The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether bids can continue to be made by British cities to become European capital of culture after the vote to leave the EU.
Matt Hancock
DCMS is currently reviewing the impact of the referendum result on the UK’s ability to participate in this competition, and will provide clarity to all interested cities once we are in a position to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of tax credits on farmers.
George Eustice
The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on this issue. However, the NFU has written directly to the Chancellor about tax payments and the National Living Wage. Ministers and Defra officials meet regularly with representatives of the farming industry to discuss a range of issues affecting farm businesses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2015 to Question 17661, if she will recompense spousal visa applicants using the premium service but not receiving a determination on the day of application; and if she will make a statement.
James Brokenshire
All applicants who choose to use the premium service are offered a refund of the premium service fee if their applications cannot be determined due to unforeseen operational reasons on the day. However, if applicants do not arrive with the correct documentation and further checks are required that cannot be concluded on the day, then no recompense will be offered for the decision not being concluded on the day of the appointment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many accredited diplomats from (1) Saudi Arabia, (2) the United Arab Emirates, (3) Kuwait, (4) Bahrain, (5) Qatar, (6) France, (7) Germany, (8) the Netherlands, and (9) the US, were resident in the UK on 1 January.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s records, the number of individuals resident in the UK on 1 January 2016 who were notified, with some form of diplomatic or consular status, to represent the following countries are:
|
Saudi Arabia |
209 |
|
The United Arab Emirates |
46 |
|
Kuwait |
54 |
|
Bahrain |
8 |
|
Qatar |
15 |
|
France |
196 |
|
Germany |
138 |
|
The Netherlands |
32 |
|
The USA |
478 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the estimated difference between the current and original cost estimates of (a) locating the Sheffield High Speed 2 station in the city centre and (b) locating it in Meadowhall.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Analysis of the Sheffield City Region station options was published in the ‘Engineering options report; West Midlands to Leeds’ dated March 2012. This included analysis of several station sites around the city centre.
The current estimated difference in cost between locating a High Speed station at Victoria and Meadowhall is £680m. Previous work on the cost of options at Victoria and other city centre sites are not comparable to the current estimate given above. With regards to the Meadowhall station, following the 2013 public consultation, no significant changes have been made to the original station design therefore there have not been any changes in cost.
When recommending a station location HS2 Ltd. uses a number of criteria, including;
Potential options were sifted by HS2 Ltd. according to these criteria. To support and challenge this approach, external stakeholders and advisors from the Department’s Project Representative Team were involved in reviewing the process and outcomes where appropriate. Further information about the appraisal process can be found in the 2012 ‘Options for phase two of the high speed rail network’ report and 2013 ‘Appraisal of Sustainability’ report. Both of these documents are available on the government website.
Analysis undertaken by HS2 shows that the introduction of the Sheffield Meadowhall HS2 station could support up to 5,400 jobs and up to 300 residential units, while a HS2 station at Victoria could support an estimated 9,000 jobs and 900 housing units.
Finally, I can confirm that Department for Transport officials have received a copy of Sheffield City Region’s study into connectivity for a city centre High Speed 2 station at Victoria which Network Rail was involved in.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether heavy goods vehicles will use access roads in Brondesbury Villas during the construction phase of High Speed 2.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Brondesbury Villas is not identified in the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement as a construction route for the purposes of the HS2 scheme. However, the Phase One Bill does included powers to enable utility protection and diversion works to be undertaken along Brondesbury Villas associated with the construction of the proposed HS2 running tunnels. The implementation of these utility protection and diversion works may involve the occasional use of HGVs along Brondesbury Villas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Government will implement the recommendations made in the Time to Move report published by Blind Children UK in February 2016 to improve the number of children with sight loss who receive rehabilitation training.
Jane Ellison
The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to work with children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), and their parents, to develop a Local Offer of the services they have or expect to be available to children and young people with SEND, including those with visual impairment. As such, it is for local authorities, in consultation with children and young people with SEND and their families, to decide which services they offer in their area, which can include habilitation training.
At a national level, the Department for Education has funded a partnership of charities through the National Sensory Impairment Partnership to help local authorities to compare their services, learn from the best in the country and make sure that services for blind children and their families (as well as those with other sensory impairments) are effective and meet local needs.
In 2013/14 the Department of Health provided funding to Blind Children UK for their three year project training eight students for the Diploma in Habilitation Studies at the UCL Institute of Education. Officials have met with Blind Children UK recently as part of their engagement with key organisations which represent the interests of children and young people with complex needs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of street level cabinets served by a fibre enabled exchange that are not planned to be upgraded for fibre broadband in commercially viable areas.
Mr Edward Vaizey
BT’s commercial deployment programme is still ongoing. We will not have access to information on the proportion of cabinets that remain to be upgraded in commercial areas until this is completed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he or officials of his Department have had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the process to ensure that ports effectively monitor ship energy efficiency management plans; and how many ships have been found not to possess an updated plan in the last five years.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans come under the purview of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Inspectors when carrying out Port State Control inspections. They have been mandatory since 1 January 2013.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has carried out 4018 Port State Control inspections since the requirement became mandatory and 24 vessels have been identified with deficiencies relating to energy efficiency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to develop milk banks.
Mr Philip Dunne
The United Kingdom Association for Milk Banking promote and support the accountable provision of safe, rigorously screened donor breastmilk for sick and premature babies. However they do not routinely supply milk for mother who through illness cannot breastfeed their babies even though they would consider providing the supply of breastmilk on a case by case basis.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that all donor milk administered in the National Health Service should be from milk banks that can demonstrate adherence to the NICE guidelines on the operation of donor milk bank services.
It is up to the local NHS in each area to consider whether to introduce a milk bank for mothers attending maternity units. There are at present 14 milk banks in NHS trusts in England.