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  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will extend the Help to Buy scheme to enable first-time buyers to buy property off-plan in order to avoid being priced out by foreign investors.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme has enabled over 81,000 households to purchase a new-build home, to March 2016. The Government has committed a further £8.6 billion to the scheme, to provide up to 145,000 further homes by March 2021. Under London Help to Buy, which was launched in February 2016, equity loans of up to 40% are now supporting increasing numbers of first time home buyers.

    Under the scheme, buyers can already make reservations up to 9 months before sale completion of a home. In practice, they can buy off-plan, before the property has actually been built. In line with usual industry practice, they can also take on a mortgage offer up to 6 months before completion.

    Homes can only be purchased through Help to Buy for a primary residence: they can only be bought by persons who will live in the home. They cannot be bought by investors who live abroad and then leave homes empty or sub-let them.

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government plans to take to support providers of supported housing affected by planned reductions in social housing rents.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable through our welfare reforms. That is why we have exempted supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance cap until 2019/20, from which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents. We will apply the rent reduction to supported housing, with the exception of domestic violence refuges, with rents in these properties decreasing by 1% a year for 3 years, up to and including 2019/20.

    Our social rent reduction policy was based on the need to put welfare spending on a sustainable footing whilst protecting the most vulnerable. It is right that supported housing providers make the efficiency savings we are asking of the whole social housing sector, and that’s why the 1% rent reduction will apply to the majority of them. In exceptional circumstances, supported housing providers (as for general needs social sector providers affected by the policy) who feel that compliance with the social rent reduction policy would result in serious financial difficulty or jeopardise their financial viability, can apply for an exemption from the requirement.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to monitor compliance by betting shops with the gambling minimum age.

    Tracey Crouch

    The protection of children from being harmed or exploited by gambling is one of the core objectives of the Gambling Act 2005.

    For high street betting, this means those under the age of 18 are prohibited from entering or gambling within a betting premises. The Gambling Commission, responsible for compliance on this issue, strengthened the requirements on betting operators to monitor the effectiveness of these age verification controls in May 2015.

    The number of individuals challenged upon entry to a betting sector premises but unable to prove their age was 475,646 between Oct 2014- Sep 2015. This is across a total of 9000 betting shops and is a decrease of 8.2% or 42,598 incidents compared to the previous reporting period of Apr 2014 – Mar 2015; continuing a 3-year decline. The number of individuals challenged having gambled but unable to prove their age also fell, by 14%, to 23,619 from 27,445 in the same time period.

    Where there is a failure to prevent underage gambling, regulatory and/or criminal action is taken.

  • Stephen Hammond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Stephen Hammond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to ensure that telecommunications companies do more to protect customers from vishing fraud and similar scams.

    Matt Hancock

    The Government takes all types of fraud extremely seriously. We are working closely with telecommunications service providers and regulators to raise consumer awareness, in particular amongst those who are more vulnerable, to this practice and similar fraud that is carried out through the use of telephones.

    The Government recently introduced secondary legislation to make it a requirement for all direct marketing callers to provide Calling Line Identification (CLI). This requirement came into force on 16 May 2016. The measure will increase consumer choice, by making it easier for people to identify direct marketing calls, and choose whether to accept them. It will also increase the ICO’s ability to investigate such calls, by enabling consumers to provide better information and thus make it easier for the ICO to take action.

    In March 2016 we allocated £0.5m to the National Trading Standards Scams Team to provide call blocking devices to vulnerable people. The devices will be rolled out nationwide over the next two years and evaluation reports will be submitted to the Department for Culture Media and Sport on their effectiveness.

    The Home Office recently launched a new joint fraud taskforce to tackle the issue of scams more generally. Further information about the taskforce is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-secretary-launches-new-joint-fraud-taskforce

    “

  • Sammy Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Sammy Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sammy Wilson on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with her Cabinet colleagues on the effect on tourism of an expansion of Heathrow Airport.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Government has accepted the case for airport expansion in the South East and the Airports’ Commission’s shortlisted options. Transport and connectivity are key issues within the tourism sector, as highlighted in the Prime Minister’s new Tourism Action Plan. The Department will be ensuring that tourism is one of the factors considered, when a final decision is taken on a preferred scheme.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to publish the Codes of Practice for Part 5 of the Digital Economy Bill.

    Ben Gummer

    The Digital Economy Bill provides that Codes of practice in relation to Part 5 of the Bill should be consulted upon with the Information Commissioner, the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the devolved administrations before being issued. The Government intends to make illustrative versions of the Codes available shortly.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to provide additional funding to cultural and heritage projects previously funded by EU programmes when that EU funding ends.

    Matt Hancock

    The Chancellor has guaranteed structural and investment fund projects in the UK that are signed even after the Autumn Statement. In addition, projects where UK organisations bid directly and competitively for EU funding will be guaranteed by the UK Government if the bids are won before our departure from the EU, regardless of whether or not the projects continue after departure. Funding for other projects will be honoured by the government if they are good value for money and are in line with domestic strategic priorities.

    Leaving the EU means we will want to take our own decisions about how to deliver the policy objectives previously targeted by EU funding. Over the coming months, we will consult closely with stakeholders to review all EU funding schemes in the round, to ensure that any ongoing funding commitments best serve the UK‘s national interest, while ensuring appropriate investor certainty.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual cost is of retaining each of his Department’s 15 golf courses.

    Mark Lancaster

    This information is not held.

    The money spent on running golf courses is not separately identifiable from the operating costs of the site as a whole.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the first F35 Joint Strike Fighters are planned to be operational.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Initial Operating Capability for the UK’s F-35B Lightning aircraft is scheduled for December 2018.

    The most recent US Selected Acquisition Report (SAR 2015) estimates that the production, sustainment and support revenue generated by the global F-35 fleet through the life of the programme will be over one trillion US dollars. The UK manufactures approximately 15% of each F-35 aircraft, however as the F-35 programme is still determining its Global Support Solution footprint, we are not yet in a position to determine the potential revenue for UK industry.

    The programme is expecting to procure over 3,000 aircraft across the F-35 Partner Nations. This will be further supplemented by Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. FMS engagement and future sales projections are managed by, and are a matter for, the US Government.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on armed forces and civilian staff of the planned sale of RAF Henlow.

    Mark Lancaster

    Military personnel currently based at RAF Henlow will be relocated with their unit, the details of this relocation will be made clear later this year.

    Civilian staff will be expected to honour the mobility obligations if their post is being relocated. Where an individual’s post is being relocated outside the scope of their personal mobility obligation they will be managed in accordance with normal Departmental policy and processes.

    Trade Unions have been consulted and detailed discussions regarding civilian staff will take place well in advance of any closure.