The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who the Deputy Director for Transparency is in his Department.
Matthew Hancock
All deputy directors have a responsibility for transparency policies whichreflects the breadth and importance of the agenda. An organogram of the Cabinet Office is available here: https://data.gov.uk/organogram/cabinet-office
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, (a) how many people applied for disabled facilities grants, (b) how many such applications were successful and (c) what the average grant award was in each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15.
Brandon Lewis
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect information on the number of people who applied for a Disabled Facilities Grant or the number of successful applicants. Information on the number of grants completed and the average cost per grant for the years 2009-10 to 2014-15 is provided in the table below.
|
2009-10 |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
|
Number of grants completed |
44,102 |
45,383 |
43,986 |
36,874 |
42,586 |
33,922 |
|
Average grants awarded |
£3,356 |
£3,724 |
£4,547 |
£5,966 |
£4,227 |
£5,453 |
The above data is provided by local housing authorities in their annual Logasnet returns. LOGASnet is the Department of Communities and Local Government’s web-based data capture and payments system. The data is not audited by DCLG.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to reduce the burden of EU regulation on businesses.
Anna Soubry
The February 2016 EU Reform settlement, secured by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, sets out concrete steps to reduce the burden of EU regulation on business. These include regulatory simplification (including the withdrawal or repeal of legislation); a specific focus on reducing the burden on SMEs and micro-enterprises; and establishing burden reduction targets in the most onerous areas for business.
We will now work with Member States to hold the EU institutions to account, overseeing the agreement and implementation of these measures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic resources he is providing to the peace talks between the Houthi rebels and Saudi-led coalition in Yemen; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK is providing diplomatic and financial support to the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, in convening UN-facilitated talks between relevant Yemeni parties. We welcome the cessation of hostilities that began on 10 April and strongly encourage all parties to respect it, and engage constructively in forthcoming peace talks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department plans to spend on cycling in each year from 2016 to 2021.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department’s spending on cycling programmes is stated in the table below.
|
Programme |
2016/17 |
2017/18 |
2018/19 |
2019/20 |
2020/21 |
Total |
|
Cycling |
£185.2m |
£202.6m |
£119.0m |
£93.0m |
£58.7m |
£658.5m |
The totals shown above include the Department’s core cycling programmes plus spending by local bodies on cycling projects using sums from within current Local Growth Fund and the Integrated Transport Block allocations. Not all of the Local Growth Fund is currently allocated, so as future allocations of the Local Growth Fund are made to Local Enterprise partnerships, the amount supporting cycling projects through to 2020/21 is likely to rise.
In addition to the above, from within the record £6 billion allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, this funding can help maintain footways cycleways. Further, from 2018/19 the plan is to change the formula used to allocate local highways maintenance capital funding so that it also takes into account footways and cycleways as well as the roads, bridges and street lighting, which it is currently based on. Once implemented, around 9% of the funding will be based on footway and cycleway lengths.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-07-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether new arrangements are to be introduced for delivering the Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme.
Michael Fallon
As announced in the Written Ministerial Statement on 21 April 2016 (HCWS689), the contract between the Ministry of Defence and AWE Management Limited (AWEML) has been reviewed and now falls under the Single Source Procurement Framework which is overseen by the Single Source Regulations Office.
As a result of the review, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has greater control over the programme, while ensuring that AWE continues to deliver value for money for the taxpayer. The contract between MOD and AWEML also provides the opportunity for higher performance incentives, as well as reductions if targets are not met.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether international relief and resettlement aid has reached Manbij in Syria; and if not, what plans they have to make this possible.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
DFID partners, working with the local council, have already provided relief to Manbij city in the form of repairs to water and electricity networks, as well the provision of safe water, hygiene kits and support for waste removal. Our international NGO partners are also assessing needs and planning to provide further assistance.
DFID supports the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Humanitarian Pooled Fund, which has allocated over $1 million for the prepositioning of humanitarian supplies for use in Manbij. These will be distributed as access into Manbij increases – it is currently hampered by the presence of unexploded ordnance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of protests at border crossings between Nepal and India on the supply of (a) fuel, (b) medicine and (c) blood to Nepal.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The current disruption in the Terai and at a number of border posts has affected the importation and distribution within Nepal of supplies of goods. This has included fuel, food and health commodities, such as vaccines and medicines. Acute shortages of diesel, petrol as well as cooking gas have been felt across Nepal for the past weeks. This has had an impact on movement around the country as well as distribution networks for key commodities.
DFID Nepal is currently working with the Ministry of Health and Population, World Health Organisation and other partners to undertake a rapid assessment of the health impacts of the crisis, including the availability medicines and blood products at health facilities. DFID is also engaging with the Government of Nepal, as well as our development and humanitarian partners, to track the current situation. DFID continue to urge all parties to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue as soon as possible and resolve the current difficulties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-12-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Written Statement of 2 June 2015, HCWS10, on the trading plan for government shares in Lloyds Banking Group, whether he set a target for the (a) number of shares to be sold and (b) price per share for Lloyds Banking Group at the time of that Statement.
Harriett Baldwin
In December 2014 the Chancellor launched a trading plan to sell the Government’s stake in Lloyds Banking Group, which has since been extended twice; in June and December 2015. The number of shares sold over the course of the trading plan is subject to an overall volume limit of up to but no more than 15% of the aggregate total trading volume in the LBG over the duration of the trading plan.
The final amount sold will depend on market conditions, among other factors. Shares will not be sold below the average price the previous government paid for them, which was 73.6p.
As outlined to the House at the time of the trading plan’s launch, a statement with further details will be laid before Parliament when the plan concludes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to reduce the council tax referendum level from 2 per cent to take account of his policy on the social care precept; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Marcus Jones
My rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark) set out his proposed Council Tax Referendum principles for 2016-17 alongside the provisional local government finance settlement on 17 December 2015 [Official Report, Column 1722]. The full proposals are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-tax-in-2016-to-2017. Final referendum principles for 2016-17 will be laid before the House for approval in due course.
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