The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the British Business Bank will support UK productivity.
Greg Hands
The British Business Bank aims to make finance markets work better for smaller businesses. The Bank’s work improves productivity by encouraging investment and promoting a dynamic economy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what practical assistance they are providing to Burma to help that country in its democratic transition following the elections on 8 November.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Our package of development assistance to Burma this year is £82 million and we have allocated £25 million between 2014 and 2019 specifically to strengthen democratic governance in Burma. This sum included support to elections through the provision of technical advice to the Burmese election commission, voter education and building capacity in monitoring and observation of the electoral process.
Following the November elections, we will continue to engage with Burma to encourage the country along its journey of democratic reform. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), called Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on 10 November to offer continued political and economic support for the people of Burma. We will of course keep in close contact on a range of topics and look forward to working with the new administration, which takes office in March 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-01-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what targets his Department has for the granting, rejection and withdrawal of consumer credit licences for debt advice and debt adjusting on a commercial basis.
Harriett Baldwin
These questions have been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply to directly to the Honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when electrical impulse equipment for spinal injuries will be available on the NHS.
Jane Ellison
The Department is aware of a number of recent newspaper articles about research into the use electrical impulse devices for the treatment of spinal injuries. This research is at a very early stage and the technology has yet to demonstrate its efficacy and safety in clinical trials in humans.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the cost in cash terms of the UK maintaining Official Development Assistance at 0.7 per cent of gross national income in financial year 2016-17.
Justine Greening
Based on the Office for Budgetary Responsibility’s (OBR) Autumn Statement GNI forecasts, the UK is projected to spend £13.6bnm on Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2016 in order to meet the 0.7 per cent of gross national income commitment.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeal hearings at the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) were (a) withdrawn and (b) adjourned because the Home Office did not send a representative in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) is administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service.
There are no available data relating to numbers of appeals withdrawn where the Home Office representative did not attend the hearing.
The number of appeal hearings adjourned because the Home Office did not send a representative in (i) 2012-13 was 64 (ii) 2013-14 was 61 and (iii) 2014-15 was 68. For comparison, the figure in 2009/10 was 94.
Data provided are internal Management Information and not subject to the same quality checks as Official Statistics.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of parents who falsely claim religious beliefs or church attendance in order to get their children into their local school.
Nick Gibb
All school admission authorities must comply with the School Admissions Code. If an admission authority identifies a fraudulent application they can withdraw the offer of a school place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 26 January (HL Deb, col 1152), whether it is their policy that the trial of Mazher Mahmood would need to be completed before Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry could take place.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Criminal proceedings connected to the subject matter of the Leveson Inquiry, including the appeals process, have not yet been completed. We have always been clear that these cases must conclude before we consider Part 2 of the Inquiry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many heavy goods vehicles were checked on the A55 in North Wales during 2015 for (1) weight offences, (2) drivers’ hours offences, (3) mechanical condition offences, and (4) speeding; and of those, how many vehicles, or their drivers, received an immediate prohibition, and how many vehicles were registered outside the UK.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
On the A55 in North Wales during 2015 the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) can confirm (1) 119 heavy goods vehicles in total were checked for weight offences, eight of these vehicles were registered within Great Britain (GB) and 111 were registered outside of GB. Out of 119, 74 were found to have weight offences and received immediate prohibitions, four of these were registered within GB and 70 were registered outside of GB.
(2) 1445 vehicles were checked for drivers hours offences, 186 were registered within GB and 1259 were registered outside of GB. Out of 1445 vehicles checked, 276 received Drivers Hours Prohibitions; these are all immediate prohibitions. Of the 276, 12 were registered within GB and 264 outside of GB.
(3) Vehicles are checked for mechanical condition and checks are recorded for Motor Vehicle and Trailer separately. For the motor vehicle part only, 779 vehicles were checked for mechanical condition offences, 108 of those were registered within GB and 671 were registered outside of GB. Of the 779 vehicles checked, 192 were found to have mechanical condition offences, 20 were registered in GB and 172 were outside of GB. Of the 192, 71 received immediate prohibitions. Of those 71, 15 were registered within GB and 56 outside of GB. For the trailer part of the vehicle, 647 trailers were checked for mechanical condition offences, 42 of these were registered within GB and 605 were registered outside of GB. Of the 647 trailers checked, 252 were found to have mechanical condition offences, 6 were registered within GB and 246 were registered outside of GB; 70 out of the 252 trailers, received immediate prohibitions, four of which were registered inside GB and 66 were outside of GB.
(4) DVSA cannot provide accurate data for how may vehicles were checked for speeding due to how the information is recorded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the compliance of pub-owning businesses with the Pubs Code.
Margot James
The Pubs Code came into force 3 months ago, on 21 July 2016. It is therefore too early to have made an assessment of the compliance of pub-owning businesses with the Code.