The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who represents the Government on the board of Integrated Debt Services Limited.
Matthew Hancock
Ed Welsh and Thomas Vogt-Skard are the Cabinet office Non-Executive Directors on the board of IDSL.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2016 to Question 25976, whether the proceeds from the £227 million fine imposed on Deutsche Bank will be specifically applied to a new new three-year fund to create 50,000 apprenticeships.
Greg Hands
As we have said previously, this government will be spending twice as much in cash terms on apprenticeships by 2020 compared to 2010. Spending on apprenticeships in England will be £2.5bn in 2019-20. The BIS spending review settlement for apprenticeships reflects the government’s commitment regarding the proceeds of the Libor fine the FCA announced in April 2015. Further announcements that support the government’s commitment to delivering employment opportunities for young people will be announced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the use of administrative detention in that country.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary. Officials regularly raise concerns about the treatment of administrative detainees with their Israeli counterparts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-04-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are used (1) to determine the cost-effectiveness of bat bridges before construction is undertaken, and (2) to determine the value of those constructed.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
All elements of road schemes are subject to appraisal in line with Treasury requirements and guidance. They are also subject to value management requirements throughout the project lifecycle.
This does not include any specific measures on the cost-effectiveness of structures, such as bat bridges, as there is no accepted method for such quantatative evaluation. Instead a review is undertaken of the costs, qualitative benefits and other predicted impacts (including environmental) at key stages to ensure benefits are optimised and costs are challenged.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-06-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which applications under section 100 of the Planning Act 2008 an Examining Authority has appointed a person to act as assessor.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
There has been only one application for development consent where an assessor has been appointed by under section 100 of the Planning Act 2008. This was for the Preesall Saltfield Underground Gas Storage project.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2016 to Question 42891, on double taxation: crown dependencies, for what reasons the Government has entered negotiations for a full revision of the treaties with Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
Jane Ellison
Our double taxation treaties with Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man (the Crown Dependencies) date from the 1950s and although we have updated them in part on several occasions many of the provisions are now out of date.
The OECD Model Tax Convention is the starting point for the UK’s tax treaties. This model has undergone many revisions in recent years, most recently in 2014, with further changes to be incorporated arising from the OECD base erosion and profit shifting project. These negotiations will give us the opportunity of incorporating many of these revisions.
HM Revenue and Customs officials began talks with the Crown Dependencies in April this year and will be meeting again with them soon to continue discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the proposals for peace in Syria made by former President Jimmy Carter in the International New York Times on 27 October.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Proposals for achieving peace in Syria will need to be agreed by the key international players and, importantly, the Syrian people. The UK is working closely with international partners to bring about a negotiated end to the crisis in Syria, including through Ministerial participation in high-level international meetings. The ultimate solution to the crisis must be a political transition, which brings legitimate and inclusive governance to Syria. We are flexible about how the process of transition would work but are clear that Assad cannot be part of the future of Syria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the level of awareness among drivers who do not normally use the Dartford Crossing that a charge is made for using that crossing.
Andrew Jones
In July 2014 Highways England undertook research to assess levels of public awareness of the introduction of Dart Charge. Following the Public Information Campaign that ran from October to December 2014, further research took place to assess how the campaign had increased public awareness.
Both surveys were based on samples of over one thousand drivers, consisted of a mix of online responses and face to face interviews, including both regular and infrequent users of the Crossing. Between July and December 2014 awareness rose from 43% to 80% for online respondents and 47% to 89% for those interviewed face to face.
The initial compliance rate is 92.6% since the launch of Dart Charge in November last year, which compares favourably with other similar schemes around the world and indicates strong awareness levels among drivers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the increased spending on the NHS is being used to reduce the £2 billion budget shortfall forecast by the NHS Trust Development Authority for NHS trusts in 2015-16.
Alistair Burt
The National Health Service budget is entrusted to NHS England, which shares with the Secretary of State for Health the legal duty to promote a comprehensive health service. The Government sets out its priorities for NHS England in “The Mandate: A mandate from the Government to NHS England: April 2015 to March 2016”, and within that document a clear commitment is made to make £2 billion of extra funding available for front line spending.
Progress against this commitment and details of spending on front line services by type of provider and type of service will be made available at the end of 2015-16, in NHS England’s Annual Report and Accounts 2015-16.
The Government is committed to the NHS and will invest an additional £10 billion by the end of this parliament, to fund the NHS’s own plan for the future. Next year, in 2016-17 the NHS will receive an extra £3.8 billion allocated in the Spending Review, a first step towards an extra £8 billion by the end of this Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many cases the Forced Marriage Unit provided advice or support in (1) 2014, and (2) 2015.
Lord Bates
The UK is a world-leader in the fight to stamp out the brutal practice of forced marriage, with our Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leading efforts to combat it both at home and abroad.
In 2014, the FMU gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,267 cases. Of those cases, 11% involved victims below 16 years (where the age was known), and 77% involved an overseas element (meaning the victim was at risk of, or had been taken, overseas). To provide a further breakdown of this information would incur a disproportionate cost.
FMU data is published on an annual basis, and figures for 2015 are due for publication shortly.