Tag: Julian Knight

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of fraudulent compensation claims against Armed Forces personnel in Iraq.

Penny Mordaunt

The Government is committed to action to bear down on unmeritorious litigation of all kinds against the Armed Forces, and will be announcing its proposed course of action in due course. Accusations must be investigated, but where they are found to be fraudulent, or where relevant information is withheld, we will robustly defend the reputation of the Armed Forces and the interests of the taxpayer. We welcome the decision of the Solicitors Regulation Authority to refer one firm of solicitors heavily involved in bringing claims from Iraq to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has carried out an impact assessment on the effect of devolving the taxation of vacant land held by developers to local authorities in England and Wales.

Mr David Gauke

The Government has not carried out an impact assessment of the effect of devolving the taxation of vacant land held by developers to local authorities in England and Wales.

All taxes are kept under review, and any move to introduce such a tax or devolve responsibility to Local Authorities would have to be carefully considered. In particular, the interaction with existing taxes and incentives, the detailed design and collection, the objectives of the tax and the method (and frequency) by which land would be valued would all need careful thought

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of proposals to deny parole or release to people incarcerated for charges of murder for as long as they refuse to disclose the whereabouts of their victim’s remains.

Andrew Selous

I sympathise with the anguish caused to the families of victims where the offender wilfully refuses to disclose the whereabouts of their loved one. Such behaviour is already taken into account by the court when sentencing the offender, and by the independent Parole Board when assessing an offender’s continuing risk for the purposes of deciding whether he or she is eligible for possible release. The Parole Board has at my request, however, agreed to review its guidance on this particular issue as part of a review of all its guidance in 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what government funding local litter awareness groups can apply for.

Rory Stewart

Central Government does not make any funding directly available to local litter awareness groups. It is up to local councils to determine how to use the central Government funding they receive for local services: this can include making some funding available to local volunteer groups to carry out litter-picking and raise awareness of litter as a local issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of potential measures to make access to courts (a) easier and (b) substantially faster for a landowner seeking to get an order to evict travellers.

Sir Oliver Heald

The accelerated procedure for obtaining a possession order to evict trespassers (which may include travellers) is set out in the Civil Procedure Rules, Part 55.

There is no notice period once a landowner has obtained an order to evict. The standard order for a successful claim for possession would be an order for immediate possession.

The Government does not consider that the process requires change.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will take steps to assist with the backlog of Disclosure and Barring Service applications.

Karen Bradley

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) aims to process all certificates within 56 calendar days and nationally DBS meets this target. The vast majority of applicants do receive their certificates in a timely manner and in December the average processing time for DBS applications was 15.3 days.

It is important that checks undertaken are thorough and sometimes the DBS needs to refer an application to one or more local police forces as part of the enhanced certificate checking process. Unfortunately, a small number of forces have been experiencing difficulties in completing their checks within expected timescales.

DBS has been working closely with forces who are not meeting performance targets to ensure that their performance improves as quickly as possible. The Home Office is taking a keen interest in this work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to provide funding for the modernisation of infrastructure on the Falkland Islands.

Penny Mordaunt

As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) told the House on 24 March 2015, (Official Report, columns 1302-1303) we have put in place a programme of infrastructure improvements worth £180 million over the next decade designed to deliver enhanced operational effectiveness and an improved quality of life for our personnel based in the Falkland Islands. He was able to see the first stage of construction work on that programme for himself when he visited the Islands recently.

This programme will ensure that our enduring commitment to the defence of the Islands is sustained effectively for the long term.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-04-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Financial Conduct Authority has made of the effect that the GC16/2 proposal, published in February 2016, to require lenders to issue default notices before collecting from guarantors would have on (i) the number of borrower defaults subsequently reported to the Credit Reference Agencies, (ii) borrowers’ credit scores and (iii) levels of financial exclusion.

Harriett Baldwin

These are matters for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and relate to FCA Guidance Consultation (GC16/2) issued on the interpretation of provisions in the Consumer Credit Act 1974, regarding whether a default notice should be given to a guarantor before payment is taken from them when a borrower defaults. The FCA is currently considering responses to the consultation and will publish a response after considering the complex issues raised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-06-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will discuss with the banking sector steps to ensure that individuals seeking to switch their current account are able to access their historical transaction data to better enable them to secure a similar overdraft to their existing one with a new provider.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government is committed to increasing competition in banking to ensure banks have to work hard to offer the best possible products and services to their customers. A key part of that is making the process for customers switching their current accounts as easy and as effective as possible, to ensure customers are able to hold their banks to account by voting with their feet.

The Government has already undertaken a lot of work to improve the process for customers switching their current accounts, including helping to deliver the Current Account Switch Service to enable customers to switch banks simply, quickly and reliably, and delivering midata, to enable customers to compare which bank is best for them based on how they use their current account.

As part of its retail banking market investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is considering what additional improvements could be made to the process of customers switching current accounts, including requiring banks to make historical transaction data available and making it easier for customers to switch their overdraft when they move banks. The CMA is also considering other additional measures designed to support overdraft users.

The Government welcomes the CMA’s investigation, and stands ready to take action as necessary once it publishes its final report in the summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will consider the potential merits of introducing legislative proposals to reduce the notice period for a landowner who has secured a court order to evict travellers from 48 to 12 hours.

Sir Oliver Heald

The accelerated procedure for obtaining a possession order to evict trespassers (which may include travellers) is set out in the Civil Procedure Rules, Part 55.

There is no notice period once a landowner has obtained an order to evict. The standard order for a successful claim for possession would be an order for immediate possession.

The Government does not consider that the process requires change.