The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to answer Question 24306 from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield, tabled on 26 January 2016 for answer on 29 January 2016.
Nick Boles
I replied to the hon Member on 3 February.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to reduce overcrowding on the prison estate in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Selous
As the Secretary of State has said, the prison estate is overcrowded and out of date. That’s why we have announced that we will close down aging and ineffective prisons, replacing them with new facilities fit for the modern world.
We are investing £1.3 billion to reform and modernise the prison estate to make it more efficient, safer and focused on supporting prisoner rehabilitation. In our new prisons we will design out those features that facilitate bullying, drug-taking and violence.
We are also constructing a modern 2,106 place prison, HMP Berwyn, in North Wales, that will be opened in 2017 and are building two new house-blocks at existing prison sites Stocken and Rye Hill.
We remain committed to ensuring that there are enough places for offenders sentenced to custody by the courts and making sure that these places are safe, decent and secure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many diabetes specialist nurses there are in (a) Leicester General Hospital, (b) Leicester Royal Infirmary, (c) Glenfield Hospital and (d) Leicestershire.
Ben Gummer
The Health and Social Care Information Centre provides information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the National Health Service in England but it does not separately identify diabetes specialist nurses.
It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Scotland of the UK leaving the EU.
David Mundell
I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon Members for North Ayrshire and Arran, Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Ochil and South Perthshire, Motherwell and Wishaw, Angus and East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer to Lord Ahmad of 7 April 2016 to Question HL7297, if her Department will make it its policy to use in all future documents and legislation a definition of extremism which includes the phrase mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, rather than the phrase mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.
Karen Bradley
The Counter–Extremism Strategy set outs our approach to tackling extremist ideologies. We will challenge all those groups or individuals who vocally or actively oppose our fundamental values, who seek to promote, encourage and spread intolerance of individuals of different faith and beliefs. We are clear that this approach tackles all forms of extremism: violent and non violent, Islamist and neo-Nazi.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions have taken place between the British and Iranian authorities on the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
I am deeply concerned by recent reports that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been sentenced without confirmation of the charges against her. We continue to raise our strong concerns about British prisoners in Iran, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, at the highest levels in both London and Tehran. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), did so in her introductory call with Iranian President Rouhani on 9 August. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), similarly raised this case in his introductory call with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif on 4 August, and followed up in writing on 29 August. Our Ambassador and embassy staff in Tehran raise this case with their Iranian counterparts at every available opportunity, and will continue to press for further details as well as assurances of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s welfare. I met Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family on 8 September to reassure them that we will continue to do all we can.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to end reassessments for personal independence payments claimants with lifelong or degenerative conditions in line with his Department’s policy on employment and support allowance.
Penny Mordaunt
The length of a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) award is based on an individual’s circumstances and can vary from 9 months to an on-going award with a light touch review at the ten year point. PIP already recognises that for the most severely disabled claimants, the award review process could seem unnecessarily intrusive. Existing PIP claimants with the most severe, lifetime disabilities, whose functional ability has remained the same, are more likely to have their evidence reviewed by a DWP Decision Maker and will not need to have another face-to-face assessment with a healthcare professional.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) the amount of any underspend expected against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year and (b) his Department’s latest forecast of total AME spend for this year are; and what the forecasts were for those two sums at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 and March Budget 2015.
Mike Penning
The Department is not forecasting an underspend against departmental expenditure limits. At the time of the Summer Budget and the March Budget 2015, the Department was also not forecasting an underspend.
Totals for Annually Managed Expenditure are published twice a year at Main and Supplementary Estimates. The latest figures for 2015-16 were published in the Main Estimates, presented to the House of Commons on 2 July 2015. A link is provided below. Updated totals will be published in the Supplementary Estimates later in the financial year.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/main-supply-estimates-2015-to-2016
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to ensure that staff dealing with universal credit are on the same rates of pay once staff from HM Revenue and Customs are transferred to his Department.
Priti Patel
DWP currently operates a pay system which, in common with other civil service departments including HMRC, uses pay ranges based on grade and location. Factors such as business needs and benchmarking of similar public and private sector organisations are considered as part of each DWP annual pay review
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he expects to publish the reformed Electronic Communications Code.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government remains committed to delivering a reformed Electronic Communications Code that is clear, fit for purpose, and supports network coverage which provides consumers with a choice of high quality telecommunications services. We are considering the interests of all stakeholders. We will update Parliament on plans in due course.