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Tag: 2014

  • Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will assess the costs and benefits of the EU Waste Framework Directive to the UK economy.

    Rory Stewart

    An assessment of the costs and benefits of the revised Waste Framework Directive in England and Wales was carried out when laying the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 which transposed the Directive. The assessment was published and is still available on the Legislation.gov webpages. As waste is a devolved issue, the Scottish and Northern Irish administrations carried out and published their own impact assessments, which are similarly available online.

    The European Commission are expected to publish proposals to amend the revised Waste Framework Directive on 2 December. Once those proposals are published, we will submit another explanatory memorandum to the House, assessing the potential costs and benefits of those changes.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in each age group have been diagnosed with epilepsy in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Information concerning the number of people diagnosed with epilepsy on an annual basis is not collected. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence advises that epilepsy has been estimated to affect between 362,000 and 415,000 people in England and the incidence of epilepsy is estimated to be 50 per 100,000 per year.

  • Dr Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dr Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Lisa Cameron on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children have received a diagnostic assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder in the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department of Health does not collect data on the number of children who have received a diagnostic assessment of Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

    The Department for Education collects data on children’s primary special educational need (SEN).

    The table below shows those children in schools in the last five years who had a statement or who were on school action plus, whose primary need was autistic spectrum disorder. These figures do not include pre-school children with autism, young people in further education, or children with autism who had a different primary need.

    2010

    56,250

    2011

    61,575

    2012

    66,195

    2013

    70,785

    2014

    76,015

    In 2015, the primary need was collected also for those children on SEN support. Including this additional group, 90,775 children were recorded as having a primary need of autistic spectrum disorder in 2015, but given the change in collection methodology, this cannot be compared with the earlier years.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what reports she has received of allegations of India blocking foreign aid to Nepal.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    We are deeply concerned about the impact of the border blockages and resulting fuel crisis in Nepal. This has affected all sectors of the economy and has affected the humanitarian relief effort and the supply of reconstruction materials.

    The UK has urged all parties to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue. I issued a statement on 13th October expressing concern that much needed humanitarian supplies are yet to reach many people still living in temporary shelter.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to ensure that discussions on the Stormont House Agreement include tax credits.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    A range of issues are under discussion in the cross-party talks. These include welfare reform, the Executive’s budget and delivering longer term economic reform. The Government is committed to its long-term economic plan, key elements of which are tackling the deficit, making the costs of welfare sustainable and getting more people into work.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much revenue the DVLA has received from selling driver registration plate numbers to car parking companies in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Jones

    The table below shows the income received by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) from processing requests for information from private parking management companies over the last five financial years. The DVLA sets fees to recover the cost of processing requests and does not make a profit from providing this information.

    Year

    Total Revenue

    2010/11

    £2,910,850

    2011/12

    £3,657,859

    2012/13

    £4,831,355

    2013/14

    £6,097,898

    2014/15

    £7,573,298

    The DVLA releases vehicle keeper information to those who can show reasonable cause for receiving it. The following table shows the number of requests from private car parking management companies for vehicle keeper information processed via electronic links over the last five financial years.

    Year

    Electronic Requests

    2010/11

    1,178,034

    2011/12

    1,574,397

    2012/13

    1,897,572

    2013/14

    2,430,130

    2014/15

    3,083,276

    The vast majority of requests for vehicle keeper information are made electronically but information can also be requested using a paper application form. However, these requests come from a range of customers including private car parking management companies and the figures are not broken down by customer type.

    The DVLA meets regularly with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to discuss a range of issues, including the provision of information for private parking management. The ICO’s most recent audit resulted in a high assurance rating relating to the release of information from the DVLA’s vehicle record.

  • Drew Hendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Drew Hendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to increase the uptake of housing benefits by people who are eligible.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We are committed to ensuring people are able to claim the correct benefits to which they are entitled. The availability of benefits is widely known, advice is available in different languages, different formats, and different locations. In addition to local authorities, Jobcentre Plus offices, law centres, Citizens Advice, post offices, doctors’ surgeries, libraries, the internet, community groups, welfare rights groups, advice centres, and various voluntary organisations all offer advice and information. Furthermore, many benefit claim forms will offer advice on other forms of assistance that may be available.

    Claimants to DWP benefits are routinely asked during the claim process if they want to claim Housing Benefit. If they do, we take the claim and share the data with the local authority.

    In future working age customers who are receiving Universal Credit will receive housing costs as part of an individual or a couple’s claim, thus removing the need to make a separate application to the local authority.

  • Stuart Andrew – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Stuart Andrew – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what contribution staff at the Department for International Development office in East Kilbride have made to the delivery of UK development policy over the last twelve months.

    David Mundell

    The 600 plus staff in DFID’s office in East Kilbride are an intrinsic part of the UK Government team delivering our £9.8 billion international development effort. They make a crucial contribution to improving the lives of millions of people in some of the poorest communities in the world.

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Middle East Quartet Representative on the prospects for peace between Israel and Palestine; what the identified successes and failures are; and what was the cost to the public purse of supporting the office of the Representative in each of the last eight financial years.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government supports the aims and objectives of the Quartet, which has an important role in the Middle East Peace Process through its mandate to mobilise international assistance to the Palestinians and develop plans to promote Palestinian economic development.

    Since its inception in 2007, the Office of the Quartet Representative (OQR) has been funded by donations from Quartet members, including the European Commission, EU Member States and the US. Donations are pooled in a trust fund which is managed and administered by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

    In November 2007 the then Secretary for State for International Development approved a one-off payment of £400,000 from the UK to UNDP to help with the costs of setting up the OQR. Other countries also contributed to the set up costs: Norway gave $1 million; the European Commission $2 million; and the US provided IT equipment.

    The UK does not currently provide financial support to cover the costs of the OQR. The Department for International Development has seconded staff to the OQR since 2007. Their costs are as follows 2007: £62,850; 2008: £165,313; 2009: £204,830; 2010: £214,440; 2011: £247,213; 2012: £183,462; 2013: £266,088; 2014: £115,738; and 2015: £26,875. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also seconded two full-time members of staff to the OQR from 2007 until 2013. We do not hold a record of the costs of these secondments.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel following the September UN OCHA Bulletin report that Israel had demolished a two-storey building in Area A of the West Bank during a search and arrest operation in Jenin refugee camp and damaged an adjacent home, displacing four people.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK raises concerns about demolitions and displacement with the Government of Israel on a regular basis and at the highest levels. We assess that demolition of Palestinian structures in the Occupied Palestinian Territories by Israel is harmful to the peace process. As of 14 September, in 2015, 393 Palestinian-owned structures were demolished in Area C and a further 56 in East Jerusalem. Demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and in all but the most limited circumstances are contrary to international humanitarian law.