The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many fines have been levied on credit rating agencies (a) in total and (b) for inaccurate reports of individuals’ credit records; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin
This question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply to directly to the Honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2016 to Question 40558, from which sources other than vehicle excise renewals his Department receives credit card fees from people paying for services offered by his Department and its agencies; and what the total amount so received was in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.
Andrew Jones
There are no services, aside from paying Vehicle Excise Duty, for which my Department or its agencies receives a credit card fee.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-10-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who are certified as self-employed in Ashfield constituency are in receipt of in-work benefits.
Damian Hinds
The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold sufficient data on self-employed recipients of in-work benefits to answer this question.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the progress being made in achieving their target of establishing superfast broadband coverage to 90 per cent of the UK by 2016.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government’s Superfast Broadband Programme, which has £1.7 billion of funding from central government, local authorities, devolved administrations and European funding sources, has contributed to well over 3 million homes and businesses in the UK having access to superfast broadband. Our programme remains on track to deliver superfast broadband coverage to 90% of the UK by early 2016 and to 95% of the UK by December 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-12-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what incentives and performance targets exist to encourage HM Prison Service to improve rates of testing for hepatitis C among prisoners.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Improving the proactive detection, surveillance and management of infectious diseases in prisons is a shared priority for the National Offender Management Service, NHS England and Public Health England, as described in the Second National Partnership Agreement published earlier this year. A copy is attached.
Included within this work programme is implementation of the blood-borne virus (BBV) opt-out testing programme for people in prisons, which includes testing for Hepatitis C virus infection as well as Hepatitis B virus and HIV.
The ambition is to have BBV opt-out testing in all adult prisons in England by end of the financial year 2016-17.
While there are currently no financial incentives or direct performance targets, performance in this activity is measured by NHS England through the collection of data via the Health & Justice Indicators of Performance. The data are used by NHS England commissioners to performance manage healthcare providers in prisons.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their definition of a sink estate and what criteria they are using to draw up a list of them; what discussions they have had, or will have, with local authorities before drawing up such a list and before any decisions are made about the future of estates on that list; and which estates they have so far identified that (1) qualify as sink estates, and (2) they propose to demolish in whole or in part.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Estates Regeneration Advisory Panel members, criteria and terms of reference will be published in due course.
The Panel will evaluate the potential for the regeneration of particular estates over the coming months, and will report by this year’s Autumn Statement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much central government funding has been allocated to programmes in (a) Salford City Council and (b) Salford and Eccles constituency to reduce and prevent homelessness in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16 to date.
Mr Marcus Jones
One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on the Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the next four years. We will work with homelessness organisations to consider other options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support.
Funding is allocated at a local authority level. Salford City Council was allocated the following amounts based on the homelessness prevention funding formula within the Local Government Finance Settlement:
– 2014-2015: £70,591
– 2015-2016: £70,319
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bahrainian counterpart on the arrest and sentencing of Ebrahim Sharif by that government.
Mr Philip Hammond
We have raised Ibrahim Sharif’s case with the Government of Bahrain. We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain, and call on the Bahraini Government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. I most recently raised the issue of human rights when I met with the Bahraini Foreign Minister on 4 February.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy for the House to be given an opportunity to debate in advance any decision to use his Department’s cyber strike capability.
Penny Mordaunt
We continue to develop the ability of our Armed Forces to deploy a broad range of offensive cyber capabilities as an integrated part of military operations. As with other sensitive defence capabilities, we do not reveal specific details in order to safeguard national security. As we have previously made clear in the context of the war powers convention, we do not propose to define the circumstances in which we would consult Parliament about the use of particular military capabilities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Post Office has spent on refurbishing the premises of (a) the 39 Crown post offices it is proposing to franchise and (b) the three Crown post offices the Post Office is proposing to close since January 2010.
George Freeman
Post Office Limited runs and manages its Crown post offices. Franchising of these offices is the operational responsibility of the Post Office.
I have asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on these matters. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.