Former Conservative MP for South East Cambridgeshire
As this Parliament comes to an end, I too would like to begin by thanking you, Mr Speaker, for everything you have done and for the support you have given me as a Minister over the past six years. I would like to thank DCMS and my officials for all the work they have done, the special advisers, who have been superb, and my hard-working and effective ministerial team—we work as a team—and...
I thank my hon. Friend, who is a huge campaigner for his area. We have given 300,000 opportunities to young people through our national youth guarantee. That is not just about the youth clubs that I have mentioned; we have also given 12,000 disadvantaged young people an opportunity to have adventures away from home; we have made 30,000 places for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme; and we...
I am really delighted to have an opportunity to answer this question about funding in Wales, because, notwithstanding the fact that arts is devolved to Wales, this Government have given £4 million through the Arts Council to Welsh National Opera—the same amount that the Welsh Government have given. Furthermore, the Arts Council has given transition funding. In fact, Welsh National Opera...
Absolutely. This Government have supported young people through education in outstanding schools—80% of young people get an outstanding education. We are up in the PISA—programme for international student assessment—tables for education. As I said, 300,000 young people have been given opportunities in the creative industries, which the hon. Member fails to mention. Employment is up in...
We have a number of individual initiatives to support the participation of women and girls in sport. The national physical activity taskforce is working across Government to ensure that women and girls get more active. We have established the Board of Women’s Sport to identify challenges and opportunities across women’s sport, and we are fully supporting Karen Carney’s recommendations...
I am delighted to congratulate the boys team, and to commend all the work done in local schools to encourage girls to get more involved in sport. That is why the Government are committed to equal access to physical education and sport in schools, so that girls are able to participate in whatever sport they like. If they want to play cricket, football or rugby, they should be entitled to do...
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend on the huge value of motorsport. I congratulate motorsport on its Girls on Track scheme, which is getting more girls and women into sport. I highlight and re-emphasise his point that motorsport is not just about the sport itself; it is a huge powerhouse for research and development that builds and supports innovation.
I could not agree more. We do quite a lot of important cross-party work in this House. One of the things I have been most proud to be involved with in this role is supporting the women’s football team and women in sport. It was phenomenal to go to Australia to see the women’s team almost win the World cup, and it has been phenomenal to see the work that the Lionesses and former Lionesses...
Today we have published our white paper on the Gambling Act Review which sets out a wide-ranging, proportionate package of reforms to ensure the regulatory framework is fit for the smartphone age and the right protections are in place to protect the public from gambling-related harm. The suite of proposals strike a balance between respecting the choices of people who gamble safely, and...
Where a road is offered for adoption, the Highways Authority will assess whether the road has been constructed to the correct standard and will make a decision whether or not to adopt the road. The maintenance of a highway is a significant financial burden and a local highway authority must be satisfied that any roads it chooses to adopt, are sufficiently robust and built to the correct...
The Government's National Planning Policy Framework encourages the creation of places that are well-designed, healthy, inclusive and safe. In support of this, the National Design Guide recognises the importance of designing public spaces and streets to support an active life for everyone, with activities for socialising, informal doorstep play, resting and movement. In addition, the...
The Secretary of State's decision, together with the report and recommendation of the independent planning Inspector were published on 7 December 2022. That decision is now the subject of legal challenges. It would not be appropriate to comment further.
Estimates of new-build properties delivered in Gravesham in each year, are shown in Live Table 123, at the following link. The Department does not centrally collect figures on the allocation of new-build properties by Council Tax Band. This information may be held locally by Gravesham district authority.
The Government has committed in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to introduce a short-term lets registration scheme which will improve consistency in standards across all types of guest accommodation and deliver much needed evidence and data about the number and location of short-term lets in England. Further details on how the registration scheme will operate will be explored through...
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that the creation of high quality, beautiful and sustainable buildings and places is fundamental to what the planning and development process should achieve. At a high level, it defines the objective of sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own...
All customers who wish to pay off their equity loan need to have their home professionally valued first to ascertain its current market value. Those whose properties have building safety issues, such as unsafe exterior cladding, can present additional challenges in valuing. The process to get a valuation and redeem an equity loan for properties affected by cladding can be found on Target, the...
