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  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which schemes have provided support for small and medium-sized from central government funds in each of the last 10 years; what the total amount of funding so provided was in each such year; and how much such funding was spent in each local authority are in each such year.

    Matthew Hancock

    Support for small and medium-sized businesses is an important objective for a number of Government Departments and schemes can take various forms which can include direct and indirect support, advice and information. Over the last 10 years the range of support measures has been very wide and a full answer to this question cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs. Additionally, the Department does not record how much spending or funding is given by local authority area so would not be able to provide this information.

    However, since May 2010 the Department has routinely published details of all expenditure including funding provided through Departmental schemes and programmes. Additionally, the Department’s annual report and accounts also provide summary information on a range of programmes that include direct and indirect support to all businesses – including some that directly support SMEs. The most recent annual report can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bis-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013

    “

  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding from the public purse was provided to support high streets (a) in total and (b) by local authority area in each of the last 10 years.

    Brandon Lewis

    Since 2010 we have spent or committed £18.53 million funding from the public purse to support high streets. This support has included: direct funding, support and advice for 23 Portas Pilots and 333 Town Team Partners; the High Streets Innovation Fund, supporting 100 towns with the highest empty property rates and those affected by the riots; the High Street Renewal Awards; the Business Improvement Districts Loan Fund and support for the Love Your Local Market campaign.

    In addition, the Chancellor announced a £1 billion Business Rates support package in the Autumn Statement, which includes a 2 per cent cap in Retail Price Index increase in business rates for 2014-15, a discount of £1,000 for smaller retail premises, which will benefit around 300,000 shops, pubs and restaurants, and a 50 per cent discount for 18 months to new occupants of vacant shops, bringing them back into use.

    The doubling of small business rate relief has been extended for another year. This measure was worth £900 million to small businesses in 2012-13, trebled from 2010.

    It is not possible to provide a breakdown of funding by local authority area for each of the last ten years due to disproportionate cost.

  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much public money from the Heritage Lottery Fund has been awarded to each local authority area for activities to commemorate the First World War.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    Since April 2010, across various programmes, the Heritage Lottery Fund has allocated over £56 million pounds to projects throughout the United Kingdom marking the First World War centenary. This includes awards from the First World War: Then and Now programme for smaller, community-led, projects. The breakdown of this funding by local authority area will be placed in the libraries of both Houses.

  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has provided to each local authority for highways in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    I have placed a table in the Libraries of the House which sets out how much each local highway authority has been allocated for highways in the last ten years.

    This table includes funding we have provided through a number of funding streams including Highways Maintenance Integrated Transport Block, Local Major Projects, Local Pinch Point Fund and Community Infrastructure Fund projects.

    Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding, allocated by the Department of Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant for maintaining their local highways. Neither revenue nor capital highways maintenance block funding is ring-fenced and it is for local highway authorities to decide upon their spending priorities across the whole range of services that they provide.

    The Department is also funding local highways maintenance projects in Portsmouth, Birmingham, Sheffield, Isle of Wight and the London Borough of Hounslow through the Private Finance Initiative.

  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what public funds were spent on infrastructure improvement works on each road in the strategic road network in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Public expenditure figures for each road on the strategic road network are not available. The Highways Agency publish annual accounts which are laid before Parliament which are available from the Library of the House and from the Agency’s website at: http://www.highways.gov.uk/about-us/corporate-documents/strategic-corporate-documents/annual-report-2012-2013/

    Over the last ten years, total expenditure on the maintenance, management and enhancement of the strategic road network in each year was as follows:

    £m

    2004/05

    1,598

    2005/06

    1,927

    2006/07

    2,330

    2007/08

    2,330

    2008/09

    2,416

    2009/10

    3,003

    2010/11

    2,597

    2011/12

    2,349

    2012/13

    1,897

    2013/14

    2,284

    Table showing Highways Agency total operational DEL (departmental expenditure limits) excluding accounting items such as depreciation.

  • Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Priti Patel – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Priti Patel on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding from the public purse was provided to support victims’ services in each of the last 10 years.

