The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-03-11.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to publish the report of the independent project review of the Counter Fraud Checking Service once it is completed.
Francis Maude
Prior to the last General Election, there was no-cross Government work to tackle the billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money lost to fraud.
We are currently reviewing the business case for a Counter Fraud Checking Service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department spent on biodiversity conservation in (a) the UK and (b) the Overseas Territories in 2013-14.
Dan Rogerson
We are collating the information requested and will place it in the House Library as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr David Crausby on 2014-03-11.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Bolton North East constituency.
Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
Results for all wards are available on the Commission’s website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
The ward results for the Bolton North East constituency were as follows:
|
Ward |
Green matches |
Amber matches |
Red matches |
|
ASTLEY BRIDGE |
82.7% |
1.1% |
16.2% |
|
BRADSHAW |
86.7% |
1.1% |
12.2% |
|
BREIGHTMET |
83.1% |
1.4% |
15.5% |
|
BROMLEY CROSS |
84.9% |
0.8% |
14.3% |
|
CROMPTON |
75.9% |
2.8% |
21.3% |
|
HALLIWELL |
73.4% |
2.8% |
23.8% |
|
TONGE WITH THE HAULGH |
79.5% |
1.7% |
18.8% |
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the total disposal cost of the Nimrod MRA4 airframes.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Nimrod MRA4 airframes were dismantled on the Ministry of Defence (MOD)’s behalf by Metal and Waste Recycling Ltd at a cost of around £500,000. As part of the contractual arrangements with the company, the MOD received receipts from the sale of the dismantled airframes to the value of just over £1 million.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Frank Field on 2014-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on the housing benefit budget of limiting all rents to local authority rent levels.
Steve Webb
It is not possible to make a meaningful assessment. Limiting all rents to local authority rent levels would be a dramatic change to the housing market. It is therefore not possible to reliably predict what would happen to the supply and demand for accommodation, especially in the private rented sector, and the impacts on housing benefit expenditure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what aid the Government has provided for the relief of flooding and landslides in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia.
Mr David Lidington
I discussed the impact of the floods with Prime Minister Vucic of Serbia in Belgrade on 2 June and with Prime Minister Bevanda in Sarajevo on 3 June. During my visit to the region I also met the Serbian Red Cross and travelled to Maglaj in Bosnia-Herzegovina to meet the Mayor and representatives of World Vision.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), between 18 and 23 May a thirty-three person water rescue team from the British Fire Service was deployed to work alongside EUFOR Operation Althea and local rescue efforts. They rescued nearly 200 people, delivered large amounts of humanitarian aid, and helped restore power in villages North of Bijeljina.
In Serbia, the UK provided 64 radios for the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, to assist with the coordination of their response teams; and donated £280,000 worth of heavy lift and transport vehicles to the Serbian Red Cross to aid their relief distribution effort.
A team from the UK flew out to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the week commencing 20 May to assess likely humanitarian and recovery needs. During my visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina I was able to announce that the UK had approved £250,000 to support a World Vision flood response project in the region focussing on sanitation and health and providing support for 140,000 people made homeless by the floods.
In addition to this bilateral support, the UK provided support to BiH, Serbia and Croatia through the EU, UN and other international organisations. In BiH, EUFOR Operation Althea, to which the UK contributes troops in-theatre and in reserve, assisted the BiH Armed Forces in their response to the flooding. The First Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who provide part of EUFOR’s intermediate reserve, and are in BiH for a routine operational rehearsal, will assist the BiH Armed Forces in this regard.
The UK has worked closely with the EU European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), and offered advice and assistance during all phases of the flood response effort. ECHO have released €3.2m in humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable population in BiH and in Serbia (to which the UK will have contributed 15%).
The Government will work closely with the UNDP, the EU and other international organisations to assess what further help might be given to help both Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina recover from the impact of the floods.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2014-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the universal credit system will accept (a) any and (b) all new claims for employment and support allowance at the start of 2017 or end of 2017.
Esther McVey
While the majority of the legacy caseload will move to Universal Credit during 2016 and 2017, claimants in receipt of Income based Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) will retain their current arrangements during this period unless there is a relevant change in their circumstances. Final decisions on the implementation of the programme will be informed by the development of the enhanced digital solution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of primary school starting age on (a) intellectual development, (b) social mobility and (c) results in (i) GCSE and (ii) A-level examinations.
Elizabeth Truss
Formal school starting ages vary across OECD member states. However it is useful to compare the state provision of education for young children prior to the start of compulsory education as the majority of children in OECD countries have entered the education system at a young age – participation rates in formal childcare and pre-school are broadly similar across Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom.
Research indicates that most countries have published curricula governing the provision of early years education from the ages four to six years which are consistent in their use of learning objectives and expected outcomes. The Department has commissioned the OECD to carry out an international review of pedagogy and practice in the early years to investigate this issue further. We anticipate a report in autumn 2014.
Research has demonstrated that all-round development is enhanced for those children attending nursery compared to those who don’t before starting school. This suggests that attending a formal learning environment from an earlier age is typically beneficial. Furthermore duration in nursery matters, with every month of nursery experience after age two years linked to better intellectual development and improved independence, concentration and sociability at age five with a continued effect at Key Stage 1.
High quality early years education will help close the attainment gap that already exists by the beginning of primary school between disadvantaged children and their peers. Evidence is clear that children’s learning and development in their early years is crucial to later attainment. The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Project found that high quality early years education is a strong predictor of achievement in English and mathematics later on in school.
We cannot provide the information requested on representations on this topic. The Department receives a huge volume of mail and representations on education and children’s issues. There would be a disproportionate cost to providing a response in this case.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2014-03-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 10 February (WA 95), whether, in calculating the Local Government Finance Settlement, they have made any assumptions of the likely expenditure on electoral registration.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
Funding for electoral registration is included within the local government finance settlement, and it is for the Local Authority to manage the non-ring fenced funding it provides to deliver statutory obligations, including electoral registration.
The Government is funding the net additional costs to local authorities of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration in financial years 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 via grants to local authorities in England and Wales and on invoice for the Valuation Joint Boards in Scotland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Selous on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether guidance provided to police officers on the implementation of the new drug driving offence will include information on the position of patients taking legitimately prescribed medications; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department is in regular contact with the Police Service about the implementation of the new drug driving offence and has every confidence that the police will implement it effectively including the application of the statutory medical defence.
The Police Service is in the process of amending their procedures, which will include the statutory medical defence and its operation. These will be issued in advance of the introduction of the new offence. This will provide each force plenty of time to consider the new procedures. We are confident forces will properly consider and include the new offence alongside current drink and drug drive training.