The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-05-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Health and (b) International Development on implementation of the Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Matthew Hancock
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2016 to Question 38024, how many visits to the Pensions Wise website were by consumers seeking pensions advice for personal use.
Justin Tomlinson
Pension Wise is a free and impartial guidance service which helps people aged 50 and over understand what they can do with their defined contribution pension pot(s). The service does not offer regulated financial advice.
The Pension Wise service is aimed at members of the public. To the end of May 2016, Pension Wise has had over 2.6 million visits to the website since launch. It does not hold information that distinguishes between visitors to its website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32920, what processes his Department uses to collect information on allegations of fraudulent benefit claims; and what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of those processes.
Caroline Nokes
There are a variety of ways that allegations of Benefit Fraud are collected and received by the DWP including telephone calls to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline, online and Letter and Data matching. Once an allegation has been received and, if it meets the required criteria containing enough information, a Fraud Referral Form is completed which is then entered into the internal Fraud Referral and Information Management System.
The effectiveness of these processes is measured by statistics produced and published in May each year and made available in the public domain. These statistics are used to evaluate, develop and support fraud and error policy, strategy and operational decisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what restrictions are in place to monitor mobile pubs on bicycles.
Mike Penning
Licensing authorities make decisions about the sale of alcohol which is governed by the Licensing Act 2003.
Under the Licensing Act 2003, there is a prohibition on the sale of alcohol from a moving vehicle. A person would only be able to buy alcohol if the vehicle were stationary and the operator would need a premises licence at every place the vehicle stopped to sell alcohol. There is nothing to prevent the consumption of alcohol by passengers on such vehicles.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of restricting housing benefit entitlement for single social tenants under the age of 35 to the Shared Accommodation Rate of the relevant Local Housing Allowance on (a) levels of homelessness and (b) the availability of social housing for that age group.
Justin Tomlinson
The introduction of Local Housing Allowance limits to housing benefit and Universal Credit houisng element awards will only apply from April 2018, where new tenancies have been taken out or renewed after April 2016.
Tenants who take on a new tenancy or renew a tenancy will have the opportunity to consider whether they can afford to take on the property before committing to it. Because of the element of choice it is not possible to accurately estimate whether there will be any impact upon homelessness or the availability of social housing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support his Department provides to outdoor recreational activities across the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Tracey Crouch
We recognise the importance of outdoor recreation and this is reflected in our new sport and physical activity strategy, published in December 2015. Sport England is currently working with the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) on the ‘Getting Active Outdoors’ insight report – the largest ever of its kind – to get the nation active – particularly children, pensioners and women. In the meantime, Sport England is investing over £68 million in outdoor recreation sports, including £3 million invested in the Britain on Foot campaign, to get more people hillwalking, trail running and mountaineering.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to announce a decision on access to Translarna after the NICE Highly Specialised Technology Committee meeting on 17 February 2016.
George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently evaluating Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy through its highly specialised technology programme. The publication date for NICE’s final guidance is to be confirmed.
NHS England has advised that it is in constructive discussions with the pharmaceutical company about the development of a managed access agreement for Translarna and a progress update will be given at the next NICE Evaluation Committee meeting on 17 February 2016.
In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has discussed with the Football Association the introduction of a fit-and-proper-person test for owners of non-league football clubs.
David Evennett
The Owners and Directors Test, formerly the fit and Proper Persons Test, is already applied to National League clubs at Steps 1 to 4. The FA are also in the process of introducing a licensing system for those clubs from 2016–17, which will ensure clubs can only compete if they meet a set of legal, ownership, integrity, stadia, insolvency and sustainability criteria.
Any plans for a licensing system or the Owners and Directors Test to be introduced to non-league sides further down the football pyramid are a matter for the FA.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what total value of assets has been transferred from local authority control to control by academy schools or combinations of academy schools in each of the last five years.
Edward Timpson
The majority of the assets that transfer to academy control on conversion are land and buildings. In the vast majority of conversions the local authority (LA) retains the freehold, and will lease the land and buildings to the academy. No academy can dispose of land without the Secretary of State’s consent and – where they retain the freehold – the LA.
In accordance with government accounting requirements the Department for Education is obliged to consolidate academy trust’s accounts into our own and record the total value of net assets that academies control; including land and buildings leased from LAs.
The table below summarises information we hold and have published on the transfer, in accountancy terms, of assets to academies. As the Department for Education has only been required to consolidate academy trust’s accounts into our own from financial year 2012-13, it is not possible to provide individual figures for 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Net assets transferred to EFA on conversion of academy trusts from local authorities.
|
Year |
Net assets transferred from local authorities (£m) |
|
Academies converting before 1st April 2012 |
13,900 |
|
Academies converting in 2012-13 |
6,213 |
|
Academies converting in 2013-14 |
3,390 |
|
Academies converting in 2014-15 |
2,707 |
|
Total |
26,210 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the purpose is of the training provided by the UK armed forces to the security and armed forces personnel of Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Penny Mordaunt
The UK Armed Forces do not currently provide any training to security and Armed Forces personnel of Burundi or the Democratic Republic of Congo.
We provide some limited training to the Rwandan Armed Forces, largely at the Rwandan Peace Academy and Staff College and through occasional places at UK staff colleges. This training is in support of security sector reform and effective and compliant Rwandan contributions to peace support and disaster relief operations.
We also deliver training to the African Union’s Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), as part of our effort to build the EASF’s capacity to conduct peace support operations. This training includes elements such as protection of civilians and civil and military cooperation. Some Burundian and Rwandan Armed Forces personnel attached to the EASF may attend this training.