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1254668

registered interest
date	24/11/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Israel: Palestinians
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What diplomatic steps he is taking to support peace between Israel and the Palestinian people.
tabling member constituency	Wimbledon
tabling member printed	Stephen Hammond
uin	909181
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2020 answer text <p>We have actively encouraged the parties back to dialogue. The Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in August and urged Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli PM Netanyahu to renew cooperation, and work towards further confidence-building measures and dialogue. The Foreign Secretary welcomed the recent decision by the Palestinian Authority &amp; the Government of Israel to restore cooperation. We encourage the parties to build on this momentum through further dialogue and compromise to move towards a lasting solution to the conflict. We also welcomed the announcement, on 13 August, of the suspension of annexation plans. Annexation would have been contrary to international law, counterproductive to peace and a severe blow to prospects for a two-state solution. We hope both of these developments can be used as a step towards direct talks between the two sides. The UK stands ready to support.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 24/11/2020 16:01:49 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond

1253459

registered interest
date	18/11/2020
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 guidance the Government has issued on whether parent and pre-school children classes and groups are categorised as a support group for the purposes of Exception 5 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020.
tabling member constituency	Wimbledon
tabling member printed	Stephen Hammond
uin	117219
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2020 answer text <p>Parent and pre-school children classes and groups need to meet necessary exceptions to continue during the November 2020 national restrictions.</p><p>Where these are held in Ofsted registered settings, they should follow government guidance on the COVID-19 outbreak for early years and childcare providers. This is available at: <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><p>Support groups for new parents in community settings, such as places of worship, community centres or halls, or libraries, and that are essential to deliver in person, can continue. These can be conducted with up to 15 participants where formally organised to provide mutual aid, therapy, or any other form of support. These groups must be organised by a business, a charitable, benevolent, or philanthropic institution, or a public body, and must follow COVID-19 secure guidance. Restricted businesses which are required to close, such as coffee shops, cannot hold support groups. When national restrictions apply, in determining the limit of 15 participants, no account is to be taken of any child who is below the age of 5.</p><p>Informal groups, such as those organised by a parent, need to comply with the gathering and household mixing rules. In practice, during the period of national restrictions, this means these groups should only meet virtually.</p><p>Supervised activity for children can continue to take place where it is reasonably necessary to enable parents to work, search for work or to undertake training or education, for example in indoor gyms, fitness studios, indoor sports facilities and other indoor leisure centres, community centres or halls.</p><p>For further information, Cabinet Office guidance on the new national restrictions can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november#childcare-and-childrens-activities" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november#childcare-and-childrens-activities</a>.</p><p>The department's guidance for education and childcare setting during national restrictions can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-and-childcare-settings-new-national-restrictions-from-5-november-2020#early-years-and-childcare" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-and-childcare-settings-new-national-restrictions-from-5-november-2020#early-years-and-childcare</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 23/11/2020 09:12:57 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond

1252285

registered interest
date	16/11/2020
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	BBC: Finance
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 recent discussions he has had with the BBC on holding a public consultation on (a) offering monthly license subscriptions and (b) other future funding proposals.
tabling member constituency	Wimbledon
tabling member printed	Stephen Hammond
uin	115571
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2020 answer text <p>It is already possible to pay for a TV licence in monthly instalments. More information is set out on the TV Licensing website: <a href="https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/pay-for-your-tv-licence/ways-to-pay" target="_blank">https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/pay-for-your-tv-licence/ways-to-pay</a>.</p><p>The government has no plans to offer a public consultation on TV licence payment plans at this time.</p><p>On future funding proposals, the government has committed to maintain the licence fee funding model for the duration of this 11 year Charter period, until 2027.</p><p>The Secretary of State has recently written to the BBC and S4C to begin the process of setting the licence fee for at least 5 years from April 2022.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 19/11/2020 16:38:51 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond

1252392

registered interest
date	16/11/2020
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	Coronavirus: Disease Control
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish guidance for support groups operating under Paragraph 11(6) of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020, to ensure the consistency of advice from local authorities to those groups.
tabling member constituency	Wimbledon
tabling member printed	Stephen Hammond
uin	115572
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2020 answer text <p>Guidance on the current restrictions is available on GOV.UK at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november#where-and-when-you-can-meet-in-larger-groups" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november#where-and-when-you-can-meet-in-larger-groups</a></p><p>The Department is not planning to provide specific advice on support groups to local authorities.</p> answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries question first answered 24/11/2020 15:53:21 answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries previous answer version 62807 answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries
tabling member	1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond

1249486

registered interest
date	09/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	VAT: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend the deferral of VAT payments due to the implementation of a further period of covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
tabling member constituency	Wimbledon
tabling member printed	Stephen Hammond
uin	113035
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The VAT payments deferral scheme ended on 30 June 2020 as planned.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the Winter Economy Plan, the Government announced that businesses which deferred VAT due from 20 March to 30 June 2020 will now have the option to pay in smaller payments over a longer period up to March 2022. They will need to opt-in to the scheme, and for those that do, this means that their deferred VAT liabilities do not need to be paid by the end of March 2021.</p><p> </p><p>Businesses that need extra help can contact HMRC and agree a Time to Pay arrangement.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 17/11/2020 12:15:09 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond

1249583

registered interest
date	09/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Self-employment Income Support Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing people who receive less than 50 per cent of their income from self-employment to claim support from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant Extension.
tabling member constituency	Wimbledon
tabling member printed	Stephen Hammond
uin	113036
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The self-employed are very diverse and have a wide mix of turnover and profits, with monthly and annual variations even in normal times, and in some cases with substantial alternative forms of income too. The design of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), including the eligibility requirement that an individual’s trading profits must be at least equal to their non-trading income, means it is targeted at those who need it most, and who are most reliant on their self-employment income.</p><p> </p><p>Those ineligible for the SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the package of financial support available. The Government has temporarily increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2020-21 and relaxed the Minimum Income Floor for the duration of the crisis meaning that where self-employed claimants' earnings have significantly fallen, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this they may also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 17/11/2020 12:18:31 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond

1249601

registered interest
date	09/11/2020
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	Coronavirus: Disease Control
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 the Government is taking to ensure that disinfectant products on sale to the general public for use on reducing the risk of transmission of covid-19 meet the required high clinical standards and are effective against covid-19.
tabling member constituency	Wimbledon
tabling member printed	Stephen Hammond
uin	113037
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2020 answer text <p>I have been asked to reply.</p><p>The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has advised that consumer law requires traders to provide consumers with information on the main characteristics of goods. This information must be accurate and not misleading. Consumers may also request information from the retailer when making a purchase and the retailer would be required to provide this accurately under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 02/12/2020 16:14:10 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar previous answer version 60977 answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond

1249603

registered interest
date	09/11/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure disinfectant products being used in educational establishments meet the required high clinical standards and are effective against covid-19.
tabling member constituency	Wimbledon
tabling member printed	Stephen Hammond
uin	113038
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2020 answer text <p>The measures set out in the guidance for safe working in education provide a framework for leaders to put in place proportionate protective measures for children, pupils, students and staff. This guidance can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe</a>.</p><p>All elements of the system of controls are essential, and all educational establishments must cover each of them. Due to the range of educational establishments, from schools to colleges, the implementation of the requirements will differ based on their individual circumstances. These controls include: enhanced cleaning measures, including more frequent cleaning of rooms and shared areas that are used by different groups; cleaning frequently touched surfaces; and using standard cleaning products, such as regular detergents and bleach.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 12/11/2020 16:26:44 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond

1248759

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
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	Musicians: 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, whether an internationally recognised music artist would be exempt from the covid-19 quarantine rules when entering England for the purpose of filming a global pay per view livestream and DVD recording.
tabling member constituency	Wimbledon
tabling member printed	Stephen Hammond
uin	111477
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>At present there are no such exemptions available for musicians coming to the UK.</p><p>We continue to work with the cultural and creative sectors to explore all options to support them through this challenging period, including on proposals for exemptions from quarantine. We are continuing to work with the Department for Transport on proposals for an exemption for Performing Arts professionals.</p><p>All decisions about exemptions and other measures will need to be considered in light of the wider public health context and the bar for exemptions remains very high.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 09/11/2020 16:15:51 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
tabling member	1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond

1248434

registered interest
date	03/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Self-employment Income Support Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing people who have become self-employed since April 2019 to claim for support from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant Extension.
tabling member constituency	Wimbledon
tabling member printed	Stephen Hammond
uin	110758
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2020 answer text <p>The practical issues that prevented us from being able to include the newly self-employed in 2019-20 in the original Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), namely that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will not have access to their self-assessment returns to be able to verify their eligibility, still remain. The latest year for which HMRC has tax returns for all self-employed individuals is 2018/19. 2019/20 returns are not due until the end of January 2021.</p><p>Unlike for employees, self-employed income is not reported monthly, but at the end of each tax year on the individual’s Income Tax Self Assessment return. This means that the most reliable and up-to-date record of self-employed income is from the 2018-19 tax returns.</p><p> </p><p>The SEISS continues to be just one element of a comprehensive package of support for individuals and businesses. This package includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 11/11/2020 15:24:06 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond