Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label previous answer version answering member constituency answering member printed answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1458274

registered interest
date	19/04/2022
answering body	Prime Minister
answering dept id	23
answering dept short name	Prime Minister
answering dept sort name	Prime Minister
hansard heading	Employment: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to his oral evidence to the Liaison Committee of 30 March 2022 and his acknowledgment that previous assertions that employment is higher than before the covid-19 outbreak had been incorrect, what plans he has to correct the record in relation to assertions in the House of Commons on (a) 24 November 2021, Official Report, column 344, (b) 5 January 2022, Official Report, columns 11, 14 and 15, (c) 12 January 2022, Official Report, column 568, (d) 19 January 2022, Official Report, column 323, (e) 2 February 2022, Official Report, columns 268 to 269 and (f) 23 February 2022, Official Report, column 314.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	155564
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>During my appearance before the Liaison Committee I committed to respond in writing on a number of issues that were raised with me. I will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the House of Commons Library.</p> answering member constituency Uxbridge and South Ruislip answering member printed Boris Johnson question first answered 25/04/2022 15:16:38 answering member 1423 label Biography information for Boris Johnson
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1458386

registered interest
date	19/04/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Democratic Republic of Congo: Humanitarian Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the new UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Democratic Republic of the Congo.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	155565
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The UN Humanitarian Response Plan for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) provides a high-level overview of humanitarian needs in DRC. It is one of many assessments that the UK uses to determine where and how to respond in the country. As one of the largest humanitarian donors in DRC, the UK has been providing annual life-saving support to over one million affected people through our funding to UN, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and Red Cross partners.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 25/04/2022 15:21:19 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1457402

registered interest
date	14/04/2022
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	Social Security Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what date her Department made the most recent equality impact assessment of (a) the benefit cap and (b) local housing allowance rates.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	153695
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2022 answer text <p>The Impact Assessment of the benefit cap was published on 26 August 2016 and can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welfare-reform-and-work-act-impact-assessment-for-the-benefit-cap" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welfare-reform-and-work-act-impact-assessment-for-the-benefit-cap</a>.</p><p>The Secretary of State has complied with her duties under the Equality Act 2010 and had due regard to the equality impacts of the benefit cap for example in respect of the Covid 19 policy changes. There is no requirement to record or publish this in the form of an equality impact assessment and we do not intend to publish the analysis.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In November 2021 the Secretary of State considered the equality impacts of the decision to maintain Local Housing Allowance rates in 2022/23 at the elevated cash rates agreed for 2020/21. Following PQ UIN 120618, a copy of the equality analysis was placed in the House of Commons library.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/04/2022 16:48:53 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1456263

registered interest
date	31/03/2022
answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept id	211
answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
hansard heading	Flats: Insulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of measures announced by his Department on 21 July 2021 on the availability of mortgages to purchase leasehold homes in medium and lower-rise buildings without an EWS1 form; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	150971
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2022 answer text <p>An EWS1 form is not a statutory or regulatory requirement, nor ​a​ safety ‘test’. Not all lenders ask for an EWS1, but when or whether they do remains a commercial decision. The measures in the January Statement provide a clear framework for proportionate risk assessments whilst encouraging lenders to base their risk management on the presumption that medium- and low-rise buildings are safe, unless there is evidence to the contrary.</p><p>We will continue to work with lenders to enable them to accept forms of assurance other than EWS1s, such as a comprehensive fire risk assessment. We will also continue to challenge industry on the use of the EWS1 process. The Department publishes quarterly data on the number of EWS1s required on mortgage valuations by the seven largest lenders, including for medium- and low-rise buildings on <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fews1-or-equivalent-lender-data-on-mortgage-valuations-for-flats-april-to-december-2021-united-kingdom&amp;data=04%7C01%7CClaire.Strombeck%40levellingup.gov.uk%7Cc2652980b9424903212608da13f36bd7%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637844233440977450%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=oGTutYHPpqZYBCqL%2BiZz3Dw9GFTStu%2FWhsDBGev2T54%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">gov.uk</a>.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 19/04/2022 16:52:47 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1455851

registered interest
date	30/03/2022
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Afghanistan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of offering a fee-waiver to people applying to come to the UK from Afghanistan using the Appendix FM route.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	150070
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2022 answer text <p>Those applying to come to the UK from Afghanistan using the Appendix FM route can apply for an overseas fee waiver.</p><p>The guidance for the discretion to waive a fee from overseas is being revised and is not currently operational. We expect to publish the new guidance by the Summer of 2022. The delay in publishing the new guidance has been caused by the need to develop a new online application system to meet the additional requirements of the affordability test for overseas applicants.</p><p>An applicant can still apply for a fee waiver, but their application will be put on hold pending the revised guidance. Consideration will be given as to whether the need to travel to the UK is urgent, and if so, the fee waiver application will be assessed. Each urgent case will be considered on its individual merits.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 20/04/2022 08:49:35 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1456035

registered interest
date	30/03/2022
answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept id	211
answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
hansard heading	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of Ministerial replies are sent to hon. Members from his Department within 20 working days as suggested in the Guide to Handling Correspondence, published by the Cabinet Office in July 2021.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	150071
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2022 answer text <p>The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from MPs, either directly or on behalf of their constituents. Data on the timeliness of responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers is published on Gov.uk here: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fdata-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peers&amp;data=04%7C01%7CChristine.Lamunu%40levellingup.gov.uk%7C1ab383a6e0b447030b6308d9e578a6f8%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637793128621787326%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=aB%2F3R0ddcp8DktZsUmL1vYlg88FN4ZhsNWtqfPkfYSE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peers</a>.</p><p>Data for 2021 will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course.</p> answering member constituency Walsall North answering member printed Eddie Hughes question first answered 20/04/2022 14:11:56 answering member 4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1455293

registered interest
date	29/03/2022
answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept id	211
answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
hansard heading	Leasehold: Mortgages
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what further steps he plans to take to ensure the availability of mortgages on leasehold homes.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	149126
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2022 answer text <p>Decisions concerning the pricing and availability of loans and deposit requirements are commercial decisions for lenders, made on their own risk appetite, considering factors such as market conditions and the funding they possess. The Government does not seek to intervene in these. We do, however, recognise that having a wide variety of affordable mortgage products on the market is important to a sustainable and healthy demand; and we discuss this with the industry regularly. <br> <br>Whilst one lender may be unable to offer a mortgage in a particular case, this would not preclude a customer from being offered credit elsewhere. There are a wide variety of mortgage products available in the UK and it can be useful for customers to shop around and speak to a mortgage broker in order to find the best possible product. <br> <br>We are also taking forward a comprehensive programme of leasehold reform to bring an end to unfair practices, including those which may affect mortgage availability. The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 will put an end to ground rents for most new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. We also understand the difficulties some existing leaseholders face with high and escalating ground rents. This is why we asked the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector.</p><p>Furthermore, with relation to our work on building safety, we have withdrawn the consolidated advice note which had been wrongly interpreted by lenders and fire risk assessors and drove an overly risk averse and cautious approach. We have also supported the publication of the British Standards Institutions' new PAS 9980 guidance for assessing risk in external walls. This guidance provides a methodology for a more proportionate and consistent assessment of risk posed by the external wall of a building.</p><p>We have also confirmed that those at fault, not blameless leaseholders, will be the ones who pay to fix unsafe cladding. This will further remove risk for lenders and help restore common sense to the market.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 19/04/2022 16:50:40 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1455030

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Slavery
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of companies required under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to produce modern slavery statements for the year 2021 that have not done so.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	148027
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses to report annually on steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.</p><p>Organisations are currently required to ensure their statement has been approved by the board, signed by a director, and is available via the homepage of their website (if they have one). Organisations are required to produce a modern slavery statement to report on their financial year (not the calendar year) and our statutory guidance states that they should publish a statement within 6 months of their financial year end. Therefore, statements covering activity throughout the year 2021 may not have been published yet as organisations have up to 6 months after the end of their 2021/2022 financial year to publish their statement.</p><p>Historically compliance with section 54 has been high, but we continue to push for higher compliance rates. In 2019, the Home Office contracted the Business &amp; Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) to undertake an audit of compliance with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The audit was concluded in January 2020 with data accurate up to this point. The high-level findings of this audit were published on 17 September 2020 in the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual report (available here: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Findependent-anti-slavery-commissioners-annual-report-2019-to-2020&amp;data=04%7C01%7CMatthew.Chaudhry4%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7Ca79a1e4cf30b4c933b1508d9b3eb0c18%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C637738644356828460%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=XI0oAU7HVt2QvpAf55kX2bX7MVQWxGIJ6Q2ee6qjFak%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-anti-slavery-commissioners-annual-report-2019-to-2020</a>).</p><p>To further drive compliance with section 54, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/919937/Government_response_to_transparency_in_supply_chains_consultation_21_09_20.pdf" target="_blank">Government response to the Transparency in Supply Chains consultation</a>, published on 22 September 2020, committed to taking forwards an ambitious package of measures to strengthen the Act’s transparency legislation, including:</p><ul><li>Extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more;</li><li>Mandating the specific reporting topics statements must cover;</li><li>Setting a single reporting deadline by which all modern slavery statements must be published;</li><li>Requiring organisations to publish their statement on the new Government registry.</li></ul><p>The Government has also committed to introduce financial penalties for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements. As with the measures contained in the Government response to the transparency in supply chains consultation, this requires legislative change and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p><p>In March 2021, the Government launched the modern slavery statement registry to radically enhance transparency by bringing together modern slavery statements on a single platform. The registry will provide a key tool for Government and others to monitor and drive compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. We have been encouraged by use of the registry. Since launch, over 7,300 modern slavery statements covering over 23,950 organisations have been submitted on a voluntary basis.</p> answering member constituency Redditch answering member printed Rachel Maclean question first answered 31/03/2022 11:40:10 answering member 4668 label Biography information for Rachel Maclean
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1454014

registered interest
date	24/03/2022
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	Household Support Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Household Support Fund in supporting low income families; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	146536
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2022 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions requires Local Authorities provide management information (MI) returns detailing their spend and volume of Household Support Fund awards made in relation to food, energy and water bills, essentials linked to energy and water bills, wider essentials, and housing costs. MI returns also detail grant spend and the volume of awards made in relation to families with and without children.</p><p> </p><p>This information, for the scheme running 6 October 2021- 31 March 2022, will be published in the coming months.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 01/04/2022 10:02:18 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 61329 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1454039

registered interest
date	24/03/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Advertising
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason the fraudulent advertising duty imposed on search engine firms in the Online Safety Bill is less stringent than that imposed on Category 1 firms; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	146537
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2022 answer text <p>We introduced the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 17 March.</p><p>The duties on search engines reflect that they facilitate harm in a different way to user to user services. The duties on search engines are therefore designed to be proportionate and risk-based.</p><p>We have also launched a consultation on proposals for wider reform of online advertising regulations, including in relation to fraud.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 29/03/2022 10:07:46 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms