The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of families currently paying for childcare that will be eligible for the proposed tax-free childcare scheme.
Nicky Morgan
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his letter of 24 October 2014 to the chief finance officers of English billing authorities, which local authorities have offered a business rate discount to premises with a free-to-use cash machine since the sending of that letter; and if he will make a statement.
Kris Hopkins
We do not hold this information centrally. Councils do not need the permission of Whitehall to levy such local discounts.
The Localism Act 2011 gave local authorities in England powers to grant business rates discounts. We have urged authorities to use their powers to provide relief to cash machines where there is a clear community benefit, such as where cash machine providers commit to introduce extra cash machines or reduce charges on existing machines. Central government now funds 50% of local discounts.
We also announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates bills in England, bringing the total support from 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement measures to £1.4 billion in 2015-16.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the contribution of 6 November 2014 by the Minister of State in his Department, Official Report, column 949, what resources the Government is making available to UK Coal in support of the provision of state aid to UK Coal in respect of Thoresby and Kellingley coal mines.
Matthew Hancock
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
Senior Officials from the BIS Yorkshire Humber North East Office were assigned to assist UK Coal following their interest in applying for additional government funding to extend the operation of their two deep mines. These officials provided feedback, advice and suggestions to help UK Coal prepare a case for Government support and met with them on several occasions throughout this process. On 16 January 2015, UK Coal submitted its request and supporting case for additional public sector support.
The Government is carefully considering the merits of this request including whether it represents acceptable value for money and is a good use of taxpayer’s money. Should the Government decide to make the case to the European Commission that we should pay state aid to UK Coal we will assign a team across BIS and DECC to take this forward.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect the four per cent year-in-year efficiency savings requirement has had on (a) staffing levels, (b) patient care and (c) waiting times in NHS trusts.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The 2010 Spending Review protected health funding in real terms. However, in order to continue to meet rising demands from an ageing population while improving services, NHS Leaders estimated that up to £20 billion of efficiency savings would be required over the four years from 2011-12 to 2014-15.
The NHS is on track to deliver these efficiency savings, having reported around £15 billion of efficiencies in the first three years, all of which are being reinvested into frontline care and have enabled the NHS to continue to meet rapidly rising demands whilst improving the quality of care.
There are now over 17,200 more professionally qualified clinical staff since May 2010 including:
– over 9,000 more doctors;
– over 3,300 more nurses, midwives and health visitors.
In contrast, the number of central administrative staff has fallen by over 20,200.
The NHS is experiencing high demand for many services from a growing, ageing population with complex health needs. Performance against quality measures remains high. We have put in place robust year-round operational resilience planning and performance management, backed by additional funding, to help the NHS continue to perform against the access standards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-01-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many agents providing guidance through the Pension Wise scheme will be based in Scotland.
Mr David Gauke
Citizens Advice Scotland continue to work with HM Treasury to finalise the number of agents who will be providing coverage for the Pension Wise service across Scotland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to answer Question 217185, tabled on 4 December 2014 by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East.
Brandon Lewis
Question 217185 was answered on 17 March 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential for misuse of the kinship carer system.
Mr Edward Timpson
Children live with kinship carers for a wide range of reasons: parental difficulties, mental or physical ill health, divorce or separation, imprisonment or bereavement. The circumstances and legal statuses of children and carers in these arrangements vary widely. There is not, therefore, a single “kinship carer system” and for this reason the Government has not given consideration to making an assessment of the potential for any general misuse of kinship care arrangements
In 2011, the Department for Education issued ‘Family and Friends Care: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities’,[1] this guidance is clear that children and young people unable to live with their parents should receive the support they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare, whether or not they are looked after.
[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-act-1989-family-and-friends-care
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dame Joan Ruddock on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether there will be a joint P5 statement on the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK attended the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons and made a statement afterwards. Not all the P5 Nuclear Weapons States attended; there are therefore no plans for a joint P5 statement on the Vienna Conference.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of 111 referrals to A&E departments in NHS hospitals in Sussex over the Christmas and New Year period in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.
Jane Ellison
The information is not available in the format requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national prisoners from each country were convicted of each offence type from September 2013 to September 2014.
Andrew Selous
International prisoner transfer arrangements may enable non-nationals to apply to transfer to their state of normal residence or to the state to which they have close ties. There is no requirement on a state to accept the transfer of a non-national resident. Since 2010, no such transfers have taken place to England and Wales. Prisoner transfer is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the relevant Minister in Scotland and in Northern Ireland.
The numbers of foreign national prisoners from each country convicted of each offence in the violence offence group from April 2013 to March 2014 are in the attached table 1.
The numbers of foreign national prisoners from each country, convicted of each offence type from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2014 are at the attached table 2. Prison receptions data for April to June 2014 is not available by offence group due to problems with data quality. Figures for this period will be published in due course subject to the result of ongoing investigations. Prison receptions data for July to September 2014 is currently not available and is due to be published on 29 January 2015.
The number of foreign national offenders in our prisons has reduced since 2010, compared to that number doubling between 1997 – 2010.