The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-11-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of modern Class 170 diesel trains that would be released for re-deployment if the route from Hurst Green to Uckfield were electrified.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We have not done an assessment but electrification of the route is expected to be considered as part of the Network Rail led Electrification Route Study.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of small businesses which have received financial assistance from (a) peer-to-peer lenders and (b) other alternative funding sources.
Anna Soubry
According to NESTA, peer-to-peer business lending in the UK grew at a rate of 250 per cent annually between 2012 and 2014. The Peer-to-Peer Finance Association publishes quarterly updates, which show net new lending of £251m in the third quarter of 2015 of which £91m was to small businesses. Although the number of businesses is not stated, Funding Circle (which accounts for £66m of the £91m net new lending) had 10,755 borrowers at the end of the quarter. The total is therefore likely to be close to 15,000.
Equity crowdfunded deal numbers and investment totals are less readily available. The British Business Bank cites market investment data recorded by Beauhurst which show that in the first half of 2014, £24m was raised across 101 crowdfunded equity investments. Using survey data, NESTA has produced a higher estimate of £31m for the same period and £84m for 2014 as a whole.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sorties of the Watchkeeper UAV have been flown from RAF Ascension in each month since January 2015.
Mr Philip Dunne
None.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost was of paying child benefit to EU nationals in each of the last five years.
Damian Hinds
The information is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February to Question 28168, how many responses to the Government’s consultation on devolving Sunday trading rules were opposed to devolving powers to extend trading hours on a Sunday to local areas.
Anna Soubry
The Department does not hold full data from this consultation on this specific question as a large portion of respondents chose to respond in their own words rather than addressing the consultation questions directly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy schools have been found to have made irregular payments to third party suppliers without the necessary contracts in each of the last three years.
Edward Timpson
The Education Funding Agency does not record information in this manner, and would only be able to gather such information at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-05-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the Dedicated Schools Grant allocated to Lancashire County Council was spent on Special Educational Needs support for children under five years old in the last year for which data is available.
Mr Sam Gyimah
In 2014-15 the spend on Special Educational Needs support for children under five years from the high needs block of the dedicated schools grant allocated to Lancashire County Council was about £2.53 million. This information is as reported by the local authority and published in the following document: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/section-251-outturn-2014-to-2015-data
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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 Rob Marris on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of accessible taxis.
Andrew Jones
Government is committed to giving disabled people the same access to transport services as other members of society. It also recognises the particularly significant role played by taxis and private hire vehicle (PHV) operators for many disabled people, in helping them to remain active and independent.
It is for local authorities to specify a number of accessible vehicles to be within their licensed taxi and private hire vehicle fleet, and to take account of their public sector equality duties when doing so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what level of spending will be required from (a) the Government, (b) other public sector bodies and (c) private employers to create three million quality apprenticeships by 2020.
Nick Boles
The budget for apprenticeships in England is demand-led and the level of spending responds to local employer and learner demand. Apprenticeships are jobs with training – availability is determined by employers offering opportunities.
The Government is introducing a UK-wide levy for all larger employers in the public and private sector to help fund the increase in quantity and quality of apprenticeship training. This levy will put employers in charge of how apprenticeship budgets are spent by creating a fund which they can use to pay for the cost of external training for their apprentices.
Further details on the rate and scope of the levy will be set out by my Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the autumn Spending Review.