Tag: Julian Knight

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the maximum level of engagement by children and young people with the commemoration of the First World War.

David Evennett

DCMS is working with other Government Departments and our delivery partners to ensure that people of all ages can take part in commemorations of the First World War and remember those who sacrificed so much. As part of the FWW centenary commemorations, the government is providing the opportunity for two pupils and one teacher from every state-funded secondary school in England to visit the FWW battlefields on the Western Front. In 2015, 1,140 Schools and 3,489 pupils and teachers visited FWW battlefields on the Western Front. Since July 2014, 54,702 children and young people visited the Imperial War Museums First World War Galleries as part of a school visit. Over 21,400 people from the UK and overseas wrote a letter for the ‘Letter to an Unknown Soldier’ project, engaging over 500 primary and secondary schools across the UK. On 4 August 2014, 1.4 million 16-24 year olds participated in LIGHTS OUT – an initiative to light a candle in remembrance. As well as the official commemoration programme schools across the UK are organising their own individual events and projects to remember those who took part in the First World War in battle and on the home front.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time was for transition of patients from child to adult mental health services in (a) England and (b) the West Midlands in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt

This information is not centrally available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to extend the Pensions Wise service to people (a) between 20 and 40 and (b) between 40 and 50; and if he will make that service available to advise people on whether to invest in a lifetime ISA or under auto enrolment.

Justin Tomlinson

Pension Wise provides free and impartial guidance to those aged 50 and over with a defined contribution pension to help them understand their options.

It was announced at the 2015 summer budget that the age for eligibility would be lowered to 50. Pension Wise has developed new content for 50 – 54 year olds to make the guidance appointments more relevant to their needs and this is now live.

The government plans to restructure the delivery of public financial guidance to ensure that all consumers can access the help they need when they need it.

Pension Wise does not give specific advice on products or provider recommendations. There are currently no plans for Pension Wise to provide guidance on lifetime ISAs or Automatic Enrolment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what date the Financial Conduct Authority review on the disclosure of transaction cost information for workplace pension schemes is planned to be published.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) remain committed to ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear.

Governance bodies of defined contribution workplace pension schemes are obliged, under existing requirements, to assess transaction costs. The FCA is actively considering how to achieve greater transparency and standardisation of these costs, and plans to publish a consultation later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-10-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what research his Department has carried out into the potential for widening of the secondary annuity market.

Simon Kirby

At March Budget 2015 the government announced proposals to remove the current restrictions on selling existing annuities, and to create the conditions for a secondary market in annuities to develop. The intention was that pensioners would be able to sell the income they receive from their annuity in return for a lump sum.

The government undertook extensive consultation with industry and consumer groups to understand the conditions that would be necessary for there to be a vibrant market and to achieve good outcomes for consumers. However, it became increasingly clear that creating the conditions to allow a competitive market to emerge could not be balanced with sufficient consumer protections.

It also became clear that there would be insufficient purchasers to create a competitive market. This means there was a high risk of significant consumer detriment as consumers would be likely to get poor value for their annuity income streams and incur high costs for selling. Furthermore, the steps that the government would have needed to take to create purchasing demand in the market would have undermined important consumer protections.

In these circumstances the government concluded that it would not be in consumers’ interests to continue with this policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 for the Royal Navy’s global reach.

Michael Fallon

The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) provides the investment necessary to deliver the most modern Navy in the world, capable of delivering effect around the globe. The SDSR sets out plans to grow the capability and manpower of the Royal Navy, including a renewed Strategic Deterrent; 100% Aircraft Carrier availability from two carriers; more F-35B jets, with 24 embarked on the Aircraft Carriers from 2023 or earlier; at least 19 Frigates and Destroyers including Type 45 Destroyers, Type 26 Frigates and a new generation of credible general purpose frigates; new Offshore Patrol Vessels and new tanker support ships; and nine New Maritime Patrol Aircraft, working alongside our submarines and frigates to protect the Deterrent and our Aircraft Carriers and keep our seas safe.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Government has invested into research and development of future car technologies in each of the last three years.

Anna Soubry

The Government is fully committed to the continuing success of the automotive sector and supports the development of future car technologies through a variety of mechanisms depending on the technology and stage of development. The most significant sources of funding are set out in the following table:

	13/14	14/15	15/16
BIS (incl. Innovate UK & Advanced Propulsion Centre)	10	40.5	27.7
Office for Low Emission Vehicles	17.5	8.9	10.5
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (BIS, DfT & HMT)		15.75	23.75
Total (£M)	27.5	65.15	61.95

In addition the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has invested £127M in research relevant to the automotive sector since FY 13/14.

In the last Spending Review my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed Government funding for the Advanced Propulsion Centre out to 2023 and announced additional support for automotive R&D of £225m from 2023 to 2026.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-05-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when Lifetime ISAs will be available to the public.

Mr David Gauke

The new Lifetime ISA will provide savers with the flexibility to save towards a first home and retirement at the same time.

From April 2017, people aged 18 to 40 will be able to save up to £4,000 each year into a Lifetime ISA and receive a 25% bonus from the Government.

The Government is engaging with the industry on the detail of implementation, regulation and advice on the Lifetime ISA. Further details will be announced when the Government brings forward legislation to enact the Lifetime ISA in the autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that the costs of social care do not rise as a result of the introduction of the national living wage.

Alistair Burt

The introduction of the National Living Wage is part of Government’s wider approach to move from a low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society. The national living wage is an important step in rewarding the valuable contribution made by care workers, who often fall into the lowest earning occupations. It is expected that any increase in costs in the care sector associated with the National Living Wage will be partly met by higher productivity, efficiencies and will also help deliver better-quality care through improvements in staff retention and commitment.

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring the availability of high quality social care in their areas and the commissioning of local services for those people who are entitled to public funding. They are locally accountable for how their budgets are allocated and spent. The terms and conditions of contracts negotiated between local authorities acting as commissioners of services and providers on an open market are a local matter that should reflect local conditions.

However, under the Care Act, local authorities must have regard to fostering an effective workforce with the appropriate capabilities when shaping their local markets. The Act and its statutory guidance are absolutely clear that prices and fee rates agreed with providers must reflect these new duties, including the National Living Wage. The Department has also worked with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, the Local Government Association and care providers to co-produce a set of commissioning standards to support local authorities to assess and improve their commissioning practices. These standards are based on best practice and amplify the requirements set out in statutory guidance.

As part of the Autumn Spending Review the Government is giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20. Councils will be able to introduce a new Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold. This could raise up to £2 billion a year for social care by 2019/20. From April 2017, the Spending Review makes available social care funds for local government, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019/20, to be included in the Better Care Fund. Taken together, the new precept and additional Better Care Fund contribution mean local government has access to the funding it needs to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament and meet costs from the introduction of the National Living Wage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that demand for school places in Solihull is met.

Edward Timpson

Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them in doing so is one of this Government’s top priorities. That is why this Government is investing £23 billion in school buildings to create 600,000 new school places, open 500 new free schools and address essential maintenance needs.

Basic need funding is allocated to local authorities to help them to create new school places. Solihull has been allocated £17 million of basic need funding for the period 2015-18. Solihull also received £4 million between 2011 and 2015.

Information on basic need allocations can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-need-allocations-2015-to-2018

“