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1186205

registered interest
date	18/03/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Insurance Companies: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with insurance companies that will not pay out insurance monies to their customers on the basis that the covid-19 has not yet been put on their list of infectious diseases.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	31482
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector about its contribution to handling this unprecedented situation. Most businesses have not purchased insurance policies that cover unspecified notifiable diseases, such as COVID-19. Insurance policies differ significantly, so businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed.</p><p>On Tuesday 17 March the Chancellor announced that the Government would do whatever it takes to get our nation through the impacts of COVID-19 and that he stands ready to announce further action wherever necessary.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 23/03/2020 14:25:56 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1186318

registered interest
date	18/03/2020
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	Food Banks: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with supermarket chains and suppliers on ensuring that the foodbanks can meet the increased demand as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	31483
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2020 answer text <p>Food banks are independent charitable organisations and, as such, are best placed to decide on the most appropriate arrangements for supporting people who use them. As both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>I also refer the honourable member to the response given by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in response to an oral question made on 19 March:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-03-19/debates/EBB8F3D7-F9F4-4C5C-B913-86FD27851B5D/VulnerablePeopleFoodSupplies" target="_blank">https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-03-19/debates/EBB8F3D7-F9F4-4C5C-B913-86FD27851B5D/VulnerablePeopleFoodSupplies</a>”</p><p /><p>[Additionally announcements were made at the Prime Minister’s daily briefings on 21 and 22 March in relation to food supply]</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/03/2020 18:29:01 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1185698

registered interest
date	17/03/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Self-employed: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) tax breaks and (b) financial support have been implemented for the self-employed during the coronavirus outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	30744
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government has announced an unprecedented package of support for businesses and individuals affected by Covid-19, and remains committed to doing whatever it takes to support the economy as necessary.</p><p> </p><p>UK VAT registered businesses, including charities, can defer VAT payments due with their VAT returns between now and the end of June. No UK VAT registered business will have to make a VAT payment alongside their VAT return to HMRC in that period. They will have until the end of the financial year to repay.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will also give all eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England a 100% business rates holiday for the next 12 months. The Government also extended the support available to individuals and businesses, including a package of government-backed and guaranteed loans, which make available an initial £330 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of GDP.</p><p> </p><p>For Income Tax Self-Assessment, payments due on the 31st of July 2020 will be deferred until the 31st of January 2021.</p><p> </p><p>Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, employers (including charities) can put workers on temporary leave and the government will pay them cash grants of 80% of their wages up to a cap of £2,500 a month, providing they keep the worker employed. They will receive the grant from HMRC, covering the cost of wages backdated to 1 March 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be available for those unable to work because they are self-isolating in line with government advice; this is on top of the Prime Minister’s announcement that SSP will be payable from day 1 instead of day 4 for affected individuals. Support will be available through Universal Credit and Contributory Employment and Support Allowance for those not eligible for SSP.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have scaled up their Time to Pay offer to all taxpayers, including charities, who are in temporary financial distress as a result of Covid-19 and have outstanding tax liabilities. Taxpayers can contact HMRC’s dedicated Covid-19 helpline to get practical help and advice on 0800 0159 559.</p><p> </p><p>The Chancellor will continue to review and make further announcements as events unfold if required.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 30678 30719 30831 30891 31652 32287 question first answered 23/03/2020 17:28:46 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1185721

registered interest
date	17/03/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Travel: Insurance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that people that can no longer travel as a result of the outbreak of covid-19 can claim compensation through their travel insurance.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	30745
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2020 answer text <p>On Tuesday 17 March the Chancellor announced that as the wider economic picture becomes clearer, the Government would do whatever it takes to get our nation through the impacts of COVID-19 and that he stands ready to announce further action wherever necessary. The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector about its contribution to handling this unprecedented situation.</p><p> </p><p>In the first instance, customers who can no longer travel should seek compensation from their travel providers. Many UK carriers are offering vouchers, free rebooking or refunds.</p><p> </p><p>Further, on 17 March the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised against all non-essential travel abroad. Generally, insurance for cancellation or travel disruption will be triggered by FCO advice. This decision will therefore allow policyholders to claim for cancelled trips that were already booked and cannot now go ahead, if they have the relevant cancellation or travel disruption cover in place.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 23/03/2020 14:11:09 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1185783

registered interest
date	17/03/2020
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	Social Enterprises and Sports: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to provide support for sports clubs and social enterprises that have their activities and income affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	30747
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2020 answer text <p>Sports clubs and social enterprises form an integral part of this country and it is important they are given as much support as possible.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The government has announced a comprehensive and sizable package of direct fiscal support for business through tax relief and cash grants. This package means that all businesses eligible for small business rates relief and rural rates relief will receive a grant of £10,000 to help with the impact of Covid-19. Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors can receive even more: up to £25,000 per business, if they have a property with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>This comes on top of business rates holidays given to several hundred thousand businesses and compensation for statutory sick pay. As the Chancellor said, we plan to go further with regards to employment support and supporting people's jobs and incomes.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Sport England have also issued guidance (<a href="https://www.sportengland.org/news/coronavirus-information-sector" target="_blank">https://www.sportengland.org/news/coronavirus-information-sector</a>) to the sport and leisure sector to introduce, for an initial period of three months, significant flexibility for funding partners to reflect the current circumstances. Relevant funding partners can get in touch with Sport England using <a href="mailto:funding@sportengland.org" target="_blank">funding@sportengland.org</a> or on 03458 508 508.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We will continue to engage closely with the sector and the Government will do whatever it takes to get our nation through the impacts of COVID-19.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 23/03/2020 17:23:41 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1183896

registered interest
date	10/03/2020
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	Public Health England: Harlow
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 he is taking to the support the delivery of public health solutions at Public Health England's campus in Harlow.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	27554
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2020 answer text <p>In 2015 the Government confirmed an initial £400 million of funding to proceed with development of the planned Public Health England science campus and headquarters in Harlow. Enabling work is underway on site, and the programme will progress to Full Programme Business Case approval later this year.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 18/03/2020 17:51:54 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1183900

registered interest
date	10/03/2020
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	Coronavirus
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 the Government is taking with Public Health England (PHE) to prepare for outbreaks of (a) covid-19 and (b) other viruses that may occur in the future; and what plans PHE has to use the facilities at the future site at Harlow for those preparations.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	27556
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2020 answer text <p>We are currently responding across all sectors to the COVID-19 virus and we will incorporate any lessons learnt from this outbreak, into future planning.</p><p>Public Health England has recently published guidance for COVID-19 and regularly updates guidance on a range of topics. For example, guidance for staying at home and educational settings were published on 12 March and can be found at the following link.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-guidance</a></p><p>In 2015 the Government confirmed £400 million of capital funding to proceed with development of the planned Public Health England science campus and headquarters in Harlow. Enabling work is underway on site, and the programme will progress to Full Programme Business Case approval later this year.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 18/03/2020 17:46:49 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1184024

registered interest
date	10/03/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices: Digital Technology
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Government has been made of the role of Digital and Technology Solutions degree apprenticeships in filling (a) current and (b) future skills gaps in the digital industries.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	27622
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2020 answer text <p>An estimated additional 1.2 million people with specialist digital skills will be required by the UK economy by 2022. Now, more than ever, high-level skills in computing are essential to supporting a successful economy.</p><p>Apprenticeships can help employers in the digital sector address their current and emerging skills needs and build a diverse pipeline of talent for the future.</p><p>We have put employers at the heart of our apprenticeship system, empowering them to design the standards that they need. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) supports employers to develop standards and acts as the guarantor of their quality. There are currently 22 standards available in the digital sector with a further 6 in development, ranging from level 3 to level 7.</p><p>IfATE conducts statutory route reviews to give employers the confidence that apprenticeship standards remain relevant and continue to deliver value for money for employers and government. The digital route review was the first of these reviews to be carried out. It reported in May 2019 and found that the level 6 Digital and Technology Solutions professional standard would be retained and revised, ensuring that the content was appropriate and up to date. The level 7 standard was introduced in August 2018 and therefore not in scope of the review.</p><p>Starts on both apprenticeship standards have grown, with 1,500 starts on the level 6 Digital and Technology Solutions Professional standard in 2018/19 and 180 starts on the level 7 Digital and Technology Solutions Specialist standard.</p> answering member constituency Chichester answering member printed Gillian Keegan question first answered 18/03/2020 17:03:30 answering member 4680 label Biography information for Gillian Keegan
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1182226

registered interest
date	03/03/2020
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	Hospitals: Parking
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether plans for the introduction of free parking at hospitals in England for certain patient groups will include all hospital visits for people aged 25 and under with cancer.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	24315
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government plans to offer free hospital car parking to disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight and staff working night shifts.</p><p>The Department is developing its proposals for implementing these commitments working closely with the National Health Service. This includes work to ensure that NHS organisations are supported to implement the required changes effectively.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 24316 24317 24318 24319 24320 question first answered 10/03/2020 15:02:45 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1182227

registered interest
date	03/03/2020
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	Hospitals: Parking
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the introduction of free parking at hospitals in England for certain patient groups will include hospital appointments for people with long term side effects of having had cancer as a child or young person and who may never be discharged.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	24316
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government plans to offer free hospital car parking to disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight and staff working night shifts.</p><p>The Department is developing its proposals for implementing these commitments working closely with the National Health Service. This includes work to ensure that NHS organisations are supported to implement the required changes effectively.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 24315 24317 24318 24319 24320 question first answered 10/03/2020 15:02:45 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon