Category: Speeches

Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how the Transitional Grant available to certain local authorities was calculated and allocated.

Mr Marcus Jones

The local government finance settlement distributed revenue support grant by looking at the main resources that are available to local councils. The Local Government Finance Report (England) 2016/2017 sets out the basis of this distribution and the results can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2016-to-2017.

My rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark) has made clear that the Transitional Grant is for places that did not benefit from these changes in the formula. I refer the hon. Member to the debate on the Local Government Finance Report (England) on 10 February 2016, Official Report, Columns 1643-1645. The fund will be applied in direct proportion to the difference in the revenue support grant that would have been experienced and so it will ease the change from a system based on central Government grant to one in which local sources determine a council’s revenue.

01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 27620, in what ways the ring-fenced £100 million is being spent; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure its other projects compliment local air quality plans.

Andrew Jones

Highways England has set out their approach for managing the Air Quality fund in their Delivery Plan (2015-2020), published in March 2015. In this they committed to building a clear picture of where pollution exists around the Strategic Road Network and to deliver ten pilot schemes to help develop new approaches to reduce air pollution. The ring-fenced air quality fund will support the implementation of viable solutions once these have been identified though Highways England’s ongoing work.

Since 2011, Government has committed over £2 billion to measures that will help improve air quality including uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles and investment in sustainable transport. The team responsible for delivering the air quality plan will work with officials in the Department for Transport to ensure that programmes are closely aligned.

01/01/2023
Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the per pupil value for money of free schools and the effect acquisition of sites (a) in London and (b) outside London has on that value for money.

Edward Timpson

Since 2010, we have opened around 400 new free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. These schools offer excellent value for money. They are being built significantly quicker and cheaper than previous school building programmes. The National Audit Office found in its report in 2013 that free schools were built 45% cheaper than other school building programmes. Almost 200,000 new places will be provided. 25% of the free schools inspected by Ofsted have been judged outstanding compared to 20% of all other schools. We plan to open at least 500 new schools during this Parliament.

We monitor the programme’s costs to ensure it continues to offer excellent value. A value for money assessment is made prior to a free school application being approved for the pre-opening stage and again before a capital budget is approved. We consider all aspects of the project, including the size of the school and the location of the site. Sites in London tend to cost more to acquire and this is taken into account when considering the value for money offered by London projects.

01/01/2023

Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on NHS bursaries for (a) doctors, (b) nurses and midwives and (c) allied health professionals in each year since 2010.

Ben Gummer

The total cost of NHS bursaries paid to medical, nursing and midwifery and allied health professional (AHP) students in financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15, the latest year for which figures are available, is shown in the following table.

	2010-11 £000	2011-12 £000	2012-13 £000	2013-14 £000	2014-15 £000
Medical	19,826	19,530	20,573	21,001	20,909
Nursing and Midwifery	399,366	385,371	349,453	320,586	301,307
Allied Health Professions	50,296	50,275	52,759	55,697	58,129

Source: NHS Business Services Authority

Notes:

The figures include all bursary elements (Basic Award, allowances and one-off payments) paid directly to students or to 3^rd party providers of services for disabled students. Excludes tuition fees paid directly to Higher Education Institutions to meet the tuition fee liability of students studying medicine.

During the financial year of 2014-15 there were a total of 90 students studying an AHP course at the University of Central Lancashire who were in receipt of an NHS bursary. It is not possible to separately identify the number of bursary recipients at other AHP course providers in Lancashire, as these are campus based, with information captured as part of the figures for the main site, all of which fall outside of Lancashire. These figures are therefore excluded.

During the financial year 2014-15 there were a total of 773 students studying social work at the University of Central Lancashire and at Lancaster University who were in receipt of a social work bursary.

01/01/2023

Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions his Department had with business and professional services companies before the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016.

Matthew Hancock

Ahead of the Anti-Corruption Summit, Cabinet Office and a number of other government departments engaged with a wide range of businesses, including professional service companies, to understand their views, promote best practice and encourage their support for the objectives of the Summit.

A number of business leaders attended the Summit, as well as the Tackling Corruption Together conference which was organised by civil society and business on 11 May. A group of professional services companies published a statement on 11 May in which they commit to maintaining robust procedures when taking on new clients and building a culture, through education and training, that allows no space for corruption.

01/01/2023
Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will reassess the potential merits of proposals to make sustainable drainage systems compulsory in new housing developments at risk from flooding.

Gavin Barwell

There are strict tests in national planning policy to protect people and property from flooding and we have been very clear that where these tests are not met new development should not be allowed.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that new development should only be considered appropriate in areas at risk of flooding where it gives priority to the use of sustainable drainage systems. The policy was strengthened in April 2015 to make clear the expectation that sustainable drainage systems should be provided in all major new developments, unless demonstrated to be inappropriate. The Framework is underpinned by planning guidance, including guidance on sustainable drainage systems, which was strengthened last year.

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 places a duty on the government to carry out a review of both planning legislation and planning policy in respect of sustainable drainage systems in developments. Any subsequent changes would be based on the evidence from this review.

Additionally, developers must comply with the building regulations which give priority to sustainable drainage systems in their hierarchy of arrangements for dealing with rainwater draining from roofs and pavings giving access to the building.

01/01/2023
Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit claimants have a child aged (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four.

Damian Hinds

This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

As announced at Summer Budget, the Chancellor announced that free entitlement childcare would be doubled from 15 hours to 30 for working parents. This will not be rolled out until September 2017, with early implementation in some areas in September 2016.

Information about the age, gender and number of children in receipt of tax credits can be found in HMRC’s Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics, April 2015. Available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-provisional-statistics-2013-to-2009

“

01/01/2023
Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Freud on 15 September (HL1460, HL1461 and HL1462), what assessment they have made of (1) the proportion of addresses held by the Department for Work and Pensions that are incorrect, and (2) the number of people who will not have received a letter informing them of the change in their state pension age.

Lord Freud

This information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress her Department expects the UK to make towards its obligation to deliver 15 per cent of energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020 in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018, (d) 2019 and (e) 2020.

Andrea Leadsom

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich on 6 July 2015 to Question 4832:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-06-30/4832/

“

01/01/2023
Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effects of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 on the (a) Animal and Plant Health Agency, (b) Drinking Water Inspectorate, (c) Fish Health Inspectorate, Cefas, (d) Rural Payments Agency and (e) Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

George Eustice

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 creates a legal obligation on the Government of the day to publish a business impact target, covering the economic impact of new regulation on business and civil society organisations.

The Business Impact Target currently applies to legislation and regulatory activity undertaken by UK Ministers, including the activities of non-statutory regulators who exercise regulatory functions for or on behalf of UK Ministers. The Act also sets out reporting requirements to Parliament in relation to any qualifying regulatory provisions introduced by these bodies.

01/01/2023