The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he visited the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2016, in his official capacity.
Harriett Baldwin
Details of ministerial overseas travel are published quarterly and are available on the gov.uk website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 21322, what advice has been issued to UK banks and building societies offering second charge mortgages in territory outside the UK.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government is not aware of any formal advice that has been issued to banks or building societies offering second charge mortgages in territories outside the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many rough sleepers have been helped by the No Second Night Out Across England programme; and what proportion of those people were successfully kept off the streets.
Mr Marcus Jones
Rapid intervention is vital to identifying new rough sleepers and ensuring that the support is in place to help them off the streets quickly. The longer someone sleeps rough, the greater the risk that they will become entrenched on the streets. That is why we invested in rolling out No Second Night Out across England through the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund. Over two-thirds of rough sleepers in 20 key areas outside London did not spend a second night on the streets.
The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. But one person without a home is one too many, which is why we will increase central investment over the next four years to £139 million for innovative programmes to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, through the provisional local government finance settlement, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.
Data on the number of people helped through the Fund is in an independent evaluation, published by Homeless Link: http://www.homeless.org.uk/sites/default/files/site-attachments/Three%20Years%20of%20Transition%20-%20summary%20evaluation%20report.pdf.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, from which budgets in his Department funding for expenditure on the right to buy pilots will be reallocated.
Brandon Lewis
Capital budgets (including funding for the Right to Buy pilot) were set from 2016-17 to 2020-21 as part of a zero based exercise across Government Departments at the Spending Review / Autumn Statement.
Therefore no budget has been reallocated to fund Right to Buy pilots.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussion his Department has had since May 2015 on limiting the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals; and if he will make a statement.
David Evennett
On 21 January the Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations introduced in April 2015. You can find it here:
The evaluation indicates that a large proportion of players of FOBTs may now be making a more conscious choice to control their playing behaviour and their stake level. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what research his Department has undertaken on the social costs of fixed odds betting terminals; and if he will make a statement.
David Evennett
On 21 January the Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations introduced in April 2015. You can find it here:
The evaluation indicates that a large proportion of players of FOBTs may now be making a more conscious choice to control their playing behaviour and their stake level. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received on the ethics of fixed odds betting terminals; and if he will make a statement.
David Evennett
On 21 January the Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations introduced in April 2015. You can find it here:
The evaluation indicates that a large proportion of players of FOBTs may now be making a more conscious choice to control their playing behaviour and their stake level. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Government plans to publish the results of its consultation on the review of the BBC’s Royal Charter.
Mr Edward Vaizey
I refer the honourable member to my response to PQ 22672, submitted to Parliament on 19 January.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to promote Welsh literature in the UK.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Arts Council England funds organisations nationwide including National Portfolio Organisations offering high quality creative and professional training to writers, particularly aimed at emerging talent and funds and supports individual writers/literature via the Grants for the Arts funding scheme.
Literature Wales is the national company for the promotion and development of literature in Wales, and works with the support of the Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Government. Literature Wales receives an annual revenue grant from the Arts Council of Wales as well as a subsidy from the Arts Council’s Lottery Funds
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the number of spaces which should be available for disabled people in music venues across the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The huge variation in size, type and location of music venues across the UK makes it impractical to require venue operators to make a specific number of spaces available for disabled people. However, we believe that everyone should have access to arts and culture – having a disability should not be a barrier to enjoying Britain’s awe-inspiring cultural treasures. That is why we are working with venues and organisations representing disabled people to identify barriers to access, while at the same time seeing how we can share examples of best practice and what more cultural venues need to do to be accessible to people with disabilities. We support the work of Attitude is Everything, which works with audiences, artists, and the music industry to improve deaf and disabled people’s access to live events. Ialso recently held a roundtable meeting with Justin Tomlinson, Minister for Disabled People to look at access to cultural venues and events for disabled people. Additionally, provisions in the Equality Act 2010 require providers of services to the public (for example music venues), to make a ‘reasonable adjustment’ so that disabled people are not placed at a “substantial disadvantage” to non-disabled people.