The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the devolved administrations on the implementation of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Officials from the UK Government’s Resettlement Programme are in regular dialogue with the devolved administrations in relation to the delivery of the Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to revise the agreement reached with the National Housing Federation on right to buy to remove references to almshouses in the table of discretionary sales.
Brandon Lewis
Almshouses are exempt from the Right to Buy for council housing. This long-standing exemption will also apply to the extended Right to Buy for housing associations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support parents of babies who spend time in neonatal care; if he will take steps to extend the statutory maternity pay of premature babies; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of such steps.
Priti Patel
The Government currently has no plans to extend Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for the parents of premature or sick babies who spend time in neo-natal care.
SMP is designed to help working women during pregnancy and after childbirth by providing a measure of earnings replacement enabling them to stop work for a reasonable period around the birth to prepare for and recover from childbirth.
Working women are generally able to choose when they want their payments to begin and this flexibility in the start date for maternity pay was introduced in response to medical opinion that the woman herself is best able to judge the point at which she should give up work. This ensures sufficient time off to allow for different situations, including instances where babies are delivered at an earlier date and where babies need hospital care following birth.
The standard rate of SMP is part of a package of financial support to working families which includes Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay, Parental Leave and Flexible working. Tax Credits and Child Benefit are also available through HM Revenue and Customs to all families who qualify.
Additionally, the introduction of Statutory Shared Parental Leave and Pay for babies due on or after 5 April 2015 enables eligible mothers, fathers, and partners to choose how to share time off work after their child is born, giving parents much more flexibility in how to use their leave entitlement. This flexibility will be particularly valuable to parents who have to deal with difficult or unexpected circumstances and it allows parents, for the first time, to take leave together in a way that suits them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the likely change in the number of projects being funded through the Landfill Communities Fund if the Contributory Third Party element is removed.
Damian Hinds
The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is a tax credit scheme into which landfill operators contribute voluntarily. Since its introduction in 1996, the LCF has contributed over £1.4bn to community projects in areas affected by a local landfill site. However, as the LCF is a tax credit scheme, it reduces the Government’s tax revenues. We therefore have an ongoing responsibility to seek value for money for the taxpayer.
Our reforms aim to encourage LCF money to get to communities more quickly and use the savings to address other significant issues like waste crime. The LCF will provide £39.3 million of additional funding in 2016-17 alone. We also hope more unspent funds, which this year totalled £118 million, will reach projects as soon as possible.
The impact of the changes to the LCF announced at Autumn Statement 2015 is set out in Reform and value of the Landfill Communities Fund. This document can be found here:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on benefit and tax credit demand from workers at franchises of former post offices; and what estimate his Department has made of the potential cost of that demand to the public purse.
George Freeman
Post Office Limited runs and manages its directly managed Crown post offices. Employees of these offices are employees of Post Office Limited. Changes to the Crown network are the operational responsibility of the Post Office, and HM Government has not undertaken any analysis of the changes to the benefit and tax credit demand from these changes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-03-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new Cabinet Office guidelines that no government grants may be used to lobby for new regulation or more government funding would preclude academics at publicly funded universities, or charities in receipt of grants for specific work, from giving evidence to parliamentary select committees drawing on such publicly funded research.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The new clause will not prevent recipients from performing activities that are part of the intended purpose of the grant. It makes sure that taxpayers’ money is not diverted from their intended purpose and wasted on political campaigning and political lobbying.
As indicated at the House of Lords Science Technology Committee, BIS and Cabinet Office are looking into how this new clause will apply to academic research.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy consultation document does not contain measureable targets for walking.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy contains two objectives for walking.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which of his Department’s contracts in the last five years used the largest proportion of British steel.
Mr Philip Dunne
The largest defence equipment procurement project during this period has been the construction of the two Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. Updated figures show that the vast majority of structural steel used, some 95,000 tonnes, was manufactured in the UK.
In the main, defence requirements for steel are sourced by our prime contractors taking into account cost, time and quality. UK suppliers have made a significant and valuable contribution to the supply of steel for our major defence programmes. New Government guidelines, which have been implemented in the Ministry of Defence, will also help them compete for future defence projects.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-06-20.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the costs of insurance for motor vehicles.
Harriett Baldwin
The Insurance Fraud Taskforce was set up by Government in January 2015 to make recommendations to reduce insurance fraud, ultimately lowering costs for consumers. In January 2016, the Taskforce published 26 recommendations for industry, regulators and others, including 6 for Government. A Written Ministerial Statement was published on 26 May 2016 to announce that the Government accepts each of the recommendations addressed to it.
The Chancellor also announced in his 2015 Autumn Statement that the government intends to introduce measures to end the right to cash compensation for minor whiplash injuries. This will remove over £1 billion from the cost of providing motor insurance and the government expects the insurance industry to pass on to consumers an average saving of £40 to £50 per motor insurance policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish (a) how much spending has been committed from the public purse, and on what, (b) the outcomes proposed and (c) the outcomes achieved to date as part of the joint intervention fund agreement of September 2014 with the French government to combat illegal migration between 2015 to 2020.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The September 2014 Joint Declaration committed the UK to a £12 million contribution to upgrade port infrastructure across the juxtaposed ports in northern France and to ensure effective measures are taken to protect vulnerable persons such as victims of trafficking.
The migrant situation has developed significantly since the September 2014 Declaration and further investment has followed, in line with the Government’s aim to reinforce border security. We continue to work closely with the French authorities at both political and operational levels on a package of measures to further bolster security at ports in northern France. This includes not only physical and personnel security measures but also wider work to tackle criminal gangs involved in people trafficking. The UK has also part funded a project, run by a French non-governmental organisation to identify and direct vulnerable people to protection, support and advice within France.
The investment in security by the UK, the closer coordination of our law enforcement response and the significant investment in police resources by the French Government has led to a significant improvement in the situation at the ports in northern France. The UK and France regularly review security at the ports to ensure the new measures are maintained and remain effective.
Furthermore, at the UK-France summit in Amiens on 3 March, the Home Secretary announced that the UK will contribute £17 million to joint work with France to ease migrant pressures in the Calais region and further strengthen the UK border. Most recently, the Home Secretary and French Interior Minister reiterated at their meeting on 30 August that both Governments are committed to working side by side on a range of issues in northern France.