of Civil Engineers in its paper entitled Reducing the gap between cost estimates and outturns for major projects and programmes.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government considers all reports from relevant stakeholders, and considerable work is taking place across government to improve the delivery of infrastructure projects.


Written Question
Infrastructure
Monday 28th October 2019

Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government will take a systematic approach to the UK's infrastructure in the proposed National Infrastructure Strategy as advocated by the Institution of Civil Engineers; and whether this will include a programme of comprehensive electrification of Britain's rail track to help meet the UK's climate change obligations.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The National Infrastructure Strategy will be informed by the recommendations from the National Infrastructure Commission’s first National Infrastructure Assessment and will set out the Government’s long-term vision for infrastructure across the whole of the UK, including action on meeting the UK’s target of net zero emissions by 2050.

The Department for Transport published its Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline earlier this month, which includes electrification schemes. In addition, Network Rail is developing a Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy which also serves to inform the Government’s decisions on electrification, alongside other technologies such as battery and hydrogen.


Written Question
Infrastructure
Monday 28th October 2019

Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to prevent major infrastructure projects from exceeding their budgets and completion schedules (a) now and (b) in the future.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) currently supports the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). This is a continually evolving portfolio of the Government’s most complex and high risk projects, which monitors and analyses cost, schedule and benefits data on a quarterly basis. Furthermore, each year the IPA undertakes over 200 independent assurance reviews to examine the delivery of GMPP projects.

In April 2019, the Department for Transport and the IPA jointly published the ‘Lessons from transport for the sponsorship of major projects’ report, which identified 24 practical lessons, which will help improve how the Government delivers projects. These lessons will be applied to future projects across Government and used to improve the system over the long-term.


Written Question
Infrastructure
Monday 28th October 2019

Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will make it mandatory for all public infrastructure owners to undertake a should-cost estimate as a reference point, as recommended in the Government's Outsourcing Playbook and endorsed by the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Outsourcing Playbook sets out the Government’s guidance on outsourcing services rather than infrastructure projects. All infrastructure projects are required to estimate costs as part of the Government’s business case process, in accordance with the guidance set out in the Green Book.


Written Question
North Macedonia: NATO
Tuesday 23rd July 2019

Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans to bring the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of North Macedonia before the House for ratification.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of North Macedonia was brought before the House for ratification on Thursday 27 June.


Written Question
Television Licences: Older People
Thursday 27th June 2019

Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of providing free TV licences to people over the age of 75 for qualifying residents in (a) Luton North constituency, and (b) Luton local authority area in (i) 2017-18 and (ii) 2018-19.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.

The government and the BBC agreed this is a fair deal for the BBC - in return we closed the iPlayer loophole and committed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation. And to help with financial planning, we agreed to provide phased transitional funding over 2 years to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.

This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament.

On 10 June 2019, the BBC announced that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.

The table below provides estimates of the costs for 2017/18 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 and over in the geographical areas requested, in nominal prices. The figures for 2018/19 will be available in September.

Expenditure (£m) (Nominal)

2017-18

(a) Luton North constituency

£0.90

(b) Luton local authority area

£1.55


Written Question
Probation
Wednesday 6th February 2019

Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

If he will make it his policy to return the probation service to the public sector.

Answered by Rory Stewart

We have been clear that probation needs to improve and have taken decisive action to end current CRC contracts and develop more robust arrangements to protect the public and tackle re-offending.

We have seen examples of good and innovative work from CRCs. In Cumbria, adapting probation to a rural setting and in London, working with the Mayor’s Office on programmes to rehabilitate offenders involved in knife crime.

I still believe that public, private and voluntary organisations all have a role to play. The reforms we are making are crucial to better integrate the system so that different providers can work more effectively together. We will set out our proposals later this year.


Written Question
Sudhir Choudhrie
Friday 1st February 2019

Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have plans to hold meetings with (i) Sudhir Choudhrie and (ii) representatives of Sudhir Choudhrie.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Department has no such plans.


Written Question
Business: Immigration
Friday 1st February 2019

Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the applicability of the Government of India's list of Undesirable Contact Men in decision-making on people that intend to undertake business in the UK.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has no plans to make such assessments.


Written Question
Business: Immigration
Friday 1st February 2019

Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the applicability of Government of India international blacklists in decision-making on people that intend to undertake business in the UK.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has no plans to make such assessments.