Every parliamentary written question tabled by Matt Vickers this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 861–880 of 888 · this parliament
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had meetings with commercial farm owners on proposed changes to inheritance tax relief.
I have visited farms across the country and met with a number of commercial farm owners since my appointment, and have discussed the inheritance tax relief with those who both support and oppose the changes.
How many commercial farms she has visited since announcing the changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief.
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.The Government, HM Treasury officials, and Ministers meet with stakeholders on a regular basis.
What steps he is taking to support the chemical sector.
The chemicals sector underpins almost all manufacturing in the UK and is fundamental to maximising growth and productivity across the economy to drive forward the government’s missions, including delivering growth for all. Reforms are underway to address planning barriers to growth, channel finance towards growth priorities and accelerate the transition to net zero.This will be supported by our modern Industrial Strategy which will implement targeted policy interventions to drive long-term sustainable, inclusive and secure growth.Last autumn’s Budget announced continued support for Energy Intensive Industries – including chemical companies – through £350M of additional funding across the next two years.
Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for introducing mandatory food waste reporting.
In our manifesto, the Government committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. The Secretary of State has convened a Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy and a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts across government, industry, academia, and civil society has been established to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. Preventing food waste will be a key part of this work and we will consider the evidence for action right across the economy to evaluate what interventions may be needed as we develop the strategy.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to encourage developers establishing new buildings to have (a) solar panels, (b) batteries and (c) heat pumps fitted; and what support is available to those developers.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the 1.5 million homes we will build over the course of this parliament will be high quality, well designed and sustainable. Renewable and low carbon technologies, such as solar panels, batteries and heat pumps, are a key part of our strategy to get to net zero via a decarbonised electricity grid. We must therefore take the opportunity, where appropriate, to encourage their adoption in new buildings.In 2021 the Government introduce an uplift in energy efficiency standards. New buildings are now required to produce significantly less CO2 emissions compared to those built to previous standards. Already we have seen many homes being built with solar panels and heat pumps.Future standards, to be introduced later this year, will set new buildings on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels, ensuring they are fit for a net zero future. These buildings will be future proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency. No further energy efficiency retrofit work will be necessary to enable them to become zero-carbon over time as the electricity grid continues to decarbonise.A consultation setting out proposals for what the new standards should entail was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024. We are carefully considering the feedback received and will publish the Government response, setting our more detail on the content of the standards, in due course.
What funding her Department is providing for public transport projects in the North East.
We announced a £200m uplift for City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements in 2025/26, in addition to the £310m and £563m already allocated to Tees Valley and North East Combined Authority respectively. We announced a further £31m for buses in the regi...
If she will take steps to encourage the use of drone technology.
This government’s strategic vision is to maximise benefits of drone technology – for the economy and for communities – whilst ensuring their emergence is both safe and secure, and respecting the needs of local communities across the country.
Whether she plans to implement her Department’s policy paper entitled Future of Flight Action Plan, published on 18 March 2024.
The future aviation sector is central to delivering on the Government’s missions, including kickstarting economic growth and delivering opportunities for all across the country. My Department and I remain committed to delivering on the five future of flig...
What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on business rates.
We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. The Secretary of State works closely with all his cabinet colleagues, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer. To deliver...
What steps he is taking to help safeguard jobs in the UK automotive supply chain.
The automotive industry is an important part of the Government’s plans for growth. Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we will support growth sectors to create high-quality, well-paid jobs across the country. The Budget committed over £2 billion of ca...
If she will take steps to promote the wider adoption of drones by fire services.
Fire and Rescue Services have been early adopters of drones which can improve decision making, operational efficiency and reduce risk to firefighters. We work closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council which co-ordinates the use of Fire & Rescue Se...
What steps he is taking to encourage business confidence.
Growth is the number one mission of the Government and we will continue to work with and listen carefully to the business community. In the Budget, the Government was forced to make difficult choices to plug the black hole in the Government’s finances, bu...
What steps he is taking to support the hospitality sector.
Hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and are vital for economic growth. This is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship le...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Post Office closures on local communities.
The UK Government is as committed as ever to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Post Office network. It is inevitable that with a network of this size, there will be variations in the number of branches open at any one time. As postmasters move ...
If he will take steps to reduce regulation for businesses.
The Government is determined to kick-start economic growth, which is why it is essential that we identify areas where the costs of regulations may be unnecessarily high and burdensome for businesses. This is why the Department is developing an ambitious r...
If she will take steps to promote the wider adoption of drones by police forces.
The decision to use drones and in which circumstances are operational matters for police forces who are subject to the requirements of the Air Navigation Order and Data Protection legislation when operating drones.Drone technology is developing at a rapid...
What assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of youth unemployment since 2010.
Youth unemployment in 2010 was high following the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession. The unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds for Jul-Sep 2024 is 14.8% (4.5 percentage points lower than in Jul-Sep 2010). In recent quarters the youth unemp...
What steps her Department is taking to use technology to improve its productivity.
As part of the Department’s ongoing transformation, we are increasing our use of automation, improving our underlying technology, and increasing the number of citizen self-service opportunities where it is appropriate to do so, meaning that, despite incre...
What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of women in employment since 2010.
The Government is committed to tackling the challenges women face in the labour market and takes seriously the challenges they face in balancing work with other life events. The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public authorities to consider impacts o...
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on levels of unemployment.
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 forecast, which takes into account measures announced in the Budget, expects the unemployment rate will fall to 4.1% next year and remain low until 2029.