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1136362

	registered interest
	date	02/07/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Science: Research
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to support human-relevant science.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	272219
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government promotes advances in biomedical science and technologies that include stem cell research, in vitro systems that mimic the function of human organs, imaging and new computer modelling techniques.</p><p>These advances are providing new opportunities to reduce reliance on the use of animals in research. Animals can only be used where there is no practicable alternatives and where the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) have been fully implemented. There are no plans to legislate for conducting human-relevant science.</p> answering member constituency Wyre and Preston North answering member printed Mr Ben Wallace question first answered 10/07/2019 15:51:23 answering member 1539 label Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1243894

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2020
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Air Passenger Duty: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with HM Treasury on the potential merits of introducing a 12-month waiver for Air Passenger Duty to support vital trade and connectivity during the covid-19 pandemic.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	104092
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2020 answer text <p>The Department recognises the importance of maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector in the UK to deliver connectivity.</p><p> </p><p>Air Passenger Duty is led by HM Treasury. The Department for Transport works closely with HM Treasury and both Departments have engaged closely with the aviation sector to understand their assessment of the outlook for the sector and implications of any sector specific support measures.</p> answering member constituency Witney answering member printed Robert Courts question first answered 23/10/2020 13:27:59 answering member 4589 label Biography information for Robert Courts
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1199111

	registered interest
	date	19/05/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Travel: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, what review mechanisms she will put in place to assess the (a) effectiveness of and (b) need for a 14-day quarantine period for people arriving at UK airports, ports and other points of entry.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	52657
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>Public health will always come first. The government will carefully assess the impact of these measures in preventing transmission of coronavirus in the UK.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The need for the restrictions, and the requirements imposed, will be reviewed in line with social distancing measures, currently every three weeks. The first review will be in w/c 28 June.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will consider factors such as SAGE advice, the domestic and international incidence of Covid-19, the level of infection and transmission, emerging scientific evidence for antibody and other screening methods being appropriate for international travel health measures, economic impact, and initiatives being trialled to secure safe travel.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 09/06/2020 13:31:41 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1218758

	registered interest
	date	29/06/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: China
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce a visa ban on officials from the Peoples Republic of China entering the UK in response to the Chinese Government's policies in relation to human rights in Hong Kong.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	66017
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2020 answer text <p>All those coming to the UK are assessed against the immigration rules and must meet the suitability and eligibility requirements. All UK visa applications are considered on their individual merits.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 07/07/2020 16:14:48 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1177755

	registered interest
	date	11/02/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Economic Growth
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to encourage local growth in (a) Crawley and (b) the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	570
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to levelling up the entire country and giving towns, cities and communities across the UK real power and investment to drive the growth of the future and unleash their full potential.</p><p>We have taken action to encourage local growth in Crawley that includes:</p><ul><li>The opportunity to receive up to £25 million from the Towns Fund as one of the 100 places selected to develop a Town Deal with Government;</li><li>£24 million from the Local Growth Fund, supporting infrastructure, regeneration and skills projects;</li><li>Advice and support to 40 Crawley small businesses in the last financial year from Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership’s Growth Hub.</li></ul><p>Across the UK the Government is supporting local partners to deliver local economic growth and prosperity through:</p><ul><li>£12 billion of investment by 2021 through the Local Growth Fund in England in infrastructure, skills and innovation projects;</li><li>Devolving powers and funding to eight Metro Mayors, with ongoing negotiations for new devolution deals across the North;</li><li>Commitments to the Northern Powerhouse, Midlands Engine and Oxford-Cambridge Arc, as well as local industrial strategies being developed by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across England to drive growth across their areas;</li><li>Town Deals from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund and investment in our High Streets;</li><li>City and Growth Deals worth £10 billion in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland;</li><li>Developing a UK Shared Prosperity Fund to tackle inequality and deprivation in each of our four nations.</li></ul> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 19/02/2020 11:12:37 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1173858

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2020
	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	Waste Disposal: Crime
	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 steps her Department is taking to tackle (a) organised waste crime and (b) fly-tipping.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	8995
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>Waste crime damages the environment, is a blight on local communities and the Government is committed to tackling this criminal activity. We have given the Environment Agency (EA) an extra £60 million to tackle waste crime since 2014 and have also made a range of legislative changes. In addition, the Resource and Waste Strategy sets out an ambitious package of further reforms to modernise the way waste is regulated, clamping down on illegal operators and improving performance across the sector. Some of these commitments are being taken forward in the Environment Bill, including measures to further strengthen EA powers when dealing with criminal operators.</p><p> </p><p>The new Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC), a taskforce dedicated to tackling serious and organised criminality in the waste sector was launched last month. The JUWC will tackle criminal activity including the large-scale illegal dumping, or false labelling of waste so it can be exported abroad to unsuspecting countries. It brings together the EA, the National Crime Agency, the police, HMRC, Natural Resources Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in a concerted UK-wide effort to share intelligence and resources to tackle crime which costs the economy at least £600 million every year.</p><p> </p><p>Fly-tipping is unacceptable whether it occurs on public or private land and tackling this crime is a priority for the Government. In recent years we have bolstered local authorities’ powers to tackle fly-tipping. As well as enhanced powers to search and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, we have given them the power to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of up to £400 for fly-tipping offences, including to those caught fly-tipping and householders who pass their waste to a fly-tipper. FPNs provide local authorities with an efficient mechanism to hold fly-tipping perpetrators to account without having to go to court, which can be a time consuming, resource-intensive and expensive process.</p><p> </p><p>If a prosecution is taken, then a fly-tipper can receive a fine of up to £50,000, or 12 months imprisonment if convicted in a Magistrates' Court. The offence can attract an unlimited fine and up to 5 years imprisonment if convicted in a Crown Court. Defra has worked with the Sentencing Council to amend sentencing guidance for magistrates to ensure that they are aware of local fixed penalty levels for these offences, but will continue this work to help to secure tougher penalties in line with our manifesto commitment.</p><p> </p><p>We have also committed to the development of a fly-tipping toolkit, hosted by the National Fly Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG). This will be a web-based tool to help local authorities and others work in partnership to tackle fly-tipping. It will cover, for example, the use of new technology to report fly-tipping, sharing of intelligence within and between partnerships, dealing with unauthorised encampments and promoting the duty of care to individuals and businesses. The Government is also consulting at the moment about strengthening police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments. The NFTPG has also published a Fly-tipping Partnership Framework outlining best practice for the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipping and a series of fly-tipping prevention guides for householders, businesses and landowners.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 04/02/2020 17:23:33 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1216895

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2020
	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	Elephants: Conservation
	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 funding his Department has allocated to programmes to help protect Asian elephants living in the wild.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	63307
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2020 answer text <p>Defra has provided over £4.2 million in funding for Asian elephants living in the wild since 2015 through the Darwin Initiative and the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) Challenge Fund. These are competitive Defra grant schemes funded entirely through Official Development Assistance (ODA).</p><p> </p><p>The IWT Challenge Fund and the Darwin Initiative have committed £2.9 million and £1.3 million respectively for Asian elephants since 2015 through 14 separate projects. These include a project seeking to reduce the illegal ivory trade in Cambodia, and a project supporting Nepal’s world-leading community anti-poaching efforts.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 01/07/2020 14:53:31 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1190708

	registered interest
	date	27/04/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Disease Control: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people classified by the NHS as extremely vulnerable people who have been asked to shield at home have (a) requested and (b) received support from (i) community hubs as announced on 21 March 2020 and (ii) supermarkets.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	40580
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>MHCLG continues to work closely with local authorities to manage the impacts of Covid-19 on the most vulnerable in our society.</p><p>Government provides food parcels directly to those identified as clinically extremely vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus if they do not have alternative means of accessing support. Over 280,000 clinically extremely vulnerable people have requested support and Government has delivered over 800,000 food parcels directly to people’s doorsteps since March.</p><p>Local councils across the country have set up local authority hubs and have local systems and processes to provide those who are medically vulnerable in their area with additional support, over and above that provided centrally.</p><p>Clinically extremely vulnerable individuals who have requested essential supplies through the gov.uk website have had their details passed onto supermarkets and the Government continues to work with supermarkets to support the prioritisation of clinically extremely vulnerable people for delivery slots.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 05/05/2020 16:41:26 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1188765

	registered interest
	date	20/04/2020
	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	Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
	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 steps he is taking to ensure firms can access the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	37587
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) opened for applications on 23 March. The Government has been working closely with the British Business Bank and financial sector to ensure businesses can access the support they need. We have made changes to widen the scheme’s eligibility so that more small businesses across the UK can benefit from the scheme, by extending loans to all viable small businesses affected by the Coronavirus, not just those unable to secure regular commercial financing. For facilities under £250,000, use of personal guarantees are not permitted under the scheme.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 28/04/2020 16:42:54 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1220634

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2020
	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	Coronavirus Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to review the criteria for distributing and allocating funding through the Discretionary Grant Fund to local councils for supporting businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	68687
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2020 answer text <p>The Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs that are not liable for business rates or rates reliefs.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities are responsible for defining the precise eligibility for this Fund and may choose to make payments to other businesses based on local economic need, subject to those businesses meeting the specific eligibility criteria.</p><p> </p><p>We are asking local authorities to prioritise the following types of businesses for grants from within this funding pot:</p><ul><li>Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces. Examples could include units in industrial parks, science parks, and incubators which do not have their own business rates assessment.</li><li>Regular market traders with fixed building costs, such as rent, who do not have their own business rates assessment.</li><li>Bed &amp; breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rates.</li><li>Charity properties in receipt of Charitable Rate Relief, which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Businesses already in receipt of the Small Business grant or a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure grant are not eligible for this fund. Businesses who are eligible for or in receipt of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme are now eligible to apply for this scheme.</p><p> </p><p>There is currently no plan to change eligibility criteria for this scheme. Officials are keeping in close contact with local authorities to monitor the progress of the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance for Local Authorities was published 13 May: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding</a>.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 13/07/2020 17:05:08 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith