The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the planned expenditure is for the British Transport Police in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.
Claire Perry
The British Transport Police’s budget for 2015/16 is £298,078,000.
Final budgets for future years have not been established.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps his Department has taken in conjunction with NATO to ensure flexibility in NATO’s capacity to respond to hostile actions.
Mr Julian Brazier
The UK was one of the driving forces behind NATO’s Readiness Action Plan (RAP), agreed at the Wales Summit, which includes tripling the strength of the NATO Response Force (NRF); the creation of a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) that is able to deploy at very short notice; and enhancing NATO’s Standing Naval Forces.
The UK is fully involved with NATO work to improve the movement of troops and logistic support to the enhanced NRF and VJTF although improvements to and development of road networks remain the responsibility of each member nation.
NATO Allies regularly discuss the progress of the RAP and the capabilities and deployability of our forces; we will do so again at the NATO Defence Ministerial meeting this month.
The UK will contribute to the VJTF in every year between now and 2021 including: a 1,000 strong battle group for the Spanish-led Land VJTF in 2016; we will act as the Land VJTF lead nation in 2017, with 3,000 UK personnel; and in 2020 we will provide a 1,000 battle group to the Polish-led VJTF
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will assess the suitability of the hinterland of the Port of Blyth as a location for an ultra-super critical coal fired power station; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
With the exception of proposals for nuclear generating stations, the choice of location for any energy generation project is a matter for the developer concerned, and the location`s suitability will be considered as part of the consent application process. Any new coal plant must demonstrate carbon capture and storage on at least 300 MW of its proposed generating capacity and comply with the Emissions Performance Standard.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the effect will be on the Scottish Government’s block grant of the recent announcement of funding for Crossrail 2 for London and High Speed 3 for England.
Greg Hands
The Barnett Formula was applied in the usual way to the Department for Transport’s budget at Spending Review 2015, and will continue to be applied as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy at future Spending Reviews and other fiscal events.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new unnamed holding company to be created by the takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Bourse will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
I refer the noble Lord to my written answers of 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586)
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the financial effect on people caring for family members of the closure of the Independent Living Fund and the introduction of the Care Act 2014.
Alistair Burt
The Independent Living Fund (ILF) closed on 30 June 2015, with funding and responsibility transferring to local authorities in England and the Devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales. The Department has not made an assessment of the financial impact on those caring for family members, and at this stage does not plan to do so.
However, the Department has issued statutory guidance to local authorities to support this transfer of responsibility and to prevent any former ILF user having their care interrupted during the transfer. I have recently reminded local authorities of the need to comply with this guidance. In addition, the Care Act 2014 introduced important new rights for carers, and placed a duty on local authorities to assess adults who appear to have care and support needs and to meet those needs which meet the national eligibility criteria.
The Government has committed to publishing a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy before the end of 2016. A wide-ranging call for evidence is now underway to underpin the development of the Strategy, which will gather evidence from stakeholders, and carers themselves, on their experience of caring including issues of personal finance and the support they receive from local authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Desmond Swayne on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of the Latchmore Wetland Restoration Project in the New Forest.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
The planned Latchmore Wetland Restoration Project is being undertaken by the Forestry Commission as part of the New Forest Higher Level Stewardship Scheme. The Forestry Commission estimates that the cost of the project will be £1.5 million. The majority of this funding is being provided by the European Union under the Common Agricultural Policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-10-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many outstanding applications for mandatory reconsideration of a tax credit decision by Concentrix there are in (a) Warley constituency, (b) Sandwell and (c) the West Midlands.
Jane Ellison
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold the data broken down specifically by constituency areas. HMRC is currently focused on resolving the outstanding cases but will be preparing regional analysis, which will be available in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what grounds she decided that the recently approved annexe to the Weald of Kent grammar school is in an area that is easily accessible to the community that the school serves.
Edward Timpson
The Weald of Kent School has set out its plans in expansion proposals. Pupils at the Sevenoaks annexe will attend the Tonbridge site at least once a week to attend a whole school assembly and additional lessons. The school will also operate a house system across the expanded school, regularly bringing students together on a range of curriculum projects. The length of the school day is a matter for the academy trust.
The newly expanded school will better meet the needs of parents in the community that the school currently serves. Over 41% of pupils at the Tonbridge site already travel from the Sevenoaks area. The travel arrangements between the sites will use existing bus companies to transport pupils who live in Sevenoaks to the Tonbridge site. The proposal indicates that the journey time is approximately 17 minutes and no additional funding is being provided to the academy to cover the costs.
The decision issued on 15 October 2015 was in respect of a proposal received on 14 September 2015. The Department can comment on the costs of external legal advice once we have the final costs bill.
The school would not have the required capital funding to expand on this scale at the existing site.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what date the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland was advised of the impact on the criminal offence of breach of official duty as a result of the changes relating to the correction of procedural error made by the Northern Ireland (Elections) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2015.
Lord Dunlop
Northern Ireland Office Ministers took the decision to lay the Northern Ireland (Elections) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2015 on 30 October 2015, following discussions with Ministerial colleagues at the Cabinet Office. Northern Ireland Office officials began work on the Order in May 2015, although work was delayed by the department’s focus on the Northern Ireland Talks process. The Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland was advised of the impact of the proposed changes relating to procedural error by letter on 31 July 2015. The Chief Electoral Officer expressed support for the proposed content of the Order in meetings in June 2015. The Electoral Commission was consulted on the Order on 1 October 2015. As the Explanatory Memorandum to the Order sets out, there are significant differences in the systems operating in Northern Ireland and Great Britain and a one size fits all approach is not justified.