    Damian Green

    The Government is committed to ensuring victims of crime are fully supported and is making more money available than ever before for victims’ services. The table below shows the funding provided by the Ministry of Justice to organisations supporting victims of crime since the Department was formed in 2007.

    Financial Year

    Total funding to victim’s services1

    2007/08

    £38.17m

    2008/09

    £39.32m

    2009/10

    £40.52m

    2010/11

    £48.43m

    2011/12

    £49.6m

    2012/13

    £50.45m

    2013/14

    £55.57m2

    1 includes receipts from offenders through the Victim Surcharge (since 2007/08), increased Penalty Notices for Disorder and motoring Fixed Penalty Notices (since 2013/14), and Prisoners’ Earning Act Income (since 2011/12).

    2This figure does not include the PEA contribution as this has not yet been finalised and published. In addition, £20.8 million was made available to Police and Crime Commissioners in 2013/14, because it was provided late in the financial year only £4.95m of funding was able to be spent, however, the unspent amount remains available for PCCs to spend in 2014/15. Additionally, a small number of payments due to be made in 2013/14 had to be accrued for and were paid at the beginning of 2014/15.

  • Bob Stewart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Bob Stewart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the practice of Palestinian youths being tried by military courts and sentenced to prison for minor offences.

    Hugh Robertson

    The Government is concerned over the dual court system that is employed in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, under which all Palestinians, except those living in East Jerusalem, are subject to trial in military courts irrespective of the charges against them while Israeli youths are tried in civil courts. We also have serious concerns about the treatment of Palestinian children under the Israeli military court system, which we raise regularly with the Israeli authorities. More details can be found at: http://www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/

    “

  • David Heyes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Heyes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Heyes on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with Public Health England over a possible nationawide roll-out of the recent Be Clear on Cancer pilot study for oesophago-gastric cancer in the North East.

    Jane Ellison

    We want to lead the world in cancer care and are investing over £750 million, over four years up till 2014-15, including £450 million in the early diagnosis of cancer, including oesophago-gastric cancers.

    The earlier diagnosis money is designed to support earlier diagnosis of cancer by improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms through centrally funded Be Clear on Cancer campaigns; increasing general practitioner access to key diagnostic tests; and, to pay for extra testing and treatment in secondary care.

    Be Clear on Cancercampaigns are tested at a local and regional level, before a decision is taken on whether to run them nationally throughout England. Following a local pilot which ran from April to July 2012, we ran a regional Be Clear on Cancer pilot campaign from 10 February to 9 March 2014 raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of oesophago-gastric cancer in the North East and North Cumbria. The campaign included television, radio, press and outdoor advertising. The findings of this pilot are being evaluated by Public Health England, who works closely with the Department and NHS England to ensure that health care professionals are targeted with campaign information to encourage earlier diagnoses and referrals, before a decision is taken on whether to roll out the campaign nationally throughout England.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many female genital mutilation cases her Department has been made aware of in each year since 2012; and in how many such cases those involved were either deported or threatened with deportation.

    James Brokenshire

    Information on the basis of claim for asylum is not centrally recorded, and the information requested in the Rt. Hon. Member’s question could only be obtained through a manual search of individual case files. This would exceed the cost limit.

    As we do not centrally record the information requested, we are unable to obtain the data for the number of people, whose claim involved female genital mutilation, that were deported or threatened with deportation.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training immigration officials receive in relation to handling extremely sensitive and emotional situations; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    Dealing with sensitive and emotional situations is part of the training provided to all staff in Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and UK Visas and Immigration and includes keeping children safe, human trafficking and diversity and equality. Depending on their role, immigration officials also receive further training on duty of care; interviewing vulnerable people; handling sensitive gender and sexual orientation claims and issues faced by victims of human trafficking. The training highlights warning signs to look for when dealing with vulnerable people and how to refer them to other statutory agencies that have protection or welfare roles.

    There are assurance processes in place to make sure that required standards are continuing to be met. This includes the independent observation and assessment
    of operational activity on a regular basis to ensure that officers are carrying out their duties appropriately and that staff handle situations sensitively and
    proportionately.