Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label previous answer version answering member constituency answering member printed answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1197093

registered interest
date	19/05/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Performing Arts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to support the performing arts sector during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	49099
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government has already announced an unprecedented package of measures in place to provide immediate and vital support to the cultural sector during this pandemic. These include the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self Employment Support Scheme, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, business rates relief and cash grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In order to further support the sustainability of the sector, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a tailored package of financial support. In March, ACE announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the Government and to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>£90 million is being made available to National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) and Creative People and Places (CPPs) lead organisations. £50 million will be made available to organisations that are not in receipt of regular funding from the Arts Council in order to maintain their survival through this crisis. Finally £20 million of financial support is being made available to individuals, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. DCMS and ACE are continuing to work closely to consider the additional measures that are needed to ensure the long-term recovery and growth of the cultural sector.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult the Art sector extensively to ensure we fully understand the financial impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the sector.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>DCMS is engaging with other departments to support the economic response, by ensuring that the needs of its sectors, and those who work in them, are understood.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>DCMS will continue to work with this valuable sector to understand the difficulties it faces and help it access support through these challenging times and through recovery.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 09/06/2020 21:04:18 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1197094

registered interest
date	19/05/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Developing Countries: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that developing countries have access to covid-19 testing.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	49100
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK is at the forefront of global research focussed on the development of potential COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments, and is providing aid to organisations central to the global response. This includes DFID’s £23 million investment in the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, a global non-profit organisation driving innovation in developing and delivering tests to combat major diseases affecting the world’s poorest populations, including for COVID-19. The UK’s £75 million investment in the World Health Organization is supporting the organisation’s key role in providing technical support to countries to establish COVID-19 testing strategies and capacity.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 02/06/2020 08:07:21 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1197095

registered interest
date	19/05/2020
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	Protective Clothing and Screening: Procurement
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department used to select (a) Deloitte to lead work on the procurement of personal protective equipment and (b) Sodexo to lead work on the establishment of covid-19 testing centres.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	49101
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2020 answer text <p>Deloitte is providing operational support for the procurement process of personal protective equipment (PPE) from existing and new manufacturers who can assist in scaling-up regulatory-approved PPE resources within the United Kingdom. As an existing professional services provider to the public sector, Deloitte’s expertise is being used to supplement in-house resource to deliver significant programmes of work, which currently includes the national response to COVID-19.</p><p>Sodexo are one of a number of facility management companies who are supporting the establishment and running of testing centres across the UK. Officials have worked with various industry providers to understand who has the footprint and ability to establish and run services in all geographical areas within short timescales.</p><p>Guidance on how contracting authorities should respond to COVID-19 was published on 18 March. Authorities are allowed to procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency in exceptional circumstances using regulation 32(2)(c) under the Public Contract Regulations 2015. We have also made it clear that authorities must continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, use good commercial judgement and publish the details of any awards made, in line with regulations and Government transparency guidelines.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 05/06/2020 11:09:33 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1197096

registered interest
date	19/05/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing legacy benefits in line with the increase in universal credit during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	49102
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2020 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made. The Government has announced a suite of measures that can be quickly and effectively operationalised to benefit those facing the most financial disruption during the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>We estimate that 2.5 million households receiving Universal Credit will benefit straight away from the increase in the standard allowance rates which was announced on 20 March, and which is additional to the planned annual uprating. New claimants who have either become unemployed, or whose earnings or work hours have decreased because of the outbreak, will benefit too; subject to their eligibility.</p><p> </p><p>We have also made a number of changes to legacy and other working age benefits in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including increasing certain entitlements, such as Local Housing Allowance. Up-to-date information about the employment and benefits support available, including Universal Credit, Statutory Sick Pay, New style Jobseeker's Allowance, and Employment and Support Allowance, can be found here: <a href="http://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/employment-and-benefits-support/" target="_blank">www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/employment-and-benefits-support/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>It has always been the case that claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for UC if they believe that they will be better off.</p><p> </p><p>However, claimants should check their eligibility before applying to Universal Credit as legacy benefits will end when they submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK. Neither DWP nor HMRC can advise individual claimants whether they would be better off moving to UC or remaining on legacy benefits.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 11/06/2020 16:47:21 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1197097

registered interest
date	19/05/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Insurance: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that insurance companies make payments in respect of business interruption policies that cover the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	49103
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector to understand and influence its response to this unprecedented situation and is encouraging insurers to do all they can to support customers during this difficult period.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that the rules are being upheld during this crisis and fully supports the regulator in its role. The FCA rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed. In addition, the FCA has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.</p><p> </p><p>On 1 May the FCA outlined its intention to seek a court declaration, on an agreed and urgent basis, and for a selected number of key issues, to resolve uncertainty for many customers making business interruption claims.</p><p> </p><p>Subsequently on 1 June, the FCA announced the policy wordings that would be tested in the court action and insurers it had invited to participate directly, along with an initial list of policy wordings and insurers that will potentially be impacted by the Court’s decision on the representative sample. The FCA expects to publish a final list of all the relevant insurers and policies that may have impacted wordings in early July, and expects a court hearing to take place in late July.</p><p> </p><p>However, it is important to note that most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers losses from non-property damage. Additionally, while some policies cover losses arising from any disease classed as notifiable by the government, or a denial of access to a building, most of these policies only cover a specific list of notifiable diseases or an incident specifically on the premises of the business. Insurance policies differ significantly, so businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers. The terms of a policy cannot be changed retrospectively.</p><p> </p><p>The Government encourages businesses to seek assistance through the wider support package if they are in financial difficulty. Businesses should explore the full package of support set out by the Chancellor in the Budget, on 17 March, and on 20 March, which includes measures such as business rates holidays, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and wage support.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/06/2020 13:40:29 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1197098

registered interest
date	19/05/2020
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	Dairy Farming: Coronavirus
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 he has made of the adequacy of Government support for the dairy industry during the covid-19 lockdown.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	49104
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government has continued to engage closely with representatives from all parts of the dairy supply chain throughout this difficult period to assess the challenges facing the industry and to ensure that appropriate financial support is provided. The vast majority of Britain’s dairy farmers continue to supply their contracts at or around the usual price. Approximately 5% of total milk production, however, goes to the service trade. A small proportion of farmers supplying milk to processors that sell into the food service sector have seen a reduction in demand with the closure of food service. A small proportion of suppliers have therefore seen a reduction in demand. We have provided a range of support to help these affected farmers.</p><p> </p><p>At the outset of the pandemic, the Government announced a number of emergency measures to support farmers, processors and retailers. These include designating the food sector as critical to the response, with people working in the production, processing, sale, distribution or delivery of food categorised as key workers, and granting derogations on drivers’ hours limitations.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, to support milk producers, the Government announced on 17 April a temporary easing of some elements of competition law to make it easier for the dairy industry to come together to maximise production, processing and storage efficiency and to ensure that as much product as possible can be processed into high quality dairy products. This Statutory Instrument was laid on 1 May and applies retrospectively from 1 April.</p><p> </p><p>On 6 May we announced a new scheme specifically to provide support to eligible dairy farmers in England who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May because of coronavirus disruptions. This will provide farmers with funding of up to £10,000 each to cover 70% of their lost income during the qualifying period, enabling them to continue to operate and to sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare.</p><p> </p><p>Defra and the devolved administrations are also jointly contributing towards financing the new £1 million campaign by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and Dairy UK to drive an increase in the consumption of milk. Running over 12 weeks, the campaign is highlighting the role that milk plays in supporting moments of personal connection during times of crisis.</p><p> </p><p>Our Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme is available to farmers, milk buyers and processors. Responding to industry feedback on this scheme, Defra held urgent discussions with the major banks to ensure they understand that farmers, milk buyers and milk processors are eligible. In addition, the new Bounce Back Loan scheme, which applies to businesses operating in agriculture, ensures that the smallest businesses can access loans up to £50,000. To give lenders the confidence they need, we have provided them with a 100% guarantee on each loan and will cover the first 12 months of interest payments and fees.</p><p> </p><p>Public intervention for skimmed milk powder (SMP) and butter continues to be available in the UK. Alongside this we have also ensured the availability to UK dairy processors of private storage aid for cheese, butter and SMP. These measures will help to underpin prices, providing a floor in the market by reducing the volume of product coming on to the market.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to engage with the dairy industry throughout this period of disruption to monitor the impact of the range of financial and other measures we have implemented, ensuring that the sector continues to have the support that it needs.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 04/06/2020 08:36:58 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1194268

registered interest
date	11/05/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Married People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to extend prospective marriage visas free of charge where weddings have been unable to take place as a result of covid-19.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	45388
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2020 answer text <p>The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic including extending visas for those affected with temporary stay to 31 May. We continue to monitor the situation closely and take these exceptional circumstances into account.</p><p>These are unprecedented times and we may make further temporary adjustments to requirements where necessary and appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 18/05/2020 13:56:42 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1192723

registered interest
date	04/05/2020
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	Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase UK vaccine production capacity.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	43129
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2020 answer text <p>The Vaccines Taskforce is working with the BioIndustry Association Taskforce to review and increase where possible, existing domestic capability to manufacture vaccines in response to COVID-19. This includes a review of the acceleration and increasing capacity of the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, so that it becomes operational earlier than planned and can manufacture population level doses.</p><p>For COVID-19, the type of vaccine manufacturing capacity needed will be determined by the nature of the vaccine that is developed and the technology used to produce the vaccines. The scale of facility needed will depend on how potent the vaccines are, and the productivity of the processes used to produce them. This work is proceeding at pace across different vaccine types, while those vaccines are still under development.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 15/05/2020 10:35:23 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill previous answer version 20402 answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1190407

registered interest
date	27/04/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What changes his Department plans to make to the operation of probation services during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	901953
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>Probation is operating under an exceptional delivery model which prioritises public protection and offender management in the community.</p><p> </p><p>Probation officers continue supervising in person those who pose the highest risk ensuring the monitoring of high-risk offenders remains as tough as it always is.</p><p> </p><p>At the same time, we are supervising lower-risk offenders using more frequent video and telephone calls.</p><p> </p><p>We have set up Homelessness Prevention Taskforces to support offenders who are being temporarily released from prison as part of efforts to keep prisons safe during this period. These teams are working with the police to carry out the relevant risk assessments, including checks on domestic abuse and safeguarding issues.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 27/04/2020 16:55:47 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1190126

registered interest
date	24/04/2020
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	Small Businesses: Billing
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 tackle late payments to small businesses.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	39739
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>Legislation already exists under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, which sets out that payment terms between two businesses should not exceed 60 days, unless they are fair to both parties. Additionally, suppliers can claim statutory interest, and debt recovery costs, on invoices not paid within the agreed period or (if no period is agreed) within 30 days. It also establishes maximum 30-day payment terms for transactions with public authorities.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is completely focussed on fulfilling our manifesto commitment to clamp down on late payment and strengthen the powers of the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) to support small businesses who are least able to cover financial shortfalls and find temporary finance more difficult and more expensive to obtain.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has transferred the administration of the Code to the Office of the SBC in March to unify prompt payment measures under one umbrella and we continue to consult on extending its powers. We have also taken a tough compliance approach to large companies who do not comply with the Payment Practices Reporting Duty and will use enforcement powers to prosecute those who do not comply where obliged.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 05/05/2020 10:14:41 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western