The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on the future scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Matthew Hancock
I refer the hon Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 1 March 2016 [Hansard reference HCWS566]
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-04-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the correction by Lord Bates on 24 March to his Written Answer on 19 October 2015 (HL2297), why they gave incorrect figures for the number of young asylum seekers deported on reaching their 18th birthday in their initial answer, and why it took them five months to correct those figures.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The incorrect figures given in the original response to Question HL2297 resulted from the use of an incorrect definition which excluded former Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children who now had linked dependants and cases made prior to October 2006. This error was identified following the correction of PQ 13206 in February 2016, which prompted a review of other related answers resulting in correction of this and five related House of Commons answers.
Such mistakes are rare and when they occur they are taken very seriously. It is regrettable that human error caused the original response to be incorrect. Improvements have been put in place to ensure that such mistakes will not be made in future. The appropriate definition has been reviewed, confirmed and made clear to the officials involved.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support he is providing for research into epilepsy medication for pregnant women.
George Freeman
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research is funding a £1.5 million evaluation of the effectiveness, cost effectiveness and acceptability of dose adjustment strategies in antiepileptic drug management in pregnancy. The report of the evaluation is expected to be published in February 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that her Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.
Karen Bradley
The Department’s purchasing policies support the Government’s commitment to do all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts, in line with our current international obligations and guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2016-09-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they provide to deaf people in developing countries.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
People with disabilities are the largest minority group globally. An estimated one billion people have a disability globally, 80% of whom live in developing countries. People with disabilities are often the poorest in their community and many face considerable levels of stigma, discrimination and persecution.
DFID follows a ‘twin-track’ approach to disability inclusion. This means we aim to attach priority to disability in all our policies and programmes as well as supporting disability-targeted programmes.
Over the last two years, DFID has strengthened our capacity to work on disability inclusion, including by appointing a director-level champion, employing three full-time staff to work solely on disability, and developing a group of Internal Disability Expert Advisers from across our organisation.
DFID’s efforts to date have included:
For example, two projects in the UK’s flagship Girls Education Challenge are exclusively focused on addressing the issue that girls with disabilities are less likely to access education. Specific interventions include provision of assistive devices and scholastic materials for girls with hearing impairments and improvement of teacher skills to enable them to communicate in sign language, which has encouraged parents to enrol their children in schools.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Finsbury on 2015-11-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have, and on what timetable, for changes to IR35 assessments for employees and contractors.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Whilst the IR35 legislation protects in excess of £500 million each year, non-compliance is currently costing in excess of £400 million and is a growing problem.
At the Summer Budget, the Chancellor announced that HM Revenue and Customs would open a dialogue with stakeholders about improving the effectiveness of IR35.
A discussion document was published on 17 July 2015. The discussion period concluded on 30 September, following the receipt of over 160 responses and 14 roundtable meetings. The Government is now considering the responses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the total declared claw back from BT under National Broadband Scheme contracts has been reallocated to local authorities for additional roll-out under the Scheme.
Mr Edward Vaizey
All of the£129 million clawback funding that has been announced by BT is available to the local authorities to support additional roll-out, subject to suitable deployment opportunities being identified which ensure value for money.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will hold discussions with train operators on making the process of purchasing railway tickets from ticket machines simpler in respect of (a) indicating peak and off-peak times, (b) where peak and off-peak times differs between train operators and (c) in other ways.
Claire Perry
I recognise that ticket vending machines can sometimes be confusing and do not always make it easy for passengers to find the best ticket for their journey.For that reason, I challenged the rail industry at a Summit I held in December 2014 to improve the information they provide through ticket vending machines.The industry has responded by agreeing with the Office of Rail and Road a code of practice on retail information, published in March 2015, and most train operators now have actions underway or complete, which include providing new messages on screens to explain time restrictions and improving the availability of off-peak tickets through vending machines. The Department continues to monitor progress closely in this area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that will be created as a result of funding from the European Structural and Investment Funds spent in London between 2016 and 2020.
Anna Soubry
Information on the number of jobs that will be created from the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds spent in London in the 2014-2020 programming period is set out in the ESI Funds strategy prepared by the London Enterprise Panel and other local partners which can be found on the London Enterprise Panel website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the use of money laundering services in the Maldives by UK citizens.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government believes that money laundering is a critical enabler of both terrorism and serious and organised crime. This is why the UK’s anti-money laundering regime contains controls and supervisory mechanisms which aim to make the UK financial system a hostile environment for illicit finances, whilst minimising the burden on legitimate businesses and reducing the overall burden of regulation.
The Government expects UK citizens to comply with anti-money laundering regulations both at home and abroad and strives, particularly through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to improve global standards and combat money laundering.