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1174013

registered interest
date	29/01/2020
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	Homelessness: Children
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 support he is providing to (a) homeless children and (b) children in temporary accommodation.
tabling member constituency	Luton North
tabling member printed	Sarah Owen
uin	9145
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The use of temporary accommodation means people are getting help and ensures no family is without a roof over their head.</p><p>Any accommodation secured by a local authority for a homeless household must meet the standards in ‘The homelessness code of guidance,’ which sets out in detail what the authority must take into account when considering the accommodation’s suitability for a homeless household.</p><p>The code of guidance can be accessed here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness-code-of-guidance-for-local-authorities" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness-code-of-guidance-for-local-authorities</a>.</p><p>Reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation is a priority for this Government and we have allocated over £1.2 billion over the last three years to tackle all forms of homelessness. This includes:</p><ul><li>Implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act;</li><li>Providing a Flexible Homelessness Support Grant for homelessness services; and</li><li>The Private Rented Sector Access Fund that will enable thousands of households to be supported into long-term private rented accommodation; and</li><li>Launching Capital Letters, a project which works with London Boroughs through a centralised procurement process to improve the supply of homes, reduce the cost to local authorities of procuring these homes and achieve better outcomes of homeless families.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 03/02/2020 16:23:06 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4777 label Biography information for Sarah Owen

1173824

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
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	National Institute for Health Research: Equality
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will undertake an equality impact assessment of research funding spent by the National Institute for Health Research.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	8996
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is funded by the Department. As a public authority, the Department is required to adhere to the Public Sector Equality Duty in line with the Equality Act 2010. The Department takes its obligations under the Equality Act very seriously, specifically in ensuring that we give due regard to the impacts on people with protected characteristics. The NIHR Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Board is leading work on equality impact assessments and their applicability to the NIHR. A decision on whether and where to apply equality impact assessments will be made as a result of this work.</p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 03/02/2020 16:42:50 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

1173826

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
answering body	Prime Minister
answering dept id	23
answering dept short name	Prime Minister
answering dept sort name	Prime Minister
hansard heading	Intelligence and Security Committee: Public Appointments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Prime Minister, on what date he plans to nominate members of the Intelligence and Security Committee for approval by Parliament.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	9144
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The Committee is being formed in the normal way and in line with practice in previous Parliaments.</p> answering member constituency Uxbridge and South Ruislip answering member printed Boris Johnson question first answered 03/02/2020 17:02:28 answering member 1423 label Biography information for Boris Johnson
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1173827

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
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	China: Minority Groups
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports of long-term persecution of the Uyghur Muslims, Falun Gong practitioners and other ethnic and religious minority groups in China.
tabling member constituency	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
tabling member printed	Jonathan Edwards
uin	8986
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>We remain concerned about the persecution of Uyghur Muslims, Falun Gong practitioners, as well as Christians, Buddhists and others, in China on the grounds of their religion or belief. We have particularly serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in “political re-education camps”. This is underpinned by extensive evidence. We are also concerned about the systematic restrictions on Uyghur culture and the practice of Islam, and extensive and invasive surveillance targeting minorities outside of the “camps”.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 03/02/2020 15:40:17 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	3943 label Biography information for Jonathan Edwards

1173828

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Home Office: Recruitment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff were recruited by her Department in the last twelve months to work on preparations for the UK leaving the EU; and what the Border Force budget has been for (a) additional permanent staff members and (b) agency workers in each financial year since 2015-16.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	8967
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The department has been continually assessing the resourcing levels required to prepare for EU Exit across all possible scenarios, developing contingency plans in line with government policy. It is not possible to provide the number of staff who have been recruited to work on preparations for the UK leaving the EU as staff are generally engaged across a range of workstreams, which will include business as usual activity as well as EU Exit preparations, across all scenarios.</p><p> </p><p>Over the last 12 months the department has adapted to the different scenarios in preparation for the UK leaving the EU and our staffing numbers have fluctuated to meet these demands.</p><p>The latest published staffing and finance figures for Border Force can be found in the Home Office Annual Report for 2018-2019 on page 85 at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019" target="_blank"><em>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019</em></a></p><p>The previous published staffing and financial figures for Border Force since 2015 to 2018 can be found at the following links:</p><p><em>2015-2016: </em><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016" target="_blank"><em>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016</em></a></p><p><em>2016-2017: </em><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017" target="_blank"><em>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017</em></a></p><p><em>2017-2018: </em><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018" target="_blank"><em>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018</em></a></p><p><em>2018-2019: </em><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019" target="_blank"><em>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019</em></a></p><p> </p><p>Excluding EU Exit, Border Force’s gross resource budget for 2019-20 is £488m. This includes an income target of £19m, which means a net allocation of £469m.</p><p>Border Force has received a total of c.£182m for EU Exit preparations in 2019/20. (£141m Resource and £41M Capital)</p><p>Border Force originally received funding, based on a Deal, of £100m; this funding was to fund recruitment for full customs compliance by the end of 2020. The recruitment and training for this uplift of permanent staff has completed bringing the Border Force FTE to over 8,700 from 7,700 in March 2018.</p><p>The additional £41m Resource funding provided throughout 2019-20 enabled further recruitment with Border Force expecting to reach c9,300 FTE by March 2020.</p><p>Border Force received a total £82.1m for EU Exit preparations in 2018/19 (£72.1m Resource and £10m Capital)</p><p>Border Force received a total of £3.2m for EU Exit preparations in 2017/18 (£1.7m Resource and £1.5m Capital)</p><p>Budgets for 20-21 cannot be confirmed as they remain subject to final confirmation.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 03/02/2020 18:01:31 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1173829

