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1189253

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Freedom of Information: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure timely responses by Departments to Freedom of Information requests during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
tabling member printed	John Lamont
uin	38978
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>It is important that Departments continue to respond to requests for access to information during this period as a key means of supporting transparency. We recognise that Departments face a range of pressures, and in some cases may not have access to the information requested. The Cabinet Office continues to provide advice to support delivery, in line with guidance issued by the Information Commissioner.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 28/04/2020 13:05:55 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4608 label Biography information for John Lamont

1189256

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Asos: Redundancy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet with ASOS plc to discuss how the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme applies to employees that were being consulted on redundancy before the announcement of that scheme.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	38979
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is open to any individual who was on an employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and for whom HMRC received an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before the 19 March 2020. Full guidance for employers is available at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme</a> for further details. If there is any doubt, the Treasury would be happy to consider further correspondence.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 27/04/2020 08:02:48 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1189270

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
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	Rented Housing: 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, if he will take steps to ensure that tenants who are unable to pay rent as a result of covid-19 related financial losses cannot be evicted immediately after the current protections from eviction are lifted.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	38884
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>The Government, along with the courts service, has delivered unprecedented support to reduce the risk of rent arrears and has taken legislative and procedural steps to protect tenants.</p><p>We have also been clear in guidance that there is a need for landlords to offer support and understanding to tenants – and any guarantor – who may see their income fluctuate. This could include reaching a temporary agreement not to seek possession action for a period of time and instead, pause payments or accept a lower level of rent, or agree a plan to pay off arrears at a later date.</p><p>To support this, the Secretary of State for Housing has committed work with the Master of the Rolls to explore how the existing Pre-Action Protocol for possession claims by social landlords can be strengthened and widened to include Private Landlords.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 27/04/2020 16:11:42 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1189273

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support online learning for disadvantaged university students.
tabling member constituency	Hove
tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
uin	38991
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>As my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have both made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.</p><p>Despite the significant disruption being felt across the higher education (HE) sector, students rightly deserve the appropriate support and recognition for their hard work and dedication. HE providers take their responsibilities seriously and are best placed to identify the needs of their student body as well as how to develop the services needed to support it. Many HE providers have moved rapidly to develop new ways of delivering courses through online teaching and alternatives to traditional end-of-course exams.</p><p>When making changes to the delivery of their courses, HE providers need to consider how they support all students, particularly the most vulnerable. This includes students suffering from COVID-19, students who need to self-isolate, international students and students who are either unable or less able to access remote learning for whatever reason, as well as care leavers, students who are estranged from their families and students with disabilities.</p><p>The Office for Students (OfS) has recently published guidance setting out the actions that it will take to support providers to maintain standards and teaching quality. It highlights flexible models for teaching, learning and assessment that will most likely satisfy OfS quality and standard conditions. On 23 March, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education published the first in a series of good practice guidance notes that are available to all UK HE providers.</p><p>HE providers should make all reasonable efforts to enable students to complete their studies, for achievement to be reliably assessed and for qualifications to be awarded securely.</p><p>Many HE providers will have hardship funds to support students in times of need, including emergencies. The expectation is that where any student requires additional support, such as access to the Internet, providers will support them through their own hardship funds.</p><p> </p><p>The OfS have stated that providers are permitted to divert more of their student premium funding to their hardship funds to support students, including through the purchase of IT equipment. Providers should particularly ensure that students in the most vulnerable groups are able to access this support where needed.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 27/04/2020 15:32:19 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1189274

