The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many charities in receipt of government grant funding were found to be in breach of provisions preventing use of taxpayers’ money for political activity in each of the past three years.
Lord Bridges of Headley
This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to improve the protection of areas of outstanding natural beauty in marine areas.
George Eustice
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty do not cover marine areas. However, this Government has made a commitment to complete a ‘Blue Belt’ of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) around our coasts. These sites will also contribute to an ecologically-coherent network of MPAs in the North East Atlantic.
Over 17% of UK waters and almost a third of English inshore waters are now within MPAs. This includes 50 Marine Conservation Zones created since 2013. We are continuing to work towards designating further MPAs to complete the ‘Blue Belt’.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-04-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department’s non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority by 2020.
Mr Mark Francois
No jobs have been abolished or relocated since 2010, or will be abolished or relocated by 2020, in East Cheshire Local Authority in my Department or its Arms Length Bodies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) mental and (b) physical health risks to young people of social media and technology.
Alistair Burt
The Department has made no formal assessment of the risks to mental or physical health presented to young people by social media and related technologies. However, the Department, working with Xenzone (a provider of online counselling services) has funded the development of an online risk module for health professionals, designed to give them an understanding of the digital world, so that they can learn to distinguish between ‘normal online behaviour’ and potentially dangerous activity.
The Department has commissioned the Health and Social Care Information Centre to carry out a survey of the mental health of children and young people. Public consultation on the content of that survey called for the inclusion of questions on the impact that social media may be having on the mental health of children and young people. A national report on the findings of the survey will be published in 2018, the first such survey since 2004.
The clearest physical health risk arises from the fact that children and young people who spend long periods online are not exercising during that time. The four Home Country Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) published United Kingdom-wide guidelines for the amount of physical activity required across the life-course (including children and young people) in July 2011. The CMOs also included advice to restrict sedentary behaviour (long periods of sitting) including use of computers, for all age groups.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-07-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about reports of new rules of engagement for Israeli police allowing the use of live ammunition in response to stone throwing.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
While we have not made representations to the Government of Israel on this specific issue, we have an ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities in order to understand their rules of engagement and express our concerns where necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of contested cases have been successfully defended by the NHS Litigation Authority.
Mr Philip Dunne
In 2015/16 the NHS Litigation Authority took 124 contested cases to trial and won 75 of them, giving a success rate of 60%.
Source:
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to ensure that there will be sufficient childcare places in place by April 2017 for pre-school aged children of parents who will be expected to seek work from that date under the provisions of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.
Priti Patel
We expect the childcare market to adapt and expand as it has done so successfully in the past. There has been an increase of 230,000 places since 2009 and a significant increase in the take up of childcare provision in low and middle income areas. To support that continued growth and build capacity in the sector, the government has made capital funding available to create nursery provision as part of new Free Schools which will create at least 4,000 places. This government has supported existing providers to expand by reducing bureaucracy and making it easier for providers such as childminders and schools, to provide places and will continue to do so. In addition, we are trialling innovative ways of providing the extended entitlement next year, in particular to look at how the childcare can be provided more flexibly to suit the needs of working parents and increase choice. So far, there have been over one thousand expressions of interest to take part in the early implementation of the extended entitlement.
There is an extensive menu of childcare support in addition to the Department for Education offer including: the Universal Credit Childcare element; Tax-Free Childcare; and help with childcare costs under the Jobcentre Plus Flexible Support Fund to enable parents to undertake training, attend interviews or start work. Work related requirements should be tailored to individual circumstances and compatible with child care responsibilities. Parents should not be asked to undertake work related requirements which they cannot fit around their childcare responsibilities if suitable childcare is not available in their local area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a comparative assessment of the potential economic benefit of High Speed 2 plans and the proposals by Transport for the North.
Mr Robert Goodwill
HS2 will dramatically improve connectivity from north to south. Northern Powerhouse Rail will do the same from east to west. These two ambitious programmes, developed side-by-side, will help to rebalance the economy by transforming rail travel to, from, and within the North.
The Department and Transport for the North (TfN) are currently developing options for delivering the transformational rail connectivity in the north of England set out in the Northern Transport Strategy, and aim to have an understanding of the relative scale of costs and benefits of these options in autumn 2016.
As outlined in the recent HS2 Economic Case published in November 2015, the benefits of the full HS2 Y-Network are estimated to be £72.8bn (2011 prices, PV). This analysis calculated that the benefit cost ratio (BCR) of HS2 is 2.2 for the full Y-network, including wider economic impacts. Therefore, over £2 worth of benefits are expected for every £1 spent which represents high value for money.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Framlingham on 2016-01-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much public money has been spent on HS2 to date; how much is estimated to be spent in the next financial year; what is the estimated final cost to the public purse; and what is the projected completion date.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
To date (2009/10 – Dec 2015) the government has spent £1.4bn on the HS2 programme. The Department for Transport and HS2 Ltd are currently in the process of finalising their estimates for the next financial year (2016/17). The 2015 Spending Review reconfirmed the Government’s commitment to a long-term funding envelope for delivering the HS2 programme at £55.7bn in 2015 prices. Phase One and Phase 2a are scheduled to be complete by 2026 and the remainder of Phase Two is expected to be completed by 2034.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-02-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish their strategy for the UK’s relationship with the Gulf States.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK is clear that its relationships with Gulf States matter to our mutual security and prosperity as laid down in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. We continue to work in collaboration with Gulf partners to deepen relations. We will set out in due course our vision of our future relationships with partners in the region in our new Gulf Strategy.