The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for maintaining the scale and scope of the BBC’s coverage on all platforms.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
These issues are being considered as part of Charter Review. The Government will set out its proposals in the forthcoming White Paper.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the current level of housing provisions; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the most vulnerable have access to suitable housing.
Brandon Lewis
There was an estimated 23.4 million dwellings in England as of 31 March 2014, an increase of 137,000 dwellings on the previous year. This includes 4 million social and affordable rented dwellings (Private Registered Providers plus local authority tenures) (1).
We are doubling the housing budget to deliver one million more homes, including spending £8 billion to build 400,000 new affordable housing starts by 2021, the biggest new affordable homes programme since the 1970s, and committing £2.3 billion towards delivering 200,000 new Starter Homes.
(1) Source: DCLG Dwelling Stock Estimate, 2014, England
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/423249/Dwelling_Stock_Estimates_2014_England.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations his Department has received on (a) noise and dust and (b) other disruptions affecting local residents caused by current major road works on the M6; and whether he has considered taking steps to reduce that disruption to those residents by those works.
Andrew Jones
Since work commenced on the smart motorway upgrade on the M6 between junctions 16 and 19 in December 2015, a total of 4 representations from local residents have been made to Highways England in regards to noise from the construction work. These representations were also made to Cheshire East County Council, who made Highways England aware of them.
A further 4 representations have been made concerning an increase in traffic on the A50 to the east of the M6 due to vehicles choosing to divert on to the local road network to avoid the roadworks on the motorway. This concern was also raised with Highways England by Brereton Parish Council.
A number of measures are in place to reduce the disruption to local people including the use of temporary noise screens to minimise noise from excavation works near homes and dust suppression measures. Highways England are in regular communication by letter, email and newsletter with local people to keep them informed about up-coming works.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a strategy for ensuring that classes in English are provided for refugees as soon as possible after refugee status has been granted.
Mike Penning
We are working towards achieving more integrated communities and creating the conditions for everyone to live and work successfully alongside each other.
Those who are granted refugee status are given access to the labour market, mainstream benefits and housing assistance from their local authority. There are therefore no plans to allow refugees to stay in asylum support accommodation.
The Home Office offers integration loans to recognised refugees. The loan is designed to help refugees integrate into UK society by offering financial support towards housing costs, employment and training.
The Home Office also funds strategic migration partnerships which provide coordination and support services for those organisations working with migrants and refugees in local communities.
Earlier this year the Government announced that £20 million of additional funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses would be introduced in October 2016. This funding will reach the most isolated communities in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mc Nally on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to close the UK ivory market; and if she will make a statement.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
The Government is deeply concerned by the continued poaching of elephants for their ivory, which is why we are committed to maintaining the current global ban on any international trade in new ivory. The UK has made no formal assessment of the impact of other countries’ additional measures to restrict trade in ivory. However, as a further step in delivering the Government’s manifesto commitment to press for a total ban on ivory sales, on 21 September the Secretary of State announced plans for a ban on sales of items containing ivory dated between 1947 and the present day, putting UK rules on ivory sales among the world’s toughest. We will consult on plans for the ban early next year. This will complement the existing UK approach not to permit the trade of raw ivory tusks.
The Government also successfully lobbied for the EU-wide adoption of the existing UK ban on sales of raw ivory tusks, which was advocated through the EU Council Conclusions on an EU Action Plan on Wildlife Trafficking and adopted in June. This urged EU Member States not to issue export or re-export documents under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) for raw, pre-Convention ivory (pre-1990) and to consider further measures to put a halt to commercial trade in ivory from elephants.
At the CITES Conference that took place from 24 September to 5 October the UK was involved in negotiations that successfully secured a strong agreement calling for the closure of domestic ivory markets where they contribute to poaching or illegal trade. This was agreed by all 183 Parties to CITES.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-11-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of research on the links between the risk of cancer and radiation spikes during the refuelling of nuclear power plants, whether they plan to carry out a meta-analysis of European epidemiology studies about incidences of leukaemia in children under five living within five kilometres of nuclear power plants.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Public Health England (PHE) has advised that it considers the conclusions reached by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) in their 14th report published in 2011 remain robust, that there was no evidence that living near a nuclear power station in the United Kingdom is associated with an increased risk of childhood cancer. PHE is not aware at this time of any plans for a meta-analysis of European epidemiology studies about incidences of leukaemia in children under five living within five kilometres of nuclear power plants.
COMARE is a Departmental expert advisory committee that provides independent advice to Government on the health effects of natural and man-made radiation. A copy of their 14th report is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the other sources of local government income cited in the first bullet point of paragraph 2.123 on page 100 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The other sources of local government income referred to in paragraph 2.123 includes business rates and council tax, both of which are forecast to increase over the course of the spending period. It is based on the English local authority current expenditure in supplementary fiscal table 2.31 to the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook publication (November 2015), excluding grants from central government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the number of political prisoners in Bahrain; and if he will make representations to the government of Bahrain calling for the release of such prisoners.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain – including at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting which was most recently held in November 2015. If we have specific concerns around convictions or sentencing, we raise these with the Government of Bahrain as part of our wider dialogue on human rights and reform.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jowell on 2016-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the potential contribution of profit-with-purpose companies to UK gross value added.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Non-profit institutions accounted for 3.1 per cent of real GDP in 2014, with the output of this sector increasing 0.9 per cent over the same period. ONS data do not produce statistics for ‘profit-with-purpose’ companies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has produced a cross-departmental strategy for the UK to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK Government as a whole is committed to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Government’s manifesto sets out the plan of action for which it will be held accountable by the British people. This includes commitments relevant to each of the Goals, and it will guide our efforts to achieve them. The Global Goals are the starting point for, and will be embedded across, DFID’s work.
DFID is the lead Department on the Goals, and will be working with the Cabinet Office across Government to ensure a joined-up approach to implementation. Other Government Departments will lead on their respective policy areas.