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
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	Local Government Finance: 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, what plans he has to publish a comprehensive summary of the financial support the Government is making available to local authorities for the duration of 2020 in response to the increased costs local authorities will incur as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	38885
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>On 18 April the Government announced a further £1.6 billion to support councils in delivering essential front line services. This funding recognises the additional costs and pressures which councils are facing as they respond to the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>This package of support takes the total given to councils to help their communities through this crisis to over £3.2 billion, an unprecedented level of additional financial support in recent times. <br> <br>Earlier this week the Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government wrote to council leaders in England with a full summary of the significant funding and cashflow measures that the Government have announced to support local authorities in their vital work with businesses, communities and vulnerable individuals in the fight against coronavirus. <br> <br>A full record of the financial support made available to local authorities can be found at gov.uk: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fguidance%2Fcoronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-government&amp;data=02%7C01%7CParliamentary%40communities.gov.uk%7C210a342a83af47513a7d08d7e86fbe2b%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637233438928717338&amp;sdata=TnQcHXUJSjqA8wPK4jUksxQ6O5ZlGOpz9iCsDpwoAYQ%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-government</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland answering member printed Mr Simon Clarke question first answered 27/04/2020 13:42:13 answering member 4655 label Biography information for Sir Simon Clarke
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1189278

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on installing temporary sleeper pods in prisons to aid the isolating of covid-19 prisoners; how many pods have been ordered; and how long those pods are planned to be used.
tabling member constituency	Hove
tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
uin	38994
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>Creating additional space in the existing estate, alongside measures to limit prisoner movement and releasing low-risk offenders, will help prevent our NHS being overwhelmed.</p><p> </p><p>We began installing the first wave of 500 temporary, single occupancy cells in the week commencing 6 April. So far, 300 units have now been delivered to eight HMPPS sites and installation is in progress. The first 48 were installed at HMP North Sea Camp and we have also installed 24 cells at both HMPs Highpoint and Hollesley Bay. These are undergoing the final operational checks before being occupied. Installation continues at HMPs Littlehey, Moorland/Lindholme, Wymott, Coldingley and Hatfield.</p><p> </p><p>Our ambition is to secure and install 2000 additional cells to help contain the spread of COVID-19 within our prisons. A further 80 single occupancy cells have been confirmed to hire, bringing the total confirmed at 580. We are successfully working with further companies to secure hundreds more to place across the prison estate.</p><p> </p><p>These units are a temporary measure to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Prisoners will return to their usual accommodation arrangements when safe to do so. Once the units are no longer required they will be removed.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 27/04/2020 16:53:42 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1189288

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support he is providing to the early years sector during the covid-19 outbreak; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that support.
tabling member constituency	Sunderland Central
tabling member printed	Julie Elliott
uin	38911
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>The government has put in place a number of financial and other measures to support organisations, both public and private, during the COVID-19 outbreak. These are intended to be temporary, timely and targeted, to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption.</p><p> </p><p>The ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): financial support for education, early years and children’s social care’ guidance sets out the financial support that is available for early years providers in England, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. It is available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care#sector-specific-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care#sector-specific-guidance</a>.</p><p> </p><p>There are also targeted arrangements for the early years sector, for instance, the one-year business rates holiday for Ofsted-registered private childcare settings in 2020-21.</p><p> </p><p>These are rapidly developing circumstances and we continue to keep the situation under review for short- and long-term planning. We will continue to work closely with HM Treasury to monitor how the support packages are benefitting the early years sector and individual early years organisations.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance on early years and childcare closures is available at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 38912 question first answered 27/04/2020 14:11:41 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4127 label Biography information for Julie Elliott

1189289

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the early years sector.
tabling member constituency	Sunderland Central
tabling member printed	Julie Elliott
uin	38912
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>The government has put in place a number of financial and other measures to support organisations, both public and private, during the COVID-19 outbreak. These are intended to be temporary, timely and targeted, to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption.</p><p> </p><p>The ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): financial support for education, early years and children’s social care’ guidance sets out the financial support that is available for early years providers in England, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. It is available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care#sector-specific-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care#sector-specific-guidance</a>.</p><p> </p><p>There are also targeted arrangements for the early years sector, for instance, the one-year business rates holiday for Ofsted-registered private childcare settings in 2020-21.</p><p> </p><p>These are rapidly developing circumstances and we continue to keep the situation under review for short- and long-term planning. We will continue to work closely with HM Treasury to monitor how the support packages are benefitting the early years sector and individual early years organisations.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance on early years and childcare closures is available at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 38911 question first answered 27/04/2020 14:11:41 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4127 label Biography information for Julie Elliott

1189290

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
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	Digital Technology and Internet
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 assessment he has made of the level of digital skills by age group; and what estimate he has made of the number of people able to access an internet connection by age group.
tabling member constituency	Sunderland Central
tabling member printed	Julie Elliott
uin	38913
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>The Government understands the importance of digital skills and the ability to access the internet in building a world-leading economy that works for everyone.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We work with the Lloyds Consumer Digital Index and Ofcom survey data, which provide estimates of the proportion of people by age group that have all the essential digital skills for life, and their internet connection take-up.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In addition, DCMS funded the 2019 Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS), a large scale survey of internet users, non-users and ex-users, to provide further insights into internet and ICT access and use, attitudes to technology and supporting demographic and geographic information. This highlighted that:</p><ul><li><p>Internet use has expanded in all age groups, although the increase is small over the past 6 years.</p></li><li><p>Almost everyone is online up to about the age of 50. After 50 there is a sharp decline in Internet use of about 2 percentage points per year.</p></li></ul><p><strong><p><p></strong></p><p>Table 1: Essential Digital Skills for Life by Age Group</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Age</p></td><td><p>15-24</p></td><td><p>25-34</p></td><td><p>35-44</p></td><td><p>45-54</p></td><td><p>55-64</p></td><td><p>65+</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Proportion within age group with Essential Digital Skills for life, 2019</p></td><td><p>94%</p></td><td><p>93%</p></td><td><p>89%</p></td><td><p>85%</p></td><td><p>72%</p></td><td><p>45%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>Source: Lloyds Bank UK Consumer Digital Index 2019 (<a href="https://www.lloydsbank.com/banking-with-us/whats-happening/consumer-digital-index.html" target="_blank">https://www.lloydsbank.com/banking-with-us/whats-happening/consumer-digital-index.html</a>)</p><p><strong><p><p></strong></p><p>Table 2: Internet Connection Take up by Age Group</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>16+</p></td><td><p>16-24</p></td><td><p>25-34</p></td><td><p>35-44</p></td><td><p>45-54</p></td><td><p>55-64</p></td><td><p>65-74</p></td><td><p>75+</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4G mobile</p></td><td><p>70%</p></td><td><p>91%</p></td><td><p>91%</p></td><td><p>86%</p></td><td><p>80%</p></td><td><p>60%</p></td><td><p>38%</p></td><td><p>17%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Any internet connection at home</p></td><td><p>87%</p></td><td><p>95%</p></td><td><p>96%</p></td><td><p>94%</p></td><td><p>94%</p></td><td><p>86%</p></td><td><p>78%</p></td><td><p>52%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Broadband connection at home</p></td><td><p>82%</p></td><td><p>86%</p></td><td><p>88%</p></td><td><p>89%</p></td><td><p>89%</p></td><td><p>81%</p></td><td><p>75%</p></td><td><p>49%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Source: Ofcom Communications Market Report 2019: Market in context - device and service take up -Telecoms (<a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/cmr/interactive-data" target="_blank">https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/cmr/interactive-data</a>)</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 28/04/2020 08:44:28 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
tabling member	4127 label Biography information for Julie Elliott

1189292

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Digital Technology: Skilled Workers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the covid-19 outbreak and the increased reliance on online services during that outbreak, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the adequacy of Government funding for digital skills.
tabling member constituency	Sunderland Central
tabling member printed	Julie Elliott
uin	38914
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>HMT and DCMS ministers meet frequently to cover a range of issues as part of the normal process of policy development and delivery.</p><p> </p><p>The government recognises that new measures taken to protect against Covid-19 mean there will be an increased reliance on digital services. This is why the government is working with FutureDotNow, a coalition of companies and civil society organisations to improve digital skills and support remote working.</p><p> </p><p>The government has also announced that vulnerable and disadvantaged children across England are to receive laptops, tablets and 4G routers to make remote education accessible.</p> answering member constituency North East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Steve Barclay question first answered 28/04/2020 11:35:19 answering member 4095 label Biography information for Steve Barclay
tabling member	4127 label Biography information for Julie Elliott