The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether guidance issued to local authorities on the Blue Badge scheme is mandatory; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Blue Badge Scheme Local Authority Guidance (England) is not mandatory as it is non-statutory guidance. It is guidance for local authorities on best practice in administering the Blue Badge Scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when his Department plans next to update the RAB charge on student loans.
Greg Clark
The next update of the RAB charge will happen when the Student Loans Company provides the Department with updated loans data. This typically takes place in early autumn each year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will estimate how much contract overruns in the Aircraft Carrier Alliance have cost the public purse to date.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 8 November 2013, (Official Report, column 399W). The Major Project Report 2013 reported the cost of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers at £6.102 billion (£6.2 Billion less assessment phase costs that do not fall under the remit of the Major Projects Report).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what monetary thresholds were applied to the cost-per-quality adjusted life year quoted in the evidence submitted as part of his Department’s work with the Inter-departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review in 2008.
Brandon Lewis
The information requested is not held by my Department. I refer my rt. hon. Friend to the answer given by my rt. hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Care and Support (Norman Lamb) on 26 June, Official Report, Column 283W, which explains the historical context to this Review under the last Administration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Weapon Handling and Launch support contract includes an obligation on the contractor to provide waterfront support in the loading and unloading of (a) conventional and (b) nuclear weapons in (i) the UK and (ii) abroad.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Weapon Handling and Launch System (WHLS) support contract provides technical and logistic support for all WHLS equipment on Royal Navy submarines and at Royal Navy training establishments, including Weapon Embarkation Equipment (WEE). The actual use of WEE to load and unload conventional weapons in the UK and abroad is covered by separate commercial arrangements. The WHLS support contract is not used for any aspect of nuclear weapons.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, columns 367-8W, on armed conflicts: minerals, which companies have joined or have applied to join the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights initiative.
Mark Simmonds
In the last two years, UK-headquartered companies Tullow Oil and Premier Oil have joined the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. An application from another company based in the UK is currently under consideration by the Steering Committee of the Voluntary Principles Initiative.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost to the NHS was of providing free flu vaccinations in each of the last four years for which figures are available.
Jane Ellison
NHS England spent a total of £251 million on immunisation programmes in 2013-14. Of this, £89 million is identifiable as relating to the purchase of flu vaccines for adults and the administration of flu vaccines for both adults and children.
Vaccines for the national childhood immunisation programme, including for childhood flu immunisation from 2013-14, are purchased and managed by Public Health England on behalf of the Department and are not a cost for the National Health Service. The cost of the vaccine and its storage and distribution are commercially confidential.
Data for NHS spend for the years prior to 2013-14 is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time employees were employed in (a) the Case Resolution Directorate and (b) the Case Assurance and Audit Unit in each year of those bodies’ existence.
Karen Bradley
The Case Resolution Directorate (CRD) employed a total of 1300 caseworkers in
40 regional teams during its existence. It is not possible to provide a
breakdown by each year that CRD was in existence.
The Case Assurance and Audit Unit (CAAU) employed 98 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)
staff in 2011, 134 FTE staff in 2012 and 224 FTE staff in 2013. FTE means that
part time employees are counted by the proportion of full time hours they work,
so that staff working half the time of an equivalent full time colleague would
count as 0.5 FTE.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications by overseas-based British citizens for the extension of an existing passport for one year have been received by the Passport Office since her recent announcement on changes in passport policy.
James Brokenshire
As of 13 July 2014, 1,721 applications by overseas-based British citizens for
the extension of an existing passport for one year have been received by the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the importance of regional airports in meeting the UK’s aviation needs.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government’s Aviation Policy Framework affirms that the Government wants to see the best use of the UK’s existing airport capacity. It recognises that airports across the UK play an important role in local economies, and in securing connectivity for local populations – as well as having an important role in helping to accommodate wider forecast growth in demand for aviation in the UK.