Tag: Andrew Rosindell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with (a) members of the public and (b) law professionals on proposed changes to the system of probate fees charged to activate a will.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Government published a consultation on proposals to reform fees for applications for a grant of probate on 18 February. The consultation will run for six weeks, closing on 1 April. It is open to all members of the public, law professionals or other persons to respond.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary school places in Romford.

Edward Timpson

Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places in their area is one of this Government’s top priorities. That’s why we’ve committed to spending £7 billion on new school places up to 2021, which, along with our investment in the free schools programme, we expect to create 600,000 new places.

Havering local authority, which is responsible for school places in Romford, received £23 million of basic need funding between 2011 and 2015, which helped to create 2,583 new primary places and 1,960 new secondary places between 2010 and 2015.

Havering has also been allocated a further £58 million to create the places required by the 2019/20 academic year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Wales of measures announced in the Budget 2016.

Alun Cairns

Last month’s Budget demonstrated the scale of this Government’s ambition for Wales, delivering a historic City Deal for Cardiff and a commitment to Swansea Bay, cutting tax for 1.4 million Welsh men and women, as well as opening the door for a growth deal for North Wales.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with Iran on efforts to secure a peace settlement between the Houthi rebels and Yemen government; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We encourage Iran to show it can have a constructive role in Yemen’s future through promoting stability and showing commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen. We last discussed the situation in Yemen with Iran on 19 April.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families comprised of foreign nationals are claiming housing benefit in the UK.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking in Romford to encourage the use of local shopping centres.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government is committed to helping our high streets and town centres, including shopping centres, thrive and is supporting them through a £1 billion package of investment, which includes:

• targeted tax breaks;
• the doubling of small business rate relief;
• sensible planning changes to allow businesses to respond flexibly to changing market conditions;
• and taking action to tackle over-zealous parking practices.

As a result, we have seen some very positive signs this that our local centres are fighting back. Vacancy rates, including those in shopping centres, are in decline, retail sales are up for the 35^th consecutive month, the longest period of sustained growth since 2008.

The Future High Street Forum is a joint partnership between government and the retail, leisure and property industries. It is leading an ambitious programme of work, including looking at town centre restructuring and the digital high street, to support town centres to meet the changing needs of today’s consumer. The broader retail sector can thrive if it adapts to these changing needs.

We have also run the Great British High Street Awards since 2014, which has championed the hard work of local businesses and communities around the country. With nearly 200,000 votes cast in the public voting element in the 2015 Awards, the competition proves how much local people cherish our high streets and town centres. I hope Romford will consider entering in the 2016 Awards when it opens later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the contribution was to the public purse of BBC Worldwide in 2015.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Profits from BBC Worldwide are returned to the BBC. The BBC will publish its annual report and accounts for 2015 outlining the contribution BBC Worldwide has made in that financial year in due course. In the 2014/15 annual report the income the BBC received from Worldwide was £851.3million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reports he has received on the extent of the withdrawal of Russian forces from the conflict in Syria.

Penny Mordaunt

Russia withdrew some close air support aircraft and associated engineering capacity earlier this year. However, around the time of their withdrawal, Russia increased its attack helicopter fleet and, therefore, our assessment is that the net effect on Russian deployed capability in Syria has been low.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-15.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to ensure that any non-UK EU nationals who were issued polling cards in error for the EU referendum will not be able to vote in that referendum.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Electoral Commission became aware of an issue with elections software used by a number of local authorities in England and Wales on 1 June that meant some non-eligible EU citizens had mistakenly received poll cards for the EU Referendum.

The software provider has resolved the issue which means that none of these electors will be shown as eligible on the electoral registers to be used at polling stations on 23 June so will not be able to vote in the EU Referendum.

All of the affected electors have also been written to by their local Electoral Registration Officer with an explanation of what happened and have been told that they will not be able to vote at the referendum.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to address shortfalls in (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the Royal Navy.

Mike Penning

The Naval Service utilises a wide range of mechanisms to aid the recruitment and retention of personnel. For recruitment these include targeted marketing, specific recruitment events and staged remunerative awards to attract recruits in specialist areas. A number of initiatives have also been developed in order to retain experienced personnel, such as the use of targeted retention incentives and career extensions. Further developments under the Defence People Programme, such as flexible engagements, will help ensure that this process continues.