Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency of court bailiffs in the collection of unpaid debts following a court order for recovery and enforcement; and what steps he plans to take to improve services for claimants seeking recovery of unpaid debts.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Justice and HMCTS have taken steps to review County Court bailiffs’ capacity and have introduced efficiencies by reducing their administrative tasks. This has, and will, free up more bailiff resources to focus on enforcement activity.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment has been made of the (a) effectiveness of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), (b) quality of PHSO customer service and (c) PHSO responsiveness to enquiries from hon. Members.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is a crown servant that reports directly to Parliament. The Ombudsman is not accountable to the government for its performance and sets its own standards for how it delivers its objectives. Further to this, the Honourable Member may wish to write to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee that acts as the scrutiny body for the Ombu
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the English language requirement for applications for student visas from Kenya; and whether she has plans to review that requirement for those applicants.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Kenya is not included on the Majority English Speaking Country (MESC) for immigration purposes, so applicants from Kenya must meet the English language requirement in another way.
Student applicants are currently required to show a B1 or B2 competency level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, depending on their course of study. There are several ways they can prove this:
Our assessment is these options provide an appropriate means for applicants for student visas from Kenya to meet the English language requirement.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the call for evidence on whether local authorities and parish councils may meet remotely on a permanent basis, which closed on 17June 2021; and whether he plans to make changes to the existing requirements for those meetings.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
We launched a call for evidence on 25 March 2021 to gather views and inform a longer-term decision about whether to make express provision for councils to meet remotely on a permanent basis.
The Department has considered the responses to the consultation and the Government will respond shortly.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to issue guidance to advertisers on the advertising restrictions contained in the Health and Care Bill.
Answered by Maggie Throup
A post-implementation review will be undertaken within five years of the introduction of restrictions on the advertising of products high in fat, salt or sugar on TV and paid for advertising online. The impact assessment published in June 2021 outlined variables that may be monitored in this review and is available at the following link:
We will shortly conduct a consultation, focusing on the clarity of definitions proposed in secondary legislation. We continue to work with regulators to prepare the relevant guidance and put in place the enforcement structures needed for industry to understand the new advertising restrictions ahead of implementation. We expect this guidance to be made available for consultation later this year. The exact timing is a matter for regulators.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the consultation on the secondary regulations relating to the advertising restrictions contained in the Health and Care Bill.
Answered by Maggie Throup
A post-implementation review will be undertaken within five years of the introduction of restrictions on the advertising of products high in fat, salt or sugar on TV and paid for advertising online. The impact assessment published in June 2021 outlined variables that may be monitored in this review and is available at the following link:
We will shortly conduct a consultation, focusing on the clarity of definitions proposed in secondary legislation. We continue to work with regulators to prepare the relevant guidance and put in place the enforcement structures needed for industry to understand the new advertising restrictions ahead of implementation. We expect this guidance to be made available for consultation later this year. The exact timing is a matter for regulators.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what metrics he plans to use to measure the effectiveness of the advertising restrictions contained in the Health and Care Bill on reducing levels of childhood obesity.
Answered by Maggie Throup
A post-implementation review will be undertaken within five years of the introduction of restrictions on the advertising of products high in fat, salt or sugar on TV and paid for advertising online. The impact assessment published in June 2021 outlined variables that may be monitored in this review and is available at the following link:
We will shortly conduct a consultation, focusing on the clarity of definitions proposed in secondary legislation. We continue to work with regulators to prepare the relevant guidance and put in place the enforcement structures needed for industry to understand the new advertising restrictions ahead of implementation. We expect this guidance to be made available for consultation later this year. The exact timing is a matter for regulators.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the independent review of Loan Charges published on 3 December 2020, whether he plans to commission a new review to examine the Loan Charge in the context of promoters of these schemes as well individuals using these schemes.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
An independent review of the Loan Charge has already taken place. The 2019 Review, which was conducted by Lord Morse, concluded that it was right for the Loan Charge to remain in force and for the Government to collect the tax due. The Government accepted 19 of the 20 recommendations in the Review, including those related to the promoters of schemes.
Following the Review, HMRC published its strategy to challenge and deal with promoters of tax avoidance schemes. A key part of this strategy is to disrupt the business models of promoters of disguised remuneration and other tax avoidance schemes and use every tool available to prevent them marketing their schemes. HMRC has a range of legislative powers to tackle promoters, under three main regimes: Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes, Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes, and the Enablers penalty. Penalties can be charged for various failures to comply with the requirements of these regimes.
The Government recognises that there is more to do to stop promoters from selling their schemes. Finance Acts 2021 and 2022 introduced new measures that will help HMRC to take action more quickly.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish guidance on the brand advertising exemption from advertising restrictions contained in the Health and Care Bill.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The brand advertising exemption referred to in the government’s 2021 consultation response on less healthy food and drink advertising is not expressly referred to in the Health and Care Bill, as the scope of the restrictions extend only to the advertising of identifiable less healthy food and drink products. This means that brand advertising is out of scope, and provided that there are no identifiable products, food and drink brands can continue to advertise.
It is the government’s intention to work with regulators to ensure that clear guidance is available for businesses to understand all elements of the restrictions and ensure their compliance. This will include providing more detail on brand advertising. We expect this guidance to be made available for consultation later this year. The exact timing is a matter for regulators.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 23 November 2021 from the hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire regarding the warrant for the Fire Service Long Service and Good Conduct Bars for 30 and 40 years service; and what her Department's timetable is for taking a decision on those service awards.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
I am pleased to report that the Fire Brigade Long Service Good Conduct Medal Royal Warrant, has now been amended to include the 30 and 40 years’ service clasps and has received approval by the committee on the grant of honours, decorations and medals (known as the HD Committee).
The Royal Warrant will come into effect as soon as it is approved by HM The Queen in coming weeks.