The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 5 and 16 February 2016 to Questions 25342 and 26658, by when he expects the land and property for disposals to be identified; and whether he expects the decisions on the selection of that property to be subject to public consultation.
Matthew Hancock
The land and property for disposals will be identified in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce lifetime awards for people assessed as requiring the upper personal independence payment allowance mobility component who have been diagnosed with muscle degenerative diseases or conditions.
Justin Tomlinson
Personal Independence Payment is specifically designed to ensure that the benefit is awarded to those with the greatest need and the award review process is integral to ensuring this happens. Under Disability Living Allowance over 70% of all claims had no review built-in, meaning that claimants could have been receiving too much or too little in benefit.
We take a personalised approach to setting the length of awards, varying the frequency and format of awards and reviews depending on the individual’s needs and the likelihood of their health condition or impairment changing.
Where the claimant has high levels of functional impairment which are only likely to increase or not improve, it is likely that the claimant will receive an enhanced rate of benefit and a longer term award.
We recognise that it is important to ensure that the review process is applied sensitively and appropriately. As such, it is likely that the awards of such claimants would also go through a less intensive review process which may not, if all the necessary information is held, include a face-to-face assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 1.330 of Budget 2016, how much of the £14.5 million in grants for extending the coverage of ultrafast broadband in the South West will be spent on tackling broadband blackspots in Cheltenham.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Gloucestershire and Herefordshire County Councils (Fastershire broadband partnership) has been allocated £2 million from the South West ultrafast broadband fund. Fastershire are responsible for setting local coverage priorities and spending funds in line with procurement rules, and are undertaking new procurements with uncommitted funding from the Phase 2 Superfast Broadband Programme to address as many as the remaining non-served areas within the two counties as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department collects on the (a) cost of tribunal hearings for sanctioned jobseeker’s allowance claimants and (b) costs of tribunals for other benefits.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) cannot isolate cost data relating to specific benefit types. I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 39104, which states that the estimated average cost of a tribunal case for all benefits in the First Tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) in 2014/15 (the latest period for which figures are available) was £468.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release by Natural England of 29 July 2016 to issue a licence permitting the control of up to 10 buzzards, if her Department will take steps to ensure that the granting of such licences does not endanger the buzzard population.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
Buzzards are now widespread in England, with over 60,000 pairs in the UK (British Trust for Ornithology). The removal of a small number of birds will have no impact on the national population. Moreover, Natural England would not license any activity that would adversely affect the conservation status of a species.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what type of assessment his Department has made of whether the use of French steel for successor Trident submarines meets the Government’s procurement guidelines.
Mr Nick Hurd
The Government wants UK companies to be successful in public procurement, and has published guidelines for departments to apply on major projects when sourcing and buying steel. These requirements, which were introduced after the procurement for the Successor Programme had started, ensure social and economic factors can be taken into account when Government procures steel.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people over 100 years old living (a) in the UK and (b) overseas received the state pension in each of the last three years.
Justin Tomlinson
The requested information as of September 2012, 2013 and 2014 is within the table below:
| Country | Sept-12 | Sept-13 | Sept-14 |
| GB | 8,300 | 9,000 | 9,700 |
| Overseas | 600 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Total | 8,900 | 10,000 | 10,700 |
“-“ indicates less than 100
Source:
DWP 5% data
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding
2. Cases where the payment has been suspended or the payment is not “live” have been omitted from these figures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK is entitled to be represented before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Philippines v. China.
Mr Hugo Swire
The UK is not party to the case of Philippines v China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and is therefore not entitled to be formally represented before the PCA in this case.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2016 to 21399, what assessment she has made of whether the French government is meeting its EU and international obligations in respect of registration of non-EU citizens in France who are in need of international protection.
James Brokenshire
As informed in the response to 21399 the Government continues to work closely with France on a range of migration and security issues and we have no plans to change this constructive approach. The French Government remains committed to meeting its EU and international obligations and the opening of new places in its asylum system for those that claim asylum in Calais demonstrates this. The UK and French Governments are unified in their response to the migratory phenomenon and both governments recognise the importance of close partnership and collaboration to reach a long-term solution.
A person requiring international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country that they reach, a principle which is reflected in the Dublin Regulation. Any migrant currently in France who wishes to seek international protection should do so in France. The UK will consider a request from France to take responsibility of an asylum applicant on the basis of the family unity provisions contained in the Dublin Regulation if there are grounds to do so. A person must claim asylum in France before a responsibility request can be made and considered.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-02-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department of Health has begun to carry out a survey of pregnant women where either partner has been to Brazil or other neighbouring countries where there has been a significant outbreak of the Zika virus.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Public Health England (PHE) is actively exploring the feasibility of working with other parts of the United Kingdom to undertake the systematic collection of data on pregnant women presenting to National Health Service maternity services where they have travelled to a country with active Zika virus transmission during pregnancy or within four weeks of conception. The aim of such work would be to measure the impact of Zika virus on obstetric services and on pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes for women.
PHE has been working with appropriate Royal Colleges to provide updated guidance for healthcare professionals, including midwives, on the management of any symptomatic patients (particularly pregnant women) returning from affected countries. A copy of this guidance is attached.