The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the value is of invoices sent to the High Weald Havens Clinical Commissioning Group from each trust which has incurred private ambulance costs arising from performance problems with Patient Transport Services provided by Coperforma and arms length driver operatives; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
The requested information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government plans to take steps to encourage financial services firms to publicise their gender diversity figures.
Caroline Dinenage
Our ambition is to eliminate gender pay gap within a generation. That is why we will require larger employers, including those in the finance sector, to publish information showing the differences between men and women’s pay and bonuses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 1.125 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, whether the cap on housing benefit for single claimants under 35 will apply to those in receipt of disability benefits.
Justin Tomlinson
The existing exemptions that already apply to private rented sector tenants aged less than 35 will be carefully considered prior to implementing the cap for similar tenants living in the social rented sector.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of the recommendation of the Low Commission to establish a national advice and legal support fund funded through annual contributions from his Department, the Cabinet Office, the Big Lottery Fund and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Ministry of Justice welcomes the work done by the Low Commission in producing its reports and recommendations, and we recognise the importance of advice being available in all contexts.
As the Justice Secretary said in June, we want to create a one nation justice system, and we are considering how this can be taken forward.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times debt repayments to his Department have been written off in each year since 2010; and what the value of such debts were in each such year.
Alistair Burt
The number and value of debt repayments written-off in each year since 2010* is outlined in the table below.
|
Year debt written-off |
Value of Debt written-off |
Number of cases written-off |
|
2014/15 |
£682,428 |
9 |
|
2013/14 |
£47,909 |
4 |
|
2012/13 |
£155,615 |
8 |
|
2011/12 |
£344,897 |
3 |
|
2010/11 |
£1,806,698 |
8 |
*2015/16 data is still being audited and will be available when the final accounts are published later this year.
Debt repayments written off occur when income due was not collected and deemed not recoverable.The value of debt written-off can vary year on year as they relate to largely external factors. There can be a variety of reasons, but mainly where companies enter liquidation and are unable to pay. This is known in the Departmental Annual Report and Resource Account publication as claims waived or abandoned. Some of the detail of significant claims waived and abandoned (above the reporting threshold of £250,000) are reported separately in the Annual Report and Resource Account Publication and further details are shown below.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on the care industry of the implementation of the living wage.
Alistair Burt
Out of an estimated 1.52 million adult social care jobs in England, up to 900,000 people are expected to benefit from the introduction of the National Living Wage.
More widely across the sector, higher productivity and better-quality care through efficiency would benefit employers and care home residents and there is potential for improvements in staff retention if higher wages engendered greater job commitment.
The Department continues to work in collaboration with delivery partners to support effective recruitment practices and improved retention of the care workforce.
Our assessment of the effect of the National Living Wage for the Spending Review drew on projections and data on pay including information from the Office of Budget Responsibility and Skills for Care.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Bahrain pressing for (a) the release of all people arrested in relation to peaceful protest and (b) reconsideration of the July 2014 amendments to the nationality laws in that country.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK encourages Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. We call on the Bahraini government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. We also continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to meets its human rights obligations and honour all conventions to which it is a party – including on citizenship rights. We regularly discuss human rights with the Government of Bahrain. I most recently raised human rights with the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, on 8 March.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will extend the English national concessionary travel scheme for disabled people beyond off-peak times.
Andrew Jones
Whilst I appreciate that concessionary pass holders might wish to use buses before 9.30am, there are no plans to extend the statutory scheme to include morning peak time travel. Local authorities already have powers to introduce “discretionary concessions” building on the minimum national standard. Authorities can, for instance, enable some disabled pass holders to use services during peak hours, to use modes of transport other than buses or to travel with a companion free of charge. Such enhancements are however, entirely a matter for the respective authorities and are funded locally. It follows that any decision on whether to create such enhancements is a matter for the authority concerned.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-06-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his Department’s budget allocation was for reducing the number of young people who were classified as not in employment, education or training in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2015-16.
Nick Boles
Young and unemployed people are prioritised in the skills funding system through entitlements to free training, as well as specific programmes and initiatives, such as Traineeships and the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers. The Adult Education Budget is not ring-fenced for any provision and providers have the freedom and flexibility to put on provision to meet the needs of learners and local labour markets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to encourage local authorities to include information about the New Enterprise Allowance, Small Business Rate Relief and Disability Confident with the business rate summaries sent to businesses.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Government has no plans to encourage local authorities to include information about the New Enterprise Allowance and Disability Confident with business rates demand notices. Demand Notices are the statutory means by which local authorities inform non-domestic ratepayers of their rate liability for the year ahead. The demand notice also provides useful information about rate bills.
Small Business Rate Relief information is directly related to business rates and is already included on demand notices.