Tag: Christopher Chope

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the Government’s policy is on the maximum threshold for council tax increases in England in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government is committed to maintaining the right of local electorates to approve or veto excessive council tax rises in a local referendum. Decisions on the threshold are made annually as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government plans to respond to the recommendations of the Law Commission Report on taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, published in May 2014; and whether it plans to take steps to permit more local authority cross-border use of such vehicles.

Andrew Jones

The Government is currently considering all the recommendations in the Law Commission’s report on taxi and private hire regulation in England and Wales and will formally respond to the Law Commission and announce its intentions once this scrutiny is completed.

The Government has no current plans to amend legislation in respect of cross-border working. The Deregulation Act 2015 enables licensed operators in England and Wales to subcontract bookings to licensed operators in another district, any private hire vehicle operator in London or an operator in Scotland. This power was already possible in London through The Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998. This was a recommendation from the Law Commission’s review of taxi and private hire services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employees of Border Force are seconded to Frontex; and in what locations such staff are deployed.

James Brokenshire

UK Border Force currently has twelve staff deployed to support Frontex joint operations in the Mediterranean, and one staff member seconded to Frontex Headquarters, Returns Sector, in Warsaw. Eight of the twelve staff support joint operation ‘Poseidon Sea’ in Greece: two in Kos, three in Lesbos, one in Leros, one in Samos and one in Chios; and four support Frontex joint operation ‘Triton’ in Italy: two in Trapani, one in Lampedusa and one in Syracuse.

UK staff cannot exercise any powers on Frontex operations. Border Force staff debrief migrants to gather intelligence on their routing, modus operandi and any facilitators involved; Border Force staff also screen migrants to establish their identity, to aid the host member state with documentation and return of those migrants with no right of stay in Europe.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on winter fuel payments for UK citizens living in (a) Cyprus, (b) France, (c) Gibraltar, (d) Greece, (e) Malta, (f) Portugal and (g) Spain in 2014-15.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested is not available. However, the annual numbers and amounts of Winter Fuel Payments paid to all recipients in the EEA and Switzerland, by country, are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/winter-fuel-payments-by-eea-country

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer submitted to Question 21401, what new or changed policies her Department has implemented as a result of the evidence submitted.

Andrea Leadsom

We have not implemented new policies specifically as a result of the call for evidence on park homes. The evidence did support decisions made on the Warm Home Discount where this scheme year we have introduced a pilot scheme to allow eligible park home residents to apply for £140 to help with their energy bills.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the terms are of the Dorset Growth Deal; and how much funding from the public purse has been provided to the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership.

Anna Soubry

To date Dorset LEP has received £88.3m in funding (£79m from the Local Growth Fund and £9.3m from the Growing Places Fund) to support investment in schemes that drive local economic growth, along with £1.88m in grants.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the recital in paragraph one of section C of the revised version of the draft EU decision on a new settlement for the UK, what assessment he has made of whether the objectives of political integration enjoys wide support in the union.

Mr David Lidington

There is clearly support in some governments within the European Union for further political integration, but there are other, more sceptical voices, too. The recital in paragraph one of section C makes clear that “the United Kingdom, in the light of the specific situation it has under the Treaties, is not committed to further political integration into the European Union”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy that waste disposal licences are not issued by the Environment Agency to individuals with criminal convictions or to companies controlled by individuals with criminal convictions.

Rory Stewart

The Environment Agency can already refuse an application for an environmental permit if it considers the applicant or another relevant person is not competent or unwilling to comply with the conditions of a permit. Where disclosed as part of an application, relevant convictions may be considered by the regulator as part of its assessment of an operator’s competence to hold an environmental permit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what (a) evidence her Department holds and (b) research her Department has undertaken on the effect of smart meters on people with electromagnetic hypersensitivity.

Andrea Leadsom

DECC takes its advice on matters related to public health from Public Health England.

Public Health England has conducted and reviewed research on the effects of smart meters and has stated that the radio waves produced by smart meters do not pose a risk to health, including to those who identify themselves as electromagnetically sensitive. More information can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meters-radio-waves-and-health/smart-meters-radio-waves-and-health.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38596, on beach huts: Christchurch, how Natural England plans to ensure that the proposal does not cause further harm to the geological interest.

Rory Stewart

Natural England is working closely with Christchurch Borough Council to understand the proposal to install beach huts within the Highcliffe to Milford SSSI. It is also in discussion with local residents and geologists. The council submitted a SSSI consent application for the proposed development on 7 June. Natural England will assess the potential impacts of the proposal against the SSSI interest features and will aim to respond within 28 days.