Tag: Melanie Onn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the current shortage of Certificate of Professional Competence qualified drivers is for the logistics industry; and what the shortage forecast for such drivers is expected to be in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Andrew Jones

Government data (the Office of National Statistics Labour Force Survey) estimates there are 299,000 large goods vehicle drivers, up 40,000 on 2013. Other people require Certificates of Professional Competence to drive large goods vehicles as part of other jobs or to drive public service vehicles. The Department for Transport has not estimated or forecast the shortage of large goods vehicle drivers, although it recognises there is a significant shortage and is aware of industry estimates of its size.

Prior to the introduction of the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) the department has worked closely with stakeholders who provided estimates of how many Driver Qualification Cards (DQCs) it was necessary to issue to professional drivers in order to ensure continuity of service. Estimates provided ranged from 500,000 to 750,000. The department has now issued over 900,000 DQCs and continues to work with the logistics sector’s representative groups to support them in creating industry-led solutions to any potential shortage of professional drivers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of local authority social housing residents have access to the internet at home.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government is on target to deliver access to superfast broadband for 95% of UK premises by December 2017, and to extend coverage beyond that as far as possible. As the Prime Minister announced last autumn, the government proposes that by the end of this parliament people should have a legal right to request access to a good level of broadband speed, no matter where they live.

The honourable member will be pleased to hear that in her Great Grimsby constituency, 96 per cent of homes and businesses can already access superfast broadband – and it is estimated that coverage will rise to98 per cent by the end of 2017. Additional funding sources, including the £129 million of gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, will allow coverage to be extended further in Great Grimsby and the rest of the area covered by the North Lincolnshire broadband project.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-23.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of whether a five per cent VAT rate could continue to apply to solar PV and solar thermal within the terms of the EU’s VAT directive and the judgment of the European Court of Justice on that matter.

Mr David Gauke

The Government has recently consulted on this matter, the results of which will be announced shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of adapted properties in England.

Brandon Lewis

Most recent data on the number of homes with adaptations that met the requirements of one or more occupants with a long term illness or disability will be available in the 2014-15 English Housing Survey, due for publication in July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-10-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the homelessness prevention grant will continue to be paid to local authorities after the phasing out of the core local government grant.

Greg Hands

We want a radical reshaping of the relationship between central and local government, ending the merry go round of clawing back local taxes into Whitehall and handing them out again in the form of grants. We will do this by giving local government full retention of its Business Rates by 2020, meaning all income from local taxes will go towards funding local services. We will work closely with the sector over the coming weeks and months to ensure local people have more control over how their money is spent. This will mean looking at the grants that currently go from central government to local authorities, and the range of responsibilities central government asks local government to deliver. There will still be redistribution between councils so that councils don’t lose out just because their area starts from a weaker position. We will set out more detail at the Spending Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the homelessness prevention grant.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Homelessness Prevention Grant is part of our £500 million investment in local authority and voluntary sector homelessness services. It has helped local authorities to prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless since 2010.