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	UK Border Force: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what qualifications or criteria are required for Border Force personnel working in (a) ports and (b) airports; and whether those qualifications or criteria applied to the recruitment of agency staff, in the last twelve months.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	8968
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>Border Force have recruited nationally for permanent staff at various grades in the last twelve months. The educational qualifications and other criteria required will be dependent on the grade being recruited.</p><p>However, the basic criteria for all recruitment of permanent staff into Border Force must be:</p><ul><li>Be a UK national; evidence of which, will be required.</li><li>Hold a full and valid passport;</li><li>Be at least 18 years old as you will be required to work between midnight and 4am which is not legal unless you are 18.</li><li>Depending on location and grade have a full and valid driving license</li></ul><p>The agency staff are temporary staff which Border Force engaged for an administrative purpose should the UK have left the EU in a no deal scenario. Their intended role was not consistent with that of a permanent Border Force Officer and the agency staff received training appropriate to the duties to be carried out.</p><p>The criteria for eligibility to apply for agency staff was the consistent with the criteria set out above for permanent recruitment, with the exception that there was no academic qualifications required due to level of responsibilities to be undertaken</p><p>All agency staff were interviewed (assessed) and selected upon suitable demonstration of the following skills:</p><ul><li>excellent interpersonal and communication skills;</li><li>a strong sense of personal ethics and integrity;</li><li>they enjoy interacting with colleagues, members of the public and external stakeholders;</li><li>the ability to build relationships and thrive working as part of a team;</li><li>a desire to develop.</li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 03/02/2020 18:03:06 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1173830

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	UK Border Force: Recruitment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force staff her Department is planning to recruit in the financial year 2020-21 in preparation for the UK leaving the EU.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	8969
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>Border Force have already delivered a largescale recruitment and training exercise, which has seen an uplift of permanent staff, bringing the number of full-time equivalent Border Force staff to over 8,700 from c7,700 in March 2018. This includes a multi-disciplinary Readiness Task Force (RTF) of c.300 officers, which is available to deploy across the UK at short notice to deal with emerging issues and peaks in demand.</p><p>Resource and staffing requirements are continually reviewed, and we deploy resources flexibly as and when they are required. Border Force will continue to build a pipeline of resource to flexibly respond to future requirements.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 03/02/2020 17:59:19 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1173831

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
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	Non-surgical Cosmetic Procedures: Regulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to regulate the provision of (a) the injection of Botox and cosmetic dermal fillers and (b) other non-surgical treatments by people operating in the aesthetic medical sector.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	8994
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to improving the safety of cosmetic procedures through better training for practitioners, and clear information so that people can make informed decisions about their care.</p><p>The Department is consulting with stakeholders on industry standards of practice and the health risks posed by current access arrangements to non-surgical cosmetic procedures. On the basis of the evidence gathered to date, the Government supports the principle of increased protections for children and young people for some injectable cosmetic procedures. The Department is exploring the legal implications and potential impacts of an age restriction that would bring these procedures in line with other body modifications such as tattoos and sunbed use.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries question first answered 03/02/2020 17:24:16 answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

1173833

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
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	Radiotherapy: Medical Equipment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate NHS England has made of the number of linear accelerator radiotherapy machines in use at NHS hospitals in (a) the North West, (b) Merseyside and (c) Wirral that have exceeded the recommended 10 year lifespan.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	8960
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>NHS England produced a stocktake, which included age, of linear accelerators in full clinical use in 2016 as part of the Equipment Modernisation programme, which enabled 80 machines to be replaced or upgraded. Further work to update this stocktake is underway to reflect both the impact of the Equipment Modernisation programme and any local changes.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 03/02/2020 17:42:45 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1173840

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Buildings: Insulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cases of the replacement of unsafe cladding following the Grenfell Tower fire have not had VAT applied to the cost of the works.
tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
uin	8957
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The details that HM Revenue and Customs collect from taxpayers on their VAT returns are not specific enough to identify costs relating to cladding. The cost of replacing cladding would be zero rated if it was tied to the initial construction and shown to be defective.</p><p> </p><p>On 9 May 2019, the Government announced that it would fully fund the removal and replacement of certain types of unsafe cladding on private sector residential buildings 18 metres or taller. Where a zero rate does not apply, the cost of the VAT charge would be covered by that fund.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 03/02/2020 13:35:23 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn