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1023106

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Block Grant: Scotland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What assessment he has made of the effect of recent budgetary decisions on the Scottish block grant.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kerr
	uin	908140
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2018 answer text <p>At Budget we announced a £700m increase in the Scottish block grant for 19/20 because of the additional money we are spending across the country.</p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 11/12/2018 14:36:20 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
	tabling member	4604 label Biography information for Stephen Kerr

1045794

	registered interest
	date	22/01/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Christianity
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What steps his Department is taking to reduce the persecution of Christians overseas.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kerr
	uin	908710
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2019 answer text <p>The Foreign Secretary has commissioned an independent, global review into the additional practical steps the Government can take to support persecuted Christians. The review will report by Easter.</p> answering member constituency Cities of London and Westminster answering member printed Mark Field question first answered 22/01/2019 17:07:31 answering member 1405 label Biography information for Mark Field
	tabling member	4604 label Biography information for Stephen Kerr

1045940

	registered interest
	date	22/01/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Housing: Construction
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government provides support for new house buyers with snagging issues; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kerr
	uin	211342
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2019 answer text <p>This Government is committed to making the housing market work. By the mid-2020s, we aim to have increased house building to an average of 300,000 net new homes a year. And as we move towards achieving this target, we will not sacrifice higher quality and standards.</p><p>We have already made commitments to provide better protection for purchasers of new build homes who experience snagging issues and we know more needs to be done. On 1 October 2018, we announced our intention for there to be a New Homes Ombudsman to protect the rights of homebuyers and hold developers to account. We also announced our intention to bring forward legislation to require all developers to belong to a New Homes Ombudsman.</p><p>On 24 January, following a wide-ranging consultation with consumers and industry, we set out our plans to strengthen consumer redress for the whole housing market. I want to help plug the gaps in available redress services so that more people can get their housing disputes resolved without going through the courts. We have also made great strides to create greater fairness in the rental market by banning unfair letting fees, capping tenancy deposits and cracking down on rogue landlords.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 30/01/2019 17:47:51 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	4604 label Biography information for Stephen Kerr

1052462

	registered interest
	date	01/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Taxis: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has issued to private hire and other licensed taxi drivers to support disabled passengers (a) with and (b) without guide dogs, and whether he has plans to review that guidance.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kerr
	uin	215599
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2019 answer text <p>Responsibility for ensuring that taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers understand the rights and requirements of disabled passengers, including through effective training and communication, rests with respective local licensing authorities.</p><p> </p><p>Ministers are considering the report of the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing, including the recommendation that disability awareness training should be mandatory in all areas. A Government response will be issued in due course.</p><p> </p><p>We are also undertaking research to understand why disabled people sometimes still face discriminatory behaviour when using taxis and PHVs, and to identify what further steps could be taken so that every disabled passenger can travel with confidence.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wealden answering member printed Ms Nusrat Ghani question first answered 11/02/2019 14:53:01 answering member 4460 label Biography information for Ms Nusrat Ghani
	tabling member	4604 label Biography information for Stephen Kerr

1052463

	registered interest
	date	01/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Post Office Card Account: Rural Areas
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on elderly people in rural areas of the planned discontinuation of the Post Office card system.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kerr
	uin	215600
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2019 answer text <p>The Government’s contract for the Post Office card account comes to an end on 30 November 2021. For those claimants and pensioners who are unable to open a mainstream account ahead of this date, the DWP will implement an alternative payment service that allows users to obtain cash payments in their local area (including suburban and rural locations) before the end of the contract. When commissioning this alternative payment service, it will be our priority to ensure that elderly vulnerable people are protected and catered for.</p><p> </p><p>Our communications with Post Office card account users will highlight that 99% of a banks’ personal customers, are able to withdraw cash, deposit cash and cheques, and make balance enquiries at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,600 branches. Therefore, those receiving benefit and pension payments into a bank account can continue to collect their money from the Post Office so there should be minimal effect on elderly people in rural areas. We have already introduced a phased conversion process ahead of 2021 and we will be writing to all Post Office card account users to ensure they are provided with an alternative payment service.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 11/02/2019 13:01:55 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4604 label Biography information for Stephen Kerr

1058735

	registered interest
	date	11/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Exiting the European Union
	answering dept id	203
	answering dept short name	Exiting the European Union
	answering dept sort name	Exiting the European Union
	hansard heading	Erasmus+ Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what plans the Government has for continued participation in the Erasmus scheme in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kerr
	uin	219524
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. This has not changed. The Political Declaration includes an agreement to establish terms and conditions for UK participation in EU programmes in areas of shared interest, including culture and, youth and education. It also contains a reference to wider dialogues and exchanges in culture and education, to allow us to share best practice and act together. The Government recently updated its technical notice that provides guidance to organisations and participants on the UK’s anticipated participation in the current Erasmus+ programme (2014 to 2020). The notice can also be found at: <a href="https://bit.ly/2GaP28y" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/2GaP28y</a>.</p><p>This states that, to prepare for the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the UK Government has been seeking to engage with the European Commission with the aim of securing the UK’s continued full participation in Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) until the end of 2020 and minimising the impact on projects in a no deal scenario. We are considering carefully the draft regulation the European Commission published on contingency for Erasmus+ on 30 January and are seeking to speak with them to seek clarification, and discuss further what they are proposing.</p><p>In addition, in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the Government’s underwrite guarantee will cover the payment of awards to UK applicants for all successful Erasmus+ bids submitted before the end of 2020. Successful bids are those that are approved directly by the European Commission or by the UK National Agency and ratified by the European Commission. The Government will need to reach agreement with the EU for UK organisations to continue participating in Erasmus+ and ESC projects and, as mentioned above, has been seeking to hold these discussions.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 19/02/2019 15:47:23 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4604 label Biography information for Stephen Kerr

1064905

	registered interest
	date	22/02/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Tuberculosis: Health Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of (a) treatment and (b) support for people with with tuberculosis.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kerr
	uin	224822
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2019 answer text <p>‘The Collaborative Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy for England 2015 to 2020’ was developed by Public Health England (PHE) in partnership with NHS England and aims to reduce suffering and harm caused by TB through lowering the incidence of the disease in England. The Strategy is available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/403231/Collaborative_TB_Strategy_for_England_2015_2020_.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/403231/Collaborative_TB_Strategy_for_England_2015_2020_.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>The strategy aims to tackle TB in under-served populations through the commissioning of integrated, multidisciplinary, case management and support for under-served groups. This multidisciplinary support, which may include third sector organisations, should provide targeted outreach interventions, informed by proven models such as ‘Find and Treat’ in London, including specific services for active case finding among homeless people and those attending substance misuse services.</p><p> </p><p>In January 2016, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a clinical guideline that covers preventing, identifying and managing latent and active TB in children, young people and adults. This is available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng33" target="_blank">https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng33</a></p><p> </p><p>In 2017, PHE and the National Health Service issued a ‘TB Service Specification and Clinical Policy’ for use by commissioners and TB services. This builds on the work of the strategy to:</p><p>- improve rapid diagnosis and treatment of active TB disease;</p><p>- prevention of TB by treating latent infections; and</p><p>- focus on complex cases with antimicrobial resistance and patients with other risk factors for poor treatment outcome, such as homelessness.</p><p> </p><p>NHS England is supporting those clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) with the highest burden of disease to provide latent TB testing and treatment programmes which are essential for reducing the incidence of active TB. In 2018/19, the 46 CCGs with the highest burden of disease were supported with £3,594,000 to provide this service.</p><p> </p><p>According to the latest annual report ‘Tuberculosis in England: 2018’ published by PHE, since the peak of TB incidence in England in 2011 the number of people notified with TB had fallen by nearly 40% in 2017. The incidence rate in 2017 was 9.2 per 100,000 population, the lowest recorded rate for England, which for the first time falls under the 10 per 100,000 World Health Organization definition of a low incidence country. The report is available at the following link:</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/774091/TB_Annual_Report_2018_2.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/774091/TB_Annual_Report_2018_2.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Winchester answering member printed Steve Brine question first answered 04/03/2019 17:06:37 answering member 4067 label Biography information for Steve Brine
	tabling member	4604 label Biography information for Stephen Kerr

1077585

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Employment Tribunals Service: Non-payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the employment tribunal naming scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kerr
	uin	226188
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government launched the scheme as part of the Good Work Plan in response to concerns that rates of employment tribunal payments are unacceptably low. Employers who have failed to pay a tribunal award of £200 or more at least 84 days after the original judgment will be eligible for naming.</p><p> </p><p>The scheme was launched on 18 December 2018 and the Government will publish the first list of employers in due course. Therefore, it is too early to have assessed the effectiveness of the scheme.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 05/03/2019 15:28:32 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4604 label Biography information for Stephen Kerr

1077586

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Employment Tribunals Service: Non-payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what ongoing estimate he is making of the number of people who have not received payments due to them following employment tribunals and mediation processes.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kerr
	uin	226189
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2019 answer text <p>It is right that people get what they are owed, and we know employment tribunal awards are not always paid promptly. Government commissioned research in 2013 found that only 53% of successful claimants received full or part payment without enforcement action. 35% had not received any payment at all.</p><p> </p><p>Following this research Government introduced the BEIS penalty scheme in 2016 and have since recovered over £1.5 million to workers of previously unpaid awards. We will now also name employers who do not pay employment tribunal awards within a reasonable period.</p><p> </p><p>We have also recently commissioned research on employment tribunals that will include payment rate information for employment tribunal awards, Acas conciliated and private settlements.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 05/03/2019 15:28:41 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4604 label Biography information for Stephen Kerr

1091273

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2019
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Biofuels and Wind Power: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy why Contracts for Difference (CfD), for what reasons strike prices have been higher for dedicated biomass technologies than for offshore wind during CfD allocation rounds two and three.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kerr
	uin	234221
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2019 answer text <p>In CfD Allocation Round 2 dedicated biomass and offshore wind cleared at the same strike price of £74.75MWh for delivery year 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>The Administrative Strike Prices (ASPs) set out the maximum support that the Government is willing to offer developers for each technology in a given delivery year. In setting the ASPs, the government has drawn upon the latest generation cost data, while also considering market conditions, policy considerations and other technology specific factors in order to encourage new investment whilst ensuring value for money for consumers.</p><p> </p><p>The methodology used to determine the draft ASPs for the third allocation round is published here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contract-for-difference-cfd-third-allocation-round-methodology-used-to-set-administrative-strike-prices" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contract-for-difference-cfd-third-allocation-round-methodology-used-to-set-administrative-strike-prices</a></p><p> </p><p>CfDs are awarded in a series of competitive auctions, with the lowest price bids being successful as a means of driving cost reduction and project efficiencies.</p> answering member constituency Devizes answering member printed Claire Perry question first answered 26/03/2019 15:27:32 answering member 3974 label Biography information for Claire Perry
	tabling member	4604 label Biography information for Stephen Kerr