Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of changes to stamp duty in helping first-time buyers.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The stamp duty relief for first-time buyers announced at Autumn Budget 2017 has already helped thousands of people getting on to the property ladder, and is expected to benefit over one million first-time buyers over the next five years. The reform is part of a wider package to improve the housing market and significantly increase the supply of housing in the UK.
Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of changes to stamp duty in helping first-time buyers.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The stamp duty relief for first-time buyers announced at Autumn Budget 2017 has already helped thousands of people getting on to the property ladder, and is expected to benefit over one million first-time buyers over the next five years. The reform is part of a wider package to improve the housing market and significantly increase the supply of housing in the UK.
Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to launch the Department's consultation on the starting year for summerborn children.
Answered by Nick Gibb
We are concerned that some summer born children may be missing the reception year at school. We remain committed to amending the School Admissions Code so that summer born children can be admitted to a reception class at the age of five when their parents believe it to be in their best interests. Any changes to the Admissions Code will require a full statutory process, including consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. We will consider the appropriate time for consulting on these changes in the context of competing pressures on the parliamentary timetable.
Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the (a) number of rail bridge strikes, (b) cost to his Department of those strikes and (c) amount recovered from insurers of vehicles involved in such strikes in each of the last three years for which data is available.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Oversized lorries hit rail bridges five times a day, almost 2000 every year.
On average, each bridge strike costs the taxpayer £13,500, adding up to £23m a year in damages and delays.
Network Rail recovered £6m in the last financial year from insurers for compensation for bridge strikes, while in previous years the recovery rate was typically between £3-5m. The rate of recovery is rising following legal precedents that allow full recovery of costs to compensate train operators for delays.
Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Tanzania about reports that pregnant teenage women in that country will be allowed to study in state schools both during and after pregnancy.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The UK regards equal access for girls and women to all levels of education and training as a human right. Educating girls brings economic and social benefits. I raised our concerns about access to education and training for pregnant teenage women with the Government of Tanzania when I visited Dar es Salaam in August this year. I stressed the need to look at the root causes of the problem, such as lack of knowledge and access to sexual reproductive health and rights, sexual violence against girls and child marriage. Tanzanian law and policies promote and protect girls' rights to education notably through the Education Act, the Child Act and the Education and Training Policy.
Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many discharge grants were paid in the last year for which figures are available.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The total number of Discharge Grants issued over the last financial year was 59,587 at a value of £2.7m for Public Sector Prisons. The figures have been extracted from the Prison National Offender Management Information System (P-NOMIS), which is the central prisoner information recording system. Discharge Grant data pertaining to contracted out prisons and in relation to administration costs can be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much, including administration costs, was spent on the Discharge Grant Scheme in the last year for which figures are available.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The total number of Discharge Grants issued over the last financial year was 59,587 at a value of £2.7m for Public Sector Prisons. The figures have been extracted from the Prison National Offender Management Information System (P-NOMIS), which is the central prisoner information recording system. Discharge Grant data pertaining to contracted out prisons and in relation to administration costs can be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of exemptions which will be made in respect to the exemption for care leavers up to the age of 22 for the Shared Accommodation Rate in relation to social rented sector when introduced in 2019; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost of those exemptions.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
This information is not available.
Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of exemptions made in respect to the exemption for care leavers up to the age of 22 for the Shared Accommodation Rate in relation to private rented accommodation; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost of those exemptions.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
This information is not available.
Asked by: Will Quince (Conservative - Colchester)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many cases have been opened as part of Operation Northmoor; and how many of those cases have been (a) closed and (b) remain ongoing.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Our Armed Forces are rightly held to the highest standards and credible, serious allegations of criminal behaviour must be investigated, in accordance with the Armed Forces Act 2006. Operation Northmoor is an independent investigation conducted by the Royal Military Police (RMP). It has discounted over 90% of the 675 allegations received because there was no evidence of a criminal or disciplinary offence. To date no case has been referred to the Service Prosecuting Authority but the investigations continue and the investigators will follow the evidence where it leads them. The RMP has full investigative independence and the Ministry of Defence has not influenced in any way the scope and duration of Operation Northmoor.