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  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 34050, how much funding his Department has allocated to the work programme and work choice in the 2016-17 financial year.

    Priti Patel

    The total budget for Contracted Employment Programmes for 2016-17 is £402.4m. It is not possible to publish the disaggregation of this figure to individual programmes, as this is subject to change throughout the year.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32294, what account is taken of a person’s earlier claim for work capability assessment if the person submits a new claim for employment and support allowance.

    Priti Patel

    In order for the claim to progress, a claimant must demonstrate that there has been a significant worsening in their health condition or that a new health condition has developed.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, which women’s organisations the Minister for Women has met since May 2015.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities and I have met with many representatives from women’s organisations since taking on our roles as Ministers for Women and Equalities. This includes attending and speaking at conferences and events, including a women and equalities stakeholder event held in July 2015, and our pre-CSW NGO event organised by the Government Equalities Office in November 2015, which was attended by representatives of approximately 40 women’s organisations.

    Meetings are a matter of public record, and can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-ministers-quarterly-returns and www.gov.uk/government/collections/moj-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings. Some of the meetings we have held with women’s organisations include:

    • Women’s Aid

    • Agenda

    • 30% Club

    • Rights of Women

    • Birth Companions

    • Women’s Business Council

    • Brighton Women’s Centre

    • One Small Thing

    • Women’s Breakout

    “

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Jonathan Edwards – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government about the possibility of Wales hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

    Alun Cairns

    The Wales Office continues to show its support for Wales to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. I recently met with the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales and would welcome an opportunity to explore the details of a possible bid further with the new Welsh Government after the National Assembly Elections have taken place.

  • Nia Griffith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Nia Griffith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the Government’s review of the case for a Swansea Bay tidal lagoon.

    Alun Cairns

    My office remains in close contact with the Department of Energy and Climate Change on both the independent review of tidal lagoons and the potential development of a tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay. Talks between the UK Government and the developer are continuing on a possible Contract for Difference and the conclusion of these discussions will be fed into the independent review for consideration.

  • Nia Griffith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Nia Griffith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the devolution of Air Passenger Duty to Wales.

    Alun Cairns

    The Government is considering the case and options for devolving Air Passenger Duty to Wales, informed by a review of options to support English regional airports from potential impacts caused by its devolution.

    As part of this review, HM Treasury published a discussion paper at Summer Budget 2015 exploring a number of options. HM Treasury is carefully considering the evidence received from stakeholders on an ongoing basis.

  • Nia Griffith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Nia Griffith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when he plans to publish the draft Wales Bill.

    Alun Cairns

    On 29 February, my predecessor announced the Government’s intention to introduce the Wales Bill early in the second session.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on preparation for the expected start of construction works to the A417 Missing Link in Gloucestershire in 2020.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England will start full scale options work on the scheme in financial year 2016/17, with the intention that the scheme will be ready to start construction as early as possible in the next Road Period.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the members are of (a) Rail North and (b) the Rail North Board; and how those members are appointed.

    Andrew Jones

    Members of Rail North:

    • Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
    • Blackpool Borough Council
    • Cheshire East Council
    • Cheshire West & Chester Council
    • City of York Council
    • Cumbria County Council
    • Darlington Borough Council
    • Derbyshire County Council
    • East Riding of Yorkshire Council
    • Greater Manchester Combined Authority
    • Hartlepool Borough Council
    • Hull City Council
    • Lancashire County Council
    • Lincolnshire County Council
    • Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral)
    • Middlesbrough Council
    • North East Combined Authority (Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland)
    • North East Lincolnshire Council
    • North Lincolnshire Council
    • North Yorkshire County Council
    • Nottingham City Council
    • Nottinghamshire County Council
    • Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
    • Sheffield City Region Combined Authority (Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield)
    • Staffordshire County Council
    • Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
    • Stoke-on-Trent City Council
    • Warrington Borough Council
    • West Yorkshire Combined Authority

    Rail North Ltd Board Directors are:

    • Bill Dixon (Tees Valley)
    • Chris Metcalf (North Yorkshire)
    • David Brown (Cheshire and the Potteries)
    • Dean Collins (East Midlands)
    • John Fillis (Lancashire and Cumbria)
    • Julie Dore (Sheffield City Region Combined Authority)
    • Keith Wakefield (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
    • Liam Robinson (Liverpool City Region Combined Authority)
    • Liz Redfern (Humber Authorities)
    • Nick Forbes (North East Combined Authority)
    • Richard Leese (Greater Manchester Combined Authority)

    Any Local transport Authority in the North of England area covered by Northern and TransPennine franchises is entitled to be a member of Rail North.

    Rail North Board Directors are appointed by the constituent authorities of the sub-areas they represent.

    Note that Tees Valley Authorities have recently formed a Combined Authority and will, on formal notification, be represented through that single body in the future.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time was between a penalty notice being issued under the Dart Charge scheme and the date of the offence in each month since the start of that scheme.

    Andrew Jones

    The data sought is not held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. A sample analysis of data available shows that currently the majority of Penalty Charge Notices are issued between 5 and 15 days of the contravention.