The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has held discussions with academics and charities in receipt of grants from his Department on the potential effect of the anti-lobbying clause on their work.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department is currently rolling out the new anti-lobbying clause in its grant agreements and will monitor any feedback on the effect it may have on recipients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to protect the pensions of grandparents that care for grandchildren.
Justin Tomlinson
From 6 April 2011 a weekly Class 3 National Insurance credit is available to grandparents and other adult family members under State Pension age that look after children aged under 12 to enable the children’s parents to work. The credits can help protect the grandparent’s National Insurance record and will count towards entitlement to the new State Pension and (before 6 April 2017), Bereavement Benefits.
Since its introduction in 2011, over 4,000 people have been approved.
In addition, support is available through income-related benefits to grandparents of working age who have responsibility for their grandchildren or act in the place of the child’s parents. The Government announced its intention to exempt grandparents, and other family members or close friends, looking after children, who could otherwise be at risk of entering the care system, from the restriction which limits the child element of Universal Credit to a maximum of two children. The Government is committed to working with stakeholders to develop a solution that meets the needs of the children in respect of whom this exemption is intended to apply, whilst guarding against the risk of fraud and error
Universal Credit recipients who are grandparents can have childcare costs reimbursed. Where a firm job offer has been accepted childcare costs can be claimed for at least one month before they start work and after the employment ends. The childcare costs element is intended to protect work incentives and ensures that support is focused on low-earning families.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36419, if he will set out the actions required of an hon. Member, including the number of parliamentary questions asked, contributions to debate and other relevant matters which are deemed to demonstrate sufficient interest in devolution, for such hon. Members to be invited to meetings on future plans for the area they represent.
James Wharton
I would welcome a proactive and enthusiastic approach to involvement on devolution matters and associated opportunities locally, with which my department stands ready to engage. It is for hon. Members to determine for themselves what that involves.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times in the last two years Falmouth Coastguard Operations Centre has had staffing levels below what is considered safe.
Mr John Hayes
The operational concepts and procedures that underpin Her Majesty’s Coastguard’s national network mean that the Coastguard Centres within it no longer have fixed geographic boundaries. This enables Coastguards at either the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) or any of the 9 Coastguard Operations Centres (CGOC) to coordinate any incident anywhere around the UK coast irrespective of their location. As a result workload is now managed on a national basis rather than Centre by Centre as was previously the case. National capability and Coastguard staff from any Centre are now available to provide additional support to any individual Centre within the network when it is considered necessary by senior operational managers.
Due to this inherent flexibility Her Majesty’s Coastguard sets ‘Optimum Suggested’ staffing for the network as a whole rather than for each centre. Over the last two years since the national network became operational out of a total of 1,427 watches (both day and night) the network has been staffed below ‘Optimal Suggested’ levels on 137 watches.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what part they played in the 9 September Geneva agreement between the US and Russia for a ceasefire in Syria.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The 9 September Geneva agreement was the product of months of bilateral negotiations between the US and Russia. The UK plays an active role on Syria in wider fora including in the International Syria Support Group and through our Permanent Membership of the UN Security Council. We have further been playing our role in the wider political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis and on Sunday 16 October the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) convened a meeting of key partners on Syria in London. The meeting discussed various options for responding to the appalling situation in Syria, and particularly the worsening humanitarian situation in Aleppo.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Janke on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process they followed in making appointments to the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Secretary of State is responsible for appointing members to the local government pension scheme’s advisory board. No more than 12 members in total may be appointed, divided equally between members representing scheme members and scheme employers in England and Wales.
The list of appointments made by the Secretary of State is shown below. The appointments were made on the basis of nominations submitted by the Local Government Association on behalf of local authority employers and the three major local government trade unions. The 12 appointments shown below replaced the members of a shadow scheme advisory board established in July 2013.
Local authority employer representatives
Councillor Roger Phillips (Herefordshire County Council representing non-local authority employers)
Emelda Nicholroy (Universities and Colleges Employers Association representing education employers).
Councillor Michael Adams (London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham representing London councils).
Councillor Keiran Quinn (Greater Manchester Pension Fund representing Metropolitan authorities)
Councillor Denise Le Gal (Surrey County Council representing English local authorities)
Councillor Mary Barnett (Torfaen Pension Fund representing Welsh local authorities)
Scheme member representatives
Jon Richards – UNISON
Chris Tansley – UNISON
Brian Strutton – GMB
Gary Warwick – GMB
Fiona Farmer – UNITE
Dick Banks – UNITE
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the discovery of a booby-trapped mass grave in northern Iraq is evidence of genocide against minorities such as Yazidis and Assyrian Christians.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of reports that mass graves have been discovered in northern Iraq, at least one of which was allegedly booby trapped by Daesh. We condemn in the strongest terms the targeting and persecution of Yezidis, Christians and other communities by this brutal terrorist organisation.
We continue to urge the Government of Iraq to do all it can to ensure the security and rights of all communities in Iraq. We are working in Iraq to build consensus around the importance of freedom of religion or belief; and supporting practical projects on community dialogue with civil society and faith groups.
The British Government believes that recognition of genocides should be a matter for international courts. It should be a legal, rather than political determination, decided by international judges after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible international judicial process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian business jet movements there were at RAF Northolt in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 14 October 2015 in response to Question 10882 and the answer I gave him on 5 September 2013 in response to Question 167738. There are no plans to review further the limit on the number of commercial civilian movements at RAF Northolt, which remains 12,000.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-02-01.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff at which grades were involved in the recent investigation into Google’s tax arrangements.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not disclose details of its work on the affairs of particular taxpayers.
HMRC’s Large Business directorate now deploys 2,600 staff – over 600 more than when it was formed in April 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil law suits have been brought against his Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.
Mark Lancaster
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost