The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what total revenue has been generated from foreign-registered freight lorries under the Dart Charge scheme since that scheme’s inception.
Andrew Jones
From the introduction of Dart Charge on 30 November 2014 to the end of March 2016 £11,212,158 in revenue has been collected from the registered keepers of foreign freight vehicles.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects his Department to submit a final estimation of the damage caused by flooding in the South Lakes area to the European Commission as part of the UK’s application to the EU Solidarity Fund.
James Wharton
The Government submitted an initial UK application to the EU Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February. We are in the process of refining our cost estimates and figures and will provide a further update once that process is complete.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to exempt the viewing of sporting events in which nations of the UK are participating from the obligation to pay the TV Licence.
Mr Edward Vaizey
There are no current plans to amend the TV licence framework in this way.
A TV licence is not a fee for broadcasting services, it is a legal permission to install or use television receiving equipment (such as televisions, computers, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and DVD/VHS recorders) to watch or record television programmes as they are being broadcast. This applies regardless of which television channels a person receives or how those channels are received. The government is also bringing forward legislation to extend the requirement to hold a TV licence to people streaming or downloading television programmes through on-demand services provided by the BBC (notably iPlayer).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan for Coast, Humber and Vale.
David Mowat
Local areas will submit their plans to the national health and care bodies for consideration in October, with further public engagement and consultation taking place from this point. It is expected that the plans will be published between late October and the end of the year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps his Department is taking to protect UK industries from non-tariff barriers after the UK leaves the EU.
Mr Robin Walker
My Department is considering the full range of possible non-tariff barriers to trade across all areas of importance to the UK economy, and assessing ways in which these might be addressed.
The Government is committed to securing an agreement which will give British businesses the best possible arrangements to trade with, and operate within, the European market.
As the Prime Minister has said, the UK will remain the most passionate, consistent and convincing global advocate of free trade. We will seize the opportunities of our departure from the EU to forge a new role for the UK in the world.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to update guidance to Jobcentre Plus staff on claimants that report suicidal thoughts; and how such existing guidance is made available to those staff.
Priti Patel
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) takes seriously any declarations of intention to attempt suicide or self harm that are made by its customers. There is a clear, detailed action plan that staff must follow if a customer declares an intention to kill or harm themselves and DWP provides guidance to help its staff deal with these incidents. The policy, procedures and guidance are reviewed regularly to ensure that they continue to meet their objectives and to identify areas for improvement.
DWP raises staff awareness through its own internal communication channels whenever guidance is reviewed and updated. This messaging ensures that related products such as learning and development for staff are also reviewed and updated concurrently.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mims Davies on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the drugs advice provided by FRANK in tackling use of illegal drugs.
Mike Penning
FRANK, the Government’s drugs information and advice service, is run by Public Health England. It provides impartial, reliable and confidential information and advice about drugs. It can be used in both specific drug prevention activities and in general health and wellbeing activities which are designed to help individuals to build and develop the skills they need to be able to actively choose not to use drugs.
The last assessment of the website was run by the Home Office through the website user survey between 20 February – 11 March 2013. Key findings included:
• 85% said they are very/fairly likely to visit the FRANK website in the future if needed
• in total, 69% claimed that their visit to the FRANK website had a positive effect on their attitudes and/or behaviours in at least one way
FRANK continues to be updated to reflect new and emerging patterns of drug use, remain in line with young people’s media habits and strengthen situational advice and support. FRANK is just one part of our approach to reducing the demand for drugs. For example, Public Health England has launched a new online resilience building resource, ‘Rise Above’, aimed at 11- to 16-year-olds, which provides tools to help develop skills to make positive choices for their health, including avoiding drug use.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Indonesian counterpart on the (a) ISIL attacks in Jakarta in January 2016 and (b) implications of those attacks for the Government’s foreign policy.
Mr Hugo Swire
The UK and Indonesia are already working closely together on a broad range of issues, including counter-terrorism and counter-extremism. We continue to provide support and assistance to the Indonesian government as it works to defeat those who plan and perpetrate acts of terror. Our collaboration in these areas includes an operational capacity-building programme, established in 2005, and incorporates training delivered through the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation. A bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on police cooperation was signed during the Prime Minister, my right hon Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) visit to Jakarta in July. Additionally, we co-operate on a range of issues including foreign terrorist fighters, crisis response and legal frameworks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prescriptions, per year, are (1) made for adults aged 70–76, and (2) not collected by adults aged 70–76.
Lord Prior of Brampton
We do not collect this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish an updated timeline for the delivery of tax-free childcare.
Damian Hinds
The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.
We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.
Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.
The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.