The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on publishing a cycling and walking investment strategy.
Mr Robert Goodwill
I was delighted that the Infrastructure Act included a firm commitment to deliver a Cycling & Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). We will be ready to commence a formal consultation on this in Spring 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Suttie on 2015-10-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce labour-market wide licensing and enforcement in order to support commitments made in the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Lord Bates
Following a commitment made in section 55 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 the Government has now launched a consultation on tackling exploitation in the labour market. This consultation is seeking views on proposals to appoint a new Director of Labour Market Enforcement and create additional powers for the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to take enforcement action against labour exploitation across the labour market. The consultation proposes a power to vary the sectors subject to licensing following an evidence-based analysis by the new Director.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the One Public Estate programme; and if he will make a statement.
Matthew Hancock
In 2013, the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association came together to launch the One Public Estate programme, a pioneering initiative designed to support central and local government to work collaboratively on land and property solutions.
It brings together all public sector bodies within a locality to work together in developing a radically new approach to managing their land and property. By pooling data on their asset holdings and developing joint plans to share property and release surplus land and buildings for other uses, the programme is designed to:
Two years on, the programme has already shown that, with small levels of investment and support, a great deal can be achieved. The 12 pilot areas that joined the programme in year 1 expect to cut running costs in the order of £21 million and to raise £88 million in capital receipts by 2018, as well as creating 7,500 new homes and 5,500 new jobs.
An additional £6m was announced at Summer Budget to expand the programme, with larger partnerships of councils and more ambitious schemes. 126 councils, working in 29 partnerships, have applied to join a third phase of the programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of senior civil servants from his Department are from a lower socio-economic background.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Information on the socio-economic background of all our staff is not centrally held and to compile it would incur disproportionate cost.
The FCO takes part in a number of schemes to encourage applicants from a lower socio-economic background.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people aged (a) under 18 and (b) 18 to 24 have been diagnosed with depression in each of the last five years.
Alistair Burt
This information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what role his Department played in NICE’s decision not to publish safe nurse staffing guidance in accident and emergency departments along with four evidence reviews of safe nurse staffing; and if he will make a statement.
Ben Gummer
Responsibility for developing safe staffing guidance in a number of clinical areas passed from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to NHS England in June 2015, and is being led by Dr Mike Durkin working with others across the National Health Service. This work will include guidance on safe staffing in accident and emergency departments, and the guidance will draw on the earlier work undertaken by NICE. When the responsibility for this work was transferred, NICE concluded that it would be unhelpful, ahead of the further work to be done on the guidance, to publish the material that it had brought together. The Department discussed these options with NICE and agreed with their decision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to areas affected by the recent earthquake in Afghanistan.
Mr Desmond Swayne
We are in close contact with our governmental and non-governmental partners in Afghanistan and Pakistan who are assessing and responding to the situation on the ground. Whilst we have not received any official requests for assistance at this stage, we do have multi-year humanitarian programmes in both countries which could be drawn upon if needed.
In Afghanistan, DFID is providing up to £80 million of humanitarian support over 2015-2019, including through the UN-led Common Humanitarian Fund and the International Committee of the Red Cross. In Pakistan, our multi-year humanitarian programme could provide up to £100 million over 2014-2018 for immediate relief and early recovery, depending on the extent of emergencies which occur. In both countries we are also supporting work by local organisations to build resilience to natural disasters and increase preparedness for recurring events.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, on what dates he has met the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss the potential effects in Scotland of a carbon price support exemption scheme since April 2015.
David Mundell
As indicated in my answer of 20 October, I have had a number of meetings and discussions on the important issue of opencast restoration and in particular the proposal for a carbon price support exemption. These have included discussions with colleagues from HM Treasury, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Scottish Government and Local Authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Information Commissioner’s Office about the DVLA selling driver registration plate numbers to car parking firms.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of debt repayment to his Department have been cancelled in each year since 2010.
Justin Tomlinson
The latest preliminary figures for 2014/15 estimate Fraud and Error levels as £3.2 billion, or 1.9% of benefit expenditure. The net figure after recoveries is £2.3bn, or 1.4%. This means that DWP Fraud and Error is at its lowest ever level.
We have interpreted this question to mean the volume of debts written off since 2010. The totals represent the number of transactions where debts have been written off either in full or in part, i.e. where some element remains recoverable.
The vast majority of these transactions are either cases where the Department has no legal right to recover or overpayments under £65 which are not value for money to pursue.
| Year | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | To 30 Sept 2015 |
| Total Write Off | 1,312,421 | 1,198,463 | 1,513,404 | 1,460,734 | 1,213,838 | 571,008 |