The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-02-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the average change in annual household energy consumption after the installation of a smart meter.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Our central estimate of energy savings to domestic consumers as a result of smart metering is 2.8% for electricity (prepayment and credit) and 2% for gas (credit) and 0.5% for gas (prepayment).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of planned future budget reductions on the capacity of Greater Manchester police service to tackle organised crime and terrorism.
Mike Penning
As the Chancellor announced in the Spending Review, no PCC will receive a reduction in cash funding over the Spending Review period if they choose to maximise their precept. It is an operational decision for chief officers, working with their PCC, to determine how best to allocate their available resources taking into account local and national priorities. In total, including national transformation funding and other funding, policing will see a £900 million increase in funding by 2019/20 in cash terms. We will continue to allocate specific funding for Counter Terrorism Policing over the course of the Spending Review period to ensure that the CT policing network has the capabilities it needs to tackle changing threats. The settlement will increase counter-terrorism policing funding in real terms in 16-17 to £670m.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of people with acute strokes were treated with thrombolysis in the last 12 months.
Jane Ellison
Information on the proportion of stroke patients treated with thrombolysis in 2015 is set out in the table below. This information covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
|
Thrombolysis |
January-March 2015 |
April-June 2015 |
July-September 2015 |
October-December 2015 |
|
Percentage of all stroke patients given thrombolysis (all stroke types) |
11.1% |
11.4% |
10.9% |
11.0% |
|
Percentage of eligible patients given thrombolysis |
81.8% |
83.3% |
85.6% |
85.6% |
This information is taken from the Stroke Sentinel Audit Programme’s clinical audit. More details can be found at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle smuggling and trafficking at British ports.
James Brokenshire
Border Force works closely with other law enforcement agencies, including the National Crime Agency and Police, to combat suspected human trafficking and people smuggling and to target and disrupt those who would attempt to smuggle prohibited and restricted goods such as firearms and illegal drugs in to the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide additional funding for battery and fuel cell electric vehicles research and development.
Mr John Hayes
The government allocated more than £600 million to support the uptake, development and manufacture of ultra low emission vehicles in the 2015 Spending Review. Our comprehensive package of support includes funding provision for research and development projects, and the scope of a new competition launched on 5 September 2016 includes battery and fuel cells.
Further details are available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-competition-low-emission-vehicle-systems-idp13.
The UK already provides one the most comprehensive support packages for ultra low emission vehicles anywhere in the world. We shall keep the funding requirements for the OLEV program under constant review.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the presence and scope of existing commercial assets when considering new public funding for research and development and innovation.
Joseph Johnson
All potential major capital projects are assessed against the additional value they add, including an evaluation of whether the research or innovation activity is already being undertaken elsewhere. The majority of decisions about which research investments to undertake are taken directly by Research Councils, based on rigorous criteria including peer review.
In respect of the establishment of Innovate UK’s 11 Catapult Centres, all candidate areas have undergone a robust evaluation by Innovate UK’s Senior Innovation Leads who have relevant domain expertise. In addition, facilitated workshops, with leading figures in the relevant industries – including business, academic and representatives from the public sector, are held to ascertain whether Innovate UK’s analysis of the market opportunities in this area is correct. Each candidate area is evaluated according to an agreed process to assess the size of the global market opportunity and the demand for a Catapult to help business build on their capabilities to commercialise innovation and realise this potential in the UK.
In setting up new Catapult centres Innovate UK take into account the option of working within or alongside existing physical centres in the UK either to avoid duplication or to achieve quicker delivery.
At a local level, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are responsible for identifying, assessing and approving Local Growth Funded projects. They do this in accordance with their strategic economic objectives and Local Assurance Frameworks which have to comply with the LEP National Assurance Framework. The National Assurance Framework covers value for money and states that methodology should be proportionate to the funding allocated and in line with established Government guidance including the HM Treasury Green Book.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what preparatory work his Department has undertaken in advance of sending letters to tax credit recipients on changes to tax credits.
Damian Hinds
HM Revenue and Customs will be ready to notify tax credit claimants of their 2016/17 tax credit award in good time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to reform judicial review.
Dominic Raab
The government has always been clear that judicial review, when used properly, is a crucial component of the rule of law.
But too often the system is open to abuse. That is why we have taken forward reform, such as the creation of the Planning Court, which we have implemented with the assistance of the judiciary, and the changes in the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, which we are implementing. The reforms will speed up the process for people who have arguable grounds and a genuine case to put.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to proposed changes in personal injury law and procedure announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what assessment he has made of the level of potential reduction in recoupment of social security benefits paid to personal injury victims following such changes; and if he will make a statement.
Justin Tomlinson
DWP officials have been working with the Ministry of Justice to assess the potential impact of the proposed changes to personal injury legislation on the level of recoupment of social security benefits paid by the compensator to DWP. The early analysis indicates that the vast majority of personal injury victims who claim compensation for whiplash do not claim DWP benefits which are recoverable under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997. Therefore, if this trend continues, the potential changes to the personal injury legislation will have a minimal impact on the level of recoupment of social security benefits. DWP officials will continue to work with the Ministry of Justice as the proposed changes to personal injury legislation are developed and progressed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 24 July 2015 (HL1524), how many modifications can be made to an existing research licence previously approved by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority before it can no longer be legitimately considered as essentially the same research project as that for which a licence was originally sought; and what sort of modifications can be made to an existing research licence before it is no longer considered to have exactly the same aims as those in the initial licence application that were originally deemed to fulfil the purposes specified in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 as amended.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that there are no fixed number of modifications that can be made to an existing research licence project. Such questions are considered on a case by case basis with reference to the statutory tests.