The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times Minsters in his Department visited defence establishments in Northern Ireland in 2014.
Penny Mordaunt
There were five Ministerial visits during 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that medical and fuel supplies for Nepal are not blocked by the Indian government.
Mr Hugo Swire
I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 26 November 2015 (PQ 17369) and 16 November (PQ 15614).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the awarding of the Staffordshire Cancer and End of Life Services Contract will be delayed pending publication of the investigation commissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England advises that the award of any contract for the cancer and end of life service procurements in Staffordshire will take place only after NHS England has carried out an assurance exercise around the proposed arrangements. The design of this assurance exercise will be informed by the outcome of the review of the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he plans to take to support unemployed young people under 25 whose income will be affected by the planned changes to universal credit from April 2017.
Priti Patel
Universal Credit gives greater incentives for people to move into, and then progress in work. Within legacy benefits single young people under 25 without children are not generally eligible for in-work support from Working Tax Credit and can face a severe withdrawal of benefits when they go into work. The introduction of Universal Credit represents a marked improvement in support.
Furthermore, DWP is introducing a new Youth Obligation from April 2017 which will ensure that young people aged 18–21 who are claiming Universal Credit, are given the support, skills and experience they need to move into work, to sustain work and to fulfil their potential.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Senior Civil Servants were based in London in each year since 2010.
Matthew Hancock
The proportion of Senior Civil Servants based in London from 2010 to 2015 is set out below:
|
1st April 2010 |
65.1% |
|
1st April 2011 |
65.0% |
|
1st April 2012 |
65.5% |
|
1st April 2013 |
63.9% |
|
1st April 2014 |
65.4% |
|
1st April 2015 |
67.0% |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to increase capacity on public transport links to Heathrow Airport from central London.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Elizabeth line will replace the existing two train per hour Heathrow Connect service from May 2018 providing a 4 train per hour service to Terminals 1 to 4, operating alongside the existing 4 train per hour Heathrow Express service. This will offer significant improvements in connectivity from and to Heathrow, particularly from the West End, the City and Canary Wharf.
Heathrow is also served by regular Piccadilly line services from central London. Upgrading this line is a matter for the Mayor and Transport for London who plan to introduce new modern signalling systems and new trains to provide 60% more capacity (the equivalent of up to 21,000 customers per hour).
For any improvements associated with airport expansion, the Government will agree the nature and scale of the surface access transport as part of its decision on its preferred scheme for additional airport capacity in the South East. The Government has also been clear that it expects the scheme promoter to meet the costs of any surface access proposals that are required as a direct result of airport expansion and from which they will directly benefit.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-04-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Zimbabwe.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We consider the human rights situation in Zimbabwe to be fragile. This Government’s manifesto included a commitment to stand up for the rule of law and human rights in Zimbabwe. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2015 Annual Human Rights Report lists Zimbabwe as a Priority Country. We continue to call, both bilaterally and in partnership with others, for an end to abuses and the restoration of internationally accepted standards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government at what intervals female newborn babies born to mothers who have been victims of female genital mutilation will receive follow-up health and welfare checks.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is illegal, extremely harmful and it is child abuse. Girls born to mothers who have had FGM are offered the same range of newborn and infant health checks as offered to all families.
In addition to the routine newborn and infant health checks offered to all families as part of the Healthy Child Programme, professionals have safeguarding responsibilities meaning that if they have any concerns about FGM they should take appropriate safeguarding actions, including sharing this with key professionals within the child’s life as part of local safeguarding procedures. In addition, any concerns about potential risk of FGM must be recorded within the child’s Red Book.
A multi-agency approach is essential to protect girls from harm and as such, midwives, health visitors, general practitioners and school nurses amongst others are all responsible for the health and welfare of all children they see, irrespective of whether the mother has had FGM or not.
The document Female Genital Mutilation Risk and Safeguarding Guidance for professionals (Department of Health, May 2016) provides information for health professionals on the specific issues frequently encountered when dealing with FGM. A copy of this document is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-09-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent changes to mortgage interest relief on the private-rented sector in relation to (a) average rents, (b) availability of private sector accommodation, (c) housing benefit levels and (d) quality of rental properties.
Jane Ellison
HMRC estimate that 1 in 5 landlords will pay more tax as a result of this measure.
Given that only a small proportion of the housing market is affected by this change, the Government does not expect these changes to have a large impact on rent levels or house prices. The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) also expects the impact on the housing market will be small.
The Government will double the housing budget from 2018-19 and has set out the most ambitious affordable housing plan since the 1970s to support working people in their aim to own their own home, together the measures in the plan amount to over £20 billion of investment in housing between 2016-17 and 2020-21.
The level of housing benefits is dependent on a number of factors such as, household and individual circumstances in regards to employment and household income, inflation and rents. The Government does not expect a large impact on rent levels from this policy, and any impact would be dampened in the short term due to other policy decisions. Therefore, the government does not anticipate changes to the overall level of housing benefits as a result. Nevertheless, the government will continue to monitor rental levels charged in the private rented sector.
Landlords are required to maintain their properties to a legal minimum standard. The reform to the wear and tear allowance means that all landlords will now be able to offset the costs of replacing furnishings in their properties removing the previous disincentive to do so. The Government therefore does not think that the changes to the tax rules will reduce standards for tenants.
Some landlords may face difficult decisions regarding their properties. This is why the Government has chosen to act in a proportionate and gradual way. Basic rate income tax relief will still be available on a landlord’s finance costs, the restriction will not be introduced until April 2017 and then it will be phased in over 4 years. This gives landlords time to plan ahead of the changes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many duplicate jobs were removed from Universal Jobmatch in each of the 12 months to August 2015.
Priti Patel
The Government does not collect this information.