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1131865

registered interest
date	12/06/2019
answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
answering dept id	90
answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
hansard heading	Members: Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the system for reimbursing MPs expenses; and if IPSA will make it its policy to reinstate the previous system for the reimbursement of expenses.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	263668
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>IPSA considered a range of options for its new system of reimbursing MPs’ business costs and expenses. The system selected is more integrated and efficient than its predecessor systems, and holds the personal data of MPs and their staff more securely. The software selected is widely used in the United Kingdom, including in many public bodies. Prior to its launch in April, the effectiveness of the system was thoroughly tested, including by MPs and their staff. Its benefits include:</p><p> </p><p>- A ‘single sign-on’ capability to allow MPs and their staff to access the system directly through their secure parliamentary account without an additional logon.</p><p>- MPs and staff no longer need to send paper receipts and invoices to IPSA, but can scan or photograph them and upload them digitally onto the system. This improves data security and means that IPSA can process and reimburse claims more quickly.</p><p>- MPs’ staff members can now be reimbursed directly by IPSA for their own expenses rather than via their MPs.</p><p>- MPs and their staff are now able to amend their personal details, including any change of name or address, on the new system themselves, without needing to submit a form to IPSA.</p><p>- The new system allows claims from different budgets to be submitted on the same form, rather than having to submit multiple forms.</p><p>- MPs and their staff have constant access to financial information about the amounts left in their budgets and the status of any repayments or amounts owed, rather than waiting a monthly financial statement from IPSA.</p><p> </p><p>As of 13 June, 612 MPs have successfully submitted claims on the new system. IPSA is committed to supporting and training MPs and their staff as they become accustomed to the new online claims system. IPSA does not intend to make it its policy to reinstate the previous system.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 20/06/2019 12:12:33 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 123708 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1131867

registered interest
date	12/06/2019
answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
answering dept id	90
answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
hansard heading	Members: Email
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what estimate he has made of the number of emails from hon. Members sent to IPSA in June 2019 that have not received a response within three days; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	263669
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>IPSA has a key performance target to respond to 90 per cent of emails within five working days. Between 1 June and 13 June, IPSA responded to 88 per cent of the 563 emails received within this target. IPSA has recently brought in five temporary staff to help improve its response times following the introduction of a new finance, payroll and expenses system in April 2019.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 20/06/2019 12:09:53 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 123710 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1131868

registered interest
date	12/06/2019
answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
answering dept id	90
answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
hansard heading	Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Working Hours
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what steps he is taking to help ensure that IPSA has sufficient resources to extend its working hours so that (a) telephone calls can be answered during the hours the House sits and (b) responses can be given to emails from MPs within three to five working days.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	263670
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>IPSA’s December 2018 user survey found that 68 per cent of MPs and their staff were satisfied with the support that they receive from IPSA on the phone, up from 53 per cent in 2017. Since the introduction of its new online finance and expenses system in April 2019, IPSA has experienced a higher-than-normal volume of calls, with some calls taking up to 45 minutes as MPs and their staff familiarise themselves with the new system. To respond to this increased demand, IPSA has recruited five temporary staff to answer the phone to MPs, and has temporarily closed its phone lines at 4pm in order to respond to the queries raised. IPSA expects to re-open its phone lines until 5pm when this demand subsides.</p><p>IPSA has a key performance target to respond to 90 per cent of emails within five days. In 2018-19, IPSA responded to over 85 per cent of the 54,500 letters and emails that were received within five working days of receipt. In April 2019, following the introduction on the new system, IPSA only replied to 70 per cent of emails within this target. The additional temporary staff will also address this increased demand.</p><p>IPSA’s performance is monitored by the Speaker’s Committee for the IPSA which approves IPSA’s budget and targets, including how it responds to MPs’ queries.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 20/06/2019 12:11:25 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker previous answer version 123711 answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1133395

registered interest
date	19/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probate: Winchester
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) personal and (b) solicitor applications for probate to the Winchester registry office had been outstanding on 17 June 2019 for more than (i) 10 days and (ii) 10 weeks; and when that backlog of cases will have been resolved.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	266621
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>The volume of outstanding probate cases at the Winchester Registry Office on 17 June was as follows: -</p><p> </p><p>Personal Applications</p><ul><li>997 more than 10 days</li><li>250 more than 10 weeks</li></ul><p> </p><p>Solicitors Applications</p><ul><li>3274 more than 10 days</li><li>211 more than 10 weeks</li></ul><p> </p><p>Cases outstanding for more than 10 weeks will include those in which the circumstances are beyond the Probate Service’s control. For example, applicants may be still waiting for their inheritance tax forms from Her Majesty’s Revenue &amp; Customs, or they may not have accounted for all executors named in the will. These requirements must be satisfied before the grant is issued.</p><p> </p><p>Urgent action has been taken to address delays - staffing has been increased and the digital service further improved to reduce the waiting times in order to return performance to normal levels as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 24/06/2019 16:47:36 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1133397

registered interest
date	19/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probate
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the target time for dealing with probate applications; and what regulatory impact assessment he has made of the effect of those changes on (a) applicants and (b) solicitors.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	266622
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>There are no prescribed target times for dealing with probate applications. The recent increase in waiting times has been caused by a combination of an increased volume of incoming work and the transition to a new case management IT system. The move to the new system meant that staff had to spend time being trained and familiarising themselves with the system – which also had some initial performance issues that have been addressed.</p><p> </p><p>The change to the new case management system resulted in part from the expansion of the online probate service which was enabled by the 2018 amendments to the non-contentious probate rules. The Explanatory Memorandum for the 2018 Order amending the rules provided an assessment of the impact of the reforms. The memorandum explained that a formal impact assessment was not required as the aggregate impact of the measures was expected to be well below the £5million per annum financial threshold.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 24/06/2019 16:48:10 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1133403

registered interest
date	19/06/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probate: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to waive probate fees in cases where applications are not processed within ten days through no fault of the applicant; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	266623
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>There are no statutory requirements or public commitments from Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service in relation to the timeframe for issuing grants of probate. There is a cost to the provision of grants of probate and it is appropriate that this cost is mainly recovered through the application fee, rather than the burden falling to the tax payer.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 24/06/2019 16:48:21 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1133390

registered interest
date	19/06/2019
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	Climate Change
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 he has made of the (a) costs and (b) benefits to council tax payers of local authorities in England declaring a climate emergency in their area; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	266619
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government welcomes the actions of Local Authorities across England to tackle climate change. We have always been clear that to achieve our climate targets it will take significant ambition at all levels.</p><p> </p><p>Achieving clean growth has to be a shared endeavour between government, local authorities, businesses, civil society and the British people. The development of Local Industrial Strategies, led by Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships, will build on unique local strengths to ensure every community, and the country, reaches their economic potential, supports clean growth and green jobs.</p><p> </p><p>Most motions have committed Councils to come back later this year with programmes to achieve their stated ambitions. This Government is looking at what support we can provide through our local energy programme and other programmes to help Councils make progress in taking action to tackle climate change.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 24/06/2019 13:54:26 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1133393

registered interest
date	19/06/2019
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	Climate Change
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 he has made of the effect on climate change of local authorities in England declaring a climate emergency in their area; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	266620
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government welcomes the actions of Local Authorities across England to tackle climate change. We have always been clear to achieve our climate targets will take significant ambition at all levels.</p><p> </p><p>Most motions have committed Councils to come back later this year with programmes to achieve their stated ambitions. This Government is looking at what support we can provide through our local energy programme and other programmes to help Councils make progress in taking action to tackle climate change.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 24/06/2019 13:54:34 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope