Tag: Ben Howlett

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans her Department has on funding for onshore wind energy development.

Andrea Leadsom

We are delivering our election commitment to end subsidies for new onshore wind. We are seeking to legislate through the Energy Bill to close the renewables obligation (RO) to new onshore wind capacity from 1 April 2016, one year earlier than planned. To protect wider investor confidence we are proposing to allow projects which meet certain criteria extra time to accredit under the scheme.

Fifteen onshore wind projects, with a combined installed capacity of around 750MW, signed a Contract for Difference (CfDs) earlier this year following the first CfD allocation round. These projects are expected to commission between 2016/17 and 2018/19. We will be setting out our plans for delivering a new generation of cost effective, secure, electricity supplies and confirming decisions in relation to allocations of further renewables contracts in due course.

Small-scale onshore wind projects up to 5 megawatts in scale are eligible for support under the feed-in tariff (FITs) scheme. DECC has proposed action, through the FITs review consultation, to control spending and put FITs onto an affordable and sustainable footing. Further information can be found online at:

https://econsultation.decc.gov.uk/office-for-renewable-energy-deployment-ored/fit-review-2015.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will review the regulation of service charges to ensure that housing associations are not exploiting residents.

Brandon Lewis

Service charges are subject to legal requirements that limit these to covering the cost of providing the services. The Social Housing Regulator requires that providers give clear information to tenants about how their service charges are set. If tenants feel their service charges are too high they may make a complaint through their landlord’s formal complaints procedure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce a requirement that private landlords have a certificate confirming their accommodation has reached a minimum condition before it can be let.

Brandon Lewis

Local Authorities have powers under the Housing Act 2004 to assess the risks and hazards in properties, and to require landlords or owners to remove hazards, and to prosecute if they fail to do so. If a property is found to contain serious hazards, the local authority has a duty to take the most appropriate action in relation to the hazard. This could include serving a notice for the landlord to carry out improvements.

The Government wants to crack down further on the small minority of rogue and criminal landlords who exploit their tenants by renting out unsafe and substandard accommodation and are taking forward proposals through the Housing and Planning Bill. The legislation will enable local authorities to:

• access a database of rogue landlords and letting agents helping councils keep track of them and target enforcement action;
• seek banning orders for the most prolific and serious offenders;
• issue civil penalty notices of up to £5,000 for certain breaches of housing legislation, ring-fencing resources for housing compliance activity;
• extend Rent Repayment Orders to cover situations where a tenant has been illegally evicted, the landlord has failed to rectify a serious health and safety hazard in the property or has breached a banning order, allowing local authorities to retain the money for housing purposes.
• apply a more stringent ‘fit and proper’ person test for landlords letting out licensed properties.

The majority of landlords in the private rented sector provide decent accommodation with surveys showing that 84% of tenants are satisfied with their accommodation, and staying in their homes for an average of 3.5 years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve air quality in order to assist people with lung diseases.

Andrew Jones

Tackling poor air quality is a priority for this government. Our aim is for almost every car and van to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050.

The Department for Transport takes its environmental obligations seriously, and is committed to making journeys cleaner. £2 billion has been committed since 2011 to increase the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, support green transport initiatives and support local authorities to take action. These measures will help address both particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide roadside levels in pollution hotspots.

We also work closely with the Department for Health, Public Health England, and their advisors the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants.

Government is revising its Air Quality plans and launched a consultation on 12 September 2015 to seek views from local and transport authorities, businesses and members of the public on action that can be taken to improve air quality. The Department for Transport have been working with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on these plans, which set out a range of local, national and European actions to lower levels of harmful emissions. The consultation closes on 6 November 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department gives to ensure that the implications of missing national insurance contributions are made clear to those concerned at the time they are missed.

Mr David Gauke

There is a range of guidance available to help a person understand the implications of not paying national insurance. A person’s record can be made up of national insurance contributions and credits from a variety of sources. When these are posted to the individual’s contributions record after the end of the tax year the individual may have insufficient contributions on their account for that year to qualify for certain benefits. These gaps in a person’s national insurance contributions record may be filled by the payment of voluntary Class 3 contributions.
HM Revenue and Customs has published guidance on GOV.UK that explains when the payment of voluntary Class 3 contributions may be beneficial, eligibility, rates and how and when to pay. This is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the provision of bike racks on buses on the number of people using public transport.

Andrew Jones

The Government is keen to promote cycling, and I am aware that bike racks on buses are commonplace in some countries. Whilst we have not conducted any assessments on their role in increasing overall bus patronage, I would encourage bus operators to consider fitting such equipment where it is safe and legal to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the use of trams to increase low-carbon travel.

Andrew Jones

In the right circumstances, this Government supports light rail and other types of urban transit. They can play an important role in our local transport networks, help reduce congestion, reduce carbon emissions and increase low carbon travel. Introducing a light rail system is a local matter for the relevant local authority and Local Economic Partnership to consider based on their needs and funding priorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to expand the Bristol and Bath Science Park.

Joseph Johnson

The Bristol and Bath Science Park provides a world-class environment for innovative businesses to locate and grow their operations. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) continues to work closely with the Homes and Communities Agency, the private sector development partners and local partners to ensure that the existing site is developed to its full potential.

The Homes and Communities Agency manages the development on behalf of BIS. The Department is the beneficial owner of the site and the Homes and Communities Agency holds the freehold rights.

A Local Steering Group has been established to steer the development, which includes representatives from the private sector development partners, the local universities (Bath, Bristol, and the University of the West of England), South Gloucestershire Council, West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, the National Composites Centre which is situated on the Science Park and is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Invest Bristol & Bath, the Homes & Communities Agency and BIS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he plans to take to improve employment support for homeless people.

Priti Patel

We are exploring how we can best deliver future tailored employment support as part of the Spending Review. We will continue to do all we can to help all individuals, including homeless people, find, and stay in, work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of universities on their local economy.

Joseph Johnson

Higher education institutions play an important role in their local areas. Several universities have undertaken individual studies of their impact on their local area, and such studies have generally found positive impacts. Universities UK and others have also assessed the important impact of universities on national growth.