The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take in the forthcoming Charter Review to include the BBC within the remit of Freedom of Information legislation.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The BBC is currently subject to the Freedom of Information Act, with some exceptions. This issue is one of many we are looking at as part of Charter Review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of businesses that have registered for (a) VAT and (b) PAYE in each region and nation of the UK between 2010 and 2014.
Mr David Gauke
The Office for National Statistics publishes a breakdown of the number of businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE by region:
Previous releases of this publication including data from 2010 onwards can be found here:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/ukbusinessactivitysizeandlocation/previousReleases
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-05-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the long-term protections in place for the monies granted under the Cotonou Convention in the 11th European Development Fund.
Baroness Verma
The European Development Fund (EDF) provides development assistance in accordance with the Cotonou Agreement. The 11th EDF resources are implemented in compliance with the principals of sound financial management and transparency. Every year the accounts of the EDF are scrutinised by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) who perform rigorous annual audits on the EU’s finances. The ECA also review specific programmes and projects for effectiveness and impact.
DFID regularly reviews the work of its partners, including the EU, to ensure that aid is being spent efficiently and appropriately.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase cycling provision in Poole.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Poole Borough Council received funding for the LSTF 2011-15 programme as a partner authority which was led by Dorset County Council for the ‘School Travel Health Check’ project; they also received funding for the ‘Be SMArT’ project led by Bournemouth Borough Council. Both projects aimed to facilitate sustainable travel and included improvements for cycling.
The Department is also preparing to launch the Access Fund for revenue only funding, which will be open to all local authorities in England (excluding London) regardless of previous bidding success. This will include an objective to actively promote increased levels of physical activity through walking and cycling.
The Access Fund is being aligned with the third Local Growth Deal which presents opportunities for all authorities to seek capital funding for their sustainable transport schemes. All local authorities have been notified to engage with their Local Enterprise Partnerships and the Department on both these opportunities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 June (HL500), whether they intend to publish in the Official Record a summary of the findings of the lessons learnt review of the 83 per cent escalation of costs for the recent improvements to the A1 road close to Gamston Airport, and what steps they have taken to reduce the risk of similar occurrences.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The “Lessons Learned” workshop was completed on 8 June 2016 and is currently under review. There are some outstanding issues to be resolved regarding the possible requirement for permanent speed cameras, the agreement of alterations to a private access and the completion of road safety audit works, before it can be completed. Highways England intend to publish their findings on their website in due course.
To reduce the risks of similar occurrences, Highways England now has a greater focus on strategic planning with a five year plan of work. They are more able to ensure early contractor involvement more proactively in the development and construction of schemes. Highways England will take the lessons learned on the A1 Elkesley and ensure they are given due consideration in future schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department contributes annually to the cost of running Wellbeck Defence Sixth form.
Robert Halfon
Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College is a private independent institution; therefore the Department for Education only contributes funding to directly support students enrolled at the institution.
In the 2015/16 academic year, the Department for Education contributed £21,434 in 16 to 19 discretionary bursary funding. Discretionary bursaries are awards made to students by institutions to help overcome the individual barriers to participation a student faces, such as help with the cost of transport, meals, books and equipment.
The Education Funding Agency’s published allocation is available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2015-to-2016-academic-year
The Department for Education has also contributed funding to the Ministry of Defence’s Armed Forces Bereavement Scholarship Scheme for bereaved service children.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average frequency of evening and weekend work by junior doctors in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Ben Gummer
NHS Employers’ evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration – “Reform of national contracts for consultant doctors and doctors and dentists in training”1 – published in December 2014 during the hon. Member’s tenure as a Minister, included a profile of how the hours worked by doctors in training were spread across the week.
We have evidence that hospital leaders consider the junior doctors’ contract to be a significant barrier to delivering more seven-day services. NHS Providers’ written evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration on contract reform for consultants and doctors and dentists in training2 stated that the junior doctor contract is still a significant source of barriers to seven day working and reform of the junior doctor contract is also required to support trusts to deliver more seven-day services. In particular, the pay banding system for junior doctors needs to be reviewed. There were concerns from employers that the banding system is too complicated, can create “perverse incentives” for junior doctors and hospital management, and means that providing more seven-day services is unfeasible, since more junior doctors would be working outside core hours and receive premiums under the current banding system. NHS Providers also believe that more hours in a day and more days of the week need to be defined as core hours, as the current arrangement does not support the delivery of more seven-day services or reflect the needs and expectations of today’s patients.
Future working patterns are for individual employers to determine. The evidence on doctors’ working patterns has not altered since the hon. Member was a Minister for Health.
2 http://www.nhsproviders.org/resource-library/written-evidence-ddrb-special-remit/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what help his Department will provide to assist local authorities to resettle Syrian refugees over the next five years.
Richard Harrington
Local authorities have played a vital role in helping those Syrian refugees arriving here to settle into a new life in the UK. The Syrian Resettlement Team, made up of officials from Home Office, DCLG and DFID, is working closely with those local authorities that wish to participate in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, helping to manage the process of accepting refugees for resettlement, providing help and advice where appropriate.
At the Spending Review the Government committed £129 million to assist with local authority costs over years 2-5 for those local authorities who are resettlling refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. This is unringfenced funding and it will be for local authorities to decide how to use the funding to support the refugees they resettle.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to renew concessions to the immigration rules for Syrian nationals lawfully in the UK beyond 28 February 2016.
James Brokenshire
The Government is currently considering whether to renew the concession for Syrian nationals in respect of the Immigration Rules. The Government continues to monitor the situation in Syria closely in order to ensure our response is appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will introduce guidance to NHS trusts on notification of next of kin after the admission to NHS facilities of a person who has taken an overdose of medication.
Alistair Burt
We do not intend to introduce guidance to National Health Service trusts on notification of next of kin after the admission to NHS facilities of a person who has taken an overdose of medication. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline (CG133) regarding the longer-term management of self-harm in over 8s sets out that care plans – including risk management and crisis plans – should be multidisciplinary and developed collaboratively with the person who self-harms and, provided the person agrees, with their family, carers or significant others. Care plans should also be shared with an individual’s general practitioner.