The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24637, how many Band 3 and above prison officers took severance or redundancy packages in each month since May 2010.
Andrew Selous
It has not been possible to answer this question within the time available. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hamilton of Epsom on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the judgment of the European Court of Justice in Delvigne v Commune de Lesparre-Médoc (Case C-650/13); and whether any changes to legislation or government policies are required as a result of that judgment.
Lord Faulks
The UK’s ban on prisoner voting stays in place and as we have consistently stated, remains a matter for Parliament to determine.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the average value of unused food thrown away by households in the last 12 months.
Rory Stewart
Through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the Government continues to work with the grocery sector to reduce household food waste. The Love Food Hate Waste programme helps UK households to reduce food waste and save money through awareness raising and consumer advice. There has been a 15% (1.3 million tonnes) reduction in household food waste between 2007 and 2012.
WRAP launched Courtauld 2025 on 15 March, which builds on the progress we have already made. This new agreement includes a target to reduce food and drink waste arising in the UK by 20% by 2025 (calculated as a relative reduction per head of population).
For the average household, the price of avoidable food and drink waste is £470 per year. For the average household with children, the cost of avoidable food and drink waste is £700 per year.
The total amount of food thrown away by the average household is 260 kg per year. 160 kg of this is avoidable waste. For the average household with children, this figure rises to 390 kg per year, including 240 kg of avoidable food waste.
These are the latest available figures, applying to 2012. WRAP aims to publish updated figures for household food waste later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions the Government has had with (a) UK companies and (b) the Malawian government on oil exploration around Lake Malawi.
James Duddridge
Our High Commissioner to Malawi met a representative of UK oil exploration firm Surestream, who are now a minority shareholder of an exploration licence for one of the oil exploration blocks in Lake Malawi, on 29 February. Last month the High Commissioner also discussed with the Malawi Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining his desire for assistance to develop legislation and agreements that would conform to global good governance standards and protect Malawi’s national interests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost of rough sleeping to the NHS.
Jane Ellison
According to the last Departmental estimate, homeless people – primarily rough sleepers and those living in hostels – cost National Health Service hospitals at least £85 million a year, based on around 40,500 people living in hostels (Healthcare for Single Homeless People (2010).
Homeless people consume around four times more acute hospital services than the general population. These extra costs arise from the severity of their health conditions and because they are more likely to be admitted as emergency admissions.
We have made £40 million available through the Homelessness Change/Platform for Life programme to provide tailored hostel accommodation to improve the physical and mental health outcomes of rough sleepers and provide stable, transitional, shared accommodation for young people who are homeless or in insecure housing. We have also encouraged local areas to develop and improve hospital discharge arrangements for people who are homeless through the £10 million Homeless Hospital Discharge Fund, including by more effective multi-agency working.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dominic Raab on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many threat to life notices have been issued in each of the last five years.
Brandon Lewis
This information is not held centrally. Where a threat is made to an individual, it is an operational matter for police forces and law enforcement agencies to decide whether to issue threat to life notices, taking account of individual circumstances, to mitigate the risk to potential victims.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Pensions Regulator on using its powers to oblige Tata Steel to increase its support for the British Steel Pension Scheme.
Richard Harrington
The Pensions Regulator is independent, and how it uses its powers is a matter for the regulator. The Secretary of State and I regularly meet the independent Pensions Regulator about a variety of matters.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in what circumstances major Government programmes are exempted from the requirement for Gateway Reviews.
Matthew Hancock
The Major Project Portfolio for each Department is agreed by the Department, the Major Projects Authority and the relevant HM Treasury spending team. Each programme on the portfolio is subject to an agreed schedule of approvals and assurance, which will normally include Gateway Reviews. There is no provision for formal exemption.
A Project Assessment Review is conducted either instead of or in addition to Gateway Reviews, and allows for specific terms of reference to be tailored to meet the assurance needs of the particular Government Major Project.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what Government spending was on the Plug-in car grant in each of the last five years; and what estimate his Department has made of Government spending on that grant in each of the last five years.
Andrew Jones
The plug-in car grant awards consumers a discount on the cost of a new ultra low emission vehicle. It has proved successful in growing the UK’s early market for ultra low emission vehicles, which is now the largest in the EU and the fourth largest in the world. The Government intends that nearly all cars and vans will be zero emission by 2050.
Government spending on the plug-in car grant in each of the last financial years was as follows:
2010/11 £1m
2011/12 £4.5m
2012/13 £11m
2013/14 £20.5m
2014/15 £90.5m
The plug-in car grant is guaranteed to continue at £5,000 per vehicle until February 2016. The Chancellor announced at Spending Review 2015 that more than £600m will be spent on support for ultra low emission vehicles in the five years from 2015 to 2020. This funding means the grants can remain for several years after February, as long as there is a demonstrable market need. Future grant levels will be announced shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.
Mike Penning
Within the Ministry of Justice, only the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have offices within the Stoke-On-Trent postal address. There is one Juvenile Centre with a Stoke-On-Trent postal address, HMYOI Werrington. No posts have been abolished or relocated since 2010. There are currently no plans to abolish or relocate any posts by 2020. There are three National Probation Service (NPS) locations with a Stoke-on-Trent postal address. The NPS has only existed from 1 June 2014. Since that date there are no records of any posts being abolished or any relocation activity in the NPS Midlands Division which includes Stoke-on-Trent. There is an organisational change programme within the National Probation Service, that is ongoing and that will impact all area of NPS activity. It is too early to define the impact on a particular geographical location. HMCTS are unable to disaggregate information collected for the North Staffordshire area, so the following includes staff based within Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. Since 2010, there has been a net reduction of 8 posts. There are currently no plans to further change the staffing in the North Staffordshire area.