The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what objectives his Department has set for the proposed sale of the M6 toll road; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Jones
The sale of the M6 Toll is being carried out by a private company and it is for the vendor to set objectives for the process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the free childcare pilot scheme budget will be ring-fenced from September 2016.
Mr Sam Gyimah
As you may be aware, the Government has allocated £13m to DfE for early implementation, allowing some families to access the additional 15 hour places from September 2016. The Department plans to ring-fence this funding available for early implementers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect Rwandans residing in the UK from assassination.
Mr John Hayes
It is long established Home Office policy not to comment upon matters of personal protective security.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-06-14.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to appoint a new Charity Commissioner to replace Peter Clarke.
Mr Rob Wilson
We are currently recruiting three new board members for the Charity Commission in England and Wales, including a replacement for Peter Clarke. We are specifically seeking skills and experience in the charity sector, in law enforcement and in IT. The posts were opened for applications in early June and we intend to appoint as soon as this process is successfully concluded. The recruitment process follows the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies and its core principles of merit, openness and fairness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-09-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the implementation of Ofcom’s recommendations related to BT and Openreach.
Matt Hancock
It is for Ofcom to implement its recommendations for the relationship between BT Group and Openreach. Nine out of ten homes and businesses now have access to superfast broadband, but our goal is to make sure the UK builds the right infrastructure to maintain our position as a world leading digital nation. We welcome Ofcom’s determination to tackle these issues.
We are clear that a more independent Openreach is needed to benefit consumers and the UK’s digital infrastructure. Swift and clear action is needed to give certainty to consumers, industry and investors in the UK’s broadband infrastructure and to deliver rapid improvements in the level of investment and service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-11-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government plans to take in response to the Sixth Report of the Public Accounts Committee, HM Revenue and Customs performance in 2014-15, HC 393.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recognise that their customer service has not been good enough, and have taken major steps to improve. This includes recruiting 3,000 new staff into customer service roles, available outside normal office hours when many of their customers choose to call.
These steps have started to make a difference. This month, HMRC have answered more than 80% of calls, and average queue times are now around 10 minutes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of its ability to (a) forecast and (b) mitigate the impact of extreme weather events on the UK; and if she will make a statement.
Rory Stewart
The Flood Forecasting Centre – jointly operated by the Environment Agency and Met Office – combines world class science, knowledge and experience on meteorology and hydrology to forecast flood risk. The daily assessment of risk enables extra time for emergency responders to prepare.
The Government has recently announced funding for a £97m supercomputer that will cement the UK’s position as a world leader in weather and climate prediction. In addition to this, the Environment Agency operates a flood forecasting and warning service for over 3000 local communities at risk from both rivers and the sea. Advice is provided by phone and text to over 1.1m home and business owners when their property is at risk.
Further investment to improve timely and accurate information to the public is underway. A £6m programme of improvements to weather radar will be completed this year and live data on river levels from across England was made available on the Government’s website earlier this year.
Climate change is factored into all the modelling work that the Environment Agency does, but in light of this extreme weather we must look at that modelling and ensure it is fit for purpose for future decisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether a distinction is made by the Government between Commonwealth Realm Orders and decorations where Her Majesty the Queen is Sovereign of the Order and an order where the Governor General as Her Majesty the Queen’s representative is the Head of the Order; whether there is a reciprocal recognition policy in place between each of the Commonwealth Realms concerning titular honours; and whether there has been any change in his Department’s rules on that policy in the last two years.
James Duddridge
The recognition of foreign honours is a matter for the Royal Prerogative and is governed by convention. The convention has not changed in the last two years. My Department does not set rules or regulations for these matters.
The main distinction between Orders of which Her Majesty The Queen is Sovereign and those where The Queen is not Sovereign is that The Queen approves and appoints recipients of all awards in the former and the recipients can apply to receive their awards at an investiture in the UK.
There is no reciprocal recognition policy in place between each of the Realms concerning honours and associated titles. Whether a title associated with an honour awarded by one Realm is recognised in a second Realm is a matter for the second Realm.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many civil servants were loaned or seconded from the (a) Department for International Development to the Ministry of Defence, (b) Ministry of Defence to the Department for International Development, (c) Department for International Development to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (d) Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Department for International Development, (e) Department for International Development to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, (f) Department of Energy and Climate Change to the Department for International Development, (g) Cabinet Office to the Department for International Development and (h) Department for International Development to the Cabinet Office in each of the last six years.
Mr Nick Hurd
The data below shows the numbers of civil servants on loan or secondment during each of the periods indicated. Civil servants may have been on loan or secondment for part or all of the periods indicated. Some civil servants may have been on secondment/loan for more than one year. DFID HR system does not hold historical loan/secondment data, this information has therefore been manually collated.
DFID to MoD
1/1/2011-31/12/2011 0
1/1/2012-31/12/2012 0
1/1/2013-31/12/2013 0
1/1/2014-31/12/2014 1
1/1/2015-31/12/2015 0
1/1/2016-31/12/2016 1
MoD to DFID
1/1/2011-31/12/2011 0
1/1/2012-31/12/2012 0
1/1/2013-31/12/2013 1
1/1/2014-31/12/2014 1
1/1/2015-31/12/2015 2
1/1/2016-31/12/2016 2
DFID to FCO
1/1/2011-31/12/2011 9
1/1/2012-31/12/2012 14
1/1/2013-31/12/2013 16
1/1/2014-31/12/2014 32
1/1/2015-31/12/2015 52
1/1/2016-31/12/2016 44
FCO to DFID
1/1/2011-31/12/2011 0
1/1/2012-31/12/2012 3
1/1/2013-31/12/2013 11
1/1/2014-31/12/2014 17
1/1/2015-31/12/2015 19
1/1/2016-31/12/2016 12
DFID to DECC
1/1/2011-31/12/2011 0
1/1/2012-31/12/2012 0
1/1/2013-31/12/2013 0
1/1/2014-31/12/2014 0
1/1/2015-31/12/2015 0
1/1/2016-31/12/2016 0
DECC to DFID
1/1/2011-31/12/2011 0
1/1/2012-31/12/2012 2
1/1/2013-31/12/2013 3
1/1/2014-31/12/2014 5
1/1/2015-31/12/2015 8
1/1/2016-31/12/2016 3
CABINET OFFICE TO DFID
1/1/2011-31/12/2011 0
1/1/2012-31/12/2012 1
1/1/2013-31/12/2013 1
1/1/2014-31/12/2014 2
1/1/2015-31/12/2015 3
1/1/2016-31/12/2016 3
DFID TO CABINET OFFICE
1/1/2011-31/12/2011 1
1/1/2012-31/12/2012 2
1/1/2013-31/12/2013 3
1/1/2014-31/12/2014 3
1/1/2015-31/12/2015 3
1/1/2016-31/12/2016 2
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-01.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Government’s memorandum submitted to the Lords Secondary Legislation Committee on 28 January, how many of the 800,000 tax credit claimants with a reduced award to an income rise above the new level of disregard are in receipt of child tax credit.
Damian Hinds
From April 2016, the income rise disregard – the amount by which a tax credit claimant’s income can increase within a year before their tax credit award is adjusted – will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,500.
The only people who will be affected by this will be those who see an increase in their in-year income by more than £2,500. There will be no net cash losers because their income will have increased.
In the subsequent tax year, a claimant’s tax credits award will be calculated in the usual way, using their full annual income for the previous year to determine their tax credit entitlement. This means that after the change in the tax year, whether the claimant’s increase in income was above or below the disregard level, their tax credit award for the following year will be adjusted to what it would have been had no disregard existed.