Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that internet speeds in rural homes matches those in urban areas.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Government is determined to deliver great connectivity to every community in the UK and is working to close the digital divide between rural, suburban, and urban areas. We are creating a competition-friendly environment to promote deployment in areas where this is commercially viable and we are investing £5 billion through Project Gigabit to support roll-out in less commercial locations, including rural areas. In three years national coverage has rocketed from six per cent to over 66 per cent and we have already upgraded 600,000 premises in hard-to-reach areas.
Our Project Gigabit procurements are prioritising delivery to rural, hard-to-reach premises and to those with the lowest broadband speeds. Broadband providers have so far been invited to bid for contracts worth up to £292 million to upgrade up to 187,000 premises across Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland, Cambridgeshire, North Dorset and West Cornwall - with initial deployment expected to commence later this year.
As part of Project Gigabit the government is also investing up to £210 million in the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to support rural communities with the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections. The scheme provides a micro-grant of up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband. Further information is available on the gigabit voucher website including eligibility criteria and how to apply for the scheme.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress she has made on (a) securing the release of Nazanin Zaghari- Ratcliffe and (b) resolving outstanding repayments to Iran.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of unfairly detained British nationals in Iran, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz. The Foreign Secretary and I continue to raise Iran's practice of detaining British dual nationals with our Iranian counterparts. Our Ambassador in Tehran also continues to raise these cases with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The IMS debt is a longstanding issue and we have been consistently clear that we continue to explore options to resolve this 40-year old case. We will not comment further as discussions are ongoing.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of a potential inconsistency in the recording of arson statistics in relation to the Durham police constabulary and the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The official statistics on crime and fire do not have a comparable definition of arson which is why the two sets of figures may appear inconsistent.
When a victim reports arson to the police, it will be recorded by them in line with the legal definition set out in the Criminal Damage Act of 1971 which is ‘an act of attempting to destroy or damage property, and/or in doing so, to endanger life’.
In contrast, the official statistics on fire publish information on the number of deliberate fires attended by the fire service where the motive for the fire was ‘thought to be’ or ‘suspected to be’ deliberate. This is a broader definition than the criminal offence of arson and will include fires that have not been reported to the police.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made in the investigation into Carillion; and when that investigation is planned to conclude.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Official Receiver investigated the failure of Carillion plc (“the Company”) and reported to the Secretary of State in relation to the conduct of the Company’s directors. Consequently, director disqualification proceedings were issued on 12 January 2021 against 8 directors and former directors of the Company. The proceedings are ongoing.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support the Government has made available for local authorities to support wedding industry businesses and those in the supply chain for that sector that have been affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant provides local councils with one-off grant funding to support hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses in England. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-omicron-hospitality-and-leisure-grant.
The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) provides local councils with grant funding to support businesses that are severely impacted by coronavirus and the rise of the Omicron variant, which are not eligible for other grant funding. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-additional-restrictions-grant.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to decrease GP surgery appointment waiting times in the context of the pressure placed on those services by the Omicron variant.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
General practitioners (GPs) have been asked to prioritise COVID-19 booster vaccinations and emergency care. While appointments may be postponed, NHS 111 and community pharmacy teams are available to provide health advice.
We have agreed temporary changes to increase capacity in general practice. This includes extending the period of self-certification to access Statutory Sick Pay, suspending requests for medical information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (excluding bus and lorry drivers) and suspending the re-certification requirement for existing prescription charge medical exemptions.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to review the effectiveness of the issuing of covid-19 support funding by local authorities to (a) the wedding sector and (b) other sectors.
Answered by Paul Scully
As for previous schemes, data on the funding provided to councils to support their local businesses through the COVID-19 business support grants is published and available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses.
As for previous schemes, we will also monitor and publish data on funding spent per Local Authority as it becomes available. This will also depend on Local Authorities having the capacity to report back to Central Government.
We have commissioned an external evaluation of the Business Support Grant programme, for the effectiveness of its delivery.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people who have received a positive PCR Covid-19 test in the last 90 days will still have to take a test on their return from international travel.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Travellers who have received a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in the last 90 days will be required to take a PCR test on their return from international travel. There is no exemption to the testing or isolation requirements for entering England on the basis of natural immunity.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the population density of a town or village would have to be to qualify for an Urban Pocket Park.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
We are investing £9 million through the Levelling Up Parks Fund to regenerate green spaces across the UK as part of our Levelling Up agenda. The scheme will be broader than earlier Pocket Parks programmes and further details will be announced shortly.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to support the North East Space Hub.
Answered by George Freeman
The recently published National Space Strategy set out our commitment to supporting businesses across all parts of the UK, helping to develop clusters based on areas of local excellence and addressable market opportunities.
The UK Space Agency has co-funded a Centre of Excellence for Satellite applications in the North-east, in partnership with the Satellite Applications Catapult, since 2014. This has helped to forge collaborative partnerships across the region’s space sector.
This has provided a strong platform and evidence base for the Northeast Space Hub and the region clearly has an important role to play to achieve our ambitions of making the UK one of the most innovative and attractive space economies in the world.