Tag: Julian Knight

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what protections she plans to put in place for landlords who, unwittingly and after carrying out reasonable checks, allow an illegal immigrant to rent their property.

James Brokenshire

The Immigration Act 2014 prohibits landlords from leasing property to persons who are disqualified from renting by reason of their immigration status. Right to rent checks are simple to conduct and comprise of an examination of documents from a range prescribed in law as acceptable for the purposes of establishing a right to rent. Landlords are not expected to be immigration or forgery experts and the Act provides defences in law for the landlord who may have accepted a falsified document in good faith and having acted reasonably.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the installation by China of missile launchers on Woody Island in the South China Sea; what representations he has made to China on that matter; and if he will discuss with his Japanese counterpart what steps the UK and Japan can take to oppose the militarisation of the South China Sea.

Mr Hugo Swire

We are very concerned about Chinese missile deployments on Woody Island in the Paracel Islands as reported in the media on 17 February. We oppose any actions which are likely to increase tensions in the South China Sea, including militarisation. We urge all parties to exercise restraint, to pursue the settlement of disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, and to uphold freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has held detailed discussions with his Japanese counterpart about the South China Sea, most recently, during his visit to Japan in January for the annual UK-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial talks. Following those meetings the UK and Japan released a joint statement setting out our shared concerns about the situation in the South China Sea, calling on all parties to refrain from activities that increase tension and to pursue urgently the settlement of the maritime disputes peacefully in accordance with international law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-04-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to cap charges on equity investment lifetime ISAs.

Harriett Baldwin

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 and regulation of 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 2016-06-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions the Government has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on widening the provision of real-time sharing of credit information between banks, other major financial institutions and short-term credit providers.

Harriett Baldwin

Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues.

As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-09-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to minimise the administrative effect on small businesses of information requests from the Financial Ombudsman.

Simon Kirby

The issue raised is a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) who are operationally independent from Government.

The question has been passed on to the FOS. The FOS will reply directly to the Honorable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will ensure that affordable rent to buy housing is exempt from the Government’s pay to stay proposals for higher income social tenants.

Brandon Lewis

Higher income social tenants in a Rent to Buy scheme will not face increased rent under proposals for pay to stay. This is because the rent they pay is an intermediate rent which is excluded from social rent policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to counter people trafficking.

Karen Bradley

We are committed to tackling people trafficking and all forms of modern slavery. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 gives law enforcement agencies the tools they need to tackle modern slavery, ensures that perpetrators can receive suitably severe sentences up to life imprisonment, enhances support and protection for victims and places a duty on large businesses to report on what they are doing to stop modern slavery occurring in their global supply chains. We have successfully lobbied for the establishment of the first ever UN Sustainable Development Goal to end modern slavery and are working with a range of international partners to tackle slavery and its causes. We are also piloting a new approach to identifying and supporting potential victims of slavery through the National Referral Mechanism and we have appointed an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to spread best practice in the UK and overseas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-04-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of people taking out a lifetime ISA who will take that ISA in the form of (a) a cash only lifetime ISA and (b) an equity investment lifetime ISA in each of the first three years that those ISAs are available.

Harriett Baldwin

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 Lifetime ISA is a voluntary product. For further information on the costing of this policy, please see page 9 of the Budget 2015 Policy Costings document: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508147/PU1912_Policy_Costings_FINAL3.pdf

ISA statistics are published on the GOV.UK website. Table 9.7 sets out the number of individuals subscribing to ISAs: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number-of-individuals-subscribing-to-an-individual-savings-account-isa-by-income

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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 funding her Department provides for (a) litter awareness campaigns, (b) implementation of the National Litter Strategy and (c) litter clearance at sites of national and cultural significance.

Rory Stewart

Defra supported the Clean for the Queen campaign, run earlier this year on behalf of Country Life by Keep Britain Tidy, with a grant of £9,500 towards providing resource packs to help support and encourage schools to participate in the campaign and to support monitoring and evaluation of the impacts and effectiveness of the campaign. The Department for Communities and Local Government also spent £5,000 on promoting the initiative through Facebook.

Defra also provides £5,000 per year to the Marine Conservation Society to carry out beach cleaning at priority beaches.

It is up to local councils to determine their own spending priorities, including for litter clearance at local sites of national or cultural significance, and central Government does not provide any specific funding to them for this purpose. Where such sites are on private land, it is for the landowner to make arrangements for litter clearance.

Where possible, we aim to ensure that the costs of dealing with litter issues are passed to those responsible for causing the problem. We will look to implement measures in the forthcoming Litter Strategy for England through working in partnership with business and campaigning organisations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on the rollout of superfast broadband in the B91 1 postcode area.

Matt Hancock

Nine out of ten UK homes and businesses can now access superfast broadband and we’re on track to reach 95 per cent of the UK by the end of next year. We’re committed to a Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband.

We want a USO at a speed of 10Mbps as an absolute minimum, enough to meet the needs of a typical family or small business so no-one is left behind.

We estimate that approximately 98% of premises in the Solihull constituency now have access to superfast broadband. We do not hold data specific to each postcode.