UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Philip Hollobone

  • Philip Hollobone – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Pensioner Cost of Living Payment

    Philip Hollobone – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Pensioner Cost of Living Payment

    The parliamentary question asked by Philip Hollobone, the Conservative MP for Kettering, in the House of Commons on 6 March 2023.

    Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)

    13. How many people have received the pensioner cost of living payment in (a) Kettering constituency, (b) north Northamptonshire and (c) England. (903880)

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Laura Trott)

    In 2021-22, almost 18,000 pensioners in Kettering, over 60,000 pensioners in north Northamptonshire and more than 9 million pensioners in England received a winter fuel payment. We estimate that similar numbers will have received the £300 pensioner cost of living payment in 2022-23.

    Mr Hollobone

    Will those 18,000 pensioners in receipt of the pensioner cost of living payment also receive additional support, such as the £400 energy bill discount, the £150 council tax rebate, the £150 disability cost of living payment and the £150 warm home discount? Will they also benefit from the energy price guarantee, saving a typical household £900 a year?

    Laura Trott

    My hon. Friend is right in this, as in so many things.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Foreign Direct Investment since 2016

    Philip Hollobone – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Foreign Direct Investment since 2016

    The parliamentary question asked by Philip Hollobone, the Conservative MP for Kettering, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)

    If she will make an estimate of the level of foreign direct investment into the UK since 23 June 2016.

    The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Ms Nusrat Ghani)

    More global multinationals have set up subsidiaries in the UK than in any country other than the United States. This is the best place in Europe in which to raise capital. Between April 2016 and the end of March 2022, the Department assisted more than 8,700 foreign direct investment projects in the UK, which have created about 348,000 new jobs across the United Kingdom.

    Mr Hollobone

    The UK has had a great track record of attracting foreign direct investment since we voted to leave the European Union. The figures given by the Minister will include the £200 million investment by Ball Corporation in the United States in the UK’s largest and Europe’s most advanced can manufacturing plant, in Burton Latimer. How does the UK’s record of attracting foreign direct investment compare with those of our major EU competitors?

    Ms Ghani

    My hon. Friend has given a fantastic example of the opportunities that have been created. The UK is a highly attractive destination for FDI, and has been among the top recipients in Europe over the last decade. According to the Financial Times and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the UK has the highest market share of greenfield FDI capital expenditure in Europe, at 20%—almost double that of Spain, which is in second place with 12%. It also has the highest levels of Food and Drug Administration stock in Europe, second only to the United States globally. It is remarkable how far we have progressed in such a short time.

    Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)

    The Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act 2022 makes investing in the US very attractive, particularly for innovative green technology. How are we going to compete?

    Ms Ghani

    In my previous role I was dealing with the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act, and I hope I will continue to do so, because so many business representatives whom I have met have raised it as a concern. The hon. Lady has referred to green technology. A great deal of work has already been done to promote all our expertise, especially in relation to hydrogen, but there is a huge amount of investment in the UK’s green technology sector and technology in general, and we are also a leading light when it comes to lithium. I was recently in Cape Town with our Green Lithium firm, which wanted to negotiate on how it could do more work in the United States. That is exactly what we are here to do—to facilitate collaboration of that kind.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2023 Speech on Energy Support Package for Businesses

    Philip Hollobone – 2023 Speech on Energy Support Package for Businesses

    The speech made by Philip Hollobone, the Conservative MP for Kettering, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    I welcome the extension of energy price support for non-domestic users. However, may I give my hon. Friend a real-world example of what is happening in the non-domestic sector? A popular local pub in the Kettering constituency emailed me this week. Up to 2 January, it was paying £2,000 a month for electricity. At the end of the contract, its supplier switched it to an out-of-contract tariff of £9,700 a month. The pub went out to the market and, reluctantly, had to agree to a cost of £5,700 a month with another supplier. Surely that is blatant profiteering when one company can offer a price £4,000 a month less than a competitor’s quote. I therefore welcome what he said about getting Ofgem involved as quickly as possible to sort out these rogue suppliers.

    James Cartlidge

    I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for being an absolute champion for his constituency. I know that he had a question on hospitals earlier and now he is championing his pubs. We all know how important pubs are to all of our constituencies. I will make two points.

    First, in response to my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for South Swindon (Sir Robert Buckland) I referred to the letter that the Chancellor is sending today to Ofgem, urging it to update him as a matter of urgency on its review of the non-commercial market. Hopefully, that will look at some of the factors around how contracts operate and, indeed, at whether there are abuses and what can be done about it.

    Secondly, one of the reasons we are maintaining universal support is precisely because there will be examples, such as the one my hon. Friend raised, of those who came to the end of a deal and fixed when prices were high, and so will not have benefited, even though prices are falling. This support is there to prevent that sharp cliff edge. It is about getting the balance right.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which three EU countries have the largest number of foreign nationals in UK prisons; and how many such prisoners there are from each of those countries.

    Andrew Selous

    The three EU countries with the largest number of foreign national offenders in prison are; Poland 951, Ireland 783 and Romania 629 as of 30th September 2015 last published figures.

    The EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement is beginning to take effect. Poland has a derogation until the end of December 2016 from the agreement to allow time to improve their prisons.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that local planning authorities maintain high homebuilding standards in large sustainable urban extensions.

    Brandon Lewis

    The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that good design is indivisible from good planning and should contribute to making places better for people. Our planning guidance reinforces this strong focus on design, and provides advice on tools for delivery – including design codes.

    All new homes also have to meet building regulations’ requirements. The Government has introduced new optional building regulations which means that for some requirements such as on access, local planning authorities can apply a higher standard than the national minimum requirements, where justified by need and provided that the viability of development is not compromised. The Government has also introduced a national space standard which local authorities can apply where justified by need and provided that the viability of development is not compromised.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many young people from Kettering constituency have participated in the National Citizen Service in each of the last three years.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    I am very pleased to report that around 2,500 young people in Kettering have participated in NCS over the past three years. The NCS Trust does not collect data at a constituency level. Therefore, the figures below are for the local authority area of Northamptonshire:

    2013 – 542 participants

    2014 – 1,032 participants

    2015 – 1,103 participants

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2015 to Question 15757, what proportion of clandestine illegal entry attempts in 2014-15 were intercepted by the (a) French authorities and (b) UK authorities.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK Government does not release statistics that could prejudice the security of the UK borders.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has for replacement of the HST 125 trains on the Midland mainline.

    Claire Perry

    The Department considers that franchisees are normally best placed to procure the rolling stock that they require to deliver the necessary levels of service and capacity. We expect the competition for the next East Midlands long-term franchise to deliver those improvements to the rolling stock that are required.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the purpose was of her recent visit to Weetabix in Burton Latimer; and what progress has been made on the launch of the Great British Food Unit.

    George Eustice

    My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, launched the Great British Food Unit during a visit to Weetabix on 21 January 2016. This unit brings together experts from Defra and UKTI and will celebrate British food, encourage innovation and increase the number of Protected Food Names. The unit will increase investment and exports by opening new global markets and offering support to companies.

    Weetabix is made with locally sourced wheat and its iconic cereal is eaten in 80 countries. It is an historic British business benefitting from foreign investment and so provided an excellent example of the various types of business the Food Unit is there to support.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) the territorial integrity and (b) improved border arrangements with Spain of Gibraltar.

    Mr David Lidington

    The United Kingdom will continue to stand by Gibraltar. We are confident of the United Kingdom’s sovereignty over the whole of Gibraltar, including British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, and have been firm in our commitment to the double lock. We will continue to protect the rights of the people of Gibraltar to remain British, for as long as they wish to do so.

    Maintaining a well-functioning Gibraltar-Spain border is one of our top priorities. We welcome the overall downward trend in border delays since their height in 2013, but we are alive to the risk of a return to disproportionate delays at any time. Her Majesty’s Government is working closely with Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar and European partners ahead of proposed changes to the Schengen Border Code later this year to ensure that delays due to security checks are not disproportionate. As we prepare for the process to exit the EU, we will fully involve Gibraltar to ensure that its interests are taken properly into account.