The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.
Karen Bradley
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my Right Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on March 26 2014, Official Report, column 292W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has given local authorities on ensuring that road safety is not compromised by street lighting being switched off; and if he will make a statement.
Brandon Lewis
Street lighting plays an important role in road safety, as well as ensuring the personal safety of pedestrians.
As I stated in my answer to the rt. hon. Member for Leeds Central, (Hilary Benn), on 13 May 2014, Official Report, Column 535-536W, there is no prescriptive Whitehall guidance on street lighting, and any assessment will depend on local circumstances and local views. In addition, Manual for Streets, while out of date in certain areas (e.g. on parking and density), contains some useful guidance on getting the balance right when providing street lighting, taking into account the different issues around safety, crime prevention, street clutter and light pollution. It can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/manual-for-streets.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Julian Huppert on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure courses equivalent to those on the list of prescribed courses in the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 are not excluded from Higher Education Funding Council for England funding by virtue of coming into existence following the introduction of that Act.
Mr David Willetts
Our higher education reforms have transferred money from Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) block grant to support Government backed loans which students now use to pay fees at the institution of their choice. The most recent figures show that, for the first time, the majority of HE funding is now determined by the choices students make rather than coming directly from Government. In this context, we have no plans to extend HEFCE’s statutory funding remit.
Students are able to take a range of qualifications for which they can access higher education student support, 24+ advanced learning loans, or professional and career development loans. We are currently looking at a number of options to ensure that we have effective progression pathways to support the development of higher level skills, particularly at levels 4 and 5. This includes having the right supporting funding mechanisms in place to deliver quality and value for money.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jason McCartney on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients have not received homecare medicines and products on time for treatment of (a) cystic fibrosis, (b) HIV and (c) rheumatoid arthritis in the last year.
Norman Lamb
This information is not collected by the Department or NHS England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to his Department was of data entry used under universal credit in each quarter since 2010.
Mike Penning
There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the department can be reliably estimated.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-06-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the ability of Thames Water to service the costs of building the proposed Thames Tideway Tunnel.
Danny Alexander
The Government’s Reasons for Specification Notice, published on 5 June 2014, explains in detail why the Government believes that the project is of a scale and complexity that would threaten Thames Water’s ability to provide services to its customers. Paragraphs 21 to 35 provide this explanation.
The Reasons Notice is available from the following link:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Hinds on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on economic development in Northern Ireland.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
I regularly hold discussions with Executive ministers on a range of economic issues.
Last week, I chaired a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Task Force on Banking and Access to Finance which was established to help Northern Ireland businesses access finance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2014 Official Report, column 74W, on Members: Correspondence, when he expects to send a substantive reply to the letter of 30 April 2014 from the hon. Member for Walsall North about admissions to Walsall Academy which was separate from the letter sent to the Chief Executive of the Education Funding Agency; and for what reason that Answer does not mention that there was separate correspondence on the subject.
Mr Edward Timpson
My noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools, responded to the hon. Member’s other letter of 30 April about admission arrangements at Walsall academy on 16 June. On behalf of the Department I would like to apologise for the delay in answering this letter.
My reply of 10 June related to the letter with the reference (2014/0036207) quoted in the question.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2014-03-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been paid in legal aid fees over the last five years to law firms Public Interest Lawyers and Leigh Day to conduct cases alleging abuse by British soldiers.
Lord Faulks
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) cannot separately identify legal aid cases for those Iraqis alleging abuse by British Soldiers without disproportionate costs. Legal aid cases are not systematically recorded against nationality or cause of action.
Leigh Day have not acted under legal aid in these types of cases. Public Interest Lawyers have acted for Iraqi clients under legal aid in cases seeking investigations into deaths and mistreatment.
The net payments to Public Interest Lawyers over the past five years were:
|
Year |
Amount |
|
2008/09 |
£628,527.75 |
|
2009/10 |
£267,433.88 |
|
2010/11 |
£439,268.02 |
|
2011/12 |
£331,238.85 |
|
2012/13 |
£54,387.48 |
These payments cover all work undertaken by the firm under legal aid. The payments made will be offset by recoupment on successful cases where the opponent has paid the costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2014-06-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to devolve Air Passenger Duty to Scotland.
Nicky Morgan
Beyond the powers in the Scotland Act 2012, the Government has no plans for further devolution of tax powers to Scotland until the referendum on Scottish independence has been settled
Budget 2014 announced the reform of air passenger duty with the abolition of bands C and D from 1 April 2015. This will eliminate the two highest rates of air passenger duty charged on flights to countries over 4,000 miles from Britain, cutting tax for millions for passengers to travelling to China, India, Brazil and many other emerging markets. This will mean that flights to South Asia and the Caribbean will pay tax at the lower band B rate.