The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the Government has made of the number of migrants from (a) EEA member states and (b) EEA countries projected to migrate to the UK in each year from 2016 to 2030.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Young of Hornsey on 2016-06-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the financial implications of changing taxation requirements to replace permanent branding on corporate uniforms with non-permanent branding.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
There is an income tax deduction available where an employer provides corporate uniforms, or where an employee must purchase such clothing. To be considered a uniform clothing must meet certain criteria. The clothing must be: specialised, recognisable as a uniform and intended to identify its wearer as having a particular occupation. These requirements ensure that the tax deduction is used as intended.
No assessment has been made of how many corporate uniforms in the UK could be diverted from landfill or incineration if these tax rules were changed. No assessment has been made of the financial implications of changing these taxation requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage local authorities to consider minor and major planning applications with equal priority.
Gavin Barwell
Every planning application should be determined in a timely and efficient manner, irrespective of the scale of the proposed development. We took powers in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to enable us to extend to non-major planning applications the successful performance regime for major applications that has been running, which has seen the proportion of major applications determined on time rising from 57 per cent in July to September 2012, the quarter in which the performance regime was first announced, to 82 per cent in the most recent quarter. We have also announced our intention to tighten the Planning Guarantee for minor applications, with the applicant being eligible for a refund of their fee after 13 weeks instead of the current 26 weeks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to restore compensation for war widows who remarried between 1973 and 2005.
Mark Lancaster
There are currently no plans to restore War Widows Pensions to those who had surrendered it on re-marriage or cohabitation, however, I remain sympathetic to the circumstances of this group of widows and have asked Ministry of Defence officials to continue to consider potential options given the financial and legal considerations we are faced with.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the elections to the Mexican Supreme Court.
Mr Hugo Swire
We are following developments in the appointment of new judges to the Mexican Supreme Court closely, and note the commentary on the need for well qualified, independent candidates to be put forward to the Senate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.
To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what consideration has been given to moving to digital voting in the House.
Tom Brake
The Commission has given no formal consideration to a move to digital voting in the House. Its responsibility in this matter is limited to any financial or staffing implications of any change to the present system, were a change to be agreed by the House.
In January 2015 the Speaker’s Commission on Digital Democracy recommended that the House should move to record votes using Members’ security passes but retain the tradition of walking through division lobbies. The House has not yet been invited to respond to this recommendation. House officials have undertaken some preparatory studies in the event of the House deciding to endorse this proposal. Members wishing to pursue the issue can seek a debate via the Backbench Business Committee or raise it with the Procedure Committee. It would also be open to Ministers to bring forward proposals.
Accurate recording of divisions and timely publication of division lists are critical business activities of the House of Commons. The House Service has therefore been investigating means of electronic recording of divisions since October 2014, with a view to improving the timely publication of division lists, making division data more accessible to the public and easier to analyse, and improving accuracy. A trial was held in the House in March 2015 in which seven divisions were recorded in part by division clerks on tablet devices. Full implementation of tablet recording of divisions is expected to take place early in 2016. In the meantime, any divisions held under the new English votes for English laws procedure will be recorded on tablet devices, because the tablets can generate the results required under the ‘double-majority’ system. Electronic recording of votes by division clerks will not in itself alter the requirement for Members to vote by walking through the lobbies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lingfield on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the review of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, charities in receipt of less than £25,000 per annum in grants from public funds will be subject to freedom of information requests.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government will announce its intentions about the development of the Freedom of Information Act once it has received and considered the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information’s recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to announce a decision on the planning appeal submitted by the Route 39 free school in Torridge.
Mr Marcus Jones
This decision has now been announced. The announcement was made on Thursday 18 February.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applicants to the Future Teaching Scholars programme to date have been (a) women and (b) men.
Nick Gibb
To date we have received applications from 27 women and 23 men. We remain confident that we will secure 110 scholars by the end of summer 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2016-03-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the levels of pollution in (1) drinking water, (2) river water, and (3) coastal waters, caused by chemicals used in medications which are resistant to present purification techniques
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) published research in 2012 to assess the levels of pollution caused by a range of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs found in source waters, such as rivers, abstracted for drinking water and the comparative levels after water treatment. Over a year, substances were measured at four sites. Results agreed with similar studies and concentrations in English surface waters are generally low and below 1 microgramme per litre (1 μg/L). Levels of pharmaceuticals and drugs in drinking waters after treatment were generally significantly lower than those found in surface waters. This indicates that the drinking water treatment systems used in England and Wales are effective at removing these contaminants. The study concluded that the presence of low levels of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in drinking waters in England and Wales do not pose an appreciable risk to human health.
There is evidence that widely used pharmaceuticals are detected at low concentrations in sewage effluent and receiving surface waters. Due to a lack of good quality toxicity data for many of these substances to assess reliably risks to aquatic wildlife that may be exposed to them, research is underway in the UK, at European level and by the pharmaceutical industry to characterise the risks better. This includes a Chemical Investigations Programme, undertaken by England’s water companies, where significant investment is being made to investigate around 20 substances from 2015-2017. Reported data will improve our understanding of the contamination of surface waters due to these chemicals and information will contribute to assessment of the risk posed to, or via the aquatic environment.
In addition, the UK is participating in a European monitoring network of surface water sites on a ‘watch list’ of contaminants and pharmaceuticals, including the active ingredient of the contraceptive pill, EE2. The Devolved Administrations are doing something similar. Data will inform the Commission’s selection of future priority substances requiring control, and the chemical status of the EU’s surface waters with respect to these chemicals.