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426372

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2015
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Pollinators
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the National Pollinator Strategy since its publication in November 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	902034
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2015 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">We have established a programme of research to accurately assess our effectiveness, including a national framework for monitoring of pollinators. Over half of mid–tier applications to Countryside Stewardship contain the Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package. Monitoring and evaluation of the scheme makes provisions for assessing the impact on pollinators. The Implementation Plan sets out details on progress with the Strategy and will be published shortly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We have established a programme of research to accurately assess the effectiveness of our pollinator strategy. Over half of mid-tier applications to the new Countryside Stewardship scheme contain the Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package.</ins></p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 05/11/2015 16:57:06 question first ministerially corrected 05/11/2015 18:03:06 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice previous answer version 27965 answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

453086

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2016
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Queen Elizabeth II: Anniversaries
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what plans the Church of England has to mark the 90th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	27423
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2016 answer text <p>The Church of England will mark the 90th birthday of Her Majesty with a large number of events and activities at national and local levels, including a national service of celebration at St Paul’s Cathedral. Alongside these events, the Bible Society and HOPE have released a companion book titled “The Servant Queen”, with a foreword written by Her Majesty that discusses how her faith has influenced her service of this nation over the last 90 years.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Mrs Caroline Spelman question first answered 23/02/2016 16:28:34 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

385425

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2015
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions he has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions about the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service in prosecuting child sexual abuse cases.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	4111
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2015 answer text <p>I have regular discussions with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on a wide range of criminal matters, including child sexual abuse (CSA) cases. The prosecution of CSA cases were specifically discussed at a meeting in February this year and the DPP outlined to me how the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is coordinating its response with the police to the Home Office CSA Inquiry.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In October 2013 the CPS issued guidelines setting out a new approach to CSA cases. Steps to be taken include the use of specialist prosecutors, the provision of dedicated CPS units to manage such cases, and the application of a new approach to considering evidence in such cases. In 2014-15, the number of child abuse prosecutions rose by 2,047 to 10,045, the highest volume of cases ever. There were 74.4% convictions in 2014-15, falling slightly from 76.2% in 2013-14, but overall there was a rise in the volume of convictions in the child abuse cases to 7,469 in 2014-15 from 6,096 in 2013-14.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 30/06/2015 15:19:06 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

419023

	registered interest
	date	16/09/2015
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Social Media
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what steps his Department is taking to improve public understanding of the legal framework applicable to social media.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	10455
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2015 answer text <p>Judging by the number of referrals from members of the public to my office there is clearly some awareness of the legal framework applicable to social media but I have sought to increase this awareness by, for example, issuing online warnings on social media, including Twitter, in appropriate cases.</p><p>In relation to the commission of criminal offences by social media users, the Crown Prosecution Service has also issued detailed guidelines to prosecutors on handling cases involving communications sent via social media.</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 12/10/2015 09:21:35 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

428969

	registered interest
	date	18/11/2015
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Witnesses
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what steps the CPS has recently taken to improve its support for (a) child witnesses and (b) people with learning disabilities who give evidence in criminal proceedings.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	16813
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2015 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to improving the ‘at court’ experience for all witnesses. The CPS works closely with the police and the voluntary sector to ensure that vulnerable witnesses such as children and people with learning disabilities are well supported through the Criminal Justice System.</p><p>Special measures such as the use of intermediaries, using screens at court and video live links help vulnerable witnesses, including children and people with learning difficulties, to give their best evidence. Recently, the CPS assisted the MoJ in recruiting an additional 105 intermediaries, who play a vital role in facilitating coherent conversations during police interviews and at court. The use of pre-recorded cross-examination has also been successfully piloted and the Lord Chancellor has committed publically to a national roll-out.</p><p>In September, following public consultation, the Director of Public Prosecutions announced the launch of new guidance for prosecutors entitled ‘Speaking to Witnesses at Court’. The aim of this guidance is to set out the role played by prosecutors at or before court in ensuring that witnesses give their best evidence. This will benefit all prosecution witnesses and will help them understand what to expect. These enhanced arrangements will be piloted over the coming months and will be rolled out nationally during 2016.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 23/11/2015 14:27:50 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

443164

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2016
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Human Trafficking: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to improve the number of successful prosecutions for human trafficking offences.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	21543
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2016 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has issued guidance to strengthen prosecutions in support of the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The CPS continues to deliver joint training with the police. The increased awareness and emphasis on working with the police to build stronger cases should lead to an improvement in the number of successful prosecutions.</p><br /><p>The Director of Public Prosecutionsis hosting a summit with the Heads of the Prosecution Services in the UK and the Lord Advocate for Scotland in February 2016 to launch joint commitments to provide a more robust UK response to human trafficking and slavery.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 13/01/2016 13:39:36 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

101055

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Small Businesses: Non-domestic Rates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many small firms and shops have benefited from reductions in business rates in (a) England and (b) Crawley constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	212013
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p>We have introduced a £1 billion business rate support package for 2014-15 including:</p><p>– a 2% cap in the Retail Price Index increase in the small business rates multiplier;</p><p>– a retail discount of £1,000 for around 300,000 shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000;</p><p>– a 12 month extension of small business rate relief doubling, benefitting over half a million businesses;</p><p>– a 50 per cent discount for new occupants of long-term vacant shops, and;</p><p>– allowing ratepayers to pay bills over 12 instalments.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not collect data on a constituency basis, but the Crawley constituency lies entirely within the Crawley Borough Council boundary. Table 1 (attached) shows, where available, the estimated number of properties that will benefit from each of the reliefs introduced or extended in 2014-15 within Crawley Borough Council, as well as the amount of relief awarded. Table 2 (attached) provides the same data, but for England as a whole.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 05/11/2014 17:34:35 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins attachment 1 file name 212013 Smith - Table 1 and 2.docx title Table 1 and 2 - Business Rates
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

101056

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Help to Buy Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the take-up of the Help to Buy has been in (a) England and (b) Crawley constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	212014
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>This Government is committed to supporting people’s aspirations to own their own home.</p><p> </p><p>Statistics for Help to Buy sales by constituency are published for Help to Buy: Equity Loan, but not for Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee and Help to Buy: NewBuy. These, together with statistics on the number of Help to Buy sales at local authority and postcode level are published on the Open Data Communities portal for Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee and Help to Buy: Equity Loan. This is available on the following link: <a href="http://opendatacommunities.org/def/concept/folders/themes/housing-market" target="_blank">http://opendatacommunities.org/def/concept/folders/themes/housing-market</a></p><p> </p><p>Statistics on Help to Buy: NewBuy sales at local authority level are published on the Department’s website, available on the following link: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/help-to-buy-equity-loan-and-newbuy-statistics" target="_blank">http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/help-to-buy-equity-loan-and-newbuy-statistics</a></p><p> </p><p>The number of Help to Buy: Equity Loan sales in the Crawley constituency (to 30 September 2014) is 49. The table below breaks down the total Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee, Help to Buy: Equity Loan and Help to Buy: NewBuy sales in England and the Crawley local authority area:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td><p>Mortgage Guarantee (to 30 June 2014)</p></td><td><p>Equity Loan (to 30 September 2014)</p></td><td><p>NewBuy (to 30 September 2014)</p></td><td><p><strong>TOTAL</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>15,091</p></td><td><p>33,911</p></td><td><p>5,518</p></td><td><p>54,520</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Crawley local authority</p></td><td><p>38</p></td><td><p>51</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>94</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br>Data at constituency level is only available for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 03/11/2014 17:14:18 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

167705

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Small Businesses: Non-domestic Rates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of how many small firms and shops will benefit from reductions in business rates in (a) England and (b) Crawley in 2015-16.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	217113
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2014 answer text <p>The Chancellor announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 bills, bringing the total support of 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement polices to £1.4 billion. This help includes:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>doubling small business rate relief for a further year. In England, this means an estimated 385,000 properties will pay no rates at all, while a further 190,000 properties will benefit from tapered relief.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>a 2% cap on the increase of the small business rates multiplier. This is a continuation of the 2% cap introduced in 2014-15 as part of Autumn Statement 2013 measures;</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>increasing the temporary £1,000 discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16, benefitting an estimated 300,000 properties in England;</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>extending the existing transitional relief scheme for two years for properties with a rateable value up to and including £50,000.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>These policies are in addition to previous Autumn Statement measures that continue into 2015-16, including:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>a 50 per cent discount for 18 months to new occupants of vacant shops;</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>allowing businesses to keep their small business rate relief for a year where they take on an additional property; and</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>business rates relief for empty new builds.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Central Government also now funds 50% of any local discount granted.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Local authority level data is not yet available for the number of properties that will benefit from Autumn Statement 2014 measures in 2015-16. However, the attached table shows the number of hereditaments in 2014-15 that have benefitted from business rates measures extended in this year’s autumn statement.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 10/12/2014 15:55:36 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins attachment 1 file name 217113 Smith - Table.docx title Table 1
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

167709

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Right to Buy Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the take-up has been of the Help to Buy schemes in (a) England and (b) Crawley constituency to date.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	217114
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2014 answer text <p>This Government is committed to supporting people’s aspirations to own their own home.</p><p> </p><p>By 31 October, nearly 66,400 families have bought a home with the assistance of the three Help to Buy schemes in England and 132 in the Crawley constituency.</p><p> </p><p>The Department’s official statistics on sales for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, at 31 October in England, broken down by constituency, local authority and postcode, are available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics<br><br>The Department’s official statistics on sales for the Help to Buy: New Buy scheme, at 30 September are available at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-and-help-to-buy-newbuy-statistics-april-2013-to-september-2014" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-and-help-to-buy-newbuy-statistics-april-2013-to-september-2014</a> Figures are not available by constituency.</p><p> </p><p>The Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee scheme is managed by HM Treasury. The latest official statistics, at 30 September, are available at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-statistics-october-2013-to-september-2014" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-statistics-october-2013-to-september-2014</a></p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 10/12/2014 15:46:34 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith