The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, approximately how many (a) British and (b) non-British nationals are employed cleaning the Westminster estate of his Department.
Mark Lancaster
This information is not held by the Ministry of Defence. Cleaning staff are provided through a Private Finance Initiative Contract with Modus
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Attorney General was consulted or notified before the decision was made to remove the reference to the need to comply with international law and treaty obligations from the Ministerial Code.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Ministerial Code is normally updated and reissued after a General Election. The updated Code makes clear that Ministers must abide by the law. The obligations of Ministers under the law including international law remain unchanged.
Information relating to internal discussions and advice is not disclosed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Hinckley Point C nuclear power station project is served by a road and rail network resilient to climate change.
Claire Perry
The Department has provided £2.8m funding to Somerset Council to upgrade transport links before construction begins. It will help guide the Council on the development of business cases for road, rail and public transport changes and on bidding for funding to support this, including seeking an appropriate contribution from third parties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 10 of NHS England’s board paper, Allocation of resources to NHS England and the commissioning sector for 2016/17 to 2020/21, reference PB.17.12.15/04, if he will quantify the legally binding funding pressures regarding the introduction of treatments for (a) hepatitis C and (b) cystic fibrosis in 2016-17; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
NHS England has estimated a range for the impact of implementing planned and published National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guidance relating to treatments for hepatitis C and cystic fibrosis. Due to the commercial in confidence agreements in place a specific figure cannot be provided at this time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Green on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the level of planned investment by local enterprise partnerships in cycling and walking infrastructure through the local growth fund.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department estimates that an investment of at least £270m is planned for cycling infrastructure and an investment of at least £250m is planned for walking infrastructure, totalling at least £520m across the current Growth Deal period. This figure is derived from self-reported figures provided by Local Enterprise Partnerships to the Department in January 2016; the final figure for spend is therefore likely to be higher.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the cost to the economy of unreliable internet connectivity and speeds in 2014-15.
Mr Edward Vaizey
We are not aware of any existing research about the annual cost to the UK economy of unreliable broadband internet connectivity or speeds in 2014-15. However, the economic benefits of broadband access are clear, for example, SQW Consulting’s UK Broadband impact study in 2013 estimated that the availability and take-up of faster broadband speeds will add about £17 billion to the UK’s annual Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2024.
In November, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) and our ambition is to set this at 10 Mbps. This new broadband USO will give people the legal right to request an affordable broadband connection from a designated provider, up to a reasonable cost threshold, no matter where they live. A consultation, which has now closed, was published on 23 March setting out the Government’s proposed approach to taking this work forward.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government has taken to strengthen its data collection strategy to help combat human trafficking.
Karen Bradley
We are strengthening data collection on human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery in several ways. In the Modern Slavery Act we introduced a duty on named public authorities to notify the Home Office every time they have reasonable grounds to believe they have encountered a victim of modern slavery.
These notifications can be anonymous so that data is collected even if the potential victim does not want to engage with the authorities. We are reviewing the National Referral Mechanism form, so that it better captures key data about potential victims and perpetrators. Polaris and Unseen UK are working with other NGOs and law enforcement to launch an enhanced modern slavery helpline later this year which will capture more data and help to shine a light on the scale and nature of this appalling crime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33638, whether his Department has recently requested any advice from the European Commission on the compliance with state aid rules of awarding Public Service Obligation subsidies that specify airports both origin and destination.
Mr Robert Goodwill
We have not requested any advice from the European Commission on the compliance with state aid rules of awarding Public Service Obligation subsidies that specify both airports’ origin and destination.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-05-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Birmingham City Council has corporately decided to place their children’s social care services into an arms-length trust; when this decision was made; whether all such services will become the responsibility of the trust; and what papers relating to any such decision are in the public domain.
Lord Nash
On 24 May 2016 Birmingham City Council announced its intention to create a trust to deliver its children’s social care functions. No decisions have yet been taken on the form or scope of any future delivery model, including the services it may be responsible for, and so no papers are currently publically available. Formal decisions will need to be taken in due course by the Cabinet of Birmingham City Council and the Secretary of State for Education.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will initiate an open tender process for the activities previously contracted through an annual grant to Action on Smoking and Health before he awards any further such grants.
Nicola Blackwood
A grant of £160,000 has been awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for financial year 2016/17 and a copy of the signed award letter, including the detailed deliverables of the grant, is attached.
Grants made under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 can be made in a number of ways. The grant awarded to ASH has been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.
The Department received a complaint about the deliverables of the 2015/16 grant awarded to ASH in June this year. The Department responded to the complainant, confirming it was satisfied that none of the deliverables were in breach of the provisions of Section 64.