The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 8 December 2015 (HL3997), what has been identified as the cause of the overpayment of housing benefit to those claimants migrated onto Universal Credit, and how many claimants in Tower Hamlets have been affected.
Lord Freud
We have safeguards in place to ensure an effective transition and avoid impacts on overlapping benefits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to relocate testing for Lyme borreliosis away from the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory; and if so, when they expect the move to take place, and whether the new laboratory will be ISO 15189 accredited at the time of the transfer.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department of Health, Public Health England (PHE) or NHS England do not hold information about which laboratories are and are not International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15189 accredited. A list of accredited laboratories is held on the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) website and is the definitive list of accredited laboratories to which the Department, PHE and the NHS refer. Accreditation is covered by the Clinical Pathology Accreditation (CPA) company until recently, and is now part of the UKAS scheme.
There is no intention to transfer the Lyme disease testing service from the Rare & Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) to another laboratory. RIPL as a department will move from the Porton site as part of the PHE relocation scheduled to commence in 2018 but no decision on the exact date has been made. RIPL is scheduled to transfer to ISO 15189 in late summer 2016, when the ISO inspection team review the tests offered by the laboratory under ISO 15189. Until that time, the laboratory is operating under CPA in accordance with the transition process laid down by ISO.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether relatives of foreign nationals murdered in the UK are entitled to compensation from them, and if so, how much compensation they have paid since 2010.
Lord Faulks
The Government provides two compensation schemes for victims of crime, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme) 2012 and the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme (VOTCS) 2012. Both schemes are administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
The Scheme is designed to compensate blameless victims of violent crime where the incident took place in Great Britain or a “relevant place” as outlined in Annex C of the scheme. Close relatives of a British citizen may also be eligible for compensation under the scheme. Under the Scheme compensation is only available to those who can demonstrate they are ordinarily resident in the UK at the time of the incident or have another defined connection to the UK.
In fatal cases, compensation may be awarded to qualifying relatives who also satisfy the Scheme’s residency criteria. The meaning of qualifying relative is outlined in paragraph 59 of the Scheme. The CICA does not keep information on the nationality of the deceased in fatal applications, so we cannot identify the amount of compensation paid.
Compensation for relatives of British nationals murdered abroad is not available under the two schemes provided by the Government. UK residents injured as a result of a crime of violence in another country within the European Union (EU) or outside the EU may be able to apply for compensation from that country. The CICA can assist with applications to other EU countries.
The VOTCS was introduced to compensate victims of terrorism injured in incidents outside the UK on or after 27 November 2012. A person may be eligible for an award under VOTCS if they sustain a qualifying injury, which is directly attributable to their being a direct victim of a designated terrorist act. Close relatives bereaved as a result of a designated act may also be eligible for an award. The VOTCS applies to the whole of the United Kingdom.
Claims under the VOTCS can be made by those who have a clear and sufficient connection to the UK, as evidenced by their residence and citizenship. British, European Union, European Economic Area and Swiss citizens who have been resident in the UK for three years immediately before the designated act may be eligible for an award. Data on the value of awards made under VOTCS from 2013 to 2016 are set in the table below.
|
Year |
Amount of awards |
|
2013 |
£206,607 |
|
2014 |
£11,200 |
|
2015 |
£309,541 |
|
2016 |
£11,000 |
|
Total |
£538,348 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the funding formula is that was used for the 2016-17 allocation of Rural Services Delivery Grant.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Rural Services Delivery Grant is distributed to the top quartile of authorities ranked by their super-sparsity, as calculated using data from the 2011 Census. The amount that each authority receives is dependent on their super-sparsity above the threshold value of 0.089302, their total resident population (calculated using information from the 2011 Census) and the types of services that the council delivers. Further information on the methodology can be found in Part K of the 2014-15 Local Government Finance Report.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is allocated to motorcycling safety in his Department’s budget for the current year.
Andrew Jones
Motorcycling safety is embedded within different areas including wider road safety policy, international vehicle standards and the THINK! road safety campaigns. As such there is not a separate budget allocation.
A significant role is also played by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which oversees the training and testing of motorcyclists.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-07-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the economies of the Caribbean and British Overseas Territories of the result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.
Earl of Courtown
We are already engaged with the Overseas Territories to capture the full range of interests they have in the EU, including the potential economic impact of any change in their relations with the EU. We will fully involve the devolved administrations, Gibraltar, the Crown Dependencies, the other UK Overseas Territories and all other regional centres of power, in accordance with their various constitutional relationships with the UK, to ensure that all of their interests are taken properly into account. In the meantime, the UK remains a member of the EU, and the full range of rights and obligations afforded under the Treaties still apply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 20 September (HL1612), why their estimates of the financial impact of the Office of Road and Rail’s decision on the East Coast Main Line and other associated franchises are considered commercially sensitive” information when they will need to be disclosed to any bidders for future franchises.”
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The information is considered commercially sensitive because of the impact it could have on a listed company if released at this time. This information would only be disclosed to franchise bidders on a confidential basis at the time a franchise is re-let. However, under the normal process we would expect bidders to make their own revenue forecasts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will re-introduce feed-in tariff preaccreditation for community renewable energy schemes.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government proposed changes to the feed-in tariff scheme (FITs) as part of the FIT review, on which we consulted widely between 27th August and 23rd October.
We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the consultation and intend to publish a Government response as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2015 to Question 17199, when she will publish the outcome of her Department’s review of animal licensing legislation; and if she will make a statement.
George Eustice
The Government’s proposals on the review of the animal licensing legislation will be made available shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of Muslim students who have been unable to progress to higher education because their religious principles do not permit them to take out an interest-bearing student loan.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Government consulted in April 2014 on an Alternative Finance product that could be offered to students alongside traditional loans. 20,000 responses were received with 94 per cent believing there is a demand for Alternative Finance.
The Government is working on the development of a Takaful Alternative Finance product and as part of this will be working with the Muslim community and others to understand the likely take-up of the product.