The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the Honeywell TCAS II collision warning system for use in Typhoon fighter aircraft.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 March 2016 to Question 30090.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the Fourth Report of the Home Affairs Committee, on Reform of the Police Funding Formula, HC 476.
Mike Penning
We will respond to the Home Affairs Select Committee’s report as soon as we are in a position to do so.
We have noted the Committee’s recommendations and are taking them into account as we consider the options for how best to take forward the work on the police funding formula.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the NHS England Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group plans to make an announcement on the recommendations of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.
George Freeman
The Specialised Services Commissioning Committee is due to meet at the end of June 2016. The recommendations of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group will be announced after that meeting.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the net pay deductions from the salaries of Ministry of Defence fire fighters and fire officers reflect the full difference in the value of pension benefits accrued compared with staff of similar grades working for local authorities.
Mark Lancaster
The Net Pay Deduction (NPD) for Fire Officer grades, or abatement in the case of Fire-fighters, is the adjustment to the salaries of Defence Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) personnel to allow for the differences between their pension arrangements and those of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Service ("LAFRS") employees.
For Fire-fighter grades the abatement figure is a comparison of member contribution rates between the Civil Service Pension Schemes and the Local Authority Fire Pension Schemes. The abatement calculation makes allowance for the impact on the value of pension benefits which arises because MOD Fire-fighters pensions are based on an abated salary. The calculation of the abatement ignores differences in pension benefits accrued between the schemes being compared.
For Fire Officer Grades the NPD has been calculated primarily by considering the differences in member contribution rates between the different pension schemes.
The current NPD is 5.9% of pre-tax basic pay. In practice, an adjusted NPD, equal to 3.54% of pre-tax pay, is applied to Fire Officer salaries; this does not reduce the tax payable by the officer. For Fire Officers the NPD does not affect the salary used for pension purposes, so both pension benefits and member contributions are calculated based on salary before application of the NPD. The current NPD rate was introduced in 1993 and according to available information the calculation of the NPD ignores differences in pension benefits accrued between the schemes but may have taken account of wider pay issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to allow the road rescue industry to use red lights when recovering broken down vehicles.
Andrew Jones
There are no plans currently to allow the road rescue industry to use red lights when recovering broken down vehicles. There are a range of existing measures available to make rescue vehicles visible and warn others of their presence such as the use of roof mounted amber beacons and retro-reflective material to the side and rear.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been screened by the NHS England Liaison and Diversion Service to see if they have mental health issues, learning disabilities, substance misuse or other vulnerabilities in the last three years for which figures are available.
Alistair Burt
NHS England made almost 40,000 liaison and diversion screenings and more than 10,600 referrals to treatment or support services for people of all ages between 1 April 2014 and 31 August 2015. Data is not available prior to 1 April 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times pest controllers have been called to each prison and youth estate in each of the last five years.
Andrew Selous
The information requested is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Chinese government on the human rights situation in Hong Kong and the alleged abduction of Lee Bo.
Mr Hugo Swire
I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave on 4 February 2016 to question number 24423.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of planned budget changes to her Department’s Afghanistan Project on economic security in that country.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK remains committed to a long term partnership with Afghanistan, as I communicated to President Ghani when I visited in June 2015.
It is worth noting that Afghanistan has made significant progress over the last decade, and the UK will continue our support to protect these hard-won gains. For example, UK support has helped ensure that more than 60% of the population now live within 2 hours walking distance of public health facilities, compared to only 9% in 2002. We have committed to spend £178m million in bilateral aid per year until at least 2017, and future commitments will be determined as part of the Bilateral Aid Review, due to be published shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Pincher on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the (a) most recent environmental risk assessment for bound use of air pollution control residues in concrete blocks, (b) exposure levels of dioxins and heavy metals in the air when the blocks were cut, drilled or crushed in buildings and (c) scientific methodology used for measuring these levels.
Rory Stewart
In 2012 the Environment Agency’s Definition of Waste panel gave a positive end of waste opinion to the company Carbon8 for the use of air pollution control residues in concrete blocks. The company’s submission included their own risk assessment for safety and environmental impacts. We have not published, and do not intend to publish, information on the risks or the methodology relating to the binding of air pollution control residues in concrete blocks.