The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the provision of video on demand access services.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Ofcom, the regulator for video on demand services, is reviewing how to improve the provision of access services on video on demand services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which sources independent of the Saudi government are assessed by the UK Government regarding the alleged use of cluster munitions by the Saudi led coalition in Yemen.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government considers a range of information regarding the conduct of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition in Yemen. This includes UN sources, INGO reports, open sources such as social media, and our internal government sources which includes UK Defence Intelligence reports. This comes from government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations. The UK ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 4 May 2010 and, in line with our obligations under the Convention, we have always made it clear to the Saudi Arabians that we cannot support the use of cluster munitions in any circumstances and we continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-09-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of private landlords who will be affected by the tax relief change to higher rate taxpayers announced in the Summer Budget 2015.
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 Catherine West on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on the economies of Commonwealth states of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
My noble Friend, The Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns, Minister for the Commonwealth, has recently recently met a range of Commonwealth High Commissioners to hear their views on challenges and opportunities for Commonwealth countries following the EU referendum result. I have also discussed the issue with Ministers from a range of Commonwealth countries in Asia and the Pacific. Some voiced understandable concerns and uncertainty, including around impact on areas like EU development assistance. However, many saw opportunities following the decision, particularly in the areas of trade and stronger relations with the UK. We will continue to be a strong and energetic global advocate for Commonwealth interests, including with European allies. The Government’s aim is that our departure from the EU should cause as little disruption as possible for all our trading partners. Leaving the EU will allow the UK to develop new economic relationships and Commonwealth countries will form a key part of our work in this regard. We will be co-hosting with Malta the inaugural Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ meeting in London next year. This is an excellent opportunity to discuss how we can increase cooperation. Boosting trade and investment across the Commonwealth will be crucial to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the recent attack on Camp Liberty, whether they have joined the United States and the UNHCR in condemning the attack, and calling for an independent investigation and prosecution of those responsible, and for the government of Iraq to take additional security measures to protect those who remain in Camp Liberty.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We strongly condemn the shameful attack against the civilian residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq on Thursday 29 October. Officials from our Embassy in Baghdad raised the attack with the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office on Friday 30 October and made clear the importance of an urgent and comprehensive investigation into the incident and ensuring that all those responsible are brought to justice.
In all of our engagement with the Government of Iraq on this issue, including at Ministerial level and in our statements, we have emphasised the importance of the Iraqi government doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the residents of Camp Liberty. We support the UN calls for more to be done to protect the residents.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many children in (a) England and Wales, (b) London and (c) each London borough died from asthma in each year since 2010.
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 Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many care leavers in full or part-time higher education aged between 19 and 21 in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015 were former unaccompanied asylum seeking children looked after by the local authority.
Edward Timpson
The information requested is shown in the table below. This information is for England only.
|
Care leaver activity [2] |
Number of former unaccompanied asylum seeking children [1] |
|
|
2014 |
2015 |
|
|
Higher education |
20 |
40 |
|
Education other than higher education |
100 |
260 |
|
Training or employment |
40 |
130 |
Source: SSDA903
Information on the activity of all care leavers in England has been published in tables F1 of the Statistical First Release on looked after children[3].
[1] This includes young people who were unaccompanied asylum seeking children in their final period of care.
[2] Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many emergency call handlers were employed in each year since 2010.
Jane Ellison
This information is not held centrally.
It is for individual ambulance trusts to ensure that they have a workforce capable of meeting the demands on the service, both numerically and in levels of skill.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that consumers have adequate advice and information about the benefits and risks of investing in a lifetime ISA.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government is committed to ensuring that people have access to affordable financial advice and guidance, at all stages of their lives. As announced at Budget 2016, the Government will take forward all the recommendations of the Financial Advice Market Review for which it is responsible, to support the development of a market which provides affordable, high-quality advice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value is of (a) support contracts and (b) all defence contracts placed by the UK Government with US-based companies (i) with each company and (ii) for each product since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not currently collate information on how much production or support work is undertaken in the UK or US on UK defence contracts, either by value or number of jobs. A comprehensive breakdown of which MOD contracts placed over the last five years are with UK or US suppliers is also not held centrally.
The MOD routinely publishes statistics on contracts it places on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/defence-trade-and-industry-index. This includes an overall estimate of MOD expenditure for work undertaken in the UK and lists all organisations with which we have spent £5 million or more in the financial year. These statistics include expenditure with US companies.
The MOD does not collate information centrally on the value of production work undertaken in the UK on contracts placed by the US Department of Defense.