The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-03-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of blue badges for disabled drivers held by people in England and Wales in (1) 2013, (2) 2014, and (3) 2015.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The estimated total number of Blue Badges held in England and Wales for 2013, 2014 and 2015 were:
2013: 2,776,000
2014: 2,663,000
2015: 2,597,000
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 March (HL7118) and the letter from the Chief Executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to both Lord Alton of Liverpool and the Department of Health on 7 March, whether there are any reasons why a full copy of the comments by peer reviewers and responses by the person responsible that have been provided privately have not yet been made publicly available; if so, what those reasons are; and if not, whether they will place those documents in the Library of the House, and when.
Lord Prior of Brampton
It was our intention to place a copy of all the documents provided to the noble Lord by the Chief Executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in the Library but an administrative error occurred in arranging this. I apologise for this error.
The remaining document is now attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grocott on 2016-05-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Nash on 3 May (HL Deb, col 1308), how many allegations of fraud in respect of academies and free schools were made to the Education Funding Agency in each financial year from 2012–13 to date.
Lord Nash
EFA does not classify allegations into fraud or other forms of irregularity until they have been investigated. The number of fraud allegations cannot therefore be isolated from other allegations of irregularity. After investigation EFA concluded that only 10 of the allegations received in respect of academies and free schools since 2012-13 were probable fraud. This shows that there are low levels of fraud within the 5,685 academies in the sector. Where fraud or other irregularity is identified EFA takes swift action which may include conducting its own investigations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.
Matthew Hancock
The Government is committed to doing all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts in line with our current international obligations. To this end we are seeking to ensure the huge purchasing power of government supports the task of boosting growth, and enables us to actively shape the UK market for the long term.
We are providing industry with visibility of up to £191bn of potential procurement opportunities across 19 sectors. In addition, we are working with businesses to identify and address any key capabilities needed to meet future demand; actively helping them to remove barriers and supporting growth through additional benefits that boost exports and drive innovation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many business cases for infrastructure projects submitted in previous years by his Department were accepted in the 2015-16 financial year in each region; and what the (a) value was of (i) public and (ii) private funds allocated to those projects in total in each region and (b) average length of time taken was for the Department to accept those cases.
Mr John Hayes
The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) provides expertise, practical help and independent assurance of major projects, working with all partners in infrastructure and major projects (government departments, project teams, HMT, Cabinet Office, and the private sector). The remit of the IPA does not include providing formal approval and as such departments do not submit business cases to the IPA for approval.
The IPA publish an annual comprehensive forward-looking assessment of the current and planned investment in UK economic infrastructure across both the public and private sectors (The National Infrastructure Pipeline). This document contains financial information of the level of public and private infrastructure investment broken down by region currently in development and planned to 2021 and beyond. The Spring 2016 update can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-infrastructure-pipeline-2016.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of how much UK households spent on taxi and private hire vehicle journeys in 2013-14.
Andrew Jones
The average weekly expenditure per household on ‘taxis and hired cars with drivers’ was an estimated £1.10 in 2013, the latest year for which figures are available. By way of context, the equivalent figure in 2008 was also £1.10.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pregnant women, new mothers, and children under four have applied to the Healthy Start scheme in each year since that scheme started.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The specific information requested is not available as the Healthy Start Issuing Unit records numbers of applications, rather than numbers of individuals claiming, and an individual or family can make more than one claim for Healthy Start within a year.
The following table outlines the number of applications received each year since the scheme was started and is made up of the number of claims/applications per year.
The Healthy Start Scheme initially started in Devon and Cornwall and was rolled out United Kingdom-wide in November 2006.
|
Financial Year |
Number of applications/claims |
|
|
2005-06 |
2,445 |
Healthy Start Scheme introduced initially in Devon and Cornwall |
|
2006-07 |
104,920 |
Extended United Kingdom wide in November 2006 |
|
2007-08 |
197,388 |
|
|
2008-09 |
298,077 |
|
|
2009-10 |
338,113 |
|
|
2010-11 |
316,711 |
|
|
2011-12 |
320,043 |
|
|
2012-13 |
316,277 |
|
|
2013-14 |
271,244 |
|
|
2014-15 |
226,805 |
|
|
2015-16 (Up to 15 November) |
132,633 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that judges and other decision-makers have appropriate knowledge and training on issues relating to child arrangements orders made in the family court in cases in which there is a history of domestic abuse.
Caroline Dinenage
Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, responsibility for judicial training rests with the Lord Chief Justice and this responsibility is exercised through the Judicial College. Accordingly, the independence of the judiciary means that Government Ministers do not intervene with regard to the content of judicial training.
The Judicial College has advised that judges, magistrates and their Legal Advisers have all received specific training on domestic violence issues and were trained in the new Child Arrangements Programme and Practice Direction 12J as part of the Family Justice Review reforms in 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-02-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will discuss with the Director of Public Prosecutions the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to take Mark Pearson to trial for sexual assault, and the claim by the defence solicitor in that case that the CPS initially provided amended and misleading video evidence to the court.
Lord Keen of Elie
The CPS’s function is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for the criminal court to consider.
The CPS assessment of any case is not in any sense a finding of, or implication of, any guilt or criminal conduct. It is not a finding of fact, as this can only be made by a court, but rather an assessment of whether there is a realistic prospect of conviction and, if so, whether the public interest lies in prosecuting.
It is open to the defence in any crown court case to argue, after the prosecution has closed its case, that the evidence is too weak for the decision to be left to the jury. In this particular case the judge clearly considered that the decision was properly a matter for the jury.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-03-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings they have had in the last three years with the Chief Executive of the Go-Ahead Group about its operation of its Southeastern rail franchise in respect of (1) health and safety, (2) passenger satisfaction, and (3) responsiveness to customer complaints.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Senior officials meet with the Chief Executive of the Go-Ahead group on a quarterly basis to discuss the operation of all franchises under their control. Meetings discuss the overall performance of the franchises operated. Health and Safety for the industry is overseen by the Office of Rail and Road.