The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of dairy products procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the latest period for which figures are available.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Department does not undertake procurement of dairy products. Catering is available to the department but this is not managed by DCMS.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what additional funding his Department plans to make available for walking and cycling initiatives as a result of the cycling and walking investment strategy.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government has made clear its intention to make this country a cycling nation. The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy will be published in the summer and will include details of how the £300m committed in the last Spending Review will be invested to support cycling and walking.
In addition to the dedicated cycling and walking programmes, there are a number of wider funding streams which are devolved to local bodies and which can and are being used to support cycling and walking projects. In particular, billions are available to Local Enterprise Partnerships and local authorities through the Local Growth Fund and Integrated Transport Block allocations.
In addition to the above, a record £6.1 billion has been allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, and this funding can help maintain footways and cycleways.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-09-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 June (HL518), how many unplanned closures of the East Coast Main Line there were in August.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Network Rail and the relevant train operators will continue to develop the detail and performance implications of the 2021 timetable in line with the industry’s normal timetable development process, under the oversight of the Office of Rail and Road.
With regard to the operation of the Thameslink central core, this is a matter for Network Rail and the relevant train operators, under the oversight of the Office of Rail and Road. The industry is continuing to develop plans for integrating the 24 trains per hour proposed to run on the Thameslink route at peak times from December 2018 with other services on the East Coast Main Line, including the implications for punctuality and reliability.
After consulting with Network Rail we have established that there were five ‘unplanned closures’, on various sections of the line, on five separate days in August, two of which were infrastructure related and three as a result of passenger action.
Network Rail have defined days with ‘unplanned closures’ of the East Coast Main Line as days where there are more than five cancellation events. A cancellation event covers any service suffering one or more of the below events:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2016 to Question 46806 on taxis: licensing, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in licence applications from Rossendale Borough Council between 2013 and 2015.
Andrew Jones
The legislation that provides for licensing of taxi and private hire vehicle services is enabling in its nature, giving local licensing authorities the discretion to set standards that they deem to be appropriate for their area. Rossendale Council has already made changes to the Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle application process to address the rapid rise in the number of drivers they license. Wherever a driver has been licensed, the licensing authority that issue that licence must have confirmed that the driver is a “fit and proper” person.
To help licensing authorities set standards the Department for Transport issues Best Practice Guidance. In addition to this, the Government has also introduced an amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill that will make statutory all aspects of the guidance that are related to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults. Both parts of the guidance will be consulted on publicly once the Bill has received Royal Assent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alasdair McDonnell on 2015-11-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he and his Cabinet colleagues have had with their counterparts in the Irish government on the potential effect of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on all-island trade and the economy of Northern Ireland.
Mr David Gauke
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As has been the practice adopted by previous administrations, it is not Government policy to normally release details of such meetings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rowlands on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Chairman of Committees how many apprentices are employed in the House of Lords.
Lord Laming
The House of Lords Administration does not currently employ any apprentices. The Administration supports training related to employees’ work in the House of Lords, and has a graduate trainee post in the Parliamentary Archives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Drax on 2016-01-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the UK of any introduction of a financial transaction tax under the EU enhanced co-operation procedure.
Harriett Baldwin
The Member States participating in negotiations to introduce a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) under enhanced co-operation are yet to agree many fundamental aspects of the tax. Until these are agreed the implications for the UK will not be clear.
The Chancellor has been clear since the enhanced co-operation FTT was first proposed that any new tax must respect the rights of non-participating Member States, including the UK. We continue to follow the negotiations closely, and remain prepared to challenge the FTT at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) if our legal concerns with the Commission’s original proposal are not addressed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the public purse of EU health tourism has been in each of the last three years.
Alistair Burt
Since its inception in 2013, the Department’s Visitor and Migrant NHS Cost Recovery Programme has been working to design and implement key improvements to ensure that those people who should pay for National Health Service care are identified and charged.
Achievements include:
– The launch of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) reporting incentive on 1 October 2014. All EHIC activity correctly reported by NHS secondary providers, so that the UK is able to make appropriate reimbursement claims from other member states, allows them to access an additional 25% funding;
– The revision of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations which came into force on 6 April 2015, reducing the number of exemption from charge categories and realigning the Regulations to the principle that the NHS is a residency-based healthcare system; and
– Support and engagement with NHS providers through meetings with senior trust employees and the launch of a cost recovery support team to provide bespoke assistance to trusts to improve their processes for identifying chargeable patients and recovering funds owed, including those from Europe.
The Department is currently consulting on the extension of charging overseas visitors and migrants using the NHS in England. Part of the consultation proposes to amend the residence definition for EEA nationals, by which they qualify for free NHS treatment in England. The consultation is due to conclude on 7 March 2016.
The Department does not hold information on the cost to the public purse of EU health tourism.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 26 March 2015 to Question 226653, how many times force was used in prisons and how many injuries were sustained by prisoners as a result of the use of force in each (a) private and (b) public sector prison in each category of prison in England and Wales in each year since 2009-10.
Andrew Selous
The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on whether Passenger Service Performance by the TSGN has exceeded the Default Performance Level for any benchmark for any (a) three consecutive reporting periods, (b) four reporting periods within a period of 13 consecutive reporting periods or (c) any five reporting periods within a period of 26 consecutive reporting periods except in relation to any reporting periods falling within a no breach reporting period.
Claire Perry
The Department receives information on each franchised operators’ performance against respective benchmarks every four weeks. Delays and Peak Short formations have not exceeded the Default Performance level as defined in the Franchise Agreement. However, GTR exceeded the breach performance level for cancellations last year and the Secretary of State issued Govia Thameslink Railway with a Remedial Plan Notice requiring them to set out the measures they will take in order to improve performance. Subsequently, the Secretary of State has accepted the Remedial Plan that sets out the steps the operator is taking to improve their performance.