Simon Opher MP: written questions
226 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14756More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will set out her timeline for the implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November (HCWS244) which sets out further detail on implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. It also clarifies government's plans to reform leasehold and commonhol...
Answered 21 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCycle to Work Scheme: Low IncomesTreasuryTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14753More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Cycle to Work Scheme in improving cycle ownership among people on low incomes.
Answer: The Cycle to Work scheme is a benefit-in-kind provided by employers to their employees. A benefit-in-kind is a form of non-cash remuneration provided by employers to their employees. Income tax and National Insurance contribution relief is provided on the...
Answered 21 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordHealth: BicyclesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14752More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential health benefits of improving access to cycles for people on low incomes.
Answer: We know that reducing physical inactivity is beneficial for everyone and evidence suggests that cycling has positive physical and mental health benefits. Public Health England’s cycling and walking evidence review, published in 2018, found mixed evidence ...
Answered 21 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordConditions of Employment: InsolvencyDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 14 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14404More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to strengthen employee rights for those who were employed by an employer that has become insolvent.
Answer: When an employer enters insolvency, the Government’s Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) can pay statutory amounts owed to employees from the National Insurance Fund. These include redundancy pay, holiday pay, arrears of pay, compensatory notice pay and pen...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: Charging PointsDepartment for TransportTabled 14 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14374More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will take steps to ensure that households that do not have driveways can access (a) on-street and (b) domestic EV charging infrastructure.
Answer: The Government is dedicated to ensuring EV drivers can charge across the country, wherever they live. Through the Local EV Infrastructure Fund, local authorities in England are being supported to install tens of thousands of chargepoints.For those without...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordLitterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14170More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory codes of practice for businesses to reduce litter.
Answer: The Government is not, at this time, planning to make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory codes of practice for businesses to reduce litter.We want to see businesses recognising what they can do to discourage the littering of th...
Answered 18 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordEmpty PropertyMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 8 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13268More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to bring empty homes back into use.
Answer: I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 6686 on 14 October 2024.
Answered 13 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordTeachers: Workplace PensionsDepartment for EducationTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12542More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps has her Department is taking with the Teacher's Pension Scheme to reduce the time taken to provide pension valuations for teachers undergoing divorce proceedings.
Answer: The department is aware of a backlog with the number of outstanding Cash Equivalent Transfer Value figures that are used by members in divorce proceedings. The backlog has arisen as a result of the Transitional Protection (McCloud) remedy and the need for...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordSexual Offences Act 2003Ministry of JusticeTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12493More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy to amend the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to classify driving instructors as a position of trust.
Answer: This Government is committed to protecting children and young people from sexual abuse. We have robust legislation in this area, and “position of trust” offences were reviewed and updated in 2022. We continue to keep this important area of law under revie...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordEdward JennerDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12188More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with UNESCO on the proposed application for Dr Edward Jenner's house in Berkeley to receive world heritage statue.
Answer: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for nominating sites across the United Kingdom to UNESCO for World Heritage status. The Department last updated the Tentative List of prospective World Heritage nominations in 2022/23 and it is no...
Answered 5 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPark Homes: SalesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11995More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her department has any plans to review the 10% commission charge applied to the sale of park homes by site owner.
Answer: The park homes sector is an important part of the housing market and must be a safe and secure place for residents.The Government recognises that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park hom...
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordBusiness Premises: Empty PropertyMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11626More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to implement part 10 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.
Answer: The Government is fully committed to rejuvenating our high streets and tackling the issue of persistent vacancy. To achieve this, we will implement new High Street Rental Auctions as set out in Part 10 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. This w...
Answered 4 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordRights of WayDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11621More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to repeal the 2031 deadline for registering public rights of way.
Answer: Ministers are considering the further implementation of the rights of way reform programme.
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDriving Instruction: WomenDepartment for TransportTabled 25 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11177More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to take steps to regulate driving instructors to help ensure the safety of young women.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) takes the safety of learner drivers extremely seriously and investigates thoroughly any complaints about approved driving instructors (ADI), involving the police if necessary. DVSA encourages pupils to report...
Answered 30 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBirds: ConservationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 24 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11062More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support cavity-nesting birds on the Red List.
Answer: The Government is considering what action may be appropriate to help red-listed birds, including how to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.
Answered 30 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordDemonstrations: SentencingMinistry of JusticeTabled 23 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10815More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the independent review of sentencing policy will include sentencing for peaceful protest.
Answer: The right to protest peacefully is a fundamental part of our democracy. There is a long tradition in this country of people being able to come together and express their views. This Government remains firmly committed to protecting and preserving this rig...
Answered 29 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordEmployment Tribunals ServiceDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 22 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10535More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase the time limit for access to the Employment Tribunal from three months to six months after an incident of workplace discrimination.
Answer: The Government is committed to increasing employment tribunal time limits from 3-6 months, which is in line with the Law Commission recommendation from 2020. Measures to extend the time limit for bringing claims to Employment Tribunals will be added via a...
Answered 28 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: SewageDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9802More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to move the regulation of sludge used on agricultural land from the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 into the Environmental Permitting (Englan
Answer: The Government is working with the Environment Agency to assess the regulatory framework for sludge. We recognise the importance of improving the regulatory framework, however, further work is required before any proposal for change may be progressed.
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFood Data Transparency PartnershipDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9595More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on introducing mandatory reporting for food businesses on (a) health and (b) environmental metrics.
Answer: This Government is committed to tackling the challenges faced by our health system with the shift to prevention central to this ambition. Under the Government’s Health Mission we are considering what preventative action is needed to support people live lo...
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordHousing: BricksMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9241More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating the use of swift bricks in new build housing.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 4279 on 12 September 2024.
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordLand BankingMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9240More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing local authorities to prevent developers land banking in their area.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 900294 on 2 September 2024.
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented HousingMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9239More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the availability of social housing across England.
Answer: The Government is committed to the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. Our aspiration is to ensure that, in the first full financial year of this Parliament (2025-26), the number of Social Rent homes is rising rather t...
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAsylum: EmploymentHome OfficeTabled 10 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8506More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving asylum seekers the right to work whilst their application is being processed.
Answer: Asylum seekers who have had their claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, can apply for permission to work. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Immigration Salary List. This list is based on expert advice ...
Answered 16 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAsylum: StroudHome OfficeTabled 7 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7592More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of finding alternative accommodation for the 88 asylum seekers due to be housed at Tricorn House in Stroud.
Answer: The Home Office has a statutory obligation to support and accommodate destitute asylum seekers whilst their asylum claims are considered.We work with local authorities to ensure housing is procured in a fair and equitable manner across England, Scotland a...
Answered 15 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordChickenpox: VaccinationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6678More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help vaccinate children against chicken pox.
Answer: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended a universal varicella chickenpox vaccination programme be introduced as part of the routine childhood schedule. The JCVI statement is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament record
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