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1564330

	registered interest
	date	06/01/2023
	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, how many probate cases are under consideration in England; and what proportion of those cases have been waiting for a decision for six weeks or more.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	117447
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2023 answer text <p><ins class="ministerial">There were 53,253 probate cases in the Open Caseload<sup>1</sup> as at 31 December. Of those 30,656 were more than 6 weeks old<sup>1</sup>. Of the cases over six weeks old 13,536 were stopped, 7,247 were awaiting documentation and 9,873 were ready to progress.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><sup>1 </sup>Data as at 31 December in line the official published stats. The administration of probate applications is dealt with as a national service, covering England and Wales. The open caseload excludes cases older than 6 months.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><sup>2</sup>The time outstanding is counted from the application submission date recorded in the case management system, except for digital applications with a Will, where the date of receipt of the original Will by HMCTS is used.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">This data is management Information. The management information presented in this table reflects what is recorded on relevant case-management systems on the date of extraction. The case management systems are continually updated and so the information presented will differ from previously published information. Management information can differ from the quality assured MOJ official statistics, which form the agreed definitive position. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.</ins></p><p><del class="ministerial">The total amount of unassessed probate cases where evidence has been received to enable a case to be assessed is 12,923.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">4805 of these cases are over 6 weeks since the date the evidence was received.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">In addition, there are 38,245 cases which are either waiting for evidence, such as the original will, to arrive, are subject to a legal hold following an application from another party or have been stopped due to an error or missing documentation and are waiting for a response from the applicant.</del></p><p>HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand following an increased number of estates requiring probate and is further increasing resourcing to further bring down overall timeliness on digital and paper applications.</p><p>The improvement of the online probate system remains a priority for HMCTS, to ensure more applications can be issued first time and resources can be focused on reducing waiting times.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 16/01/2023 17:38:53 question first ministerially corrected 25/04/2023 12:20:11 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer previous answer version 47244 answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1564329

	registered interest
	date	06/01/2023
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Buses: Exhaust Emissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many new net zero emission buses were funded by his Department in the last five years; what the power source was for those buses; and how many and what proportion of those buses were manufactured in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	117446
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2023 answer text <p>We have committed to funding 4,000 zero emission buses (ZEBs) this Parliament. Across the UK an estimated 3,250 ZEBs have been funded so far.</p><p> </p><p>Between financial years 2018-19 to 2022-23 the Department for Transport has provided funding for 2,594 zero emission buses. The number of buses ordered and delivered may change following the outcome of procurement processes undertaken by local transport authorities or bus operators.</p><p> </p><p>Table 1 below presents the number of zero emission buses funded between financial years 2018-19 to 2022-23.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Number of Zero Emission Buses</p></td><td><p>Number of Battery Electric Buses</p></td><td><p>Number of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>76</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">43 </del> <ins class="ministerial">33</ins></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">33 </del> <ins class="ministerial">43</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019-20</p></td><td><p>27</p></td><td><p>27</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020-21</p></td><td><p>556</p></td><td><p>556</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021-22</p></td><td><p>1298</p></td><td><p>1154</p></td><td><p>144</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022-23</p></td><td><p>100</p></td><td><p>100</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>TCF 2018-19 to 2022-23*</p></td><td><p>46</p></td><td><p>46</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London 2020-21 to 2022-23**</p></td><td><p>491</p></td><td><p>491</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>2594</p></td><td><p>2417</p></td><td><p>177</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*46 zero emission busses were funded through the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) between financial years 2018-19 to 2022-23.</p><p>**491 zero emission buses were introduced in London in financial years 2020-21 to 2022-23 as a result of Department for Transport funding to Transport for London.</p><p> </p><p>Table 2 provides information, where available, on the bus manufacturer of these zero emission buses.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Bus Manufacturer</p></td><td><p>Number of Zero Emission Buses</p></td><td><p>Percentage of Zero Emission Buses</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Alexander Dennis Ltd</p></td><td><p>436</p></td><td><p>17%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wrightbus</p></td><td><p>188</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Switch Mobility</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>1%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Volvo</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Supplied by Pelican Bus &amp; Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong</p></td><td><p>221</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Supplied by Harris Group and manufactured by Higer</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Information not held by the Department</p></td><td><p>491</p></td><td><p>19%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator</p></td><td><p>1223</p></td><td><p>47%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>2594</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Durham answering member printed Mr Richard Holden question first answered 16/01/2023 16:35:59 question first ministerially corrected 01/02/2023 09:22:39 answering member 4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden previous answer version 47109 answering member constituency North West Durham answering member printed Mr Richard Holden answering member 4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1176560

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2020
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Highways England: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff at Highways England received a salary of more than £100,000 in the last financial year.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	12867
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2020 answer text <p>Highways England employed 61 staff on a base salary of £100,000 or more in <ins class="ministerial">2018-19</ins> <del class="ministerial">2019-20</del>. I have committed in the House to addressing this issue.</p> answering member constituency Welwyn Hatfield answering member printed Grant Shapps question first answered 14/02/2020 14:58:25 question first ministerially corrected 12/03/2020 10:33:24 answering member 1582 label Biography information for Grant Shapps previous answer version 7123 answering member constituency Welwyn Hatfield answering member printed Grant Shapps answering member 1582 label Biography information for Grant Shapps
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1145756

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	City of London Police: Action Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the management of Action Fraud by the City of London Police.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	290643
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The Government’s Joint Fraud Taskforce (a coalition between government, industry, law enforcement and the third sector) continues to lead an ambitious programme of work to design out and prevent fraud that occurs both online and offline. This includes the<em>Take Five</em> fraud awareness campaign, designed to urge the public and businesses to take time to consider whether a situation they find themselves in is genuine.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">Online personal scams are increasingly perpetrated via cyber-enabled methods. To protect victims, the Government set up the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in October 2016. The NCSC is the UK’s technical authority on cyber security and provides a single, central body for cyber security at a national level. The NCSC works very closely with law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community to help prevent, disrupt and investigate cyber-crime and other online cyber related threats. In 2018 the NCSC took down 22,133 phishing campaigns, including 14,124 UK government-related phishing sites, and the total number of takedowns of fraudulent websites was 192,256, across 2018, with 64% of them down in 24 hours.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The City of London Police undertake a national lead force role for the investigation of serious and complex fraud cases. The Home Office remains committed to improving the law enforcement response to fraud. That is why we requested that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) conduct a thematic inspection on fraud, including Action Fraud, and set out measures for improving the response to fraud in our Economic Crime Plan, which was published in July. The City of London Police (as the National Lead Force for fraud) is currently implementing recommendations within HMICFRS’ inspection report, which was published on 2<sup>nd</sup> April.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The scale and complexity of the threat from serious and organised crime means that we need to do more to develop our response. The Government therefore recently announced a formal review to identify the powers, capabilities, governance and funding needed in response to this threat.</ins></p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 08/10/2019 14:49:11 question first ministerially corrected 08/10/2019 16:18:16 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis previous answer version 138602 answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1139417

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2019
	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	Hezbollah and Islamic Resistance Support Organization
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the relationship between Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance Support Organisation.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	277639
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>We do not comment on intelligence matters.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 23/07/2019 15:15:47 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1139418

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Hezbollah
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to tackle the domestic operations of Hezbollah since its full proscription.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	277640
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>Investigations into the activities of proscribed terrorist organisations are an operational matter for the police and intelligence agencies. The Government does not comment on intelligence matters.</p> answering member constituency Wyre and Preston North answering member printed Mr Ben Wallace question first answered 22/07/2019 15:53:53 answering member 1539 label Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1143569

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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	Atheism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department taking to protect the freedom of atheists around the world.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	284984
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief as a universal human right which should be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere. This includes the right to have no religious conviction or belief. The UK regularly raises our concerns, including, where appropriate the treatment of atheists, with governments across the world. We do this at a Ministerial level and through our diplomatic network. We also use the Human Rights Council to draw attention to the treatment of religious and non-religious minorities, and the UK funds and supports projects that promote respect for all people of different faiths and none.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 09/09/2019 15:11:48 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1143570

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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	Nicaragua: Catholicism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Nicaraguan counterpart on reports of harassment of the Catholic Church in that country.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	285193
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>​The United Kingdom is aware of reports of harassment of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, and has been very clear with the Nicaraguan Government that they must take responsibility for ending the current violence and protecting human rights.</p><p>We continue to follow developments closely, including through contacts with EU and US partners and local stakeholders in the country. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Nicaraguan Government at every opportunity.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 05/09/2019 16:49:35 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1145757

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Earthquakes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance the Government is offering to the Government of Pakistan following the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Azad Kashmir.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	290644
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>DFID has been liaising closely with the Government of Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) since the earthquake struck on 24 September 2019.</p><p> </p><p>Key humanitarian partners, including UN agencies, met with the NDMA to discuss the response to the earthquake on Friday 27 September. The NDMA confirmed that the Government of Pakistan will not launch any formal appeal or request for National or International Assistance, but donors and agencies can provide assistance on a voluntary basis.</p><p> </p><p>DFID stands ready to respond and provide funding and the National Disaster Consortium partners have pre-positioned supplies which can be deployed at short notice.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 03/10/2019 16:18:19 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1145758

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	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	Kashmir: Politics and Government
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the Indian Government on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	290645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/10/2019 answer text <p>We are following the situation in Kashmir closely and are in regular contact with the Governments of India and Pakistan. The Prime Minister has spoken to Prime Minister Modi about the situation and the Foreign Secretary raised his concerns with his Indian counterpart Dr Jaishankar. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon has also spoken on a number of occasions with both the Indian High Commissioner and Pakistan High Commission about the situation. Events in Kashmir can have regional and international implications and we continue to urge calm and caution from all.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 02/10/2019 09:14:52 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar