The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to monitor the number of local authorities charging carers for the support they receive to help them in their caring role.
Alistair Burt
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 October 2015 to Question 13008.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the bank referral scheme announced in the 2015 Budget in providing accessible finance to small and medium-seized enterprises.
Harriett Baldwin
The bank referral scheme is not yet up and running but the Government is committed to delivering this policy which will help small and medium sized enterprises access the finance they need to grow and expand.
Since the Government announced the Finance Platform policy at Budget 2014 significant progress on implementation has been made. The Government has consulted, passed primary legislation and is now close to making secondary legislation.
The British Business Bank is currently undertaking a due diligence process on Finance Platforms that have expressed an interest in becoming designated and will advise HM Treasury on designation in the Spring; with the policy expected to ‘go live’ later in 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether her Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether her Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if she will make a statement.
James Brokenshire
The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-01-29.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how Government targets for the proportion of business created in supply chains for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) under public procurement contracts apply to companies subject to mergers, acquisitions or other changes in status that take those companies out of the SME category.
Matthew Hancock
The Government has a target that 33% of central government business, by direct spend and through the supply chain, will go to small and medium businesses by 2020.
We assess progress against the overall target on a regular basis, including an assessment of those companies identified as Small or Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Where companies no longer meet the statutory definition of an SME at the time of assessment, they are no longer counted.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the environmental effects of the disposal of imported (a) animal blood, faeces and urine and (b) other biological by-products in rural areas of the UK.
Rory Stewart
We have no plans to make such an assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many agency mental health nurses have been employed by each clinical commissioning group in each year since 2010.
Ben Gummer
This information is not collected centrally either by the Department or NHS England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-04-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the actions of Brighton and Hove City Council regarding its inquiries into children’s gender identity, rather than their physical sex, have been referred to the police in the light of any risk that such questioning might sexualise vulnerable young people.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Department for Education provides guidance on the Equality Act 2010 to schools which contains advice on the Public Sector Equality Duty and on the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.
The Department has not inquired into the gender identity of children in January 2016 and has no correspondence on the matter.
The addition of gender identity information on the pupil registration form was solely a decision of the Brighton and Hove City Council. They have the independence to make this decision.
The Department does not hold details of any additional information collected by local authorities outside of those required by the Department for our centrally specified, mandatory data collections.
The Department is not aware of any referral on this issue to the Police.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-06-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what level of engagement they have had with the insurance industry about reducing costs to consumers.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues.
As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the introduction of tolls on the Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee bridges; and whether a decision has been taken on discounts for local businesses and residents.
Andrew Jones
Following the previous Chancellor’s further statement in July 2015 that the Government is looking at extending Mersey Gateway bridge toll discounts to residents of Chester West & Chester and Warrington, officials are currently working through what the proposed further extension means for the scheme both by way of the cost to the Department but also and importantly what this would do to the commercial structure of the contracts already signed for the scheme. Once this is clear we will be able to provide more information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 13604, on tenancy deposit schemes, what the total value is of all the deposits currently held by each of the schemes on either a custodial or an insurance-based basis.
Gavin Barwell
The three Government approved Tenancy Deposit Schemes in England help ensure that tenants are treated fairly at the end of their tenancy through protecting deposits.
A deposit can be protected in a custodial scheme where the deposit is paid (submitted) and held by the scheme until the end of the tenancy. The scheme will pay the deposit back (return) to the tenant if they have fulfilled all their obligations at the end of the tenancy. A deposit can also be protected in an insured scheme, where the landlord or agent holds the deposit and pays it back to the tenant at the end of the tenancy. The deposit is not submitted to or returned by the scheme.
The figures available for the number of deposits protected for tenants in Greater London since 2011, are set out in Table 1, and for deposits submitted and returned in Table 2.
Table 1 – tenant’s deposits protected in Greater London
|
Year |
Total number of deposits protected |
|
2011-12 |
434,031 |
|
2012-13 |
398,635 |
|
2013-14 |
453,200 |
|
2014-15 |
499,098 |
|
2015-16 |
545,937 |
Table 2 – tenant’s deposits submitted and returned in Greater London
|
Year |
Number of deposits submitted |
Number of deposits returned |
|
2011-12 |
74,202 |
55,550 |
|
2012-13 |
77,709 |
62,341 |
|
2013-14 |
82,613 |
67,583 |
|
2014-15 |
88,465 |
70,105 |
|
2015-16 |
90,849 |
76,305 |
The differences between the number of deposits submitted and returned are due to different lengths of tenancies, cases going through the dispute resolution process, and the protection of more deposits as the private rental market continues to grow.
Overall, 98 per cent of all deposits protected in England since the launch of the tenancy deposit scheme in 2007, are returned to the tenant at the end of their tenancy.