The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2013, Official Report, column 419W, on employment and support allowance, whether his Department expects to complete the incapacity benefit reassessment process in April 2014.
Mike Penning
I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 27 March 2014. Official Report col. 56-57WS.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Aarhus claims in England and Wales have been granted permission to proceed since 1 April 2013.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The information requested cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. The data is not held centrally and providing information at the level of detail sought would require a review of many manual files.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2014-03-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) the welfare of horses is considered a priority in live exports and (b) laws relating to the welfare of horses are being enforced.
George Eustice
The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) carries out non-discriminatory, risk-based inspections of animals, means of transport and accompanying documentation, as required by Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005. This Regulation is implemented in England by The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 (WATEO).
Local authorities are responsible for enforcement of this legislation, in terms of investigating and, where appropriate, taking prosecution action against any transporters alleged to have committed an offence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that local colleges train the people of Northern Ireland with the appropriate skills to enable further growth in film and television production in Northern Ireland.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
This is a devolved matter but I took the opportunity of raising it with the Northern Ireland Minister for Employment and Learning, on the hon Member’s behalf, when I met him on 18 June.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate has been made of how much his Department is likely to save annually as a result of the removal of warm phones from Jobcentre Plus offices.
Esther McVey
We estimate ongoing yearly total savings of £1.92m from 14/15.
Savings will be reinvested in providing extra digital equipment to support the delivery of an assisted service for vulnerable claimants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of projected ticket prices for rail passengers using the High Speed 2 rail line.
Mr Robert Goodwill
In order to test the case for HS2, current fares were assumed to increase by RPI+1% annually until 2036 after which fares are assumed to grow in line with inflation. No fares differential was applied to services using the high speed infrastructure. This is an assumption which provides an appropriate basis for modelling costs and benefits, but does not represent a prediction of future rail fares, which will be affected by government policy, market and industry changes across the GB rail network over many years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the attendance of (a) veterans, (b) armed forces’ widows, (c) armed forces’ spouses and (d) carers to the 70th anniversary D-Day commemoration events at (i) Portsmouth on 5 June 2014, (ii) London on 22 June 2014, (iii) York on 20 July 2014 and (iv) London on 16 October 2014.
Anna Soubry
The 70th Anniversary D-Day commemorative events in Portsmouth are being organised by Portsmouth City Council, and the military is supporting the event as requested. Similarly, the Services are supporting events planned by the Normandy Veterans Association (NVA). The Department is unable to predict the numbers who may be present at any of these events and has received no requests to facilitate attendance.
The Ministry of Defence was made aware of Portsmouth City Council’s planned events in April 2013. We were informed about the majority of NVA events in February 2013, and the National Memorial Arboretum event in November 2013. We have been working closely with the Royal British Legion and the NVA on the planned events to mark this significant anniversary, and have ensured that a range of Service charities and associations are kept informed, including COBSEO, the Confederation of Service Charities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on the freezing of state pensions for those living overseas.
Steve Webb
The UK state pension is payable worldwide. However, where a recipient is not ordinarily resident in the UK, eligibility for annual up-rates is generally restricted to people living in a country which is a member of the European Economic Area, including by extension Switzerland, or in a country with which the UK has a bilateral social security agreement that provides for up-rating of the UK state pension. A list of these countries can be found at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pensions-annual-increases-if-you-live-abroad
Restricting the availability of annual up-rates to the UK state pensions in this manner has been the long standing policy of successive Governments. This Government has no plans to change it.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what requirements there are for academies and free schools to publish their curriculum for prospective parents; and what form that must take.
Mr Edward Timpson
Academy trusts that have a funding agreement published pre-July 2010 are required to publish an annual prospectus, which includes details of the curriculum offered. Since July 2011, the funding agreement with each academy or free school has included a requirement to publish details of their curriculum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much funding has been allocated to the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund for (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16, (c) 2016-17 and (d) all further years for which funding has been allocated.
Gregory Barker
Up to £120 million has been allocated to the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund in 2014-15. A decision on allocating funding for future years has yet to be taken. In the 2013 Autumn Statement, £150m was allocated in each of 15/16 and 16/17 towards energy efficiency in homes.